film. Now I don’t need the money.”
“And?”
“I won’t sell Arrington my shares, but I’ll vote with her and Rick Barron against the sale.” Schmeltzer offered his hand. “You have my word on it.”
Stone took his hand and shook it warmly. “Thank you, Jack. That means that Centurion is going to be the studio you’ve always known, both for your next picture and the one after that, and for a long time to come.”
Schmeltzer smiled. “Let’s go get some dinner.”
They walked back into the living room where a line was forming for a huge buffet at one end. Stone found Charlene. “Hungry?” he asked.
“Always. How did you and Jack get along?”
“Famously,” Stone replied.
“Is he on board?”
“I believe he is.” Stone looked at her. “Did you have anything to do with his change of heart?”
“Well,” she said, “this afternoon I fucked his brains out.”
Stone burst out laughing.
Dino and Hetty joined them in the buffet line. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Tell you later,” Stone replied.
“You look awfully relaxed,” Dino said.
“I think I’m more relaxed than at any time since we arrived in this town,” Stone replied.
Dino looked at Hetty. “I’m planning to get more relaxed myself.”
The four of them sat at Charlene’s breakfast table the following morning.
“Feeling relaxed, Dino?” Stone asked.
“You bet your ass,” Dino replied, and the women laughed.
Stone’s cell phone buzzed, and he stepped out of the room to take the call. “Hello?”
“Stone, it’s Harvey Stein; Jim Long is conscious, and his doctor says he’s going to make a complete recovery.”
“That’s s good news, Harvey. Thanks for letting me know.”
“I’m going to wait a day or two before asking him to sign the documents and transfer the shares. I want to be sure that he’s right on top of things before such a big move.”
“That’s fine with me, Harvey; we’re not so much under the gun now.”
“Why is that?”
“We’ve rounded up another fifteen thousand shares to vote with us.”
“Do you still want to buy Jim’s shares?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Well, that’s a relief; he certainly needs the money.”
“Has anything developed on the case against him?”
“I’m going to use his condition to try and get him bail, so he can recuperate at home. And once the prosecutor hears he’s in the money again and can fight back, I think I can get the case dropped. They’re really after Barbara Eagle.”
“I understand, and I wish you luck. Let me know when Jim has completed the sale, and I’ll get the funds wired.”
“Thanks, Stone.” They both hung up.
Stone called Rick Barron and gave him the news about Jack Schmeltzer’s decision to vote his shares against the sale.
“What a relief!” Rick said. “This has been a real roller-coaster ride; what else can happen?”
“Don’t ask,” Stone replied.
36
Stone was driving back to the Calder house when his phone buzzed again. He stopped at a traffic light. “Hello?”
“It’s Carolyn Blaine; where are you right now?”
“At Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset,” he said.
“Can you meet me at a coffee shop in fifteen minutes?”
“Where?”
She gave him the address. “It’s near my office.”
“I’m on my way.” He hung up and turned left on Sunset.
“Who was that?” Dino asked.
“Carolyn Blaine.”
“What did she want?”
“She wants me to meet her in fifteen minutes. She’s nervous about talking on the phone.”
Stone drove to the address in Westwood and parked the car. “I’ll leave the a/c on for you,” he said to Dino, then got out and walked into the coffee shop. Carolyn was already at a table.
Stone sat down, and they both ordered coffee. “What’s up?” “I should ask you that,” she said. “Terry has gotten very edgy and prickly, too.”
“Why?”
“For some reason, you really get to him. Every time he sees you he comes back fuming. It’s creepy.”
“Well, I’m sorry if I’ve made life more difficult for you.”
“What did you talk about last night at Jack Schmeltzer’s?”
“Terry took me aside and talked to me about Arrington Calder’s property in Bel-Air. Thanks for passing that information.”
“You’re welcome; what did he say?”
“He offered two hundred million bucks and to build a house for her on the grounds.”
“He’ll go higher,” she said.
“How high?”
“Two-twenty-five, maybe two-fifty mil.”
“Wow.”
“It’s a unique piece of property,” she said. “There’s nothing else like it in the United States. He likes a lot that it’s across the street from the Bel-Air Country Club. He’s a member there, and he thinks he could do some sort of deal with them to let his hotel guests play there.”
“He seems to be moving very fast.”
“Oh, yes; he’s already got his architects doing site plans.”
“Yes, he told me about his idea for putting all the parking underground.”
“It’s a good use of the space; he can put buildings or tennis courts over the garage area. Have you heard anything from Jim Long?”
“I heard this morning that he’s conscious and will make a full recovery.”
“When Terry hears that he’s going to go absolutely nuts.”
“You think he might make another attempt on Long’s life?”
“In the state he’s in, he’s capable of anything. Did you come to any sort of agreement on the Centurion deal?”
“No. In fact, I told him that Arrington would not consider selling him the Bel-Air property without a binding agreement for him to withdraw from the Centurion deal first.”
Carolyn looked astonished. “And he agreed to that?”
“No, just the opposite, but I think he’ll come around.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” she said.
“What is it that I don’t know?”
“I’ve learned that the money behind the Centurion deal is from some business associates of his late brother,
