'If Ned wasn't into drugs, who would have killed him?' I asked, trying to keep Buchanan talking.
He stirred his drink with his straw and then sipped it through the straw, before saying, 'Anyone who has a certain amount of success in business is bound to acquire enemies. I think Ned was killed by someone who knew him. The cocaine was an attempt at a cover-up. It may work. From what I've heard there aren't any good clues.'
'Do you have any idea who did it?' Arrow asked.
Buchanan regarded her with a smile as he sipped some more of his drink. He said, 'Richard always did have good taste in women.'
Arrow leaned forward and uncrossed her legs. Her eyes flashed. She said, 'Richard and I have strictly a business relationship.'
Buchanan laughed and nodded approvingly. 'Good reaction. Straight from the book. You'll go far in the business world, Arrow. However, when you've been around as long as I have, you'll realize that in spite of an army of bureaucrats from government agencies breathing down our necks we beleaguered business people still make employment and promotion decisions based on more than pure unadulterated ability, mixed with a generous dose of affirmative action.'
Arrow looked as if she might say something, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, regarding Buchanan with her dark eyes. I suppressed a smile.
Buchanan continued, 'As you may have noticed, I, myself prefer to employ good looking young men as my assistants. They are racially mixed and all have their MBAs, but some of them have other traits I appreciate, as well. But enough of that. Where did you get the name Arrow?'
Arrow had recovered her poise. She said, 'My mother was an Olympic archer. I guess she hoped she would hit a bull’s-eye with me, just as she does with her other arrows.'
'I think she succeeded.' James took a sip of his drink and looked at me. 'What is it that brings you up here…again…so soon?'
'Police investigation,' I said. 'They wanted to ask me additional questions about Ned and where I was that night before I arrived here. Arrow came along to protect the good name of Dionysus.'
'There's more,' Arrow said. 'We know you're trying to get control of Dionysus.'
Arrow's candor surprised me and Buchanan raised his eyebrows. Then he smiled and said, 'So you were sent here by Richard.'
'Richard doesn't know we're here,' Arrow said.
Buchanan looked as if he didn't believe her. He said, 'I consider Dionysus stock to be a good investment, especially at its current price. My company, Tartan, invests in a lot of good companies. Just because we're buying Dionysus stock doesn't mean we're planning a takeover.'
He was trying to disarm us. I said, 'Why are you buying the stock if you think Richard is doing a bad job?'
'Who told you that?'
Richard had told us that. I decided I was in over my head and didn't say anything. An awkward silence followed. I glanced at Arrow. She gave me a look that said she wanted to hear his answer. I forced myself to be quiet.
Buchanan finally broke the silence by saying, 'Richard is very good at doing certain things. He's a visionary, an entrepreneur. He can picture a new product and its market, get financial backing, start a company and grow it rapidly. But at a certain point in the life of every company different skills are needed in a CEO. The ability to run it on a day-to-day basis. Some entrepreneurial types aren't good at that.'
'And you think that Richard is one of them?' Arrow asked.
'The next few years are key for Dionysus. Competition is catching up to them. Can they continue to be a leader in their field? Do they have the right management? These are questions that any investor, like myself, has to ask.'
That didn't exactly answer my question. 'Do you think Ned would have been better for the job?' I asked.
'Ned had more of the temperament of an administrator than Richard.'
'And since you had worked with Ned before, you knew him better and felt more comfortable with him.'
The corners of James' eyes crinkled in a hint of a smile and he said, 'You've been doing your homework, haven't you?'
'You're a very successful, man, Mr. Buchanan…er, James,' I said. 'You've made a lot of money. What drives you to keep going, to keep making investments?'
'My fellow shareholders, for one thing.'
'But as you yourself suggested, there comes a time to turn the management over to somebody else.'
'You haven't told me what you do, Karl. I assumed you worked for Dionysus when I first met you. Since I now know you don’t I’m curious about you.'
'I'm a baseball card dealer. I sell cards on the Internet.'
'And you do this because…?'
'I love it. Since I was four all I've ever wanted to do was to collect and sell baseball cards.'
'Are you going to build your business up to a certain point and then turn it over to somebody else to run?'
'Why would I do that? Then someone else would be having all the fun.'
'Exactly. Someone else would be having all the fun. Someone else would be finding the perfect card. Someone else would be matching it with the perfect buyer, who has the same passion for it as you do and would give it a good home. In my case, someone else would be finding the perfect company, with the right product, the right management at the right time. Someone else would get the credit when it grows and adds to the value of the Tartan portfolio.'
'I’m sure Richard feels the same way about being the CEO of Dionysus,' Arrow said.
'I rather imagine he does,' Buchanan said. 'But there's more. There's the thrill of being able to do something better than anybody else; in fact, being able to do something that nobody else can do. Karl, what's the most valuable baseball card?'
'A T206 Honus Wagner,' I said, without hesitation. 'It came out in 1909. Only a few were produced, and of those there are only a handful in really good condition.'
'How much is it worth?'
'One of the good ones sold recently on eBay for over a million dollars. The card is so famous that Wayne Gretzky, the hockey player, owned one at one time.'
'How would you like to own one?'
'It would be a dream come true.'
'Exactly. I'll tell you what. Keep your eyes open. If one of the good ones comes on the market let me know and we may be able to arrange it, together.'
'I'm afraid it's a little out of my league.' I said, although I noticed that saliva was coming into my mouth.
'You never know until you try. The offer stands. Well, I'm going to have to get back to my guests. What would you two like to do while you're here?'
'Ask you another question,' I said. I had just remembered something that had vanished from my mind at the news of Ned's murder. James nodded, so I said, 'The other night when we were trying to find Ned, between the time you called the restaurant and the police, you made another phone call, and it sounded like the person you talked to had seen Ned. I was wondering who you talked to.'
James looked puzzled. He said, 'I didn't make another call. You made a call to the hotel…'
'It was a call you made.'
'I don't think so. Although at my age I sometimes forget what I did five minutes ago, let alone three days ago.' He jumped up from his chair and said, 'You two look hungry. Come on downstairs and try our Friday night buffet. Prepared by one of the best chefs in San Francisco. I think you'll like it.'
He led the way to the door and opened it. As he waited for us to precede him through it, he said, 'And if you want to do any gambling, Stan will get you some chips.'
