Family Man

other end of the line assured him that Mr. Atwood was in.
    “Would you care to speak to him?”
    “Not right now,” Luke said. He hung up without giving the secretary his name. Then he got to his feet and went down to the garage to retrieve the Jag.
    Half an hour later he was in Bellevue. He took the elevator to the twelfth floor, got out, and walked down the hall to a door that had Atwood Investments inscribed on it.
    Luke eyed the sign with acute distaste. The thought of Katy coming here to confront Atwood angered him all over again. The Gilchrist guardian angel needed her wings clipped. She took far too many chances.
    Luke opened the door of the office. A young blonde in a low-cut dress looked up and smiled brightly.
    “May I help you?”
    “Atwood in?”
    “Yes, sir. If you'll give me your name, I'll let him know you're here.”
    “Never mind. He'll figure out who I am soon enough.” Luke crossed the office and opened the inner door.
    “Sir, wait! You can't just barge in there like that.”
    “Watch me.” Luke went into the office and closed the door behind him.
    The man who had to be Nate Atwood sat hunched over the phone, talking into it in a smooth, mellow, utterly convincing voice. Atwood was obviously a born salesman.
    “To be real honest, Mel, the deal's been locked up tight since last week. The rest of the investors don't want to share this kind of potential with anyone else. You can understand their position. But I managed to save a couple of slots for my best customers. If you're interested, I'll…Hang on a second, Mel.” Atwood looked up at Luke, scowling. He put his hand over the receiver. “Be with you in a few minutes. Check in with my secretary out front.”
    “I already did that,” Luke said. He walked over to the nearest chair and sat down. “It wasn't a very edifying conversation.”
    Atwood glared at him. “Look, if you don't mind, I'm trying to conduct business here.”
    “But I do mind. I don't like the way you do business.” Luke opened his briefcase and took out a file. He tossed it onto Atwood's desk. “The name's Gilchrist. Luke Gilchrist. I believe Katy Wade told you I'd be around if you didn't cut out the blackmail. You didn't agree to stop, so here I am.”
    “Gilchrist? Shit, are you crazy? You can't come in here like this and start making threats.” Anger boiled to life in Atwood's eyes.
    “I'm not making a threat. I never make threats. Anything I say you can take as a solemn promise. And I promise you I've pulled the plug on the financing you've arranged for the Crystal Harbor deal you're putting together right now. Tell Mel it's dead.”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN
    T he lines around Atwood's mouth went white with tension. He never took his eyes off Luke as he spoke quickly into the phone. “Mel, something's come up. I'll get back to you. Sure. This afternoon. Don't worry. You'll get a piece of the action.”
    Atwood slammed down the phone. “All right, Gilchrist. What the hell is this all about? Talk fast, or I'll call the cops and have you tossed out of here.”
    “I told you what it's all about. The financing package for the Crystal Harbor development project just died an early death. I killed it with a couple of phone calls to your backers.”
    Atwood's hand clenched around the arms of his chair. “You can't do that.”
    “It's done. Take a look at what's in that file if you don't believe me. Your financial backers have been told that your little empire is built on bad paper, Atwood. Phony financial statements, false earnings reports, questionable credit references.”
    “That's not true.”
    Luke smiled. “Unfortunately for you, whether it's true or not is beside the point. The data in that file make you look bad. I know because I put it together myself. I estimate it will take you months to clean up the misunderstandings and mistakes. And in the meantime, the Crystal Harbor project is dead.”
    Atwood snapped the file open and scanned the contents. When he was through he looked dazed. “You can't do this. This is a pack of lies.”
    “Not quite.” Luke got to his feet and went to stand at the window. “That's the sweet part, Atwood. There are no lies in that report on your financial situation. I merely pointed out to your backers that you've been skating on thin ice for the past three or four years. The bad times started right after the High Ridge Springs project went sour, didn't they?”
    “What do you know about High Ridge Springs?”
    “Enough.