Unintended Consequences

that hit us was a mixer truck, carrying a full load of concrete. That’s quite a lot of mass.”
    “It’s hard to know how it could have been heavier,” Stone said. “Did you see what happened to the truck’s driver?”
    “There was no driver to be found,” Rick replied. “I expect there’s one in a ditch somewhere with a bullet in his head. Something else interesting: the station checked, and the truck belongs to a construction company owned by—guess who? Marcel duBois.”
    “You don’t really think . . .”
    “Who else knew we were in that car and where we were headed? Not even the station knew—the driver didn’t call in.”
    “I think that’s a bit fanciful, Rick.”
    “Let me ask you something,” Rick said. “Did you buy your own air ticket for Paris?”
    “No, it was delivered to my office, along with an envelope of expense money.”
    “Who sent it?”
    “DuBois, I guess,” Stone admitted.
    “Did you choose your seat on the airplane?”
    “It was already on the boarding pass that came with the ticket.”
    “So duBois knew what flight you were on and what seat you were in?”
    “I suppose he did,” Stone said slowly.
    “What business were you here to discuss with duBois?”
    “He made me an offer for a hotel in Los Angeles that I’m a partner in.”
    “The Arrington?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you accept his offer?”
    “No, but we agreed in principle that he could build a number of Arringtons in Europe with our investment and cooperation.”
    “Why didn’t you want to sell it to him?”
    Stone told him what he had told duBois.
    “One more question: Do you think duBois might have a better chance of buying The Arrington with you out of the way?”
    “Possibly. It was a very good offer.”
    “One last point: the drug you were given was pulled off the market years ago by the FDA. Do you know where it’s still available?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “France. And guess who owns a big chunk of the French manufacturer?”
    Stone held up a hand. “Stop, you’ve made your point.”
    Rick’s cell phone buzzed. “Yes? I’ll be right down.” He hung up. “They’ve sent a car for me.”
    “An armored one, I hope.”
    “Oh, nobody’s after me, that would be you or Lance, or both. See you tomorrow at ten.”
    “You still want to go to the auto show, after all you’ve just told me?”
    “Sure, we’re not going to find out anything locked in this suite. Would you rather just get a plane home?”
    Stone shook his head. “No, I want to get to the bottom of this.”
    “Yeah? Well, that’s the difference between us,” Rick replied. “I want to get on top of it.” He walked out of the suite.

22
    S tone was napping, exhausted, when the phone rang. “Yes?”
    “I have Mike Freeman for you,” a woman’s voice said.
    “Yes, of course. Mike?”
    “Hey, Stone. I just got back from the coast and called your office. Joan said you’re in Paris.”
    “I am,” Stone said. “Bill Eggers and I had a meeting with a French industrialist named Marcel duBois about a week ago. Do you know who he is?”
    “I’ve heard him referred to as the French Warren Buffett,” Mike replied. “I don’t know much more than that.”
    “Well, I had lunch with him today, and he offered us a billion dollars for The Arrington. Not including the land.”
    “Wow,” Mike replied. “That’s a very serious offer. How did you respond?”
    “I told him I liked having the hotel and suggested that we enter into an arrangement whereby he would build some more Arringtons in Europe, and we would invest and offer him design and staff training services.”
    “And how did he respond?”
    “He said that was his fallback position. He owns a chain of cheaper hotels, and he said he could raze a dozen of them around Europe and build Arringtons.”
    “And how did you respond?”
    “I told him I’d discuss it with you and Eggers.”
    “Well, off the top of my head, I’d say it’s a sensational idea.”
    “That’s pretty much what I thought.”
    “Are you going to talk with him about it further?”
    “Are you kidding? The guy would skin me alive. We need to put a team on this. Any ideas?”
    “Well, I know some awfully good lawyers, firm called Woodman & Weld. Why don’t you ask Eggers to put a team together?”
    “Okay, but before I do that I want to know more about duBois, specifically his history of business practices. He seems like a good guy, but I don’t want to find out he’s a