About Face (24 page)

“I need to know more about what you've got, Wendy. I won't go off on some detour to get you your Eternaderm.”

“I've already told you about Trisha and Connie. The rest is juicy stuff, Bill. You'll get to avenge your friend. But I need to see
progress first.” She tossed the butt into her empty glass, suddenly nonchalant. “It's up to you. There's no rush, right? I mean, Rod's not going to get any deader than he is.”

I stared out the window. Drops of rain spattered on the glass. I'd have to at least pretend to help in order to get more from her. I didn't say anything right away, though. My silence apparently worried Brendon.

“Aren't we going to tell him about the party?” he blurted.

Wendy gave him a glare, then said, “The Wings of Silicon Charity Ball will be held Friday night. Your friends from Sylvain and Silicon Glamour will be there. You can't afford it yourself, but if you come through for me, we'll get you in.”

“All right, Wendy,” I said. It was finally sounding worth the trouble. “I'll be back here tomorrow. But I still want you to answer one question before I leave. Why did you show up at the Sylvain dinner pretending to be Alissa?”

A look of horror crossed Brendon's face. Wendy stayed it by holding out the ash-speckled wine glass for him to bus. “I have a very good reason for that, Bill,” she said, “and I will explain it to you when the time comes.”

Brendon took the glass. I stood up. After getting their phone numbers, I said I'd go to work on the Eternaderm. I privately hoped that would amount to nothing more than a chat with Ellen while I pried more information from Wendy. Meanwhile, I could entertain myself trying to figure out how a spoiled brat like Brendon ended up playing yo-yo on the end of Wendy's string.

A light rain pattered
on my windshield as I drove to Algoplex. It was after five and a few people still were left at the reception following the service for Rod. Tables with food and drink were set up in a common space at one end of the second floor. The furniture had been moved against a wall to open up the space. The windows looked out over the Frisbee field.

I might have predicted that Wes would stick around to try to enhance his social life. He tore himself away from a conversation to slouch with me in a pair of beanbag chairs along the wall. I described my visit with Wendy and Brendon and asked if he'd seen Ellen Quong.

“No,” he answered, “but you should check out this woman I saw lurking around Mike Riley's office. She's not my type at all— kind of a fallen-blond look—but I think she's got a thing for Mike.”

It sounded like Kim. “You're sure it's mutual—it's not just him after her?”

“She was the one lurking. Hold on, don't go anywhere yet. I've got more research to tell you about.”

“Make it quick.”

“Silicon Glamour is virtually invisible on the net. I didn't get a single hit and I was using my best spyware. You don't cloak yourself like that without some know-how. I did learn a little about Sylvain. They've tracked every point along the tech arc and they changed their name at each stage. First they brokered stocks, then did IPO's. They backed a couple of small success stories, then were accessories in one of those nineties IPO Ponzi schemes. Their CEO got probation and disappeared. The rest reconstituted themselves as Sylvain and dipped into a few dot-bombs. Everything turned around two years ago when they rescued a router company. They suddenly got respectable and went on to do set top boxes, net auctions, Plush, and now Algoplex. Their role's hard to pin down, though. They present themselves as a venture firm, but they also do some M&A and some investment banking. One way or another they wind up with a major stake in each company. More so than you'd expect from a small concern like Sylvain. Myself, I'd want to deal with a firm that hasn't spread itself so thin. Yet they make it work. Their results are solid now.”

“And no visible tie to Rupert or Trisha Evans?”

“Totally stealth. Unless you've got some new leads for me to follow.”

“Brendon gave me the names of those guys who hit me: Larsen and Terry. Terry sounded like the younger one, Larsen the older.”

Wes shook his head. “I need full names. An image file would help, too.”

“I'll ask them to pose for a snapshot next time. Brendon said they were in Las Vegas when Rod was murdered. So they might have an alibi there, but Wendy mentioned that Trisha was from Vegas. That could help us connect them.”

“And it's just a short hop from Vegas to Arizona.”

“I guess you didn't check out that clipping. It was a fake. Alissa's still alive, as far as we know.”

Wes made a small whistling sound. “That's good news, huh?”

“Let's hope so. Thanks for the research, Wes. It helps.”

We pushed ourselves out of the beanbag chairs. Wes returned to his socializing and I crossed to the other end of the building. The door to Mike's office was slightly ajar. Voices came from inside. But the female voice was not Kim's, and it was not happy. I knocked and went in.

Connie Plush stopped in midsentence and gave me a not-you-again glare. She was on the opposite side of the office, pacing, toying with the glasses at the end of her silver necklace. A black cashmere sweater was draped over her shoulders. Mike was leaning back in his chair, bouncing the eraser end of a pencil off his knee. “What's new, Bill?” he said.

“Nothing much.” I considered for a moment, then decided to go right at Connie. “Why won't you let Wendy test Eternaderm for you, Connie? She worked for you just like Alissa did. Are you afraid it only works on skin under thirty?”

Mike looked puzzled. “Was Wendy here?”

Connie crossed her arms in a ready posture. “Eternaderm works on all kinds of skin. Whether or not I let that woman use it is my business.”

“What's your beef with her?”

“Don't trust anything she says, Bill. How did you find her?”

“She found me. She was full of interesting tidbits. So was her friend Brendon.”

“He's the young guy from SG, right?” Mike said. “What's he doing with Wendy?”

“He quit Silicon Glamour. He's got it bad for Alissa.”

“He quit?” Connie's exclamation came out before she could stop it. “Oh, Trisha must be steamed. He was her little pet.”

“Well, now he's licking Wendy's hand,” I said.

“You've got it backwards: Brendon's the one who holds the leash. He's worthless, but Trisha turned to jelly around him.” Connie could barely suppress her glee. Talking about Trisha brought out a whole new side of her. She picked up a wine glass from a nearby shelf. The wine seemed to be putting her in an expansive mood.

“What kind of hold did he have over Trisha?” I asked.

“You saw him. She's not a deep woman.”

The tightness around her mouth had relaxed and her eyes had a silvery sparkle. I wanted to take advantage of it. “I'd been under the impression you and Trisha were pals,” I said. “I guess I was wrong.”

“I hope none of us have any illusions about Silicon Glamour,” she replied. “Or Sylvain. If—”

“How does the connection work?” I interrupted. “Does Trisha run both of them?”

One corner of Connie's mouth turned up. “That's our best guess. But we've never been able to pin her down.”

“You're kidding me,” Mike said. “Trisha's in charge?”

Connie's small grin turned into a smirk. “Wake up, Mikey-boy. You're in the women's world now.” She must have liked Mike. I hadn't heard her tease like that before. “Listen, guys,” she went on, “if you can get Brendon on your side, you can strike at Trisha's heel. Wendy's, too.”

“Trisha, yes,” I said. “But Wendy's got some hold over Brendon. I figure it's because she's dangling Alissa in front of him. He claims to be over her, but he's lying.”

“Dangling a dead woman?” Connie objected.

“Alissa's not dead. The clipping was a fake.”

Mike sat up. “That's great news, Bill!”

But Connie's face had tightened again. She took a sip from the glass, put it down, and murmured, “Let's hope you're right. I have my doubts.”

I sat down in a chair across from Mike, wondering why Connie preferred Alissa dead. “You said Sylvain couldn't be trusted, Connie. Why?”

Her eyes and Mike's met across the desk. She made a slight shake of the head, but Mike said, “It's okay. I want Bill to hear it from me.”

Mike turned to me. “Sylvain has made me an offer,” he said. “A pretty nice parachute if I bow out and let them have their way with Algoplex. Hell, what am I saying, it's a silk parachute with gold trimmings and a full bar.”

He stopped and watched me. He wanted to draw out my reaction. I kept waiting.

“I won't take it, of course,” Mike went on. “It would violate the spirit of Rod's company. I see myself as the guardian of his legacy. But I would be lying if I said it wasn't tempting. The fact is, I think they're going to get control, anyway. I'll end up on the street with nothing. But I'd rather do that than sell out Rod.”

Connie was watching Mike carefully.

He returned her gaze and said, “Connie has offered to help me. As I told you, Bill, this company will come to a dead halt without an infusion. Connie thinks Plush can give us a bridge.”

“Doesn't Sylvain already effectively control Plush?” I said. “Wouldn't giving her equity amount to giving Sylvain what it wants by other means?”

Connie broke in sharply. “That doesn't deserve an answer, Michael.” The steel had returned to her eyes, flashing betrayal
and anger. “I've been generous with you today, Bill. Yet you question my motives to my face.”

“It's a financial question with a financial answer,” I said, backpedaling. “If I'm wrong, just tell me.”

She folded her arms. Her glance snapped back to Mike. “The offer stands. You let me know. But don't take advice from people who don't know what they're talking about.”

Mike watched her walk to the door. “Thank you, Mrs. Plush.” His voice was apologetic.

The door was beginning to close. “Where's Kim?” I said loudly, so that Connie would hear. Mike paused, waiting for the door to click shut. It didn't.

I got up and opened the door. “Connie? Is there something else?”

The look in her eyes surprised me. Her mouth was tense with worry and consternation, the kind of worry you'd see on a mother's face. Our eyes met and a moment of understanding passed between us. I didn't yet comprehend what was understood, but her unexpected vulnerability told me that something about Kim mattered to her deeply.

She turned quickly to leave and I closed the door. Mike let out a big sigh. He slumped in his chair and said, “Bill, you're doing a great job for the most part, but sometimes you go too far.”

I wanted to say: Just driving in the dark, Mike, like always. Instead I contrived a smile of collusion. “I knew I smelled another perfume besides Connie's in here. Where are you hiding her?”

Mike returned the smile. “She's the one playing hide-and-seek. When Connie came over, Kim disappeared.”

“Connie knows Kim. Do you know how?”

Mike shrugged. “First I've heard of it.”

“Be careful, Mike. With both of them.”

“Connie's playing straight, Bill. She told me things about Sylvain, about what they'd done with Plush, that would normally be very closely held. She wouldn't have if this was just a trick to get Algoplex into Sylvain's hands.”

“What did they do with Plush?”

“The same kind of thing they're trying to do to me.”

The pieces began to click into place. I wasn't quite ready to share them with Mike, though. I didn't necessarily buy his noble line about defending Rod's legacy. Experience told me the last thing that bothered a CEO was selling out. Instead I said, “You should be careful with Kim, too. She's a complete unknown.”

Mike grinned again, did a half-swivel in his chair, and showed me the front of his hand. “I've got to say, Bill, I'm a little tired of the ol' palm pilot, if you know what I mean. It's been a long time since I met a woman like Kim. I'm feeling that special tingle.”

“I don't mind what you do in your own bedroom. Just don't give her information. Remember what happened to Rod.”

Mike's grin froze. “I can take care of myself.”

“Listen, have you heard anything from the police?”

“Jesus, yes. I was waiting until we were alone to tell you. They think they found the murder weapon. A kitchen knife, smaller than the one Rod had in his hand, covered with blood. And get this: It was in Alissa's apartment.”

I whistled. “Whoa. Are they sure it's for real?”

“The lab's running tests right now. This throws us for a loop, doesn't it?”

“Let's wait for the lab results. Even if it's true Alissa is alive, I think she's being set up. You know who's got access to her apartment: Rupert Evans. This'll bring us one step closer to him in the end.”

Mike nodded. “That makes sense. I didn't know what to think.”

The way his eyes kept flicking to door, as if awaiting an arrival, told me it wasn't the head on top of his shoulders doing the thinking right now. I stood to go. “I better get back to the reception.”

“Me, too,” he said. “Go on ahead. I got to lock up. I'll see you around.”

“You sure will.” Sooner than he thought.

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I had a tough choice. Ellen Quong had been talking with some of the engineers and now she'd come back to get her coat and umbrella. I wanted to talk to her, but I also wanted to keep an eye out for Kim. Wendy had Brendon on her string, but Kim had two people, maybe more, on hers. I wanted to know why.