Read Scam for Free Online Page B

standards—he was half a head shorter than Pritchert.
    “Hey, Cranston,” the tall one said. “You got a live one there?”
    “Nice talk,” the short, stocky one said. He was a solid man, with hard eyes and a little black mustache. He extended his hand. “I’m Kevin Dunbar. Mr. …?”
    “Bainbridge. Harold Bainbridge.”
    “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Bainbridge. This is Marty Rothstein. If there’s anything our firm can do for you …”
    “That’s very nice of you,” I said, “but I just want to talk to Mr. Pritchert.”
    “About an investment?”
    “Of course.”
    Marty Rothstein smiled. “That’s fine, Mr. Bainbridge. But we want you to realize. When you deal with us, you’re not just hiring a broker. You’re in partnership with the whole firm. Anything we can do for you, you have only to ask.”
    “That’s nice to know,” I said.
    I grabbed Cranston Pritchert by the elbow, practically dragged him down the hall, where he recovered his wits enough to at least guide me into the proper office. He slammed the door, then wheeled around and towered over me.
    The color had returned to his cheeks. Now they were progressing toward red. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
    “Trying to help you.”
    “Help me? What, are you nuts? Help me?”
    “You hired me to do a job. I’m trying to do it.”
    “I hired you to find the girl. That’s what you should be doing. I told you not to come here.”
    “Yes, you did.”
    “And you came here anyway. Which was the last thing I wanted. And then you ran into them. Do you know who those guys were? Do you know who you were talking to?”
    “Sure. The other two vice-presidents. You told me all about them.”
    “Did I tell you we’re in a proxy fight and there’s an election coming up? Did I tell you that? Did I tell you I can’t bear a hint of scandal? And then you come walking in here and blow the whole thing.”
    “Give me a break. I didn’t blow anything. I’m just another investor. All you gotta do is play along.”
    “I told you I couldn’t do that.”
    “Yeah, well, you got no choice. It turned out I had to see you.”
    “Why?”
    “I found out who sent the letter.”
    “What?”
    “The extortion letter. I found out who sent it.”
    He stared at me. “What?”
    “I found out who sent the extortion letter.”
    He blinked. “How did you do that?”
    “Actually, it was rather easy.”
    “Oh yeah. So who sent it?”
    “You did.”
    “What?”
    “I don’t know why you did, but you did. I don’t like being played for a patsy, and that’s why I’m here.”
    “That’s ridiculous.”
    “I agree. It’s totally ridiculous. If you want to pay me good money to find out why you sent yourself an extortion letter, well, that’s your business. But when the clues lead back to you, that’s mine. Now, you wanna keep playing games, or you wanna sit down and talk this over?”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Yeah, sure. Well, there’s a parking ticket on your expense account.”
    He frowned. “What?”
    “The parking ticket I got while you were up here searching for the envelope that didn’t exist. Pretending someone dumped your wastebasket.”
    When I said that, his eyes flicked.
    I glanced in that direction, saw the wastebasket next to his desk. I took a step between him and it.
    “My, my. If this was dumped, you sure filled it up again fast.”
    I reached in the wastebasket, pulled something out.
    “Well, well, what have we here?”
    What we had was a cut-up copy of today’s Post. The dumb boob hadn’t even gotten rid of it.
    I looked at him, shook my head. “I cannot believe you left this here for anyone to find.”
    Pritchert glared at me a moment. I could see his mind going, trying to figure if there was any way at all to keep up the pretense.
    Apparently, he couldn’t come up with one. He exhaled, said, “Damn.”
    I spread my arms. “So there you are. That’s why I’m here. I