Chapter 7 - Arthur Whitmore Changes the Speech)
By sunrise, Arthur had not slept.
His investigator called at 5:32 a.m.
“Conrad Vale is a pharmacologist,” he said. “Formerly with Hensley Medical.”
“Formerly?”
“Dismissed four years ago.”
“Why?”
“Records are sealed.”
“Unseal them.”
“That’s not exactly how this works.”
“Then work differently.”
“There’s more.”
Arthur waited.
“Conrad consulted for a cardiac research program funded by Whitmore Foundation.”
Arthur looked at the photograph of James on his desk.
“When?”
“The year before your son died.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
The investigator continued.
“The consulting payments increased dramatically two months after James’s death.”
“How much?”
“Just under nine million total.”
Arthur opened his eyes.
“And Evelyn authorized them?”
“Some. Malcolm approved the rest.”
Arthur thanked him and ended the call.
He walked into the bathroom and stared at himself.
Older than he felt.
More tired than he allowed anyone to see.
James had tried to warn him.
Arthur had not answered.
That fact became unbearable.
He returned to the desk and opened the speech prepared for the Founder’s Banquet.
The final paragraph announced Evelyn Vale as permanent chief executive.
Arthur deleted it.
Then he wrote a new paragraph.
Tonight, Whitmore International will begin a complete independent forensic review of foundation disbursements, executive access records, and vendor contracts dating back twenty-four months.
He added another line.
Until that review is complete, no executive succession will occur.
Arthur saved the speech.
Then he called the board chairman.
The chairman protested for eleven minutes.
Arthur listened.
At the end he said, “Are you finished?”
“Yes.”
“Good. The audit begins tonight.”
He disconnected.
At 7:10 a.m., Evelyn entered without knocking.
Arthur looked up.
She placed her phone on the desk.
“Why did you change the speech?”
Arthur did not ask how she knew.
Instead he said, “Why did James meet your brother two months before he died?”
The color left her face.
“He didn’t.”
Arthur slid the photograph across the desk.
Evelyn looked at it.
“He visited the research center.”
“With Conrad?”
“My brother worked there.”
“What compound did James mention?”
Evelyn’s eyes lifted sharply.
Arthur saw it.
He had not told her about the recording.
Now she knew too much.
“What recording do you have?” she asked.
Arthur almost smiled.
“I didn’t say there was one.”
Evelyn realized the mistake.
She recovered quickly.
“You said compound.”
Arthur stood.
“Get out.”
“Arthur.”
“Out.”
“James was unstable before he died.”
Arthur’s face changed.
“Do not.”
“He was drinking.”
“Do not use my son’s death to protect yourself.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From believing every accusation made by desperate people.”
Arthur stared at her.
“What desperate people?”
Another mistake.
Evelyn looked away.
Arthur walked around the desk.
“Who told you about Simone Carter?”
“Malcolm.”
“I didn’t say Simone Carter.”
Evelyn went still.
Arthur felt something inside him break.
Not because he knew she was guilty.
Because part of him had still hoped she was not.
He walked to the door and opened it.
“You have until tonight to decide how much truth you want to tell me.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
His voice was cold.
“It is the last kindness I intend to offer.”
Evelyn left.
Arthur locked the door.
Then he called an outside security firm he had used during international acquisitions.
“I need six people,” he said.
“Armed?”
“No. Quiet.”
“For what?”
“My banquet.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
He gave instructions.
Nobody was to know.
Especially hotel security.
At 10:30 a.m., Arthur left the suite for a board rehearsal.
A housekeeping attendant entered seven minutes later.
At least, the woman wore a housekeeping uniform.
She opened Arthur’s desk with a copied key.
Searched the drawers.
Found the black envelope.
Photographed the payment records.
Then she saw the printed banquet speech.
She photographed that too.
Before leaving, she placed the papers exactly where they had been.
At 10:51 a.m., Evelyn received the photographs.
She read the new speech.
Then she called Malcolm.
“He’s freezing succession.”
“I told you.”
“It happens tonight.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“What about the Carter woman?”
“Still downstairs.”
“And the child?”
“Missing.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“We cannot have a child wandering around the hotel.”
“I have everyone looking.”
“Discreetly.”
“Of course.”
Evelyn looked at Arthur’s rewritten speech again.
“What time is dessert?”
“Eight forty.”
“And Arthur speaks?”
“Eight twenty.”
She thought for several seconds.
“Then the plate needs to be prepared before he enters the ballroom.”
Malcolm hesitated.
“The original packet is gone.”
“What?”
“Simone took it.”
“Then get another from Conrad.”
“He says he only prepared two.”
“And the second?”
“With me.”
Malcolm exhaled.
Evelyn opened her jewelry case.
Beneath a velvet tray sat a small silver packet marked with a blue crown.
May you like
She slipped it into her handbag.
“Then we still have one chance.”
