Echoes of Titanic

by Mindy Starns Clark

  She ended up making her way to the half bath, her best choice for privacy, just as her brother answered the phone.

  “Kels? Hey. What’s up?”

  “Quick question. Do you have a sec?”

  “Sure, but not much more than that. Tiff and I are about to play racquetball, and we only have the court from two thirty to three thirty.”

  Kelsey glanced at the clock on the wall, not surprised to see that it was two thirty-five. Matt was running late, as usual, a bad habit that had only grown worse since he’d started dating Tiffany—who was even more punctuality-challenged than he was.

  “This’ll be fast. As you know, I’ve been looking into things with B & T and with Gloria’s death. Something a little odd has come up, and I wanted to ask you what it was about.”

  “Okay.”

  Kelsey took a deep breath, sick to her stomach that she even had to ask such a question. “I managed to get a copy of Gloria’s telephone log, and I see that the two of you had a flurry of phone calls back and forth in the two weeks prior to her death.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So I was just wondering what that was about. I’ve been trying to understand her mind-set and her various activities there at the end and all.” She closed her eyes, telling herself it was only half a lie. She did want to understand about Gloria, but she also needed to know what Matt’s connection was.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t give her an answer she wanted. Rather than freely coming out with an explanation, his voice sounded tight as he said, “Yeah, well, I can tell you all about that later.”

  “It would be a lot easier if you could just tell me now,” she replied, trying to keep her own voice even and light.

  In the background, she could hear a woman speaking, and then Matt said, “Look, Kels, I gotta go. I’ll call you back when I get home in a couple hours.”

  In a couple of hours she would be deeply embroiled in business matters at B & T. “Matt, really, this is more important than you think. Can’t you just give me the quick version now and go into more detail later?”

  “All right, then. Thanks for calling. Got to run for now. Bye.”

  With that, he hung up. What on earth? She held out her phone to look at its face, to verify that their call had actually been disconnected. Sure enough, her little brother had hung up on her. And as hard as that was to comprehend, it was harder still having to go back out there and tell Cole what had just happened.

  With a deep breath, she tucked the phone away in her pocket and returned to the main living area.

  “Well?” Cole asked. “Were you able to reach him?”

  Turning away so he couldn’t see her face, she headed over to the couch and began cleaning up the mess she’d made. “Yeah, but he was just heading into a racquetball game and couldn’t talk. He’s going to call me back later, once he’s done.”

  If Cole realized she wasn’t giving him the full story, he didn’t show it. Instead, he asked her to come take a look at his computer. When she did, he gestured toward an email that was up on his screen. “This just came from Flash.”

  Kelsey quickly scanned the note, which read:

  You’re right, boss, things totally don’t add up here. I’m even picking up a whiff of Ponzi. You?

  “I don’t understand,” Kelsey said, returning to the task of straightening. “What’s he talking about?”

  Cole hesitated momentarily before speaking. “I sent him the numbers from Strahan Realty Trust and asked him to look them over. He came to the same conclusion I did.”

  “Which is?”

  He took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “That Lou’s company looks like it could be a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Frankly, we’re both concerned he has a kind of a Ponzi scheme going on over there.”

  Kelsey spun around, angry with Cole for impugning the integrity of yet another of her loved ones.

  “A Ponzi scheme? The man is offering thirty million dollars for my company. Where do you think that money’s coming from? Is he going to pull it from a hat?”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “I’m just saying that his financials are looking very fishy.”

  “And yet I’ve been getting regular dividends—healthy dividends—from him for several years. How do you explain that?”

  “You know how a Ponzi scheme works, Kelsey. Of course he’s paying out dividends. That’s how he keeps up the facade. But his corporate structure is all wrong. I’m afraid the money you’re seeing may not be an actual return on investment at all. I think he may just have been bringing in new investors and using their money to make payouts to old investors. Classic Ponzi—and then it all comes crashing down.”

  Kelsey shook her head. “Look, Cole, I know Lou is a little slick, but that’s just his way. When you get down to it, he’s a sharp guy and a born salesman. If things over there look a little investment-heavy, I’m sure that’s just because he’s so good at sharing his vision and bringing other people in on it.”

  “The numbers don’t lie, Kelsey. I know a pyramid when I see one.”

  “Oh? Like you know a good investment when you see one?”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them with all her heart—but it was too late to take them back. From the look on his face, he knew exactly what she was saying: Cole Thornton didn’t always know a good thing when he saw it. Worse, if that particular offer was indicative of his skills, he didn’t have the instincts their line of work required.

  “Wow,” he said, rising and moving into the kitchen area. “And here I thought that apology of yours today was sincere.”

  Cole filled his glass with water from the fridge, his jaw tight, veins bulging in his neck. Kelsey knew his expression well, and she could feel the situation spinning out of control. Forcing herself to sound calm, she stepped forward and spoke.

  “Cole, look, I’m sorry it came out that way just now. I really am. But if we could talk about this rationally—”

  “Rationally? I think I left rational behind on Wednesday when I decided to give you a call.”

  “Stop. Please. Don’t say something you’ll regret.”

  He dumped his water back into the sink, the liquid splashing over the sides. “Regret being the operative word here. Do we really want to talk about regrets? Because right now I’m starting to regret an awful lot.”

  She blinked, willing herself not to cry. “Please don’t do this,” she whispered.

  Ignoring the spilled water, palms flat against the counter, Cole met her eyes and said grimly, “Do you have any idea what all of that did to me back then?”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Do you have a clue how long it took me to get over you and go on with my life?”

  “Please, Cole, let me talk. Yes, I know I hurt you. Yes, I deeply regret all of it. But if you put everything else aside and just look at the facts of the situation, you have to agree that your offer to Lou back then was not a good one. The man was a known entity with a proven track record—a friend and former coworker, no less. He had a top-notch business plan. He had, what, something like five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of client commitments? The man was even putting up almost a million dollars of his own money. And yet you came at him with an offer so low it was an insult. Give me a break, Cole. He was opening up a realty trust, not a Popsicle cart! B & T’s reputation has always been about building people up and helping them succeed, not insulting them and taking advantage of them. Lou was deeply offended by your offer. We would have lost his business entirely if I hadn’t stepped in when I did.”

  Cole ground his teeth. “You’re confused about the actual numbers, Kelsey, but whatever. I stand by my offer. It was right in line with my analysis. Yours is the offer that was ridiculous—not to mention out of line with the rest of B & T’s reputation for being wise and conservative investors. There was nothing remotely conservative about what you gave him. Your risk factor was way too high. Frankly, I think you let your friendship with Lou cloud your judgment. Just be
cause someone’s a trusted coworker and friend doesn’t mean you should invest with blinders on.”

  Kelsey gasped. “Blinders? That’s not how I do business ever—friend or not. The cold, hard truth here is that your research was insufficient. You didn’t do a proper analysis of the potential. Five hundred thousand in client commitments, Cole. A million dollars of his own money. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

  He shook his head. “First of all, review your facts and stop exaggerating. It was more like a hundred thousand in client agreements, and his personal investment was nowhere near half a million. His was a high-risk case, and if you didn’t recognize that, then your research was insufficient.”

  Her head began to throb. “Fine, whatever. I don’t remember the exact specifics right now, but the truth is that when all was said and done, in light of those facts my offer made a lot more sense than yours did. I know I went about things totally the wrong way, and I take full responsibility for that, but you have to admit that you weren’t completely without blame. If you can’t do a proper investment analysis, Cole, you shouldn’t even be in the business.”

  With that the room fell silent. Kelsey hated the turn their discussion had taken, but at least she’d finally said what she’d been wanting to say for five years. If only she could have done so in a less emotionally charged moment. Now it was almost time to head over to B & T to meet with Lou, and she’d never felt so unready for anything in her life.

  “Where do we go from here?” she asked softly. “Are you done with me now, or are you still in my court?”

  He didn’t answer right away, and that was all she needed to hear.

  “Never mind,” she said. “I’ve obviously taken up enough of your time. Thank you for your help. I’ll be sure and let you know how things turn out.”

  Walking stiffly to the couch, Kelsey gathered up her papers and shoved them in her purse. “I’ll see myself out,” she told him, hoping he would try and stop her, but he didn’t move, didn’t reply.

  So that’s exactly what she did.

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-FIVE

  April 14, 1912

  ADELE

  Adele felt an odd shudder, the water in the basin sloshing from side to side. The sensation didn’t last long, so after a moment she went back to washing her face, wondering if something had gone wrong with the ship’s engine or perhaps its propeller. Either way, everything seemed fine now. She patted her face with a towel, straightened the basin area, and climbed into bed.

  Even though her body was tired, her mind was wide awake, so she pulled out the book she had been reading and turned to the page where she’d left off. After a while, however, she was distracted from that pursuit when she realized that something was wrong. Looking around the room, she tried to decide what it was.

  Nothingness.

  It was nothingness. Used to the constant hum of the ship’s engine and the vibrations and propulsions of a vessel cutting through an open sea, she suddenly felt as if all was quiet and still. Someone had turned the ship off.

  More curious than alarmed, she went back to her reading but soon heard a commotion outside her stateroom. She got up, donned her robe, and opened the door to peer out into the corridor to see what was happening. Other passengers, some in their nightclothes, were emerging from their rooms, and a small group nearby was speaking with a cabin steward. From what she could gather, it sounded as if the ship had either lost a screw from the propeller or had somehow collided with some other vessel.

  Adele wanted to know more. She closed her door and hastily changed from her nightclothes back into the dress she’d worn earlier in the evening. She wished Jocelyn were here. This was not a good time to be separated.

  There was a knock at the door, and she opened it to see Uncle Rowan standing in the hallway speaking to the cabin steward.

  “I’ll see to it that they respond,” Rowan told him, gesturing toward Adele.

  “Thank you, sir,” the man replied, moving along.

  Leaning forward to watch, Adele saw that he was going room to room, knocking on doors and asking that passengers don their life vests and head to the boat deck, “Just as a precaution.”

  Eyes wide, Adele looked to Rowan for an explanation.

  “Where is Jocelyn?” he said, moving into the room and looking around.

  “She…she went up to her favorite sitting area at the top of the aft stairwell. She’ll be back shortly.” Adele could hear the commotion out in the hallways begin to increase. She looked at her uncle with some concern. “What is going on?”

  “It appears that the ship has grazed an iceberg,” Rowan replied, his expression grave. “They stopped the vessel so the engineers could assess the damage. Our purser has asked that we put on our life vests and go to the boat deck. Once we are given the all clear, we will be allowed to return to our rooms.”

  “So should we go now or wait until Jocelyn returns?”

  He thought for a moment. “I need to go to the purser’s office first and retrieve our valuables. Hopefully, she will have returned by the time I get back.”

  Adele nodded, praying it would be so. “I’ll prepare the life vests for wear,” she told him.

  “Dress warmly first, and then put on the life vest over your coat. Bring your hat and hand muff too. It’s bitterly cold outside tonight. I’ll be back soon.”

  He opened the door and walked out, and as he did Adele could hear the increased noise level of the corridor.

  Where was Jocelyn? Was she on her way back?

  Feeling deeply unsettled, Adele decided to go and retrieve her. She rushed from the cabin but was stopped by a steward, who told her to don her life vest first.

  “But I’m just going—”

  “All passengers in life vests,” he repeated sternly, so she returned to the room and quickly threw it on, still fastening it as she made her way through the crowds clogging the halls and the stairs, trying to get up to the place where she knew Jocelyn would be. The vest was bulky and cumbersome and felt quite uncomfortable, but Adele realized that nearly every person she passed was wearing theirs as well.

  Despite the urgency, her trip was slow going. There were just so many people in the way. As she moved up the steps, she could tell that most of them had no idea what was going on. At every level, people were just standing around, wondering what they were supposed to do or where they were supposed to go. Others were grumbling and complaining about the lateness of the hour or the coldness of the night. Most were calm, but some seemed frantic. There seemed to be no order or reason, but at least there was no general panic. She pushed her way past as many people as she could until she reached the sitting area at the top landing.

  Jocelyn wasn’t there.

  Opening the door to the outside deck, Adele pushed her way into the cold night. Her heart filled with joy as she finally spotted her cousin, off on the far side of the promenade beside a young man. They were both facing away from her, leaning over the rail, looking toward the bow of the ship. As she got closer, she saw the young man slip an arm around Jocelyn’s waist, and in response Jocelyn looked up at him and smiled.

  Things with this fellow were further along than Adele had realized!

  Just as she was about to call out to her, the young man turned and Adele saw his face. The sight hit her like a punch to the stomach.

  Tad.

  The young man Jocelyn had met up with tonight was Tad.

  CHAPTER

  FORTY-SIX

  Kelsey walked away from Cole’s building in a daze, her feet pounding rhythmically against the pavement. Despite what had happened, she felt oddly calm and subdued, and she supposed that the full impact of the scene she’d just been through would hit her later. For now, she was simply numb—numb and empty and sad. Poor Cole. Poor her. As much as it felt as though the two of them were soul mates, it was clear they were not meant to be. Perhaps at some point they could revisit the situation one last time, just to make some final peace about it, but any hopes she’d
had of Cole coming back into her life in a significant way were now gone. Maybe it was good that this had happened how it did and when it did. That ripping Band-Aid was a killer, but it was still preferable to the torturous alternative of a longer, more excruciating split.

  Cole’s new place was only about half a mile from Kelsey’s own apartment, and once she was out on the street, heading down West Broadway toward Vesey, she considered running home to fix herself up and change into something nicer before going over to the office. After all, she would be addressing B & T’s board of directors later this evening.

  Then again, she thought as she checked her phone, it was nearly three o’clock, and the meeting with Lou and Walter would be starting at four. If she wanted to be ready in time, she needed to get on over there now. In the long run, if she couldn’t save her company, what difference did it make whether she was in jeans or a suit tonight anyway? Decision made, when she reached Vesey Street, she turned left, went one block and turned right on Church to angle her way down to Brennan & Tate.

  As she went, she tried to regroup now that she would be heading into this situation alone, with no Cole-the-money-guy at her side, running the numbers and serving as her wingman. While she might not have his mathematical skills, she knew she’d be okay. She was far more savvy about investments, after all, and probably contracts too. The hardest part wasn’t going into this alone. It was grasping the fact that for the first time in her experience, B & T was going to be sitting on the other side of a deal—the “for sale” side. That thought simply broke her heart.

  If only she could locate the bonds!

  At least she had a little time left. Whatever details were hammered out this afternoon, and regardless of any decisions made tonight, the sale itself would not go through until next week at the earliest. In the meantime, she would take an extremely close look at Strahan Realty Trust. Though she doubted it with every fiber of her being, Kelsey had to acknowledge there was at least a slight chance Cole and Flash were right about Lou’s company being set up like some sort of Ponzi scheme.