“Can we begin signing now?” Glenn Wylie asked.
“In just a minute,” Merriman replied. “I have one question. When I was getting up the list of closing papers, I put in a consent from Machikin Bank. We haven’t seen anything on that yet. What do you know about it, Mr. Martin?”
“Nothing. The Schoonmaker people in Tokyo are taking care of it, as Harvey Rawson’s already told you. I checked with Rawson yesterday and he assures me everything’s going forward. But I haven’t seen anything, either.”
“Well, can you be a committee of one to keep after Rawson? The consent’s very important for all the reasons we’ve mentioned and I don’t want it to fall through the crack.”
“Fine,” Martin said, making a penciled note to himself.
Guided by Merriman and Beth Locke, Alan Lovett signed multiple copies of the basic documents on behalf of Applications, as did Harold Lane, as the company’s secretary. He affixed the corporate seal to each, and a young Chase & Ward secretary, who was a notary public, completed the notarial acknowledgments.
“Who signs for your side?” Merriman asked the Wylies.
“Herb and I together,” Glenn Wylie replied. “And Miss Zimmerman, our secretary, will, too.” Merriman began handing the documents across the table to Frank Martin, who hovered over his clients as they signed their names. Skip Wylie, not participating in the process, watched his brothers uneasily.
When the signing was done, and Merriman had exhorted everyone to take—and look at—a copy of her closing memorandum, Herb Wylie spoke up.
“I think we should have a round of applause for Mavis Zimmerman. Today is her sixty-seventh birthday and she was supposed to go to a lunch with the girls from the office. But we made her come here instead.” Herb began clapping and the others in the room dutifully followed. “In fact you’re all invited to lunch and we’ll celebrate Mavis’ birthday in style.”
In the face of Mavis’ lifelong loyalty to On-Line, Alan Lovett couldn’t refuse, in the interest of future labor relations with his about-to-be-acquired new employees. As they headed off for Bellini (Skip Wylie, clearly the high-liver in the family, had already made a reservation), Merriman reflected on the morning. The deal had been signed, even though the three things her client had not wanted to occur had: discussions of the Wylies’ cars and their company apartment, and being trapped for lunch. Oh, well, he still should be happy, she thought; he won all the big things, and certainly none of the details remaining was likely to cause much trouble.
Buy Murder Saves Face Now!
About the Author
Haughton Murphy is the pseudonym of former lawyer James H. Duffy, author of the Reuben Frost Mysteries. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Duffy got his start writing as a part-time and summer reporter for the Daily Times of Watertown, New York, before moving to New York City to practice law. After a number of years as an attorney, Duffy began writing thrillers, eventually retiring to focus on his novels full-time.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1990 by Haughton Murphy
Cover design by Greg Mortimer
ISBN 978-1-5040-2818-9
This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
THE REUBEN FROST MYSTERIES
FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.
Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.
MysteriousPress.com. offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FOLLOW US:
@emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom
MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
The Mysterious Bookshop, founded in 1979, is located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. It is the oldest and largest mystery-specialty bookstore in America.
The shop stocks the finest selection of new mystery hardcovers, paperbacks, and periodicals. It also features a superb collection of signed modern first editions, rare and collectable works, and Sherlock Holmes titles. The bookshop issues a free monthly newsletter highlighting its book clubs, new releases, events, and recently acquired books.
58 Warren Street
[email protected]
(212) 587-1011
Monday through Saturday
11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
FIND OUT MORE AT:
www.mysteriousbookshop.com
FOLLOW US:
@TheMysterious and Facebook.com/MysteriousBookshop
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
Murder Times Two Page 28