“Why would he do that?”
“It was the only way to get the movie made. He’s been obsessed with it for years.”
“How much?”
“Twenty million.”
“Yikes,” I say. “I assume Tyler’s asked for payment?”
“Of course. But Fred hasn’t paid.”
I cock my head to the side. “Where do you come in? Does he want you to threaten him?”
“That’s not my style.”
“You’re right, you used Guy for that.”
I mean Guy Charles, Connor’s former business partner. They had a falling-out at some point over the last ten years that I never got an explanation for. Not that this is unusual. Connor generally operates on a need-to-know basis.
“Where is Guy, anyway?” I ask. “I haven’t seen him since the funeral.”
“I have no idea,” Connor says. “And good riddance.”
“You ever going to tell me what happened between you?”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “Unlikely.”
“That tracks.” I tap the side of my face, thinking. “So, if it’s not violence, what are you supposed to do exactly?”
“Tyler wants me to track down Fred’s assets so he can seize them.”
“Like in a lawsuit?”
“Yes.”
“And?” I say.
“And what?”
Why is everything always so hard with this guy? Sigh. “Any luck with your investigation?”
“I only started looking into it last week.”
The ferry hits a large wave, rocking us up, then down. My stomach turns with the beginning of seasickness. Or it might just be proximity to Connor.
“How long has he owed the money for?Julius Caesarcame out last year, right?”
“That’s right. But it takes a while to know what the total talliesare going to be. That happened when the accountants closed last year’s books in March.”
“So long before we started filming.”
“Yes.”
“Have you spoken to Fred?”
“Not yet. I thought I’d gather as much information as I could before I confronted him.”
I nod my head slowly. “That’s smart.”