He understood that too, for he was smiling as I walked through the door. ‘Christ, Primavera,’ he chuckled. ‘You haven’t changed a bit, and before you ask again, the answers are, no, I’m not, and no, the wife never did find out. Look,’ he continued, ‘I’m sorry I can’t walk away from this engagement, but I can’t and that’s an end of it. What is it, quickly?’
I took from my bag the documents that Susie had sent me, the one specifying the changes she wanted to make to her will, and the other instructing that the children’s trust be set up. Finally, I let him see my power of attorney.
He scanned them for a couple of minutes, then looked up. ‘Fuck it,’ he murmured.
‘I take it that does not mean good news,’ I said.
‘No, it doesn’t.’ He handed me back the will paper. ‘Susie’s wishes are quite clear in there; there’s no doubt about what she wanted to do. The wasp in the embrocation is that she’s no longer alive, so she can’t enact them.’ He looked at me, and I could see sympathy in his eyes. ‘Susie wasn’t herself when she did that, I can tell.’
‘She meant every word of it, Greg,’ I protested.
‘I know that. I just acknowledged that, didn’t I? What I meant was that she must have been confused, or drugged or whatever, for the Susie I knew would have realised that if she’d just got Audrey Kent, or anyone else, to date and witness what’s written there, then I would have accepted it as a codicil to her existing will. But she didn’t, and so I can’t. That will must stand as it was written. It would survive any challenge in court. And if you did try to overturn it, I’d be the guy who had to defend against you, for the moment that Susie died, I became her executor.’
I frowned. ‘Understood.’ I couldn’t argue, for I could see that he was right. ‘Greg, Susie told me some of what was in the will, so my next question is how do you interpret it, given that Oz is named in it, and he’s dead?’
‘But you’re wrong,’ he exclaimed, ‘she didn’t name him. The will refers to “my surviving spouse” as the children’s guardian. When she died, she was married to Duncan Culshaw; I’ve seen the marriage certificate and it’s legal. I know this for sure because a guy I know got hitched in Vegas, and he made very sure of that before he did.’
That was a blow, but I pressed on. ‘She also told me who would inherit her shares in the company: all three kids, Tom included. Are you telling me that my son is now under the guardianship of that man Culshaw?’
He shook his head, firmly. ‘No, I’m not. Susie drafted her will at a time when Oz had custody of young Tom, but clearly she anticipated a situation in which that might change, for the will specifies that during his minority, his interests will be under the curatorship of his legal guardian at the time of her death. That will give you some relief.’
I did a very quick piece of mental arithmetic. ‘A little,’ I agreed, ‘but it doesn’t remove my concern. Susie owned sixty per cent of the Gantry Group shares, meaning twenty per cent goes to each child. But have you forgotten Oz’s will? He owned eighteen per cent, and that is also split three ways. So that gives Janet and wee Jonathan a total of twenty-six per cent each. Twenty-six times two equals fifty-two per cent, and that equals a controlling shareholding when under the guidance of one person. Susie might have been addled over the will changes, but when she instructed me to set up the children’s trust, she knew exactly what she was doing and why. Can I go ahead with that, even though she’s dead?’
Greg let out another industrial-strength sigh. ‘You might be able to,’ he said. ‘I could see an outside possibility that you might, but you’d have to go to court to do it. And it would take time,’ he added.
‘Longer than it would take to hold a company EGM?’
He frowned. ‘That’s not a hypothetical question, is it?’
‘No.’
‘Then it would take much longer, and until the court said otherwise Culshaw would be able to vote the children’s shares as he chose. To be honest, I don’t really believe the court would say otherwise, but you can only try.’
‘Could you represent me?’
‘Not a hope, chum. Susie’s surviving spouse, i.e. Culshaw, would most certainly contest you. As the executor I have to be neutral, so you’d need to get yourself another lawyer.’
‘How about Wylie Smith?’
‘He’s good enough, but he’s too close. He’s a partner in my firm, and there’s the greater complication for him that he’s company secretary of the Gantry Group. He’d probably have to give up that position if he acted for you in such a matter, and frankly, that’s not business I’d want my firm to lose.’
‘I see,’ I murmured. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Sure, but if I gave you a couple and things went against you, you could wind up blaming me, and I wouldn’t want that to happen.’ He paused. ‘You really don’t like this man Culshaw, do you?’
‘That obvious, eh?’
‘Rather.’
‘I have good reason to dislike him. What I can’t understand is why he’s been targeting me so specifically, and Tom for that matter. I’m in no doubt that he’ll kick me out as chair, given the chance. His uncle seems to be my enemy on the board. He’s calling the EGM and he’ll have his nephew’s support.’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t help you there either, for I don’t know. I can see why you would hate his guts, but … let me give you one single piece of legal advice.’
‘What?’
‘If you do take this to court, don’t make it personal.’
‘I’ll do my best, Greg. Thanks for being so frank.’ We shook hands, and he turned to return to the restaurant. ‘Hey,’ I called after him. ‘Who’s your lunch date, by the way?’
‘I can’t tell you that, honestly,’ he replied.
But he didn’t have to. I couldn’t see all the restaurant’s dining area from where I stood but did have a view of a wall mirror, halfway along. As I took a single step to my left, the reflection changed, and I saw, sitting along at a table set for two, a profile that I recognised: that of Duncan Culshaw.
I stepped outside to rejoin Wylie and did some thinking. Culshaw must have caught the first flight out of Nice to get to Glasgow in time for a meeting with Greg, but was he going straight back there? I doubted that; there’s no direct route between the two cities and four flights in a day would have been pushing it. I’d have loved to follow him, just out of interest, to see whether he and Uncle Phil met up, but that wasn’t possible; Fabricant was my priority. But …
I dug out my mobile and called Liam. When he answered after a few seconds, his voice sounded different from the one I’d come to know. ‘Where are you?’ I asked.
‘Burger King,’ he replied, more clearly. ‘You caught me mid-bite.’
‘Burger King,’ I repeated. ‘You?’
‘Mine’s a veggie; Tom’s reducing the animal population.’
‘Are you almost finished? If so, I’ve got a game the two of you might like to play.’
‘Sounds good. What does it involve?’
‘A little sleuthing.’ I explained where I was, and who was inside the restaurant. ‘How would you and Tom like to tail him when he leaves?’
He laughed. ‘That sounds like fun, but how exactly?’
‘I’ve got a hire car parked at the hotel; you can pick it up and park outside. You’ll need it, for I can’t see him walking anywhere.’
‘Are you sure you want Tom involved in this?’
‘As long as he’s with you, what’s the problem? Besides, you’ll need him; he knows what Culshaw looks like, you don’t.’
‘True,’ he conceded. ‘But why can’t you do it?’
‘Frying other fish,’ I told him. ‘My company secretary and I have to go to Edinburgh to corner somebody else. We’ll take the train.’
‘Okay,’ Liam said, cheerfully. ‘Hey, Tom,’ I heard him call, ‘d’you fancy playing detective, like your old man used to?’ I head a muffled reply. ‘He says yes. Bad guys beware: the A Team is mobilised and coming to getcha.’