It wasn't just that I missed her so badly. I was also worried about her. I couldn't help believing that the pressure of the last couple of weeks had been too much for her. She needed help, and I desperately wanted to give it, instead of being shut out like this.
I tried to call her, of course. But Kelly was an efficient guardian, and I got nowhere. Eventually they stopped picking up the phone. I considered staking out Kelly's apartment in Cambridge in the hope of physically forcing Lisa to talk to me, but I restrained myself. It might just make things worse. There would come a moment when I might do that: perhaps later when she had had a chance to rethink leaving me. Or when I had found out something more about Frank's death.
I felt I was making small progress there. I had been totally unaware of Gil's retirement, and the succession issue at Revere was much more important than I had realized. But I still had a lot more to find out. Once again, I wished I knew what the police had discovered.
My sister phoned. She commiserated with me about Frank, and about Lisa. I didn't tell her about Sergeant Mahoney. She didn't even ask me about the money for the appeal; but I still felt bad about not being able to come up with it. The way things were going, I wasn't inclined to count on Frank's legacy. Not a great weekend.
15
After a businesslike Monday morning meeting, in which Art told us that BioOne was already into Boston Peptides, 'taking names and kicking ass', Diane and I headed off to the airport.
Tetracom was actually located in a suburb a few miles to the south of Cincinnati, over the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. The company had bought and refurbished some old red-brick industrial buildings. From the outside the premises looked nothing like the gleaming high-tech ventures I was used to on Boston's Route 128.
Diane introduced me to the management team, and we were ushered into a shabby office. Diane had been given the tour the week before. The purpose of this session was just to nail down answers to some questions.
Diane asked detailed, difficult questions. She focused on the competition in a much more thorough way than Frank and I had done with Net Cop. The management coped well. The CEO, Bob Hecht, seemed to know both his product and his market inside out. He lacked some of Craig's energy, he was more of a 'corporate man', but he gave an air of supreme competence.
We had dinner with Hecht and his colleagues back at the Cincinnatian Hotel where we were staying. It was a credo of venture capital that you should get to know the management team thoroughly before making an investment. We usually stopped short of interviewing spouses, but it was important to understand the personalities involved.
Hecht had assembled a good team. They all believed in their product, an improved microwave filter that was used in cellular networks, and seemed determined to make it work. As cellular telephony spread around the globe, so did demand for these filters, and Tetracom's appeared to be better and cheaper than what was out there at the moment. And their technology was patented.
Hecht and his team left just before eleven. I was about to go to bed when Diane suggested a drink. We headed for the bar, and I ordered a single malt, Diane a brandy.
'So what do you think of them?' Diane asked.
'The management or the product?'
'Both.'
I gave Diane my analysis, which was that I was impressed, but that I was worried existing companies in the sector might come out with their own new technologies that could match Tetracom's. And, given similar products, customers would always tend to go with the more established supplier. We talked about that for a while, and then Diane asked me the four point seven million dollar question. 'Do you think we should invest?'
No deal was ever perfect, but this was closer than most.
I nodded. 'Provided we can get comfortable with the competition, yes.'
'Good. So do I. We'll do some more research on the competition as soon as we get back. And we can begin putting together an Investment Memorandum.'
Venture capitalists spend so much time saying 'no', it's always satisfying when there is a chance to say 'yes'.
I smiled and raised my glass. 'To Tetracom.'
'To Tetracom.' Diane sipped her brandy. Even though she had been up since six that morning and hadn't had a chance to change, she looked cool and poised in a simple but well-cut black suit. I suspected I looked knackered.
'What do you think about Revere, Simon?' she asked.
I glanced at her, wondering how much to confide in her. I decided to trust her. And I hoped I might find out something about Frank and Art and who was to succeed Gil as head of Revere.
'I'm worried.'
'By what Lynette Mauer said last week?'
'Yes. But I'm not just worried about us losing an investor in our funds. I'm more concerned she might be right.'
'What do you mean?'
'Well, now Frank's gone we've lost the partner with the most consistent track record.'
'What about Gil?'
'Hm.' Once again I glanced at Diane. She was sitting back, relaxed in the comfortable armchair, watching me closely over her brandy. I decided to be open with her. 'I suspect Gil won't be around Revere much longer either.'
She raised her eyebrows. 'How do you know about that?'
I shrugged.
'Do the other associates know?'
'I don't think so. But Lynette Mauer is obviously worried, and I don't blame her. Without both Frank and Gil, Art would run the show. I think I would be concerned about that if I were an investor.'
'What about the other partners?' asked Diane.
'I'm sure you and Ravi will be very successful,' I said. And I think we associates aren't too bad either. But Art is going to dominate things. I just don't trust his judgement.'
Diane frowned, thinking over what I had just said.
'Do you think I'm wrong?' I asked.
Diane took a deep breath. 'No, I don't,' she said. 'In fact it's exactly what I've been thinking about a lot recently'
We were silent for a moment. By saying what she had just said, Diane had implicitly criticized one of her partners in front of an associate, something Gil would definitely have disapproved of. I felt in a strange way honoured by her confidence.
'Tell me, what were relations like between Frank and Art?' I asked her.
She thought for a moment before answering. 'They were always polite to each other. Or at least Frank was always polite to Art. And I never heard him say anything bad about Art behind his back. That's just not the sort of thing he did.'
And Art?'
Art was always polite about Frank, as well. But I think that's because Frank obviously knew what he was talking about, and Art would have gotten nowhere with Gil trying to undermine Frank's judgement. What he did try to do was to ease Frank out of the loop. He would schedule important meetings of the partnership for when Frank couldn't make it, he'd spend a lot of time with the investors, he'd get involved in policy issues and so on.'
'What was Frank's response?'
'Frank let himself be outmanoeuvred. He knew that ultimately he could rely on Gil's support.'
'How long have you known that Gil was planning to retire?' I asked.
'Not long. About six weeks. I don't think Gil had told Art before he told Ravi and me. But I wouldn't have been surprised if Frank had known for a little longer.'
'I see.' I paused before asking my next question. And if Frank was still alive, do you think he would have taken over from Gil?'
'Oh, undoubtedly,' Diane said. 'I think some way would have been found for Art to save face. I don't know, some new title or position or something. But Frank would have taken the important investment decisions.'
'Do you think that was Art's opinion as well?'
'I don't know. He certainly hadn't given up hope. He's been lobbying Gil hard over the last month. It's almost embarrassing really. And I'm sick to death of hearing about BioOne.' Diane laughed. 'Didn't you think that was funny with Ravi on Monday? I swear I thought Art was going to kill him.'