The Tenth Justice - Brad Meltzer [106]
Smiling, Ben pulled a legal pad from the corner of his desk. “I think our only option is to make a list of people Rick might approach at Grinnell and Associates.”
“I can take care of that,” Lisa said. “I’m pretty sure the Clerk’s Office keeps a record of every party’s ownership interests. That should give us a likely list of possible sellers. If we keep an eye on those individuals, we’ll know when Rick makes his move.”
“We don’t even have to keep an eye on them,” Ben said, clearing his computer screen for a new search. “Lexis has its own public records database. All real estate transactions and deed transfers have to be reported to the county clerk’s office. If we have the names of the sellers, we should be able to track them directly from here.”
“Perfect,” Lisa said. “I’ll be back with the names.”
As Lisa left the office, Ben called out, “By the way, I do trust you!”
“I know,” she shouted back.
When the door closed, Ben pulled his chair toward his desk and dialed the number of the phone company. “Hi, I was wondering if you could help me out. By mistake, my wife threw out all of our phone bills. Since we need them for tax purposes, I was hoping we could get copies of them.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, sir,” the operator said. “I just need your name and phone number.”
“The phone is under my wife’s name: Lisa Schulman.” Ben told the operator Lisa’s phone number and added, “I was also wondering if you could send the bills directly to my accountant, since he needs them as soon as possible.”
“We’re not supposed to—”
“It’s my phone,” Ben said. “It’s just under my wife’s name. If it makes it easier for you, I’d be happy to talk to a supervisor.”
“It should be fine. Let me just make a note of that, and then I’ll need the address.”
After giving the operator Ober’s work address, Ben said, “Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.”
Late that afternoon, Ben stared intently at his computer screen.
“Y’know, you’ll probably go blind if you keep staring like that,” Lisa said.
“I should be so lucky.”
“Stop worrying. You keyed in every name on the ownership papers. If someone sells, you’ll see it change.”
“We’ll never see it,” Ben said, turning away from his computer. “You saw those documents. Grinnell is owned primarily by four limited partnerships, which are owned by eight more limited partnerships, which are owned by sixteen S corporations…”
“We pulled out every name we could find. And if we couldn’t find them, what do you think the chances are that Rick could find them?”
Ben shot Lisa his you-must-be-joking look.
“Okay,” Lisa said, “so Rick could probably find anything. But that doesn’t mean we’re not on the right track.”
“It’s not that I don’t think we’re on the right track,” Ben said. “I just feel like this is a very passive plan. We’re just sitting here and waiting.”
“Well, that’s all we can do now. If you’re so anxious, why don’t you start looking through the Harvard and Michigan yearbooks?”
“What are you talking about?” Ben asked. “They haven’t arrived yet.”
“Yes, they have. I told you earlier that there were two boxes in reception for you.”
“You never said that,” Ben said, rising from his seat.
“I definitely did. When I got back from getting the ownership documents, I told you there were two boxes waiting for you. You were probably too caught up in your computer screen.”
Ben walked to the closet and pulled out his coat. “Rather than bring the yearbooks home to Nathan, I think I’m going to leave them here. I’ll go through them tomorrow.”
“Where are you going now?” Lisa asked, noticing that it wasn’t even five o’clock yet.
“I want to speak to Ober before Nathan gets home. Can you cover for me in case Hollis calls?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
When Ben arrived home, the hum of silence revealed that the house was empty. Taking off his coat and throwing it on the sofa, Ben checked the kitchen, peeked into the first-floor bathroom, and opened the door to the basement. “Is anybody here?” he called out. When he got upstairs, he peeked into Eric’s and Ober’s rooms, as well as