Deep Waters Read Free Page B

to build a rival freight-handling company here in Seattle. What friends Keyworth had were the type who would disappear the moment they heard that he was in financial trouble. He could not even take satisfaction in his renowned collection of Pacific Islands wood carvings. Elias knew that Keyworth had collected them because of the status they afforded, rather than because of any intrinsic interest they held for him.
    The company was Keyworth’s sole creation. With the monumental arrogance of an ancient pharaoh, he had built his own version of a modern-day pyramid, a storehouse of treasure on which he sat alone.
    But Elias had loosened several of the support stones that sustained the massive weight of the Keyworth pyramid. All he had to do now to ensure that the dark waters of vengeance flowed was to keep the contents of the little envelope secret for a few more weeks.
    All he had to do was walk out of Keyworth’s office right now. It would be so easy.
    â€œYou’ve got five minutes, Winters. Say what you have to say. I’ve got a meeting at eleven-thirty.” Garrick leaned back against his gray leather executive chair. He toyed with the expensive inlaid pen that he held in one beefy hand.
    The hand did not go well with the elegant pen, Elias thought. For that matter, Garrick Keyworth did not go very well with his own office. He clashed with the sophisticated ambience the designer had created.
    He was in his mid-fifties, a bulky, burly figure in a hand-tailored suit that could not camouflage the thickness of his neck.
    Elias met Garrick’s shrewd, predatory gaze. It would be such a simple matter to bring him down, now that every piece on the chessboard was in place.
    â€œI don’t need five minutes,” Elias said. “One or two should do it.”
    â€œWhat the hell is that supposed to mean? Damn it, Winters, stop wasting my time. The only reason I agreed to see you is because of your reputation.”
    â€œYou know who I am?”
    â€œHell, yes.” Garrick tossed aside the pen. “You’re a major player in the Pacific Rim trade. Everyone here in Seattle who is in the international market knows that. You’ve got contacts, and you’ve got the inside track in a lot of places out in the Pacific where no one else can get a toehold. I know you’ve made akilling consulting for off-shore investors.” Garrick squinted slightly. “And word has it that you’re also a little weird.”
    â€œThat pretty well sums up my life.” Elias got to his feet. He set the envelope carefully down on top of the polished surface of the wide desk. “Take a look inside. I think you’ll find the contents—” He paused, savoring the next word with bleak amusement. “Enlightening.”
    Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward the door. The knowledge that Hayden Stone had been right closed around him like the icy waters of a bottomless lake. Years had been wasted. Years that could never be recovered.
    â€œWhat is this?” Garrick roared just as Elias reached the door. “What game are you playing? You claimed you had something important that you had to tell me about my Pacific business operations.”
    â€œIt’s all in the envelope.”
    â€œGoddamn it, people are right when they say you’re strange.”
    Elias heard the sound of tearing paper. He glanced back over his shoulder and watched as Garrick yanked the five-page document out of the envelope. “There’s just one thing I’d like to know.”
    Garrick ignored him. He scowled at the first page of the report. Anger and bewilderment twisted his broad features. “What do you know about my business relationship with Kroy and Ziller?”
    â€œEverything,” Elias said. He knew that Keyworth had not yet realized the import of what he held in his hand, but it wouldn’t take him long.
    â€œThis is confidential information, by God.”