The Second Time Around by Mary Higgins Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

want me to sell the company. They were quite unrealistic about its potential future. Neither did they want me to invest most of the proceeds of the sale in this company. Unfortunately, it turns out they were right about that.”
    He explained how he had gotten together with Nicholas Spencer. “It was known that I was looking around for a good investment opportunity. A merger and acquisitions company suggested that I consider making a modest investment in Gen-stone. I met Nick Spencer and was greatly impressed by him, a not uncommon reaction as you may know. He asked me to speak to several top microbiologists, all of whom had impeccable credentials and all of whom told me that, intheir opinion, he was onto something in his search for the vaccine that would both prevent cancer and limit its spread.
    â€œI recognized the possibilities of what Gen-stone could become. Then Nick asked me if I would consider joining him as chairman of the board and co-chief executive officer. My function would be to run the company. His was to be head of research and the public face of the company.”
    â€œBring in other investors,” Don suggested.
    Wallingford smiled grimly. “He was good at that. My modest investment became an almost total commitment of my assets. Nick went to Italy and Switzerland regularly. He let it be known that his scientific knowledge rivaled or exceeded that of many molecular biologists.”
    â€œAny truth at all to that?” Don asked.
    Wallingford shook his head. “He’s smart, but not that smart.”
    He certainly had fooled me, I thought, remembering how Nick Spencer exuded confidence when he told me about the vaccine he was developing.
    I realized where Don Carter was going. He believed that Charles Wallingford had made a mess of his family business, but Nick Spencer had decided he was the perfect image for his company. He looked and sounded like the WASP he was, and he would be easily manipulated. Don’s next question confirmed my analysis.
    â€œMr. Wallingford, wouldn’t you say that your board of directors has a rather uneven mix?”
    â€œI’m not sure I understand you.”
    â€œThey are all from extremely wealthy families, but not one of them has any real business experience.”
    â€œThey are people I knew well and they are on the boards of their own foundations.”
    â€œWhich doesn’t necessarily prove they have the financial acumen to be on the board of a company such as this one.”
    â€œYou won’t find a smarter or more honorable group of people anywhere,” Wallingford said. His tone was suddenly icy, and his face became flushed.
    I really think he was on the verge of throwing us out, but then there was a knock at the door and Dr. Celtavini came in.
    He was a relatively short, conservative-looking man in his late sixties, with a slight Italian accent. He told us that when he agreed to head the Gen-stone lab, he had strongly believed that a vaccine could be developed to prevent cancer. Initially he had some promising results in the offspring of mice with genetic cancer cells, but then problems developed. He had not been able to duplicate those early results. Exhaustive tests and much further work would be needed before any conclusions could safely be drawn.
    â€œThe breakthroughs will come in time,” he said. “There are many workers in the field.”
    â€œWhat is your opinion of Nicholas Spencer?” Ken Page asked.
    Dr. Celtavini’s face went gray. “I put a spotless reputation of forty years in my field on the line when I came to Gen-stone. I am now considered involved in thedownfall of this company. The answer to your question: I despise Nicholas Spencer.”
    *   *   *
    When Ken went back to the lab with Dr. Celtavini, Don and I took off. Don had an appointment with the Gen-stone auditors in Manhattan. I told him I’d meet him at the office later and that I was planning to