help.”
Snyder hung up and walked to his
window. He looked out over the trees that would soon start changing colors,
and the horizon that was finally free of the thick summer haze that plagued the
DC area. As he gathered his thoughts, he realized that if nothing else, he
knew that there were times when Morningstar had cash flow problems and Ellis
wrote personal checks to cover matters. And there were other times when those
loans were repaid. The specific times when loans were repaid might represent
pivotal events in the history of Morningstar, thought Snyder. Surely, there
would be some useful information in the records from those times. He would
need to see where Morningstar was getting the money to repay the loans. He put
in requests for Morningstar’s financials, so he could key in on dates around
the times when they repaid Ellis. As he waited for those financial documents,
he began to develop a profile on Morningstar.
Snyder printed up large calendars
spanning a period of 10 years and posted them on the walls of his office. In
red ink, he marked up the calendars on dates when Ellis made loans to
Morningstar. In green, he marked those dates when those loans were repaid, and
appended notes where the amount repaid was significantly above the original
amount of the loan. Then he put sticky notes describing headline events in
Morningstar history on the calendars. Headline events included things such as
losses or gains of contracts, alliances, formation or dissolution of
subsidiaries, or public references to activity or its termination in foreign
countries.
One detail quickly jumped out at
Snyder. The loss of the Afghanistan contract was followed immediately by a
large loan from Ellis that was repaid just recently right after the formation
of the subsidiary, Nightwatch Security. Nightwatch immediately secured a large
contract to provide security at ports operated by the shipping company
Helsing-Tilbury. Aren’t these the guys whose whole management staff was
just wiped out in a plane crash? he thought. He put a star on that item as
one to check out once he had financial records.
Chapter 25: To Chicago
John awoke at 5 am, and cursed when
he looked at his clock. He was now aware that he had to be at the airport in a
few hours. The anxiety that knowledge brought prevented him from falling
asleep again. He slowly got up, packed, and made his way to the airport. Half
asleep, he endured the screening gauntlet and walked to his gate with a cup of
coffee and a muffin. He was beyond coffee this morning, but for some reason a
strong cup of coffee too early would put him to sleep. It worked, and he was
asleep before the plane even took off. He only awoke as the plane began its
descent into Chicago on a clear, sunny day. He was close enough to being
rested that adrenaline alone would keep him alert.
On landing at O’Hare airport, John
rented a Toyota Corolla in a bland shade of beige. Bland cars were impossible
to track visually, and that could prove useful. He drove downtown and parked
several blocks from the agreed meeting place. John then sat in Millennium Park
for about an hour, checking for any obvious threats. At 2:00, he watched a
middle-aged man only slightly shorter than himself sit down at the north end of
the patio. The table was set for two, and the man placed a Chicago Cubs hat on
the table. John was not sure if he recognized him from Robbie’s funeral, but
he had not been paying attention. He walked into the restaurant and over to
the table. “Hi, I’m John. Is this spot for me?”
Frank stood and extended his hand.
They shook then Frank motioned for John to sit down. “I’m glad to finally meet
you, John. Robbie often spoke of you, almost like a big brother.”
They made small talk until the
waitress took their orders, when Frank then started to lay his cards on the
table. “Robbie learned something about the shipping containers in
Snyder hung up and walked to his
window. He looked out over the trees that would soon start changing colors,
and the horizon that was finally free of the thick summer haze that plagued the
DC area. As he gathered his thoughts, he realized that if nothing else, he
knew that there were times when Morningstar had cash flow problems and Ellis
wrote personal checks to cover matters. And there were other times when those
loans were repaid. The specific times when loans were repaid might represent
pivotal events in the history of Morningstar, thought Snyder. Surely, there
would be some useful information in the records from those times. He would
need to see where Morningstar was getting the money to repay the loans. He put
in requests for Morningstar’s financials, so he could key in on dates around
the times when they repaid Ellis. As he waited for those financial documents,
he began to develop a profile on Morningstar.
Snyder printed up large calendars
spanning a period of 10 years and posted them on the walls of his office. In
red ink, he marked up the calendars on dates when Ellis made loans to
Morningstar. In green, he marked those dates when those loans were repaid, and
appended notes where the amount repaid was significantly above the original
amount of the loan. Then he put sticky notes describing headline events in
Morningstar history on the calendars. Headline events included things such as
losses or gains of contracts, alliances, formation or dissolution of
subsidiaries, or public references to activity or its termination in foreign
countries.
One detail quickly jumped out at
Snyder. The loss of the Afghanistan contract was followed immediately by a
large loan from Ellis that was repaid just recently right after the formation
of the subsidiary, Nightwatch Security. Nightwatch immediately secured a large
contract to provide security at ports operated by the shipping company
Helsing-Tilbury. Aren’t these the guys whose whole management staff was
just wiped out in a plane crash? he thought. He put a star on that item as
one to check out once he had financial records.
Chapter 25: To Chicago
John awoke at 5 am, and cursed when
he looked at his clock. He was now aware that he had to be at the airport in a
few hours. The anxiety that knowledge brought prevented him from falling
asleep again. He slowly got up, packed, and made his way to the airport. Half
asleep, he endured the screening gauntlet and walked to his gate with a cup of
coffee and a muffin. He was beyond coffee this morning, but for some reason a
strong cup of coffee too early would put him to sleep. It worked, and he was
asleep before the plane even took off. He only awoke as the plane began its
descent into Chicago on a clear, sunny day. He was close enough to being
rested that adrenaline alone would keep him alert.
On landing at O’Hare airport, John
rented a Toyota Corolla in a bland shade of beige. Bland cars were impossible
to track visually, and that could prove useful. He drove downtown and parked
several blocks from the agreed meeting place. John then sat in Millennium Park
for about an hour, checking for any obvious threats. At 2:00, he watched a
middle-aged man only slightly shorter than himself sit down at the north end of
the patio. The table was set for two, and the man placed a Chicago Cubs hat on
the table. John was not sure if he recognized him from Robbie’s funeral, but
he had not been paying attention. He walked into the restaurant and over to
the table. “Hi, I’m John. Is this spot for me?”
Frank stood and extended his hand.
They shook then Frank motioned for John to sit down. “I’m glad to finally meet
you, John. Robbie often spoke of you, almost like a big brother.”
They made small talk until the
waitress took their orders, when Frank then started to lay his cards on the
table. “Robbie learned something about the shipping containers in
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