Thin Ice by Nick Wilkshire Page A

them — but the result sure wasn’t of any benefit to Curtis. I spent weeks trying to smooth over Saunders’ fuck-ups. He pissed off just about everyone who was interested in Curtis. I know what you’re thinking — that I swooped in after he’d done all the work — but it wasn’t like that at all.” Avery paused to catch his breath.
    â€œTell us how it was, then,” Marshall said, keen to have Avery continue his venting.
    â€œHe was like this toxic personality or something. He thought he knew what he was doing, going in tough and holding out. But you need a little honey to catch flies and he was all vinegar. He just irritated everyone, plus he had no idea what he was doing. He was generally a disaster. He pissed off this one hockey equipment maker — I’m talking the biggest one in North America, if not the whole world — so bad that it took me months just to get them back at the table. Curtis would have been signed to a huge endorsement deal by now if it wasn’t for Tom Saunders.”
    â€œSo you acknowledge that Saunders was angry in March, when Curtis formally hired you as his agent and effectively cut him out of any fee he might have gotten from his signing?” Marshall asked.
    â€œSure. He called me and started mouthing off, saying he was going to sue me for all he was worth. It was all bullshit, and I knew it. I just let him say his piece.”
    â€œDid he threaten you physically?”
    â€œNo, not really. I mean, the first time he called he was pretty steamed. He’s a real hothead, too — another drawback for dealing in the big leagues. I wouldn’t be surprised if he threatened to do all sorts of stuff, but I never took it seriously. I knew he was just blowing smoke.”
    â€œDid you and Curtis discuss him at all, either before or after you two formally contracted with each other.”
    â€œSure. He told me Saunders just kind of imposed himself on his career ever since he hooked up with Ellen, which is exactly the impression I had. Curtis warned me Saunders’d be pissed off, but to ignore him. He said he’d get over it.”
    â€œDid Curtis say whether Saunders was pissed off at him? Or mention any altercation between them, about him signing you up as his agent?”
    Avery shook his head. “No. Like I said, he told me I could expect him to be pissed, but he didn’t seem concerned himself about Saunders, or mention anything like that.”
    Marshall looked down at his notes. “We’re told Saunders showed up late one night at Curtis’s hotel in Toronto and had a blowout — started screaming at Curtis outside his room. Curtis ever mention that?”
    Avery shook his head. “No. That’s news to me.” His expression changed subtly before he spoke again. “Are you guys thinking Saunders may have done this?”
    Marshall sighed. “Why don’t you let us worry about that, Dan. Right now, we’re just looking for straight answers from you.”
    â€œOf course.”
    Smith glanced at the clock and stifled a yawn. They still had a lot of ground to cover, and he could sense his partner’s irritation.
    â€œWhat about Ritchie’s contract?” he asked. “Why don’t you take us through the details. ”

    Smith sat at a table in the corner while Marshall stood at the bar waiting to order their beers. He had his notebook open, and was tracing over the line between the circle at the centre of the page and the name Ashcroft. Commercial crimes had already connected it to a Delaware LLP that owned a hundred percent of one of the numbered Ontario companies that had issued the cheque to John Ridgeway, and he had a feeling the connection to Gravelle’s cheque was next. It had been almost 9:00 p.m. by the time they had established the link — too late for further inquiries today — but a call to Ashcroft’s head office in DC was the first order