Page 42 of Bad to the Bone
Chapter Twenty-One
“I’Mreally worried, Sam,” Alex admitted at breakfast Wednesday morning. “Unless I can find something else to sway them, I’m afraid the council is going to approve Odell’s bid tomorrow night.”
“You didn’t have any luck digging into Odell’s finances?”
“It sounded easy when Ricky Lee suggested it.” Alex tore off a strip of his cinnamon roll and stared at it gloomily. “I spent every minute I wasn’t working yesterday researching Tillman Motors online, and I don’t know any more than when I started.”
Sam pushed away her empty plate and leaned forward. “What sites did you check?”
“The Better Business Bureau has it listed as an Accredited Business with an A+ rating.”
“No surprise there.” Sam grimaced. “Kenny Waters runs the local BBB, and he’s one of Odell’s good-old-boy golfing buddies.”
“To be fair, there’s no reason to suspect the rating isn’t legitimate,” Alex said. “The comments on the BBB website were mostly favorable. There were only two negative ratings, but they were both complaints about not being able to take a new car home the same day it was purchased. Odell—or whoever responds to complaints for him, since I can’t imagine him handling it personally—answered that they finished up the dealer prep the next day, and both customers were satisfied.”
“I never understood what ‘dealer prep’ has to be done on a brand-new car, but they always tack a big enough charge on there for it, don’t they?”
“So then I tried to find any kind of sales or employment records. Every business has to keep them for official reasons like taxes and unemployment, but they don’t have to be available to the public. A small, privately owned business like Odell’s or mine doesn’t have shareholders, so it doesn’t have to file an annual report to show profit or loss or where money was earned or spent. I tried pulling up the Dun & Bradstreet listing for Tillman Motors—the library has access to the D&B company profile database—but with a small business like Odell’s, the only source D&B has for information is Odell himself, and of course he hasn’t provided any. So there wasn’t anything but the most basic information there, like how long it’s been in business and who the company owner is—stuff I already knew.”
“What about credit reports?” Sam suggested. “Even businesses have credit scores.”
“Yeah, but it’s not something just anyone can access. You need to have a business reason to request a credit report, like making a loan or selling something to the company. And even if I could pull one, I’m not sure it would have any more information than D&B did.”
“Ricky Lee must have a lot of business contacts. Have you asked if he can find out anything?”
“No, and I don’t intend to.” Alex frowned. He’d been tempted to tell Ricky Lee about his lack of success after their run that morning, but something held him back. “I have to do this on my own, Sam. It’s not Ricky Lee’s fight, and I don’t need him to come riding in on a white horse—or a black Harley—and save the day like I’m some damsel he has to rescue from a dragon.”
Sam nodded. “As another nondamsel, I can appreciate that. Do you have any other ideas?”
“One of the articles I found online talked about how hard it is to get information on privately owned companies. It suggested talking with someone else who has a relationship with the business, like an investor, banker, or accountant.”
“I can’t see anyone at First National of Freeland giving you a peek at Odell’s bank balance.”
“No, but I may know someone who can.” When Sam raised an eyebrow, Alex continued, “Willis Hembree. He’s on the town council, but he’s also an accountant, and knowing how badly Odell struggled with math in high school, I’d be willing to bet he does Odell’s bookkeeping.”
“Do you think he’ll tell you anything?”
“I won’t know unless I ask.”
“I’ll see if I can find out anything from my sources too.” Sam stood and clapped Alex on the back. “Good hunting, partner.”
WILLISHembree’s office was a small storefront just down the street from the town hall. A short, balding man in his late sixties, Willis had run the town’s only accounting firm for as long as Alex could remember. After Alex’s father died, Hembree Associates had tried to solicit Morrison Hardware’s business, but Alex’s mother had always kept the company books, and by the time she passed away, Alanna was back from college to take them over. The accounting firm had been a two-man business at that time, but the second partner, Charles Adair, had passed away the previous year, and judging by the empty desk next to Willis’s when he walked in, Alex guessed he hadn’t found a replacement.
“Good afternoon, Alex.” Willis rose to offer a handshake. “Please, take a seat. How can I serve you and Morrison Hardware?”
“I’m not actually here for myself,” Alex said a bit hesitantly. Asking Willis for help was his last resort, and now that he was here, he wasn’t sure how to begin. “I’m sure you know the vote is coming up at tomorrow night’s council meeting on Odell Tillman’s bid to buy the land the library sits on.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Some questions have been raised”—Alex hoped Willis wouldn’t ask by whom—“concerning Odell’s ability to finance the proposal, should it be approved. As his accountant, I was hoping you could answer some of them.”
Willis frowned. “What type of questions?”
Alex breathed an internal sigh of relief.At least he didn’t deny he’s Odell’s accountant or throw me out of the office immediately.“Car sales nationally have been dropping, and yet Odell is planning to expand his business. Have Tillman Motors’ current sales been high enough that he can project so much additional demand?”
The older man didn’t answer, so Alex went on. “I don’t mean to sound impolite, but Odell’s personal expenditures are no secret. He built that big new house with the swimming pool last year, plus all Brittany’s spending, not to mention what he must be paying in alimony to his ex-wives—well, people are wondering whether he really has the funds necessary to complete the purchase.”
“I really can’t discuss Mr. Tillman’s personal or business finances,” Willis said, though Alex thought he looked troubled.
