An hour later, he hadn’t been able to pick out anything useful. Though it might be worthwhile talking to the couple who’d found the body. And he wanted to go over the crime scene report one more time.
He was just closing the folder when the door swung open and Carly walked in. Surprise widened those big blue eyes. “What are you doing here?” Apparently Donna hadn’t warned her.
Linc stood up from the chair, let himself take a good long look, appreciate the expensive russet suit and high heels—along with the pretty legs and soft curves of the woman beneath the clothes. “You clean up good, Ms. Drake. You’d never know you were a lady trucker.”
She glanced down at herself as if she’d forgotten what she had on. “Thanks. I think.”
“Donna called. She said you’d gotten the case file. I figured it’d be faster if I just took a look before I left town.”
“Oh. Did you find anything?”
“No, but Ross Townsend’s due out at the ranch. I’ll take it out to him, see if he can pick up anything.”
She nodded. “Those are your copies. I didn’t see anything, either.”
He gave her a lingering glance. “So what’s the occasion? Hot date?” It was supposed to be funny, but as the words spilled out, he discovered it wasn’t.
She laughed. “Hot date with a banker and he wasn’t impressed.” She plunked down in her chair and slipped off her heels. “Neither were the other four bankers I talked to in various locations.”
“What’s the problem?”
She looked up at him. “Money. Something you wouldn’t understand.”
“There was a time I understood it plenty. I haven’t forgotten. I take it you were trying to get a loan.”
“That’s right.”
“How much do you need?”
She bent over and massaged a sore foot. It took a strong shot of will not to offer to do it for her.
“If you want the truth, I barely made payroll last week. If I don’t get a loan right away, I can’t come up with enough to write the next round of paychecks.” She straightened. “I thought getting the money would be easy, you know? Joe was never late on a bill in his life. He always repaid his debts. I figured the bank would give me the same opportunity.”
“Unfortunately you aren’t Joe.”
She sighed. “The thing is I know I can rebuild the business. I’ve been making marketing calls. I’ve already picked up one of Joe’s old accounts and signed up a new company we’ve never dealt with before. I just need some time.”
Time was something he could give her. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you the loan. I’ll need to see the numbers, but I’ll get you what you need.”
She started shaking her head. “No way. I’m not taking money from you.”
“I’m not offering you money. I’m offering you a loan. I’ll have the necessary papers drawn up and secure the money with a lien against the business, just like the bank would have done.”
She eyed him with a mixture of suspicion and interest. “This would be strictly business, right? Nothing personal. Just a loan backed by Drake Trucking.”
“That’s right.”
“What happens if I can’t repay the money?”
He took his time answering. He wanted her to say yes and she wouldn’t if she thought he wasn’t playing it straight with her. “You don’t pay when the note is due, I take controlling interest in the business.”
Her eyebrows narrowed. She didn’t like that. “If I don’t pay when the note’s due, you take forty percent of the business.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. That’s a deal breaker. You don’t cut it,I take over. You’d still own forty-nine percent, but you wouldn’t run things. You want the money or not?”
She sighed. He had her; he could see it. “I don’t have any choice. I’ll have Donna make you a copy of the P&L I took to the bank, along with a list of assets.”
He thought about the company’s financial problems. “I’d also like to have my people look at your accounting records, make sure there aren’t any unforeseen problems.” Now was his chance to figure out how Joe had gotten the company into so much debt.
