Matt & Mariko - A Serialized Novel - 4.18

CHAPTER 4

After Mariko had said goodbye to her father, Matt used his cell to dial the number in Malibu. A woman answered and he told her he'd been asked to call. She asked his name and he told her.

     "Yes, Mr. Ware," she said. "Please come to 42300 Pacific Coast Highway. Can you be here by 2?" He said he could. Then he tried to form a sentence asking if he should bring anything. It was a way to ease into a conversation that could help him find out more about who wanted to meet him and why.

     But the woman hung up quickly and a dial tone was sounding in his ear before he had even finished his question.

     Matt steered the Mustang south on Sunset to the coast. The ocean glowed turquoise, lighter toward the horizon, almost white in the sun. As Pacific Coast Highway rose toward Malibu, the sweeping lawn at Pepperdine climbed up an embankment to Matt's right, a lush bright green carpet under the bright blue sky.

     The driveway leading to 42300 was lined with a dozen towering eucalyptus trees, swaying in the beachside breeze. Matt parked his Mustang on the highway, not wanting to leave a stain from an oil leak in front of the house. As he walked to the front door of the white facade it was opened by a blonde in a bikini.

     "Ron," she called behind her. "Matt's here."

      "Hi," Matt said to her.

      "I'm Morgana," she said. "Ron's waiting for you."

      Ron Ashton had been sitting on the balcony overlooking the waves wash gently up to the sand. He was wearing a white bathrobe and sunglasses and put down his newspaper as he walked into the living room to greet Matt. They stood in the living room and shook  hands.

     "Mi casa es su casa," Ashton told him. "What can I get you?"

     "Whatever you're having," Matt responded.

     "Carlo," Ashton called out behind him. "Couple of espressos. And bring out the arrangement."

     He turned to Matt and invited him into his office, where they sat. Ashton placed himself behind his big dark desk and Matt was in a chrome-plated designer chair facing him.

    Carlo wheeled in a cart holding an espresso machine. It looked like the one at Yamura's place. Then he brought in a huge floral arrangement _ tulips and roses crowned by three bird-of-paradise blooms. He placed the flowers on a coffee table off to the side of the desk and served Ashton and Matt the espressos.

    "This is a nice house," Matt offered as a compliment. "Have you lived here long?"

    "Just since the New Year," Ashton said. "I think I should name it. A lot of the houses around here have names. Any ideas?"

     "La maison des mystères?" Matt suggested.

     Ashton looked at him for a moment and laughed.

     "Not bad," he said. "Nothing really mysterious here, though. I need you to do some work for me. And I hear you're out of a job. The timing's perfect. Rico said you were doing good work for him."

     "Until this morning."

     "Well, yeah. But nobody's perfect. The important thing is showing a sense of responsibility. Hard work isn't just its own reward. Some people say I'm lucky. And it could be true. But I found that the harder I worked, the luckier I got."

     Matt reached to the desk and picked up a pen.

     "I wouldn't do that" Ashton said. "It might go off."

     "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean it that way. I just thought if you were going to tell me the secret of your success I should write it down so I don't forget it."

     Ashton stared at him.

     "Keep it," he said, showing the pen with the back of his hand. "You might need it more than I do. Tear gas."

     Matt shrugged, put it in his pocket.

     "Thank you," Matt said. "Shall I ask why you called me here today?"

     "Ah, you called me. Never forget that."

     "Oh, I won't. I've been wondering what would've happened if I didn't."

     "Oh, there was never any question, was there?"

     "Oh, believe me, there was."

     Again, Ashton stopped the conversation and appraised Matt. Matt wondered what Ashton would make of him, but he didn't have time to think about it for long.

     "Reinsuke Yamura," Ashton began immediately. "Ozawatech hired him to arrange the merger. I need to know if it's with Mayanada or PRT."

     "You've got the wrong guy," Matt said, getting up. "I'd make a lousy spy."

     "No, no, no. It isn't spying. Sit down and don't worry."

     Matt sat back down.

     "It's just stock market trading," Ashton said. "I think I know which way this is going. But I want the best information before I place my bet. Like at the track, the guy who talks to the trainer in the morning about how his horse runs on, say, a cold day. Or on moist turf. Yamura's back in town. Just watch him for the next few days, tell me what you see and hear. And bring me something good."

     Matt was dubious.

     "There's no good reason I should do that," Matt said.

     "You could look at it that way. But try looking at it this way: There's no good reason you shouldn't."

     Matt thought to himself: Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. He decided he should find out what was going on.

    "OK," he told Ashton. "Doesn't sound too hard, actually. But what if I don't come up with anything?"

     "Oh, you will. That's why you're here. You will."