His name appeared in the seller’s chain of companies, but Robert had never met him directly.
Leon Farrow had assured him that Pike was retired and that the closing documents were routine.
Celia asked whether Leon had represented both sides at any stage.
Robert said he did not know and promised to obtain a complete conflicts review.
I asked how a man could spend millions on a building without knowing who had signed the papers.
He answered with the weary honesty of someone beginning to understand that his expertise had limits.
“I bought the conclusion of a process without inspecting its beginning.”
We spoke for another hour about the condition of the kitchen, unpaid overtime, and the notice protecting employees who helped the review.
I told Robert that Preston had demanded a false statement from me.
He said the company had suspended Preston pending an independent employment investigation.
I asked whether that meant Preston was being punished because his mistake embarrassed a billionaire.
Robert said he hoped it meant managers were being held to standards that should have existed before he arrived.
I told him I would judge that by what happened to the employees still working there.
Before leaving, he looked at my mother’s photograph.
“Samuel said she was difficult to intimidate,” Robert observed.
I smiled despite myself.
“She made me return a library book in a blizzard because I had promised to return it on time.”
Robert laughed, then grew serious.
“Would she have trusted me?” he asked.
I thought about that for a moment.
“She would have asked for the documents,” I answered.
He nodded as if he had received a useful instruction.
After the door closed, Celia opened the pastry bag.
The pastries were beautiful and probably expensive.
We ate them while making a list of questions Robert had not answered.
That list mattered more than the visit itself.
Chapter 12: The Missing Minutes
The county archive occupied the lower floor of a building whose windows never opened.
A clerk named Donna Lee helped us search old corporate filings without pretending she could interpret their legal effect.
She showed Naomi how to request copies of the nonprofit trust’s annual statements and amendments.
The original agreement described a worker-elected board and a separate property committee.
It also described a reserve fund for employees who became unable to work.
The agreement required public notice of any proposed sale and a recorded vote of eligible members.
In the year Pike claimed the trust dissolved, the public records contained a certificate of dissolution but no complete roster of voters.
