Free FIRE AND ICE by Julie Garwood Page A

why.”
    “I read the company wasn’t making any money. Costs were up and profits were down.”
    “Yes, I read that, too, but that isn’t much of an explanation, now is it? No details were given. No, closing didn’t make any sense to me. The best damned root beer in the United States isn’t making a profit? Hogwash. Why didn’t the company simply hike the price per bottle? I would have paid double, even triple, and most of Chicago would have done the same. Can’t get root beer like Kelly’s anywhere else, can you?”
    Sophie doubted everyone in Chicago loved Kelly’s Root Beer as much as Bitterman did, but she might hurt his feelings if she told him so. For some reason, he was sensitive about his soft drink.
    “No, sir, you can’t get root beer like Kelly’s anywhere else,” she said.
    He smiled because she had agreed with him. “Turns out there’s a whole lot more to the story. The retirement fund for all those loyal employees is gone. Gone,” he repeated, snapping his fingers for emphasis.
    “How is that possible?” she asked. “A pension fund is closely monitored by …”
    He shook his head, stopping her. “It wasn’t a pension fund. It was a retirement fund. Big difference. Kelly was a shrewd businessman, and he wanted to do right by his employees. He hired an investment manager and told his employees that if they wanted to, they could put as much as a third of their monthly paycheck into a retirement fund, and he would match their contribution. An employee puts in a hundred bucks a month; Kelly kicks in a hundred. It was a generous retirement plan and, over the years, had great tax advantages. The investment manager Kelly chose was good, real good, and the fund showed strong growth.”
    “What went wrong?” she asked. A feeling of dread was twisting her stomach into knots.
    “People get old and tired,” he said matter-of-factly “The investment manager was the first to retire, and Kelly chose a man named Kevin Devoe to replace him. He was a conservative investor, and the fund continued to grow under his supervision. Initially, that is.
    “Kevin met Tom Kelly’s only child, a daughter named Meredith, at one of the company functions, and they took a shine to each other. Six months later they married. Tom was ill and finally retired. He named Meredith president and left her husband in charge of investments. Don’t know that that was legal, but no one objected at the time.
    “Now here’s where it gets dicey. Two years after Kevin took over as investment manager, he moved the money into another fund. There were three companies in the fund, and all of them were showing remarkable growth. On paper, that is. The numbers were inflated, and Kevin now says the money was invested in what he thought was a reputable stock fund, but now he realizes he wasscammed. He also says no one but Bobby Rose could have pulled this off, and as Kevin’s attorney just stated on television, they have discovered that Bobby owned an interest in one of the companies. He didn’t say what that interest was.”
    “My father is a convenient scapegoat these days.” Bitterman didn’t disagree. “Kevin’s wife filed for divorce a few weeks ago, just before all this came to light.”
    Sophie shook her head. “Don’t tell me they’re blaming my father for that, too.”
    “For the divorce? No, no, of course not.” He picked up a pencil and began to roll it between his fingers. “I mention it because Kevin was eager to turn over his financials to his wife’s attorney, and made sure the press got copies. And guess what? On paper he looks like a pauper. He wants everyone to know that he put most of his own money into the stock fund and that he is as much a victim as the employees.”
    “That’s ridiculous. He chose the fund, didn’t he?” “He sure did, but he insists the numbers were grossly inflated.” “Besides the possibility that my father had an interest in one of the companies, is there any actual proof