Deadly Dining, Page 4
William Manchee
Chapter 4
Stan Turner
Stan felt a little uneasy leaving for work. Terry Morris, an RN and friend Rebekah had worked with at the county hospital in McKinney, had stayed with her the first day she was home. But today she’d be alone and Stan didn’t think she was a hundred percent yet. He offered to stay home with her but she insisted he go to work and quit treating her like an invalid. When he got to the office Maria advised him that Ram was there and he’d given her ten thousand dollars in cash. Stan was pleasantly surprised with the news. He told her to wait five minutes so he could to get some coffee and then send Ram in. Five minutes later Maria escorted Ram into his office.
“So, you were successful raising the money.”
“Yes, we sold all my wife’s jewelry. It was worth nearly a hundred thousand dollars but the pawnbrokers don’t pay much for fine jewelry.”
“Oh. Jeeze. I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“It’s no matter. I have ninety days to buy it back.”
“Right. At 971% interest.”
“Something like that,” Ram agreed.
“Well, I doubt you’ll be able to pay it back in 90 days. Chapter 11s take time.”
“Don’t worry. We would rather be in America with no jewelry than in Pakistan with a thousand jewels.”
Stan nodded. “Okay. Do you have the list of all your creditors?”
“Yes, right here,” Ram said and handed Stan a long list.
“And all your contracts and leases?”
“Yes, and I have my bank statements and tax returns just like you asked.”
Stan turned to his computer and started the bankruptcy program. Luckily the computer put all the information in the proper place. In the old days Jodie had to type all the schedules by hand. It was a total nightmare because mistakes were often made, or clients would come up with new information which required everything to be typed over. “Okay, I’m going to ask you a lot of questions. Information that will need to go into your bankruptcy schedules and statement of affairs. Then we’ll have to do a business budget and from that I’ll do some projections of future revenue and expenses.”
Ram sighed. “Alright, whatever you need.”
Stan and Ram spent the next hour inputting his bankruptcy information into the computer. When they were done they discussed what would happen once the case was filed.
“About a week after we file we have to meet with a representative of the U.S. Trustee’s office. They want to be sure you understand all the Chapter 11 rules. They will be monitoring your case so it’s important to do everything correctly.”
“What rules?”
“Well you have to keep accurate books and records and file a financial report each month. To be successful in bankruptcy you have to prove feasibility. That means you have to convince the trustee and the bankruptcy judge that your plan will work and the business can operate profitably in the future.”
“How do you do that?”
“By making a profit each month once you file your case. And the profit has to be enough to pay all of your secured and priority debt and a portion of your unsecured debt.”
“What if it’s not profitable?” Ram asked warily.
“Then your case will be dismissed or converted to Chapter 7. So, you have to make a profit from now on.”
“I hope I can, but I don’t know.”
“Well, the key is keeping your sales stable. You can always cut expenses to create a profit. How have your grocery sales been?”
“They are about $80,000 per month.”
“And has that changed much since you bought into the store?”
“No.”
“Then we just have to come up with a reasonable budget. Does Sammy take any salary out of the business?”
“Yes, three thousand a month.”
“Well, since he’s not working in the business anymore that will have to stop.”
“He’ll be very mad if I don’t send him his check.”
“Too bad. If you don’t work you don’t get paid. How much do you take out?”
“The same, three thousand and my wife gets fifteen hundred.”
“Okay, that seems reasonable since you both work in the business. But the savings from cutting Sammy’s salary will go to profit and be available to fund your plan. You will have to keep all your bills current from now on. The trustee won’t let you run up any new debt. But the old stuff can be paid out over time.”
When it was time to break for lunch Stan and Ram had completed most everything they needed to get his case filed. Before Ram left Stan told him he’d file the case on Friday and not to tell anyone what he was doing until it had been done. Ram agreed, thanked him and left. Stan sat back down and checked his email. His calendar alarm came up reminding him that he had an appointment for lunch with Emilio Bellucci at his restaurant. For a brief moment Stan worried about getting poisoned if he ate at Emilio’s, but then shook the thought off as being paranoid.
The restaurant which was located in Highland Park was almost deserted when Stan walked in but there were a few brave souls eating here and there. Emilio greeted Stan and took him to a large table. A waiter brought over a large meat lover’s pizza and a couple of beers and they got to work.
“So, why would someone want to put you out of business?” Stan asked.
Emilio shrugged. “You know. I’ve been trying to figure that out but I have come up empty.”
“What about competitors?”
“My main competitors are Dominos and Papa John’s, but they are big national chains. I’m not in their league.”
“So, who did you piss off lately?”
Emilio thought a moment. “There has been somebody trying to buy my property.”
Stan leaned forward. “Why?”
“The property values around here are going through the roof and developers are coming in to tear down the old and build new larger, more expensive properties.”
“Strip centers?”
“Strip centers, single family housing and apartments too. The whole area is in the process of being upgraded.”
“Yeah. I have seen quite a few old houses being torn down and new ones being built in their places,” Stan acknowledged.
“Right, and several developers have been by trying to get me to sell this building.”
“Do you remember their names?”
“Midtown Developers and Wilkinson Investments are the most recent.”
“How much did they offer?”
“One was fifty percent over appraised value.”
“Wow! That’s quite a premium.”
“And they weren’t too happy when I said no.”
“Why did you say no?” Stan asked.
“I’ve been located here for over twenty-five years. All my customers know where I am. Plus I like it here.”
“Still, that’s a nice profit.”
“Yeah, particularly since I only paid a hundred grand for it.”
“And how much could you sell it for now?”
“They offered three hundred thousand.”
Stan raised his eyebrows. “So, who did you talk to at Midtown?”
“I have his card. Give me a minute,” Emilio said getting up to go to his office. After a minute he returned and gave Stan two cards.
“Ron Michaels from Midtown,” Stan said reading the first card. He picked up the second card. “Tom Wilkinson from Wilkinson Investments. . . . I guess I’ll have to go have a talk with them.”
“What about your employees? Have you fired anyone lately?”
“Sure. Employees come and go.”
“Any one of them angry about it?”
“Well, I had to fire my salad guy the other day. He’d been with me a long time but I couldn’t excuse what he did.”
“What was that?”
“He dropped a big bowl of fresh salad mix on the floor and the glass bowl shattered. I wasn’t here but apparently he was too lazy to prepare a new salad mix, so he picked the broken glass out
of the salad, scooped it up off of the floor, put it into a new bowl, and then took it to the serving table.”
“Oh, my God!”
“Yes. Fortunately, a customer saw it and complained. Can you imagine if someone had been served that salad?”
Stan shook his head in disgust. “So, what was the name of this negligent employee?”
“Raul Marcus. He was very upset when I fired him, but I had no choice.”
“No. You didn’t. I’ll need his address and telephone number.”
Emilio nodded and went back to his office to get it. A moment later he returned and handed Stan a piece of paper with the information on it. “So, what do you think? Will Paula be able to get Ricardo off?”
Stan shrugged. “It’s too early to tell, but she’ll work like hell to make it happen.”
“I hope so. Ricardo’s parents are very distraught over all this.”
Stan nodded. “I bet. It’s good you mentioned them. I’ll need to talk to them too.”
“Why?”
“Well, we can’t ignore the fact that Ricardo had $10,000 in cash under his bed. They might have some insight in to how it got there.”
“Somebody must have planted it there.”
“Right. But how did they get in? . . . I have to make sure Ricardo didn’t put it there. We need to be sure Ricardo doesn’t have any secrets.”
Emilio stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I have thought about that a lot. Could Ricardo be involved with the wrong people? But I haven’t seen anything that would indicate it. His girlfriend is an angel and I’ve never seen him high or drunk. He’s always on time and is very pleasant with the customers.”
Stan nodded. “Well that’s good, but if there is anything damning we need to discover it now so we don’t get ambushed at trial. . . . Anyway. Thanks for lunch.”
“No problem.”
“I hope your business picks up.”
“Me too. Luckily I own my building so I don’t have to pay rent.”
“Good point and a good reason not to sell to the developers.”
“Exactly,” Emilio agreed.
When Stan got back to the office he called his private investigator and ordered a report on Midtown Developers and Wilkinson Properties. He wanted to know who owned and managed these companies to see if there were any criminal types who might use muscle to get people to sell properties they wanted. He thought it was a long shot but a man’s life was at stake so he couldn’t afford to leave any stone unturned.
Stan Turner
Stan felt a little uneasy leaving for work. Terry Morris, an RN and friend Rebekah had worked with at the county hospital in McKinney, had stayed with her the first day she was home. But today she’d be alone and Stan didn’t think she was a hundred percent yet. He offered to stay home with her but she insisted he go to work and quit treating her like an invalid. When he got to the office Maria advised him that Ram was there and he’d given her ten thousand dollars in cash. Stan was pleasantly surprised with the news. He told her to wait five minutes so he could to get some coffee and then send Ram in. Five minutes later Maria escorted Ram into his office.
“So, you were successful raising the money.”
“Yes, we sold all my wife’s jewelry. It was worth nearly a hundred thousand dollars but the pawnbrokers don’t pay much for fine jewelry.”
“Oh. Jeeze. I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“It’s no matter. I have ninety days to buy it back.”
“Right. At 971% interest.”
“Something like that,” Ram agreed.
“Well, I doubt you’ll be able to pay it back in 90 days. Chapter 11s take time.”
“Don’t worry. We would rather be in America with no jewelry than in Pakistan with a thousand jewels.”
Stan nodded. “Okay. Do you have the list of all your creditors?”
“Yes, right here,” Ram said and handed Stan a long list.
“And all your contracts and leases?”
“Yes, and I have my bank statements and tax returns just like you asked.”
Stan turned to his computer and started the bankruptcy program. Luckily the computer put all the information in the proper place. In the old days Jodie had to type all the schedules by hand. It was a total nightmare because mistakes were often made, or clients would come up with new information which required everything to be typed over. “Okay, I’m going to ask you a lot of questions. Information that will need to go into your bankruptcy schedules and statement of affairs. Then we’ll have to do a business budget and from that I’ll do some projections of future revenue and expenses.”
Ram sighed. “Alright, whatever you need.”
Stan and Ram spent the next hour inputting his bankruptcy information into the computer. When they were done they discussed what would happen once the case was filed.
“About a week after we file we have to meet with a representative of the U.S. Trustee’s office. They want to be sure you understand all the Chapter 11 rules. They will be monitoring your case so it’s important to do everything correctly.”
“What rules?”
“Well you have to keep accurate books and records and file a financial report each month. To be successful in bankruptcy you have to prove feasibility. That means you have to convince the trustee and the bankruptcy judge that your plan will work and the business can operate profitably in the future.”
“How do you do that?”
“By making a profit each month once you file your case. And the profit has to be enough to pay all of your secured and priority debt and a portion of your unsecured debt.”
“What if it’s not profitable?” Ram asked warily.
“Then your case will be dismissed or converted to Chapter 7. So, you have to make a profit from now on.”
“I hope I can, but I don’t know.”
“Well, the key is keeping your sales stable. You can always cut expenses to create a profit. How have your grocery sales been?”
“They are about $80,000 per month.”
“And has that changed much since you bought into the store?”
“No.”
“Then we just have to come up with a reasonable budget. Does Sammy take any salary out of the business?”
“Yes, three thousand a month.”
“Well, since he’s not working in the business anymore that will have to stop.”
“He’ll be very mad if I don’t send him his check.”
“Too bad. If you don’t work you don’t get paid. How much do you take out?”
“The same, three thousand and my wife gets fifteen hundred.”
“Okay, that seems reasonable since you both work in the business. But the savings from cutting Sammy’s salary will go to profit and be available to fund your plan. You will have to keep all your bills current from now on. The trustee won’t let you run up any new debt. But the old stuff can be paid out over time.”
When it was time to break for lunch Stan and Ram had completed most everything they needed to get his case filed. Before Ram left Stan told him he’d file the case on Friday and not to tell anyone what he was doing until it had been done. Ram agreed, thanked him and left. Stan sat back down and checked his email. His calendar alarm came up reminding him that he had an appointment for lunch with Emilio Bellucci at his restaurant. For a brief moment Stan worried about getting poisoned if he ate at Emilio’s, but then shook the thought off as being paranoid.
The restaurant which was located in Highland Park was almost deserted when Stan walked in but there were a few brave souls eating here and there. Emilio greeted Stan and took him to a large table. A waiter brought over a large meat lover’s pizza and a couple of beers and they got to work.
“So, why would someone want to put you out of business?” Stan asked.
Emilio shrugged. “You know. I’ve been trying to figure that out but I have come up empty.”
“What about competitors?”
“My main competitors are Dominos and Papa John’s, but they are big national chains. I’m not in their league.”
“So, who did you piss off lately?”
Emilio thought a moment. “There has been somebody trying to buy my property.”
Stan leaned forward. “Why?”
“The property values around here are going through the roof and developers are coming in to tear down the old and build new larger, more expensive properties.”
“Strip centers?”
“Strip centers, single family housing and apartments too. The whole area is in the process of being upgraded.”
“Yeah. I have seen quite a few old houses being torn down and new ones being built in their places,” Stan acknowledged.
“Right, and several developers have been by trying to get me to sell this building.”
“Do you remember their names?”
“Midtown Developers and Wilkinson Investments are the most recent.”
“How much did they offer?”
“One was fifty percent over appraised value.”
“Wow! That’s quite a premium.”
“And they weren’t too happy when I said no.”
“Why did you say no?” Stan asked.
“I’ve been located here for over twenty-five years. All my customers know where I am. Plus I like it here.”
“Still, that’s a nice profit.”
“Yeah, particularly since I only paid a hundred grand for it.”
“And how much could you sell it for now?”
“They offered three hundred thousand.”
Stan raised his eyebrows. “So, who did you talk to at Midtown?”
“I have his card. Give me a minute,” Emilio said getting up to go to his office. After a minute he returned and gave Stan two cards.
“Ron Michaels from Midtown,” Stan said reading the first card. He picked up the second card. “Tom Wilkinson from Wilkinson Investments. . . . I guess I’ll have to go have a talk with them.”
“What about your employees? Have you fired anyone lately?”
“Sure. Employees come and go.”
“Any one of them angry about it?”
“Well, I had to fire my salad guy the other day. He’d been with me a long time but I couldn’t excuse what he did.”
“What was that?”
“He dropped a big bowl of fresh salad mix on the floor and the glass bowl shattered. I wasn’t here but apparently he was too lazy to prepare a new salad mix, so he picked the broken glass out
of the salad, scooped it up off of the floor, put it into a new bowl, and then took it to the serving table.”
“Oh, my God!”
“Yes. Fortunately, a customer saw it and complained. Can you imagine if someone had been served that salad?”
Stan shook his head in disgust. “So, what was the name of this negligent employee?”
“Raul Marcus. He was very upset when I fired him, but I had no choice.”
“No. You didn’t. I’ll need his address and telephone number.”
Emilio nodded and went back to his office to get it. A moment later he returned and handed Stan a piece of paper with the information on it. “So, what do you think? Will Paula be able to get Ricardo off?”
Stan shrugged. “It’s too early to tell, but she’ll work like hell to make it happen.”
“I hope so. Ricardo’s parents are very distraught over all this.”
Stan nodded. “I bet. It’s good you mentioned them. I’ll need to talk to them too.”
“Why?”
“Well, we can’t ignore the fact that Ricardo had $10,000 in cash under his bed. They might have some insight in to how it got there.”
“Somebody must have planted it there.”
“Right. But how did they get in? . . . I have to make sure Ricardo didn’t put it there. We need to be sure Ricardo doesn’t have any secrets.”
Emilio stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I have thought about that a lot. Could Ricardo be involved with the wrong people? But I haven’t seen anything that would indicate it. His girlfriend is an angel and I’ve never seen him high or drunk. He’s always on time and is very pleasant with the customers.”
Stan nodded. “Well that’s good, but if there is anything damning we need to discover it now so we don’t get ambushed at trial. . . . Anyway. Thanks for lunch.”
“No problem.”
“I hope your business picks up.”
“Me too. Luckily I own my building so I don’t have to pay rent.”
“Good point and a good reason not to sell to the developers.”
“Exactly,” Emilio agreed.
When Stan got back to the office he called his private investigator and ordered a report on Midtown Developers and Wilkinson Properties. He wanted to know who owned and managed these companies to see if there were any criminal types who might use muscle to get people to sell properties they wanted. He thought it was a long shot but a man’s life was at stake so he couldn’t afford to leave any stone unturned.
