Decker knew from experience that discount brokers didn’t place a premium on image, and Executive First was no exception. It was bare bones: four walls, two metal tables, a few unoccupied folding chairs, and a disheveled-looking bleached blonde wearing a polyester stretch top that didn’t give where it should have. If you want glitz, go to any full-service brokerage house. The big desks, the high-tech electronic ticker tape, and the busty young secretary all cost extra, and those hidden expenses were passed on to the client in the form of higher trading fees.

The blonde was seated at one of the tables taking a call from a switchboard. She motioned Decker onto a folding chair as she spoke into a headphone mike in a soft, modulated voice. She put the caller on hold.

“Harry?” she shouted. “Oh Haaaarry!”

She turned to Decker and said, “Must be in the little boy’s room.” Punching back the button, she took the caller’s name and number, then hung up the receiver. Another light started blinking. She debated answering the call, but instead turned to Decker.

“You want to see Harry?” she asked.

“Actually, I’m interested in seeing Dustin Pode.”

“Dustin isn’t in and I’m not sure when—Ah, here’s Harry.”

Harry was Harrison Smithson. He was in his fifties, with a full head of thick white hair and pale blue eyes rimmed in red. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a pair of navy gabardine slacks that had seen better days. He sat down at the other table.

“Have a seat,” he said to Decker.

His phone rang. Smithson picked it up, greeted the person on the other end, and began rummaging through the piles of papers in front of him.

“I’ve got the confirmation order right here, Mr. Amati. Yes, I have the check also, but I’m holding it because the settlement date hasn’t been established yet…. Yes, it should be by next week…If the issue is cancelled, you’ll be the first to know. Yes, yes, thank you.”

He looked back at Decker.

“What can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for investments that are speculative in nature but have a higher rate of return on the upside. A friend of mine tuned me into Dustin Pode. I thought I’d come down here and check him out personally.”

“Which of Mr. Pode’s investments interest you?” Smithson asked matter-of-factly.

“Well, what kind of prospectuses do you have to offer me?” Decker hedged. His year with Jack doing wills and estate trusts had been good for something. You learn the lingo.

“Well, I don’t know if Mr. Pode ever got around to any formal prospectuses.”

“What did he file with the SEC?”

Smithson hesitated. “They’re not exactly public offerings.”

The phone rang again. The receptionist answered it.

“It’s Grunz, Harry.”