Maggie waited.
“Well what?”
He looked down at his notebook.
“I think we have something.”
She nearly hugged him.
He raised a hand.
“Don't get excited yet. We need calculations, and the foundation conditions still have to be checked.”
“But?”
“But there's a possibility we can insert a new steel support frame through the old passage.”
Maggie closed her eyes.
“And preserve the balcony?”
“If the loads work as expected.”
She opened her eyes.
“What about the cost?”
“Lower than the full replacement scheme.”
“How much lower?”
“I won't guess.”
“Leonard.”
He gave her a patient look.
“Maggie.”
She laughed.
“Fine.”
He smiled.
“I'll have preliminary calculations by Monday.”
She watched him return to his measurements.
Then looked toward the auditorium.
The empty red seats.
The painted stars.
The stage where generations of performers had stood.
For the first time since the television report, she could imagine the Starlight filled with people again.
She did not telephone Nicholas.
Not because she wished to punish him.
But because this discovery belonged to the work.
And she wanted to be certain of it before asking anyone to believe.
That same afternoon, Nicholas did something he should have done weeks earlier.
He gathered the members of the redevelopment committee and placed every relevant document upon the conference table.
The preliminary demolition authorization.
The structural reports.
The outstanding financing obligations.
Maggie's restoration proposal.
And the new review procedure prepared by the company's legal department.
Then he told them exactly where matters stood.
“The theater is unsafe for public performances at present,” he said. “It requires immediate stabilization, and the board must decide on a permanent use.”
Graham Pike folded his arms.
“Which is why we should proceed with redevelopment.”
Nicholas nodded.
“That's one option.”
“The most profitable one.”
“Possibly.”
Graham leaned forward.
“Nicholas, we can't keep delaying the decision.”
“We won't.”
He passed copies of a memorandum around the table.
“The restoration proposal will receive an independent assessment. The demolition alternative will receive the same. Both will include full structural allowances, operating projections, and financing requirements.”
One of the directors frowned.
“And you?”
“I won't participate in the selection vote.”
Graham studied him.
“Because of Margaret Bennett?”
“Because I have a personal relationship with one of the applicants.”
The room fell silent.
Nicholas continued.
“I should have disclosed that sooner.”
A director shifted uncomfortably.
Nicholas looked around the table.
“I have not promised Miss Bennett a contract. I will not interfere with the evaluation. And I will not ask anyone here to support a proposal that cannot stand on its own merits.”
Graham appeared almost disappointed by the reasonableness of the statement.
Walter Sterling sat at the far end of the table.
He had said nothing throughout the discussion.
Now he leaned forward.
“Nicholas.”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Can the building be made safe while we conduct the review?”