“I have tried to persuade him, Peggy,” Bill said uneasily. “I’ve argued about it from the beginning. Then when he decided to run this particular movie this week—well, it was almost the last straw!”
“Well, then,” Peggy cried, “why not let it be the last straw? Why don’t you choose a picture for once instead of your brother? He doesn’t have everything to say about your business, does he?”
Bill looked at her unhappily. “There’s a lot you don’t know, Peggy,” he said. “We are partners, yes, but partners in name only. You see, when we bought that theater, Max was the one who put up the money. He was older, and had been in a very successful public relations business in New York. His dream had always been to come back here to live, with a business of his own. I had just come out of the Army and didn’t have any money to invest.”
“And your brother bought the theater all on his own?” Peggy asked. “My! He must have saved a lot!”
“No, not entirely on his own,” Bill said. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, Peggy—” he smiled as her wistfully—“I guess it’s because I want you to like me, and I want to clear myself. But please promise me that anything I say will be a confidential matter between us.”
“Of course,” Peggy agreed warmly. She was glad to know that Bill Slade trusted her, and thought that it was probably a very good thing for him to talk to somebody. She had an impression that he was very lonely.
“Max couldn’t have done it all on his own,” Bill confided. “He had another investor—a silent partner whom almost nobody knows about. Not that there’s anything wrong about it, but—”
“Ford Birmingham!” Peggy guessed excitedly as the pieces began to fall into place.
“That’s right. Ford put up the rest of the money. He keeps his partnership silent because of his job on the paper. He loves the newspaper business and writing, and manages to carry both jobs very well. However, if people knew he was a partner, they might think his movie reviews were prejudiced!” Bill laughed. “They’re not, of course. Ford is a painfully honest critic!”
“And he goes right along with your brother’s attitude about us?” Peggy asked incredulously.