In the email, a copy of which was obtained by NEWSWEEK, Novak said he had privately told colleagues in early 2001 of his plans to retire this December after turning 62. “I will continue to serve on the Time Warner Board,” he said, “and I will do all I can, as an outside director, to contribute to the success of the company.” Noting the disappointments of the past few years, Novack added: “I remain a strong believer in the potential of the merger, in the promise of AOL, and in the future of our company.”

But insiders at Time Warner, which recently dropped AOL from the corporate name, immediately began speculating that the retirement could be a precursor to his departure from the board before the May 2004 annual shareholders’ meeting. These insiders also speculated that Novack could be joined in an exodus from the board by Case and Miles R. Gilburne, another pivotal Case ally. Case and retired Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin were co-architects of the AOL and Time Warner combination. Under pressure from shareholders, Case stepped down as chairman last January–breaking an earlier pledge that he intended to remain in that post.

At the 2003 annual meeting seven months ago, Case, Novack and Gilburne received a stinging rebuke from shareholders. While most of the 13-member board garnered more than 95 percent of the votes casts, Case received 78 percent, Gilburne grabbed just 65 percent and Novack 82 percent. Like most corporate elections, there were no alternative candidates, so the high percentage of shareholders withholding their votes strongly suggested they didn’t want the three as Time Warner directors. “They were embarrassed last year,” declared a senior Time Warner official. “The question is, will they put themselves in a position to be embarrassed again?” A spokesman said such talk is mere speculation and that the company knows of no plans for the executives to leave the board.

There are other signs that some Time Warner insiders say suggest the three former AOL officials are disengaging from Time Warner. For months in advance of his retirement late last week, Novak had been dumping hundreds of thousands of Time Warner through almost weekly planned sales of shares, many of which he obtained by exercising options. Under a similar plan, Gilburne also has been shedding his Time Warner holdings, including shares he owned as a result of exercising options for as little as 85 cents each. Although the sales clearly are being done as part of a portfolio management plan, they nonetheless are fueling internal buzz about the potentially negative outlook on Time Warner’s future. Time Warner spokespersons emphasize that the sales are part of a long planned sales program.

Meanwhile, Case seems to be preoccupied with investments outside of Time Warner. He has grabbed headlines in the financial press for investments in a pineapple plantation in Hawaii and in elite resort properties. “That’s not a good signal,” says a Time Warner official of the stock sales. “And it perhaps begs the question of whether they have preordained results of the investigation.” Ending he email on a personal note, Novack said he looked forward to, among other things, “exercising and hopefully completing the murder mystery I’ve been writing for almost 10 years.” Perhaps he should write a tale of corporate intrigue instead.