No One Rides For Free - Larry Beinhart (25 page)

"With you, Mr. Cassella." `

"No. "

"Then we shall have to find you one for this
evening."

"Is it required?"

"Of course not, but you will blend in rather
better that way, and that should help you with your investigations."

"You're quite right, Agnes. Please do find me
some thing." She turned to go. "Agnes, wait. Why are you
concerned?"

"Miss Christina has been one of ours for many,
many years. Since she was quite a little girl. We're all fond of her.
And though, if I may speak for the rest of the staff, we're all quite
shocked by Mr. Wood's conduct, we're all quite sympathetic to Miss
Christina's loss."

For a moment she made it seem that some lost and
lovely world had drifted out of Masterpiece Theatre into reality.

"May I ask you an impertinent question?" I
said.

"
Nothing you could say would be impertinent, "
she lied.

"Is he really busy or evading me?"

"Oh, do be sensible, Mr. Cassella," she
clucked. "If he wanted to evade you, do you think he would have
gone through all that folderol with the seaplane? Would he even have
invited you? Therefore you might deduce . . . is that the proper
detective term? . . . that he actually is tied up."

"Thank you. "

"There is one other thing, actually two, that I
have to say to you, Mr. Cassella, if I may."

"Please. "

"Don't do anything to hurt Miss Christina. She
seems terribly vulnerable right now. "

"That's one," I said.

"That's not a reply."

"I don't want to do anything to hurt her. I will
try not to do anything to hurt her. "

"Oh dear," she sighed, "that means
that you will .... I'm certainly glad that I am past the age where a
pair of dark brown eyes will start a fever in my blood. "

"No, you're not," I said.

"
I certainly am, young man, but I appreciate the
flattery."

"What I meant was that you are not glad of it. "

"I stand corrected," she said severely, but
her eyes smiled.

"The second thing I wanted to tell you was this.
I have read enough Agatha Christie to know that character is always
the key.

"Look for the overachiever," she echoed
Sandia. "Rather like the late Mr. Wood was. Someone who achieves
more than his natural gifts would normally lead to. That's the sort
who breaks the rules. Someone like Mr. Goreman, who is really quite
gifted, does not have to do that. You see, he is clever enough to
play within the rules, or find the legitimate loopholes or create new
rules. He does not have to break them."

"I see," I said solemnly.

"If you don 't, you're probably a terrible
detective. I'll find you a tie and jacket now. A tweed for you, I
think."

"I'm sorry," I said, "no one told me
we were to dress for dinner."

"Dinner is come as you are. The jacket is for
the party tonight. "

It was a major Hamptons bash. There were items on the
buffet that I could not afford as an appetizer for one, let alone as
a meal for 250. The catering budget, calculated by federal
guidelines, would have fed a family of four through generations yet
unborn. The futures market in scotch whiskey nudged up another
quarter point. The rock 'n' roll was subdued, the dancing discreet
and everyone asked if Woody Allen was really going to show up.

I was looking for the lord of the manor. I finally
spotted him, moving through the party, performing his chores as host
graciously but perfunctorily. I cut through the whiskey sippers,
contact makers and hustlers. He greeted me as graciously as he did
any of the other guests.-

"I do have to talk to you," I said.

"Indeed you do," he said, taking me by the
elbow and guiding my path, "and indeed you shall." We moved
through the crowd. I thought the moment had come, but he stopped to
introduce me: "This is Andrew Klughorn, our wonderful
comptroller, and much, much more. This is Tony Cassella. Tony is the
detective investigating the murder of Edgar Wood."

"
How interesting," Klughorn said coldly. By
then, Goreman had moved on.

"It's gotten to be."

"Oh," he replied, as if it weren't.

"You know that it was a contract, that Wood was
hit to shut him up."

"
I had heard something, but it seemed to me to
be merely a rumor."

"Not at all. A pro took him out. Then he was hit
to tie up the loose ends. But it won't work," I said.

"You'll excuse me, Mr. Uhh . . ."

"I won't, and it's Cassella."

"I beg your pardon?"

"When Wood was sentenced, he made threats.
Threats to expose other people who were supposed to have done as much
as he did, or worse. Comptroller and director of financial
operations. A good position to be in, if you have sticky fingers."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever
heard," he said and began to turn away. I put my hand on his arm
to stop him.

"There's a dead hand from the past. It's
pointing, and one of the people it's pointing at is you. You're gonna
have to face that. You're gonna have to deal with that, Andy."

"Please take your hand off my jacket."

"Did Wood have something on you?" I asked,
not letting go.

"Absolutely not."

"There are a lot of people hot for this thing
now. The Virginia cops, the D.C. cops. And Wood was a federal
witness. The FBI hates it when a federal witness gets bumped. They're
gonna come looking at Over & East, and one of the people they are
gonna come after is you. You do see that, don't you?"

"On a purely theoretical basis, perhaps. In
reality, unlikely."

"OK, they're looking at Over & East. Who
should they be looking at, if not you?"

"I cannot imagine anyone . . ."

"Did you imagine that Wood was a thief ?"

"No."

"Can you imagine that there is someone else with
another dirty secret? Why not? And whoever it is, if it's not you, is
willing to kill to save his reputation, his money. To stay out of
Attica. You better imagine it, 'cause it's true. "

I let go of his arm. It didn't matter. I had his
attention. "It's an interesting theory. Forgive me if I'm
somewhat skeptical."

"
Think. Think about what I said. Think about who
it could be. And think about the news stories.
Forbes
might make it a cover story. 'FBI Goes Over Over & East,' across
the top, then a kicker across the bottom: 'And the Charge Is Murder!'
Call me, Mr. Klughorn, if you think of something."

I went looking for Goreman again. He was affable and
guided me to Stephen Marlowe, head of acquisitions. Marlowe was in
resort attire, powder-blue jacket and red pants. Ghastly. I started
running the same game on him. If Klughorn was put out, Marlowe was
insulted.

"I think," he said, "I'm going to ask
Charlie to throw you out."

"What the fuck do you think, 'Charlie' brought
me here for?" I replied. " 'Charlie' doesn't Want a
six-month federal investigation into the top brass of Over & East
with daily leaks to the
Times
and CBS. Charlie would like it solved nice, quiet and in-house."

"Do you actually suspect me?"

"There are only four logical suspects. Klughorn,
Diller, you and Goreman."

All of them had gone eyeball to eyeball with the SEC,
with foreign governments, with congressional investigations. I did
not expect to see anyone twitch. No one would break down and confess.
But they would start looking at each other, looking for what I wanted
to find. And the guilty party might get nervous enough to jump.

Lawrence Choate Haven was also at the party. He was
far more surprised to see me than I was him. He asked what I was
doing there. `

"
Charlie," I said, "wants me to clear
this mess up before it gets more out of hand."

"
You spoke to Mr. Goreman without consulting me
first?"

"No."

"Then how is it I am unaware of your contact
with my client?"

"He heard about me from a third party and was so
impressed that he felt he had to have me for his soirée. "

"Mr. Cassella. . ."

"Pardon my sarcasm, sir," I said. "But
he did call me. The thing is that there are so many loose ends, with
two killings and all, that it has to unravel. The feds are going to
think the same thing I do, because it's what Wood said to think, that
there are two places to look: Over & East and your outfit. It
would be better all around if I got to whoever it is before they come
in and tear everything up "

And I wondered, even as I said it, what Goreman's
real game was. I didn't particularly believe in the motives I was
ascribing so easily to him.

"The investigation was initiated by my office. I
am, therefore, not at all happy with steps taken without
consultation. Under these circumstances, I'm not sure that all
parties would not be more satisfied with a more reputable agency
handling the matter."

That was something I had to deal with, and Christina
was the key to it.

"Look," I told her, "I'm going to need
you to stand behind me. To fight for me. I'm making a lot of enemies
tonight, including the people who control your trust fund and your
estate, which is what pays for this investigation. They may try to
stop me."

“
Tel1 me what to do," she said.

"Do you care enough to pay the bills yourself
until you can get your money?"

"That could be a lot of money. I'm not sure I
have it."

"Just the fact that you're willing is probably
enough. But you can't run the bluff unless you're willing to get
called. Now what's it gonna be?"

"Whatever you tell me to do, Angel."

I found Goreman again. He asked me if he had
introduced me to Diller yet.

"Do I have to go through the whole circle before
I get to you?"

"That is a most reasonable approach," he
smiled. "Also, I have my duties as host, which must occupy me
for another hour at least. Then we will have a good chat."

Midnight came. I saw him, looking tired, retreat to
his den. "I guess it is time," he sighed when he saw me.
 

25
HUNGARY

"NOT HERE," HE
said,
"let's walk."

"It's very good of you," I said on the
south lawn, "to gather all the suspects together here in one
place."

"Did you shake anything loose?"

"No."

"Good. Anybody on my team should know how to
hang tough," he said with pride.

"What did Wood have on you that was so hot?"

"Nothing. "
 
Shrubs
and trees bordered the lawn, helping to hold down the dunes. The moon
was bright enough to illuminate the path through them to the beach.
It was bright enough to cast shadows.

As we walked along, I made out the shape of two
figures rustling behind the foliage. From the shape of the shadows
and the tenor of the sound, it seemed that one man was having his
cock sucked by the other.

"If there was nothing there," I asked him
when we got to the beach, "how come you hired Douglas, Cohen to
handle it?"

"Well, Choate, Winkler was compromised. We
needed an outsider, and Douglas, Cohen, in my opinion, is the best."

"They tried awfully hard to get Wood's
testimony. They were up to, what?—Federal Appeals Court?—before
Wood got it. "

"They were simply doing their job."
 
"Off the record, strictly off the
record, because I could not care less, what could Wood have told the
SEC?"

Goreman sat down on a piece of driftwood. He untied
his shoes, took off his socks and rolled up his pants. I did the
same.

"
He was privy to everything you and your company
have ever done. He was your personal attorney in addition to
everything else. He must have known a lot."

Goreman tied his shoes together, stuffed the socks
inside and put them over his shoulder. "He didn't know
everything," he replied as he walked toward where the sand was
hard and wet. I followed, down toward the crashing breakers.

"Do you know how blessed we are to be here? In
America? Between these two oceans?"

"Maybe."

"I could kneel down and kiss the ground here."

He had done so. I knew that. In 1968, after a trip to
the Soviet Union, when the Aeroflot landed at JFK, Goreman had gone
down on his knees on the oil-soaked tarmac. Staining a
five-hundred-dollar suit, he bent down and kissed the pavement. There
was dirt on his mouth when he stood up. Some people thought it was
all phony. I didn't think so. Some people laughed at it. My father
wouldn't have. Then again, neither would Uncle Vincent.