Overload (59 page)

"Some good news from Sacramento, Nim. Excellent news, I think. An aide

to the Governor will be at the bearing here this afternoon; he'll read

a statement that the Governor now strongly supports the plans for

Tunipah. A confirming press release is going out now from the Governor's

office." Yale glanced at his notes. "It speaks of 'a personal conviction,

after study, that the Tunipah development is essential to the growth and

prosperity of California."'

"Well," Nim said, "you really pulled it off. Congratulations!"

"I'll admit I'm pleased." Pocketing the notebook, Yale glanced at his

watch. "What do you say we get some exercise and walk over to that

hearing?"

"I'll walk with you, but I won't come in." Nim grinned. "You may

remember-at the Energy Commission I'm still persona non grata."

Their destination was the State Building, some ten minutes away.

It was a bright pleasant day and Paul Yale, spry in walking as in much

else, stepped out briskly. After the flow of talk before and during

lunch, both fell silent.

Nim's thoughts returned, as they had so often lately, to Ruth. A week and

a half had passed since the soul-searing night when be learned that

Ruth's life was endangered by cancerous cells at large in her body. Apart

from a talk with Dr. Levin, Nim had kept the knowledge to himself. There

seemed no point in turning Ruth-as he had seen happen with other

families-into an object of gossip and speculation.

Dr. Levin's attitude had been neither defeatist nor reassuring. "Your

wife may have many years of normal life," be had said. "But you must also

know that her condition could deteriorate suddenly and rapidly.

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Treatment, though-whether it's chemotherapy or immunotherapywill tilt the

odds in her favor."

As to possible additional therapy, Ruth was to make another trip to New

York soon; it would be decided then if the newer, in-part-experimental

method at the Sloan-Kettering Institute was likely to help her. For Nim, as

well as Ruth, the waiting was like living on the loose ledge of a

precipice, wondering if it would collapse or hold.

"The only advice I can give," Dr. Levin had added, "is what I've told your

wife already: Live one day at a time, and use it to the full. Don't let her

put things off that she wants to do, and can. Come to think of it, that's

good counsel for us all. Remember that you or I could drop dead from a

heart attack or be killed in a traffic accident tomorrow, with your wife

surviving us by many years."

The doctor bad sighed. "I'm sorry, Nim; maybe that sounds like a load of

bull. I know you want something definite. Everybody does. But the advice

I've given you is the best I have."

Nim had taken Dr. Levin's advice by spending as much time with Ruth as

possible. Today, for example, he could have stayed on overnight in Fresno;

there were local developments about which be might usefully inform himself.

Instead, he had arranged to take an afternoon flight back, and would be

home for dinner.

His thoughts were jerked into the present by Mr. justice Yale, who

observed, "There seems to be an extraordinary number of people around for

this time of day."

Nim bad been preoccupied; now he looked about him. "You're right. There

are."

The streets within immediate view contained large numbers of pedestrians,

all apparently heading in the same direction-toward the State Building.

Some were hurrying, as if anxious to get ahead of others. Cars, too, were

streaming in and a traffic jam was developing. Among occupants of the cars

and those on foot, women and teen-agers seemed to predominate.

"Perhaps," Nim said, "word got around that you were coming here."

The old man chuckled. "Even if it did, I don't have the cbarisma to pull a

crowd this size."

They reached the grassy mall which fronted on the State Building. It was

packed with people.

"If you want to find something out, a good way is to ask," Yale said. He

touched the arm of a middle-aged man in workman's clothes. "Excuse me. We

are curious to know why so many people are here."

The other looked at him incredulously. "You ain't heard?"

Yale smiled. "It's why I asked."

"It's Cameron Clarke. He's coming here."

"The movie actor?"

"Who, else? Gonna speak his piece at some gumment hearing. Bin on radio all

morning. On TV too, so my old lady says."

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Nim asked, "What government hearing?"

"How should I know? Who cares? just wanna get a look at him, is all."

Paul Yale and Nim exchanged glances as the same thought occurred to them.

"We'll know soon enough," Yale said.

They began easing their way closer to the State Building, a functional,

uninteresting edifice with steps in front. At the same time a black

limousine with a police motorcycle escort approached from the opposite

direction. A cry went up, and was repeated, "There he is!" The crowd surged

forward.

More policemen appeared. They cleared a way for the limousine to reach the

sidewalk near the steps. As the car stopped, a uniformed chauffeur jumped

out and opened the rear door. A short, slight young man emerged. He had a

shock of blond hair and was wearing a lightweight tan suit. The crowd

cheered.

"Cameron! Hi there, Cameron!" Someone began the cry and others took it up.

Like royalty, Cameron Clarke waved in response.

He was Hollywood's current gold-plated box office guarantee. His handsome,

boyish, amiable face was known to fifty million worshiping fans from

Cleveland to Calcutta, from Seattle to Sierra Leone, from Brooklyn to

Baghdad. Even august justices of the U. S. Supreme Court had heard of

Cameron Clarke, as Paul Sherman Yale had demonstrated moments earlier. The

mere presence of Clarke anywhere was sufficient to set off a near-riot of

adulation. The Fresno police, undoubtedly aware of this, were doing their

best to control the crowd now.

Press photographers, who had begun shooting as the limousine stopped, were

continuing as if film were inexhaustible. A TV crew, which bad been

waiting, moved in closer to the movie star.

An interview ensued.

Interviewer (with great respect): Mr. Clarke, why are you here?

Cameron Clarke: I am here, as an ordinary humble citizen, to protest an

ill-conceived, sordid and totally unneeded scheme which would desecrate the

magnificent, unspoiled area of California known as Tunipah.

L Sir, those are strong words. Would you explain why you feel that way?

C.C.: Certainly. The Tunipab plan is ill-conceived because it is anti-en-

vironment. It is sordid because the objective is to make profits for Golden

State Power & Light, which doesn't need them. It is unnecessary because

another source of power is available; furthermore, conservation could reduce

power needs by more than Tunipah would generate.

Nim and Paul Yale were within hearing. "He's reciting lines," Nim

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muttered angrily. "I wonder what uninformed idiot wrote them for him."

I: What is that other source of power, Mr. Clarke? C.C.: Solar energy.

I: You believe that solar could be available now?

C.C.: Absolutely. However, there is no hurry, even for solar. The talk we

hear of electrical shortage is just a scare tactic-propaganda put out by the

power companies.

A spectator shouted, "Attaboy, Cameron! That's telling the bastards! Stick

it to 'em!"

The actor looked up, waved an acknowledgment, and smiled.

Nim told his companion, "I think I've heard enough. If you don't mind, Mr.

Yale, I'll start back north and leave you to the hearing. It looks as if it

will be quite a production."

"I know who'll be the star, and it isn't me," Yale said ruefully. "All

right, Nim; you go. Thanks for all your help."

As Nim elbowed his way outward through the crowd, Yale beckoned a policeman

and identified himself. A moment later, unnoticed, he was escorted into the

State Building.

The TV interview with Cameron Clarke was continuing.

"Actually," Oscar O'Brien said next day, "when you get Cameron Clarke by

himself, you find out he's a pretty decent guy. I talked to him; I also

know a couple of his friends. He has a solid marriage and three kids he's

crazy about. The trouble is though, whenever he opens his mouth in public,

what he says gets treated as if it came from Mount Olympus."

The general counsel, who had appeared at the Fresno hearing, was

reporting-at an inquest session-to J. Eric Humphrey, Teresa Van Buren, and

Nim.

"As it turned out," O'Brien said, "the main reason Clarke is opposed to

Tunipah is that he owns property near there-a hideaway place he and his

family use in summers. They keep horses, ride the trails, fish, sometimes

camp out overnight. He's afraid our Tunipah development would spoil all

that, and he's probably right."

Eric Humphrey asked, "Was the point not made that the welfare of millions

of Californians outweighs the holiday privileges of one individual?"

"It was made all right," O'Brien said. "Christ knows, I tried on cross-

examination. But do you think anyone cared? No! Cameron Clarke objected to

Tunipah and the god of the silver screen had spoken. That was all that

mattered."

The lawyer stopped, remembering, then said, "When Clarke spoke

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his piece at the hearing about despoiling nature-and, by God, I have to

admit he was good, it was like Marc Antony orating over Caesar's

corpse-there were people, among those crowded in, who were crying. I mean

it-crying!"

"I still think someone wrote his lines," Nim said. "From all I bear, he

doesn't know that much about anything."

O'Brien shrugged. "It's academic."

He added, "I'll tell you something else. When Clarke bad finished

testifying and was ready to leave, the presiding Commissioner sent word

he would appreciate an autograph. Wanted it for his niece, he said. Damn

liarl It was for himself."

"Whichever way you slice it," Teresa Van Buren pronounced, "Cameron

Clarke has done our cause a lot of harm."

No one mentioned what scarcely needed saying: That TV, radio and print

reviews of the movie actor's brief appearance had eclipsed all other news

about Tunipab. In the Chronicle-West and California Examiner, the

statement by the Governor of California in support of the project rated

a brief paragraph near the end of the Clarke-dominated report. On TV it

was not mentioned at all. As to Paul Sherman Yale's appearance, that was

totally ignored.

13

Instinct told Nancy Molineaux she was onto something. Possibly a major

story, though so far it was shapeless and insubstantial. There were other

problems. One was that she didn't really know what she was looking for.

Another was the practical need to do other, regular reporting jobs for the

California Examiner, which limited the time available for her nebulous

quest. Making it even more difficult was the fact that she had not

confided in anyone yet, particularly the Examiner's city editor, who was