Sons of Fortune (48 page)

“So
a large sum of money goes missing from a client’s account, and Uncle Bill
decided to take the rap rather than embarrass the firm.”

“That
sounds about right,” said Logan.

Fletcher
could feel the sweat on the palms of his hands as he put the phone down.

Tom
burst into Nat’s office. “Did you spot the piece in the New York Times about
Bill Alexander’s resignation?”

“Yes,
I recalled the name, but couldn’t remember why.”

“It
was the law firm Ralph Elliot joined after he left Stanford.”

3i7

“Ah
yes,” said Nat, putting down his pen, “so is he the new senior partner?”

“No,
but he is the other partner who resigned. Joe Stein tells me that half a
million has gone missing from a client account, and the partners had to cover
the sum out of their own earnings. The name on the street is Ralph Elliot.”

“But
why would the senior partner have to resign if Elliot’s name is in the frame?”

“Because Elliot’s his nephew, and Alexander pushed
for him to be the youngest partner in the firm’s history.”

“Sit
still and revenge will visit
thine
enemies.”

“No,
I don’t think so,” said Tom, “but it might revisit Hartford.”

“What
do you mean?” asked Nat.

“He’s
telling everyone that Rebecca is missing her friends, so he’s bringing his wife
back home.”

“His wife?”

“Yeah.
Joe says they
were married at City Hall quite recently, but not before she also resembled a
big apple.”

“I
wonder who the father is,” said Nat almost to himself.

“And
he’s opened an account at our Newington branch, obviously unaware that you’re
the bank’s chief executive.”

“Elliot
knows only too well who the bank’s chief executive is. Just let’s be sure he
doesn’t deposit half a million,” Nat added with a smile.

“Joe
says there’s no proof, and what’s more, Alexander’s has a reputation for being
tight-lipped, so don’t expect to hear anything more from that quarter.”

Nat
looked up at Tom. “Elliot wouldn’t come home unless he had a job to go to. He’s
too proud for that. But just who’s been foolhardy enough to employ him?”

The
senator picked up line one. “Mr. Gates,” said his secretary.

“Business or pleasure?”
Fletcher asked when Jimmy came on the line.

“Certainly
not pleasure,” replied Jimmy.

“Have
you heard Ralph Elliot is back in town?”

“No.
Logan rang this morning to tell me that he’d resigned from AD and but he didn’t
say anything about him returning to Hartford.”

“Yeah,
he’s joining
Belman
and Wayland as the partner in
charge of corporate business. In fact, part of his agreement is that the firm
will in the future be known as
Belman
Wayland and
Elliot.”

Fletcher
didn’t comment. “Are you still there?” asked Jimmy.

“Yes,
I am,” said Fletcher. “You do realize they’re the law firm that represents the
council?”

“As well as being our biggest rival.”

“And
I thought I’d seen the last of him.”

“You
could always move to Alaska,” said Jimmy, “I read somewhere that they’re
looking for a new senator.”

“If
I did, he’d only follow me.”

“There’s
no need for us to lose any sleep over it,” said Jimmy. “He’ll assume we know
about the missing five hundred thousand and realize he’ll have to lie low until
the rumors have died down.”

“Ralph
Elliot doesn’t know the meaning of lying low. He’ll ride into town with both
guns blazing, with us lined up in his sights.”

“What
else have you found out?” asked Nat, looking up from behind his desk.

“He
and Rebecca already have a son and I’m told they’ve put him down for Tail.”

“I
hope to God he’s younger than Luke, otherwise I’d send the boy to Hotchkiss.”

Tom
laughed. “I mean it,” said Nat.

Luke’s
a sensitive enough child without having to cope with that.”

“Well,
there are also consequences for the bank of his joining
Belman
and Wayland.”

“And
Elliot,” added Nat.

“Don’t
forget that they were the lawyers overseeing the Cedar Wood project on behalf
of the council, and if he ever found out
..”

“There’s
no reason he should,” said Nat. “However, you’d better warn Julia, even though
it’s been a couple of years, and don’t forget Ray has also moved on. Only four
people know the full story, and I’m married to one of them.”

“And
I’m going to marry the other,” said Tom.

“You’re
what?” said Nat in disbelief.

“I’ve
been proposing to Julia for the past eighteen months, and last night she
finally gave in. So I’ll be bringing my
fiancee
for
dinner tonight.”

“That’s
wonderful news,” said Nat, sounding delighted.

“And
Nat, don’t leave it until the last moment to tell Su Ling.”

“It’s
just a shot across our bow,” said Harry in reply to Fletcher’s question.

“It’s
a bloody
cannon,” responded Fletcher. “Ralph Elliot
doesn’t deal in shots, so we’ll need to find out what the hell he’s up to.”

“I’ve
no idea,” said Harry. “All I can tell you is that I had a call from George
Turner to alert me that Elliot had asked for all the papers that the bank has
ever been involved with, and yesterday morning he called again asking for more
details on the Cedar Wood project, and in particular the original terms of
agreement that I recommended to the Senate.”

“Why the Cedar Wood project?
That’s proving to be a huge success story, with a rush of applications to lease
space. Just what is he up to?”

“He’s
also asked to see copies of all my speeches, and any notes I’d made at the time
of the Gates Amendment. No one has ever asked me for copies of my old speeches
before, let alone my notes,” said Harry. “It’s very flattering.” was “He only
flatters to deceive,”
“ said
Fletcher. “Remind me of
the finer points of the Gates Amendment?”

“I
insisted that any purchaser of council land valued at over one million dollars
be named and not be able to hide his or her identity behind the offices of a
bank or a law firm so we’d know exactly who we were dealing with. They were
also required to pay the full amount on the signing of any contract to prove
they were a viable company. That way there would be no holdups.”

“But
everyone now accepts that as good practice.

In
fact, several other states have followed your lead.”

“It
could just be an innocent inquiry.”

“You’ve
obviously never dealt with Ralph Elliot before,” said Fletcher. “Innocent is
not part of his vocabulary. However, in the past he has always selected his
enemies carefully. Once he’s driven past the Gates Library a few times, he may
decide you’re not someone to cross. But be warned, he’s up to something.”

“By
the way,” said Harry, “has anyone told you about Jimmy and Joanna?”

“No,”
said Fletcher.

“Then
I’ll keep my mouth shut. I’m sure Jimmy will want to tell you in his own time.”

“Congratulations,
Tom,” said Su Ling, as she opened the front door. “I’m so pleased for both of
you.”

“That’s
kind of you,” said Julia, as Tom handed his hostess a bunch of flowers.

“So
when are you going to get married?”

“Sometime
in August,” said Tom, “we haven’t settled on a date, in case you and Luke were
booked for another trip to Disneyland, or Nat was off for a spell of night ops
with the reserves.”

“No,
Disneyland is a thing of the past,” said Su Ling, “Can you believe Luke’s now
talking about Rome, Venice and even Aries- and
Nat’s
not due down at Fort
Benning
until October.”

“Why
Aries?” asked Tom.

“It’s
where Van Gogh ended his days,” said Julia as Nat walked into the room.

“Julia,
I’m glad you’re here, because Luke needs to consult you on a moral dilemma.”

“A moral dilemma?
I didn’t think you started worrying about those until after puberty.”

“No,
this is far more serious than sex, and I don’t know the answer.”

“So
what’s the question?”

“Is
it possible to paint a masterpiece of Christ and the Virgin Mary if you are a
murderer?”

“It’s
never seemed to worry the Catholic Church,” said Julia. “Several of
Caravaggio’s finest works are hanging in the Vatican, but I’ll go up and have a
word with him.”

“Caravaggio, of course.
And don’t stay up there too
long,
” added Su Ling,
“there are so many questions I want to ask you.”

“I’m
sure Tom can answer most of them,” said Julia.

“No,
I want to hear your version,” said Su Ling as Julia disappeared upstairs.

“Have
you warned Julia what Ralph Elliot is up to?” asked Nat.

“Yes,”
Tom replied, “and she can’t foresee any problems. After all, why should it ever
occur to Elliot that there were two Julia
Kirkbridges
.

Don’t
forget, the first one was only with us for a few days and has never been seen
or heard of since, whereas Julia has been around for a couple of years now, and
everybody knows her.”

“But
it’s not her signature on the original check,”

“Why’s
that a problem?” asked Tom.

“Because
when the bank cleared the $3.6 million, the council asked for the check to be
returned to them.”

“Then
it will be tucked away in a file somewhere, and even if Elliot did come across
it, why should he be suspicious?”

“Because he has the mind of a criminal.
Neither of us thinks like him.” Nat paused. “But to hell with that, let me ask
you, before Julia and Su Ling return, am I looking for a new chairman, or has
Julia agreed to settle in Hartford and wash dishes?”

“Neither,”
said Tom, “she’s decided to accept a takeover bid from that fellow Trump, who’s
been after her company for some time.”

“Did
she get a good price?”

“I
thought this was meant to be a relaxed evening to
celebrate.?
”

“Did
she get a good price?” repeated Nat.

“Fifteen million in cash, and a further fifteen
million in Trump shares.”

“That’s
a PE ratio of about sixteen. Not bad,” said Nat, “although Trump obviously
believes in the potential of the Cedar Wood project. So does she plan to open a
real estate company in Hartford?”

“No,
I think she ought to tell you what she has in mind,” said Tom as Su Ling
returned from the kitchen.

“Why
don’t we invite Julia to join the board?” asked Nat, “and put her in charge of
our property division. That would free me up to spend more time concentrating
on the banking side.”

“I
think you’ll find she considered that scenario at least six months ago,” said
Tom.

“Did
you by any chance offer her a directorship if she agreed to marry you?” asked
Nat.

“Yes,
I did originally, and she turned both down. But now I’ve convinced her to marry
me, I’ll leave it to you to persuade her to join the board because I have a feeling
she has other plans.” fletcher was on the floor of the chamber listening to a
speech on subsidized housing when the proceedings were interrupted. He’d been
checking through his
notes,
as he was due to speak
next. A uniformed officer entered the chamber and passed a slip of paper to the
presiding member, who read it, and then read it again, banged his gavel and
rose from his place. “I apologize to my colleague for interrupting proceedings,
but a gunman is holding a group of children hostage at Hartford Elementary. I
am sure Senator Davenport will need to leave, and, given the circumstances, I
believe it would be appropriate to adjourn for the day.”

Fletcher
was on his feet immediately and had reached the door of the chamber even before
the presiding member had closed the proceedings. He ran all the way to his
office, trying to think on the move. The school was in the middle of his
district, Lucy was a pupil and Annie was head of the PTA. He prayed that Lucy
wasn’t among the hostages. The whole of the State House seemed to be on the
move.

Fletcher
was relieved to find Sally standing by the door to his office, notebook in
hand. “Cancel all of today’s appointments, call my wife and ask her to join me
at the school, and please stay by the phone.”

Fletcher
grabbed his car keys and joined the flood of people hurrying out of the
building. As he drove out of the members’ parking lot, a police car shot in
front of him. Fletcher pressed his foot down hard on the accelerator and swung
into the police car’s slipstream as they headed toward the school. The line of
cars became longer and longer, with parents making their way to pick up their
offspring, some looking frantic after hearing the news on their car radios,
others still blissfully unaware.