Sons of Fortune (75 page)
“Well,
there’s only one way of finding out,” said the mayor as he began to turn the
ballots over, with the crowd chanting in unison, “one, two,
three
.
.”
Nat
felt embarrassed and muttered to Su Ling, “He’d better be right.”
“Twenty-seven,
twenty-eight...” Fletcher said nothing as Jimmy joined in the counting.
“Thirty-nine,
forty, forty-one....” And suddenly there was a hush; the observer had been
correct, because the forty-second ballot had a cross against Cartwright’s name.
The mayor, the chief clerk, Tom and Jimmy all checked the offending ballot and
agreed that a mistake had been made, and therefore the overall result was a
tie.
Tom
was surprised by Nat’s immediate response.
“I
wonder how Dr. Renwick voted.”
“I
think you’ll find he abstained,” whispered Tom.
The
mayor was looking exhausted, and agreed with his chief of staff that they
should call for a recess, to allow the counters and any other officials to take
an hour’s break, before the next recount at two o’clock. The mayor invited
Fletcher and Nat to join him for lunch, but both candidates politely declined,
having no intention of leaving the hall or even straying more than a few feet
from the center table, where the votes were stacked up.
“But
what happens if it remains a tie?”
Nat
heard the mayor ask the chief clerk as they made their way toward the exit. As
he didn’t hear the reply, he asked Tom the same question. His chief of staff
already had his head buried in the Connecticut State Elections Manual.
Su
Ling did slip out of the hall and walked slowly down the corridor, remaining
just a few paces behind the mayor’s party. When she spotted library printed in
gold letters on an oak door, she came to a halt. She was pleased to find the
door unlocked and stepped quickly inside. Su Ling took a seat behind one of the
large bookcases, leaned back and tried to relax for the first time that day.
“You
too,” said a voice.
Su
Ling looked up to see Annie sitting in the opposite corner. She smiled. “The
choice was another hour in that hall or
. .”
“
dis
. or lunch with the mayor, and further epistles of the
apostle Paul on the virtues of Madison.” They both laughed.
“I
only wish it had all been decided last night,” said Su Ling. “Now one of them
is bound to spend the rest of his life wondering if he should have canvassed
another shopping mall
..”
“I
don’t think there was another shopping mall,” said Annie.
“Or
school, hospital, factory or station, come to think of it.”
“They
both should have agreed to govern for six months each year, and then let the electorate
decide who they wanted in four years’ time.”
“I
don’t think that would have settled anything.”
“Why
not?” asked Annie.
“I
have a feeling this will be the first of many contests between them that will
prove nothing until the final showdown.”
“Perhaps
the problem for the voters is that they are so alike it’s impossible to choose
between them,” Annie suggested, looking carefully at Su Ling.
“Perhaps
it’s just that there is nothing between them,” said Su Ling, returning her
gaze.
“Yes,
my mother often comments on how alike they are whenever they’re both on TV, and
the coincidence of their shared blood group has only emphasized that feeling.”
“As
a mathematician I don’t believe in quite so many coincidences,” said Su Ling.
“It’s
interesting that you should say that,” ventured Annie, “because whenever I
raise the subject with Fletcher, he simply clams up.”
“Snap,”
said Su Ling.
“I
suspect if we combined our knowledge
. .”
“We
would only live to regret it.”
“What
do you mean?” asked Annie.
“Only
that if those two have decided not to discuss the subject, even with us, they
must have a very good reason.”
“So
you feel we should remain silent as well.”
Su
Ling nodded. “Especially after what my mother’s been put through...”
“And
my mother-in-law would undoubtedly be put through,” suggested Annie. Su Ling
smiled and rose from her place. She looked directly at her sister-in-law.
“Let’s just hope that they don’t both stand for president, otherwise the truth
is bound to come out.”
Annie
nodded her agreement.
“I’ll
go back first,” said Su Ling, “and then no one will ever realize this
conversation took place.”
“Did
you manage to get some lunch?” asked Nat.
Su
Ling didn’t have to reply as her husband was distracted by the reappearance of the
mayor clutching a piece of paper in his right hand. He looked far more relaxed
than when last seen disappearing in the direction of his office. On reaching
the center of the room, the mayor gave an immediate order that another recount
should commence. The satisfied look on his face was not the result of good food
and even better wine; in fact the mayor had forgone lunch to phone the justice
department in Washington and seek the advice of the attorney general’s office
on how they should proceed in the event of a tie.
The
tellers were, as ever, thorough and meticulous, and forty-one minutes later
came up with exactly the same result.
A tie.
The
mayor reread the attorney general’s fax, and to everyone’s disbelief, called
for a further recount, which, thirty-four minutes later, confirmed the
deadlock.
Once
the chief clerk had reported this to his elected 501 representative, the mayor
began to make his way toward the stage, having asked both candidates to join
him. Fletcher shrugged his shoulders when he caught Nat’s eye. So keen were the
onlookers to discover what had been decided that they quickly stood aside to
allow the three men to pass, as if Moses had placed his staff on the Madison
waters.
The
mayor stepped up onto the platform with the two candidates in close attendance.
When he came to a halt in the center of the stage, the candidates took their
places on each side of him, Fletcher on his left, Nat on his right, as befitted
their political persuasion. The mayor had to wait a few more moments for the microphone
to be returned to its original position before he could address an audience
that had not diminished in size despite the holdups.
“Ladies
and gentlemen, during the lunch break, I took the opportunity to telephone the
justice department in Washington,
D.c
.
,
to seek their advice as to what procedure we should follow in the event of a
tie.” This statement elicited a silence that until that moment had not been
achieved since the doors opened at nine o’clock that morning.
“And
to that end,” the mayor continued, “I have a fax signed by the attorney general
confirming the due process of law that must now take place.” Someone coughed,
and in the hush that had overcome the assembled gathering it sounded like
Vesuvius erupting.
The
mayor paused for a moment before returning to the attorney general’s fax. “If
in an election for governor, any one candidate wins the count three times in a
row, that candidate shall be deemed to be the winner, however small his or her
majority. But should the vote end in a tie for a third time, then the result
shall be decided,” he paused, and this time no one coughed, “by the toss of a
coin.”
The
tension broke and everyone began speaking at once, as they tried to take in the
significance of this revelation, and it was some time before the mayor was able
to continue.
He
once again waited for complete silence before producing a silver dollar from
his waistcoat pocket. He placed the coin on his upturned thumb before glancing
at the two contestants as if seeking their approval. They both nodded.
One
of them called, “Heads,” but then he always called heads.
The
mayor gave a slight bow before spinning the coin high in the air. Every eye
followed its ascension, and
its
even quicker descent,
before it finally bounced up and down on the stage, ending up at the mayor’s
feet. All three men stared down at the thirty-fifth president, who resolutely
returned their gaze.
The
mayor picked up the coin and turned around to face the two candidates. He
smiled at the man now standing on his right, and said, “May I be the first to
congratulate you, Governor.”
$38.95 c.
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLING author Jeffrey Archer – one
of
“
the top ten storytellers in the
world” (los Angeles Times) com returns with a powerful tale of twins separated
by fate and reunited by destiny.
In Hartford,
Connecticut, in the late 1940’s, a set of twins is parted at birth-not by
accident. Nat Cartwright goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and an
insurance salesman, while his twin brother begins his days as Fletcher Davenport,
son of a millionaire and his society wife.
During the
1950’s and 196.0’s, the two brothers grow up apart, following similar paths
that take them in different directions. Nat leaves college at the University of
Connecticut to serve in Vietnam, then finishes school, earns his MBA, and
becomes a successful currency dealer. Fletcher, meanwhile, graduates from Yale
University with a bachelor’s and a law degree, going on to distinguish
himself
as a criminal defense lawyer.
At various
times in their lives, both men are confronted with challenges and obstacles,
tragedy and betrayal, loss and hardship, before they both decide to run for
governor, unaware they are
brothers ...
In the
tradition of Jeffrey Archer’s most popular books, is as much a chronicle of a
nation in transition as it is the story of the making of these two men-and how
they eventually discover the truth-and its Kane and Abel, Honor Among Thieves,
and To Cut a Long Story Short
comh
been international
bestsellers, selling over 120 million copies worldwide. Archer is married with
two children and lives in England.
JACKET
DESIGN BY STEVE SNIDER
JACKET
PHOTOGRAPH BY JUNSHI
WATANABE/PHOTONICA
ST.
MARTIN’S PRESS
Table
of Contents
