The Stars Shine Down (24 page)

There were six bankers in the room with Howard Keller, and the atmosphere was grim.

“We’re holding overdue notes for almost a hundred million dollars,” their spokesman said. “I’m afraid we can’t accommodate Cameron Enterprises any longer.”

“You’re forgetting a couple of things,” Keller reminded them. “Number one, we expect the casino gambling license in Reno to be renewed any day now. That cash flow will more than take care of any deficit. Number two, Cameron Towers is right on schedule. It’s going to be finished in ninety days. We already have a seventy percent tenancy, and you can be assured that the day it’s finished everybody is going to be clamoring to get in. Gentlemen, your money couldn’t be more secure. You’re dealing with the Lara Cameron magic.”

The men looked at one another.

The spokesman said, “Why don’t we discuss this among ourselves and we’ll get back to you?”

“Fine. I’ll tell Miss Cameron.”

Keller reported back to Lara.

“I think they’ll go along with us,” he told her. “But in the meantime, we’re going to have to sell off a few more assets to stay afloat.”

“Do it.”

Lara was getting to the office early in the morning and leaving late at night, fighting desperately to save her empire. She and Philip saw very little of each other. Lara did not want him to know how much trouble she was facing.
He has enough problems,
Lara thought.
I can’t burden him with any more.

At six o’clock Monday morning Tilly was on the phone. “I think you’d better get over here, Miss Cameron.”

Lara felt a sharp sense of apprehension. “What’s wrong?”

“I’d rather you saw it for yourself.”

“I’m on my way.”

Lara telephoned Keller. “Howard, there’s another problem at Cameron Towers. I’ll pick you up.”

Half an hour later they were on their way to the construction site.

“Did Tilly say what the trouble was?” Keller asked.

“No, but I don’t believe in accidents anymore. I’ve been thinking about what you said. Steve Murchison wanted that property badly. I took it away from him.”

When they arrived at the site, they saw large sheets of crated tinted glass lying on the ground, and more glass being delivered by trucks. Tilly hurried over to Lara and Keller.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“What’s the problem?”

“This isn’t the glass we ordered. It’s the wrong tint and the wrong cut. There’s no way it will fit the sides of our building.”

Lara and Keller looked at each other. “Can we recut it here?” Keller asked.

Tilly shook his head. “Not a chance. You’d wind up with a mountain of silicate.”

Lara said, “Who did we order this from?”

“The New Jersey Panel and Glass Company.”

“I’ll call them,” Lara said. “What’s our deadline on this?”

Tilly stood there calculating. “If it got here in two weeks, we could be back on schedule. It would be a push, but we’d be okay.”

Lara turned to Keller, “Let’s go.”

Otto Karp was the manager of the New Jersey Panel and Glass Company. He came on the phone almost immediately. “Yes, Miss Cameron? I understand you have a problem.”

“No,” Lara snapped.
“You
have a problem. You shipped us the wrong glass. If I don’t get the right order in the next two weeks, I’m going to sue your company out of business. You’re holding up a three-hundred-million-dollar project.”

“I don’t understand. Will you hold on, please?”

He was gone almost five minutes. When he came back on the line, he said, “I’m terribly sorry, Miss Cameron, the order was written up wrong. What happened is…”

“I don’t care what happened,” Lara interrupted. “All I want you to do is to get our order filled and shipped out.

“I’ll be happy to do that.”

Lara felt a sharp sense of relief. “How soon can we have it?”

“In two to three months.”

“Two to three months! That’s impossible! We need it
now.”

“I’d be happy to accommodate you,” Karp said, “but unfortunately we’re way behind in our orders.”

“You don’t understand,” Lara said. “This is an emergency and…”

“I certainly appreciate that. And we’ll do the best we can. You’ll have the order in two to three months. I’m sorry we can’t do better…”

Lara slammed down the receiver. “I don’t believe this,” Lara said. She looked over at Tilly. “Is there another company we can deal with?”

Tilly rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Not at this late date. If we went to anyone else, they’d be starting from scratch, and their other customers would be ahead of us.”

Keller said, “Lara, could I talk to you for a minute?” He took her aside. “I hate to suggest this, but…”

“Go ahead.”

“…your friend Paul Martin might have some connections over there. Or he might know someone who knows someone.”

Lara nodded. “Good idea, Howard. I’ll find out.”

Two hours later Lara was seated in Paul Martin’s office.

“You don’t know how happy I am that you called,” the lawyer said. “It’s been too long. God, you look beautiful, Lara.”

“Thank you, Paul.”

“What can I do for you?”

Lara said hesitantly, “I seem to come to you whenever I’m in trouble.”

“I’ve always been there for you, haven’t I?”

“Yes. You’re a good friend.” She sighed. “Right now I need a good friend.”

“What’s the problem? Another strike?”

“No. It’s about Cameron Towers.”

He frowned. “I heard that was on schedule.”

“It is. Or it was. I think Steve Murchison is out to sabotage the project. He has a vendetta against me. Things have suddenly started to go wrong at the building. Up to now we’ve been able to handle them. Now…We have a big problem. It could put us past our completion date. Our two biggest tenants would pull out. I can’t afford to let that happen.”

She took a deep breath, trying to control her anger.

“Six months ago we ordered tinted glass from the New Jersey Panel and Glass Company. We received our delivery this morning. It wasn’t our glass.”

“Did you call them?”

“Yes, but they’re talking about two or three months. I
need that glass in four weeks. Until it’s in, there’s nothing for the men to do. They’ve stopped working. If that building isn’t completed on schedule, I’ll lose everything I have.”

Paul Martin looked at her and said quietly, “No, you won’t. Let me see what I can do.”

Lara felt an overwhelming sense of relief. “Paul, I…” It was difficult to put into words. “Thank you.”

He took her hand in his and smiled. “The dinosaur isn’t dead yet,” he said. “I should have some word for you by tomorrow.”

The following morning Lara’s private phone rang for the first time in months. She picked it up eagerly. “Paul?”

“Hello, Lara. I had a little talk with some of my friends. It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done. They promised a delivery a week from Monday.”

On the day the glass shipment was scheduled to arrive, Lara telephoned Paul Martin again.

“The glass hasn’t come yet, Paul,” Lara said.

“Oh?” There was a silence. “I’ll look into it.” His voice softened. “You know, the only good thing about this, baby, is that I get to talk to you again.”

“Yes. I…Paul…if I don’t get that glass on time…”

“You’ll have it. Don’t give up.”

By the end of the week there was still no word.

Keller came into Lara’s office. “I just talked to Tilly. Our deadline is Friday. If the glass arrives by then, we’ll be okay. Otherwise we’re dead.”

By Thursday nothing had changed.

Lara went to visit Cameron Towers. There were no workmen there. The skyscraper rose majestically into the sky,
overshadowing everything around it. It was going to be a beautiful building. Her monument.
I’m not going to let it fail,
Lara thought fiercely.

Lara telephoned Paul Martin again.

“I’m sorry,” his secretary said. “Mr. Martin is out of the office. Is there any message?”

“Please ask him to call me,” Lara said. She turned to Keller, “I have a hunch I’d like you to check out. See if the owner of that glass factory happens to be Steve Murchison.”

Thirty minutes later Keller returned to Lara’s office. His face was pale.

“Well? Did you find out who owns the glass company?”

“Yes,” he said slowly. “It’s registered in Delaware. It’s owned by Etna Enterprises.”

“Etna Enterprises?”

“Right. They bought it a year ago. Etna Enterprises is Paul Martin.”

T
he bad publicity about Cameron Enterprises continued. The reporters who had been so eager to praise Lara before now turned on her.

Jerry Townsend went in to see Howard Keller.

“I’m worried,” Townsend said.

“What’s the problem?”

“Have you been reading the press?”

“Yeah. They’re having a field day.”

“I’m worried about the birthday party, Howard. I’ve sent out the invitations. Since all this bad publicity, I’ve been getting nothing but turndowns. The bastards are afraid they might be contaminated. It’s a fiasco.”

“What do you suggest?”

“That we cancel the party. I’ll make up some excuse.”

“I think you’re right. I don’t want anything to embarrass her.”

“Good. I’ll go ahead and cancel it. Will you tell Lara?”

“Yes.”

Terry Hill called.

“I just received notice that you’re being subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury in Reno day after tomorrow. I’ll go with you.”

Transcript of Interrogation of Jesse Shaw by Detective Lieutenant Sal Mancini.

M: Good morning, Mr. Shaw. I’m Lieutenant Mancini. You’re aware that a stenographer is taking down our conversation?

S: Sure.

M: And you’ve waived the right to an attorney?

S: I don’t need no attorney. All I did was find a watch, for Christ’s sake, and they drug me all the way up here like I’m some kind of animal.

M: Mr. Shaw, do you know who Philip Adler is?

S: No. Should I?

M: No one paid you to attack him?

S: I told you—I never heard of him.

M: The police in Chicago found fifty thousand dollars in cash in you apartment. Where did that money come from?

S: [No response]

M: Mr. Shaw…?

S: I won it gambling.

M: Where?

S: At the track…football bets…you know.

M: You’re a lucky man, aren’t you?

S: Yeah. I guess so.

M: At present, you have a job in Chicago. Is that right?

S: Yes.

M: Did you ever work in New York?

S: Well, one time, yeah.

M: I have a police report here that says you were operating a crane at a development in Queens that killed a construction foreman named Bill Whitman. Is that correct?

S: Yeah. It was an accident.

M: How long had you been on that job?

S: I don’t remember.

M: Let me refresh your memory. You were on that job seventy-two hours. You flew in from Chicago the day before the accident with the crane, and flew back to Chicago two days later. Is that correct?

S: I guess so.

M: According to American Airlines’ records, you flew from Chicago to New York again two days before Philip Adler was attacked, and you returned to Chicago the following day. What was the purpose of such a short trip?

S: I wanted to see some plays.

M: Do you remember the names of the plays you saw?

S: No. That was awhile ago.

M: At the time of the accident with the crane, who was your employer?

S: Cameron Enterprises.

M: And who is your employer on the construction job you’re working on in Chicago?

S: Cameron Enterprises.

Howard Keller was in a meeting with Lara. For the past hour they had been talking about damage control to offset the bad publicity the company was receiving. As the meeting was about to break up, Lara said, “Anything else?”

Howard frowned. Someone had told him to tell Lara something,
but he could not remember what it was.
Oh, well, it’s probably not important.

Simms, the butler, said, “There’s a telephone call for you, Mr. Adler. A Lieutenant Mancini.”

Philip picked up the telephone. “Lieutenant. What can I do for you?”

“I have some news for you, Mr. Adler.”

“What is it? Did you find the man?”

“I’d prefer to come up and discuss it with you in person. Would that be all right?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Philip replaced the receiver, wondering what it was that the detective did not want to talk about on the telephone.

When Mancini arrived, Simms showed him into the library.

“Afternoon, Mr. Adler.”

“Good afternoon. What’s going on?”

“We caught the man who attacked you.”

“You did? I’m surprised,” Philip said. “I thought you said it was impossible to catch muggers.”

“He’s not an ordinary mugger.”

Philip frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“He’s a construction worker. He works out of Chicago and New York. He has a police record—assault, breaking and entering. He pawned your watch, and we got his prints.” Mancini held up a wrist watch. “This is your watch, isn’t it?”

Philip stared at it, not wanting to touch it. The sight of it brought back the horrible moment when the man had grabbed his wrist and slashed it. Reluctantly, he reached out and took the watch. He looked at the back of the case where some of the letters had been scratched off. “Yes. It’s mine.”

Lieutenant Mancini took the watch back. “We’ll keep this
for the moment, as evidence. I’d like you to come downtown tomorrow morning to identify the man in a police lineup.”

The thought of seeing his attacker again, face-to-face, filled Philip with a sudden fury. “I’ll be there.”

“The address is One Police Plaza, Room Two-twelve. Ten o’clock?”

“Fine.” He frowned. “What did you mean when you said he wasn’t an ordinary mugger?”

Lieutenant Mancini hesitated. “He was paid to attack you.”

Philip was staring at him, bewildered.
“What?”

“What happened to you wasn’t an accident. He got paid fifty thousand dollars to cut you up.”

“I don’t believe it,” Philip said slowly. “Who would pay anyone fifty thousand dollars to cripple me?”

“He was hired by your wife.”