Kane and Abel/Sons of Fortune Read online

  Alan said nothing; he certainly had not been aware of it. William won the hole.

  When they reached the eighteenth, Alan was eight holes down and was about to complete the worst round he cared to remember. He had a five-foot putt that would at least enable him to halve the final hole with William.

  “Do you have any more bombshells for me?” asked Alan.

  “Before or after your putt, sir?”

  Alan laughed and decided to call his bluff. “Before the putt, William,” he said, leaning on his club.

  “Osborne will not be awarded the hospital contract. It is thought by those who matter that he’s been bribing junior officials in the city government. Nothing will be brought out into the open, but to be sure of no repercussions later, his company has been removed from the final list. The contract will actually be awarded to Kirkbride and Carter. That last piece of information, sir, is confidential. Even Kirkbride and Carter will not be informed until a week from Thursday, so I’d be obliged if you would keep it to yourself.”

  Alan missed his putt. William holed his, walked over to the Chairman and shook him warmly by the hand.

  “Thank you for the game, sir. I think you’ll find you owe me ninety dollars.”

  Alan took out his wallet and handed over a hundred-dollar bill. “William, I think the time has come for you to stop calling me ‘sir.’ My name, as you well know, is Alan.”

  “Thank you, Alan.” William handed him ten dollars.

  Alan Lloyd arrived at the bank on Monday morning with a little more to do than he had anticipated before his meeting with William. He put five departmental managers to work immediately on checking out the accuracy of William’s allegations. He feared that he already knew what their inquiries would reveal, and because of Anne’s position at the bank, he made certain that no one department was aware of what the others were up to. His instructions to each manager were clear: All reports were to be strictly confidential and for the chairman’s eyes only. By Wednesday of the same week he had five preliminary reports on his desk. They all seemed to be in agreement with William’s judgment, although each manager had asked for more time to verify some details. Alan decided against worrying Anne until he had some more concrete evidence to go on. The best he felt he could do for the time being was to take advantage of a buffet supper the Osbornes were giving that evening; he could advise Anne then against any immediate decision on the loan.

  When Alan arrived at the party, he was shocked to see how tired and drawn Anne looked, which predisposed him to soften his approach even more. When he managed to catch her alone, they had only a few moments together. If only she were not having a baby just at the time all this was happening, he thought.

  Anne turned and smiled at him. “How kind of you to come, Alan, when you must be so busy at the bank.”

  “I couldn’t afford to miss out on one of your parties, my dear. They’re still the toast of Boston.”

  She smiled. “I wonder if you ever say the wrong thing.”

  “All too frequently. Anne, have you had time to give any more thought to the loan?” He tried to sound casual.

  “No, I am afraid I haven’t. I’ve been up to my ears with other things, Alan. How did Henry’s accounts look?”

  “Fine, but we only have one year’s figures to go on, so I think we ought to bring in our own accountants to check them over. It’s normal banking policy to do that with anyone who has been operating for less than three years. I’m sure Henry would understand our position and agree.”

  “Anne, darling, lovely party,” said a loud voice over Alan’s shoulder. He did not recognize the face; presumably one of Henry’s politician friends. “How’s the little mother-to-be?” continued the effusive voice.

  Alan slipped away, hoping that he had bought some time for the bank. There were a lot of politicians at the party, from City Hall and even a couple from Congress, which made him wonder if William would turn out to be wrong about the big contract. Not that the bank would have to investigate that: the official announcement from City Hall was due the following week. He said good-bye to his host and hostess, picked up his black overcoat from the cloakroom and left.

  “This time next week,” he said aloud, as if to reassure himself as he walked back down Chestnut Street to his own house … .

  During the party, Anne found time to watch Henry whenever he was near Milly Preston. There was certainly no outward sign of anything between them; in fact, Henry spent more of his time with John Preston. Anne began to wonder if she had not misjudged her husband and thought about canceling her appointment with Glen Ricardo the next day. The party came to an end two hours later than Anne had anticipated; she hoped it meant that the guests had all enjoyed themselves.

  “Great party, Anne, thanks for inviting us.” It was the loud voice again, leaving last. Anne couldn’t remember his name, something to do with City Hall. He disappeared down the drive.

  Anne stumbled upstairs, undoing her dress even before she had reached the bedroom, promising herself that she would give no more parties before having the baby in ten weeks’ time.

  Henry was already undressing. “Did you get a chance to have a word with Alan, darling?”

  “Yes, I did,” replied Anne. “He said the books look fine, but as the company can only show one year’s figures, he must bring his own accountants in to double-check. Apparently that’s normal banking policy.”

  “‘Normal banking policy’ be damned. Can’t you sense William’s presence behind all this? He’s trying to hold up the loan, Anne.”

  “How can you say that? Alan said nothing about William”

  “Didn’t he?” said Henry, his voice rising. “He didn’t bother to mention that William had lunch with him Sunday at the golf club while we sat here at home alone?”

  “What?” said Anne. “I don’t believe it. William would never come to Boston without seeing me. You must be mistaken, Henry.”

  “My dear, half the city was there, and I don’t imagine that William traveled some fifty miles just for a round of golf with Alan Lloyd. Listen, Anne, I need that loan or I’m going to fail to qualify as a bidder for the city contract. Some time—and very soon now—you are going to have to decide whether you trust William or me. I must have the money by a week from tomorrow, only eight days from now, because if I can’t show City Hall I’m good for that amount, I’ll be disqualified. Disqualified because William didn’t approve of your wanting to marry me. Please, Anne, will you call Alan tomorrow and tell him to transfer the money?”

  His angry voice boomed in Anne’s head, making her feel faint and dizzy.

  “No, not tomorrow, Henry. Can it wait until Friday? I have a heavy day tomorrow.”

  Henry collected himself with an effort and came over to her as she stood naked, looking at herself in the mirror. He ran his hand over her bulging stomach. “I want this little fellow to be given as good a chance as William.”

  The next day Anne told herself a hundred times that she would not go to see Glen Ricardo, but a little before noon she found herself riding in a cab. She climbed the creaky wooden stairs, apprehensive of what she might learn. She could still turn back. She hesitated, then knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  She opened the door.

  “Ah, Mrs. Osborne, how nice to see you again. Do have a seat.”

  Anne sat and they stared at each other.

  “The news, I am afraid, is not good,” said Glen Ricardo, pushing his hand through his long, dark hair.

  Anne’s heart sank. She felt sick.

  “Mr. Osborne has not been seen with Mrs. Preston or any other woman during the past seven days.”

  “But you said the news wasn’t good,” said Anne.

  “Of course, Mrs. Osborne, I assumed you were looking for grounds for divorce. Angry wives don’t normally come to me hoping I’ll prove their husbands are innocent.”

  “No, no,” said Anne, suffused with relief. “It’s the best piece of news I’ve had in week