Sons of Fortune Read online

  “Thanks, but that wasn’t why I was calling. I wanted to check if you’d spotted the piece about Bill Alexander’s resignation in the Times.” Fletcher felt a chill go through his body at the mere mention of the name.

  “No,” he said, as he leaned across the desk and grabbed his copy of the paper. “Which page?”

  “Seven, bottom right.”

  Fletcher quickly flicked through the pages until he saw the headline, Leading lawyer resigns. “Hold on while I just read the piece.” When he’d come to the end, all he said was, “It doesn’t add up. He was married to that firm, and he can’t be a day over sixty.”

  “Fifty-seven,” said Logan.

  “But the partners’ mandatory retirement age is sixty-five, and even then they keep you on as an in-house advisor until you’re seventy. It doesn’t add up.” Fletcher repeated.

  “Until you dig a little.”

  “And when you dig a little, what do you find?” asked Fletcher.

  “A hole.”

  “A hole?”

  “Yes, it seems that a large sum of money went missing from a client’s account when…”

  “I have no time for Bill Alexander,” Fletcher cut in, “but I do not believe that he would remove one penny from a client’s account. In fact I’d stake my reputation on it.”

  “I agree with you, but what will interest you more is that the New York Times didn’t bother to report the name of the other partner who resigned on the same day.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Ralph Elliot, no less.”

  “They both went on the same day?”

  “They sure did.”

  “And what reason did Elliot give for resigning? It certainly can’t have been because he was planning to take early retirement.”

  “Elliot gave no reason; in fact their PR spokeswoman is reported to have said that he was unavailable for comment, which must be a first.”

  “Did she add anything?” asked Fletcher.

  “Only that he was a junior partner, but she failed to point out that he was also Alexander’s nephew.”

  “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.”

  “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 B 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 Taft.”

  “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 fiancée 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