What Carter said made sense and even sounded like something his father would do, Wilson thought, but was it true? Wilson’s cynicism was growing. How much does Carter really know?
“Are you still willing to do what my father asked?”
“Now more than ever,” Carter didn’t hesitate.
“I have the files with me,” Wilson said, looking down at the briefcase sitting next to his side of the table. “Daniel reviewed the files with me on the flight back from Sun Valley.”
For the next forty-five minutes, while they ate a lunch of sandwiches and fruit, Wilson summarized the major areas of abuse by Fielder amp; Company’s clients. He cited several examples from the fifty-two files and answered Carter’s probing questions. When there were no more questions, Wilson looked deep into Carter’s eyes. “I don’t know how many people have already died, or how many may yet die to keep this information hidden, but I want to be ready to give this story to the press as soon as my father’s assets have been liquidated and all of us are under the best protection I can find.”
Carter nodded admiringly. “I am in full accord and eager to commence.”
“I can arrange to give you access to all of the company’s files. My father’s administrative assistant Anne Cartwright will be your contact. I’ll tell her you’re compiling a corporate history of Fielder and Company as a way of offsetting some of the unfavorable press surrounding my father,” Wilson said as he finished his meal.
They paid the check, left the underground pub, and walked out onto Dunster Street, carrying each other’s briefcases.
“Did Daniel identify any major suspects from among the fifty-two?” Carter asked as they walked toward Harvard Yard.
“No,” Wilson said sharply. If Carter knows more than he’s telling me, he’ll be able to boil the list down to prime suspects much faster than I can. “I was hoping you would…”
“That’s the first thing I’ll do,” Carter said, interrupting. “Do you anticipate carrying out the KaneWeller merger, or have the deaths of Daniel Redd and Cheryl O’Grady changed things?”
“I don’t know yet,” Wilson said, struck by Carter’s decisiveness and his sudden return to analytical detachment. He must know more than he’s telling me. “If Daniel’s law firm fails to produce and/or adequately explain the requested files, KaneWeller may have legitimate cause to back out of the deal. On the other hand, if the law firm hands over the files, KaneWeller may choke on the information. Either way, there’s a good chance they’ll back out.”
“What then?” Carter asked as the two of them entered Harvard Yard through Johnston Gate.
“Fielder amp; Company becomes a stand-alone entity again,” Wilson said.
“Who would assume control of the operation?”
“I would,” Wilson said, anxious to see how Carter would respond.
“After what happened to your father? That’s foolhardy.”
“Who else is going to stop the carnage?” Wilson said goadingly. “If KaneWeller backs out, no other firm will consider acquiring Fielder amp; Company for at least a year.”
“Whoever disposed of Daniel will do the same to you,” Carter said with surprising intensity. “You must assume that the people watching us have sufficient means to get away with anything. And I do mean
Wilson stopped in front of the Widener Library to search Carter’s eyes. What Carter had said was true. So why isn’t he telling me everything? For protection? There’s only one way to find out. “Then I’ll have to convince them to trust me.”
“You expect to reason with these people?”
“Why not? What better way to expose them?”
“The journey could damage you more than you can imagine.”
Wilson’s eyes narrowed as he responded, “If the deal with KaneWeller goes sour, I don’t see an alternative. I didn’t ask for this mess, but I can do something about it.”
“Take perspective, Wilson,” Carter said, as they faced each other in the quad between the Widener Library and Memorial Church. All of a sudden there were students everywhere. “Do you honestly believe that saving the world from one more corrupt conspiracy will make a difference?”
“Of course I do, and so do you.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“Then why work so hard to keep your students from succumbing to the misinterpretations of one more historian? Why write so prolifically about what we haven’t learned from history’s bitter ironies? Why help me document the abuses at Fielder amp; Company? I’ll tell you why. To be free from lies. Your whole life has been about saving the world from one more corruption-one more lie. I was your student for two years, remember?”
Carter contemplated Wilson for several moments as passing students stared. “You are your father, Wilson,” he said warmly. “You have his gift for distinguishing the core of things. I saw traces of it in you at Princeton, but you have travelled well beyond those days. Your father would be proud.”
Wilson appreciated the comment but winced at “would”. He remained silent.
“You may be right about my longing to save humanity, but I assure you, it is not necessarily a godly trait,” Carter said with a solemn face.
Wilson smiled at the conundrum.
“If you decide to proceed with this,” Carter continued, “you may not be able to protect the people you love.”
“I’m working on that,” Wilson said as they resumed walking.
When they walked past Memorial Church, Carter slowed and turned to Wilson. “Leaping into the abyss rarely offers an attractive reward-to-risk ratio,” Carter said.
Wilson attempted to hold his gaze, but Carter had already picked up the pace again.
“Who do you trust at Fielder amp; Company?” Carter asked as they continued walking toward Robinson Hall.
“No one.”
“Keep it that way.”
Wilson nodded. Reconfirm the obvious.
“You know your every move will be scrutinized,” Carter said.
“I won’t be able to stomach the charade for long, I know that. Days, maybe weeks, definitely not months,” Wilson said when they arrived at the entrance to Robinson Hall, where Carter was scheduled to give a lecture in five minutes. He invited Wilson to listen in, but Wilson declined. He still had to find a solution to everyone’s safety.
“Tedious and treacherous, requiring immense patience and resolve. The stress on you and everyone around you will become unbearable. And the surveillance will only get worse,” Carter said, looking every bit the adventurer ready to embark on a new crusade.
Wilson nodded again, resigning himself to the reality that Carter, like his father, would never divulge anything before he was completely ready to do so. And right now, Carter was primarily preoccupied with Wilson’s safety, which left Wilson only one option-choose a course of action that would make Carter encourage him or stop him.
“Let’s hope we make it,” Wilson said.
They shook hands and arranged to meet again once Carter had been able to study the files. Walking away from Robinson Hall, Wilson felt like an overloaded pack mule. The looming prospect of taking over the helm at Fielder amp; Company unnerved him, but it seemed there was no other way to correct his father’s mistakes.
13
Tate — St. Moritz, Switzerland
Wayland Tate entered his suite at Suvretta House and deposited his gloves and parka on the entryway settee. He’d received Marco’s confirmation call a few hours earlier when he was on the slopes with clients. Everything had gone as planned. No loose ends. The promised funds had already been wired. Although extreme measures weren’t Tate’s first choice, he never hesitated to use them when necessary.
