Beale nodded.
“The first sure sign of disaster for rich people,” he said. “Rich people don’t earn money. Their capital earns money. If they start snacking on the capital, there’s less income earned, and then, because they have less income, they take a bigger bite of capital, and there’s even less income, and, like that.”
“He tell you this?”
“No,” Beale said. “He wouldn’t say shit if he had a mouthful. As far as he was concerned, she was perfect. The kids were perfect. Christ, the son is an arrogant little thug, but Loudon acts like he’s fucking Tom Sawyer. Buys the kid out of every consequence his behavior entails. Or did.”
“And the daughter?”
“Don’t know. No news is probably good news. Loudon never had much to say about her, so she probably didn’t get in much trouble.”
“And he’s been economically strapped since 1987?”
“Broke,” Beale said. “Getting broker.”
“What are they living on?” I said. “They’ve got two kids in college, a mansion on the Hill, fancy office. How are they doing that?”
Beale shook his head.
“Margin.” he said.
chapter thirty-five
“IT’S SIMPLY NOT so,” Loudon Tripp said.
“So why is everyone telling me otherwise?” I said.
“I can’t imagine,” Tripp said.
“Your secretary hasn’t been paid her salary,” I said.
“Of course she has.”
He took his checkbook from its place on the left-hand corner of the desk and opened it up and showed me the neat entries for Ann Summers.
“And the check you gave me bounced,” I said.
He turned immediately to the entry for my check.
“No,” he said. “It’s right here. Everything is quite in order.”
“There’s no running balance,” I said.
“Everything is in order,” Tripp said again.
“Do you know that your wife was unfaithful?” I said.
“By God, Spenser,” he said, “that’s enough.” His voice was full of sternness but empty of passion.
“I fear that I have made a mistake with you, and it is time to rectify.it.”
“Which means I’m fired,” I said.
“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry. But you have brought it on yourself. You have made insupportable accusations. My wife may be dead, Mr. Spenser, but her memory is alive, and as long as I’m alive, no one will speak ill of her.”
“Mr. Tripp,” I said. “Your wife was not what she appeared to be, not even who she said she was. Your life is not what you say it is. There’s something really wrong here.”
“Good day, Mr. Spenser. Please send me a bill for your services through”-he looked at his watch-“through today,” he said.
“And you’ll pay it with a rubber check,” I said. “And enter it carefully and not keep a balance so you won’t have to know it’s rubber.”
“Good day, Mr. Spenser!”
I was at a loss. It was like talking to a section of the polar ice cap. I got up and went out, and closed the door behind me.
“He’s crazy,” I said to Ann Summers. She shook her head sadly.
“Why didn’t you tell me about him right off?”
“I don’t know. He’s, he’s such a sweet man. And it seemed gradual, and he seemed so sure everything was all right, and…” She spread her hands.
“Even when you weren’t getting paid?” I said.
“I felt sorry, no, not that, quite, I felt… embarrassed for him. I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t want him to know that I knew.”
“Anything else you haven’t told me?” I said.
She shook her head. We were quiet for a while. Then she spoke.
“What are you going to do?” she said.
“I’m going to find out,” I said. “I’m going to keep tugging at my end of it until I find out.”
