flat. With the uncertainty of everything here in America it would be a sensible precaution to extend that lease for a further six months.
‘Pullinger,’ announced Reid.
‘Shit!’ said Beckwith.
‘It’s scarcely a surprise,’ said the North Carolina lawyer. ‘Hope you don’t mind my calling at a weekend, instead of waiting until Monday?’
‘I’m glad you did. No point in holding back,’ said Beckwith. ‘You got the official notification?’
‘A friendly call from the circuit office. I’m getting the formal notification in Monday’s mail.’
‘I guess I’ll get one too.’
‘You should do.’
‘What about a hearing date?’
‘Still to be fixed.’
‘I guess this puts me first out of the gate?’ said Beckwith.
‘I had Pullinger’s record checked. He’s heard three alienation of affection and criminal conversation cases. Each time he’s refused pre-trial submissions for dismissal.’
‘I ran the same checks,’ said Beckwith. ‘I’ve still got to try it.’
‘Of course you have,’ agreed the other lawyer. ‘I’ll file for an attendance of interest, obviously.’
‘You heard any more from Bartle?’
‘I’d have passed it on if I had. I might also apply to Pullinger for a compliance of exchange order, particularly over the medical records.’
‘The more we can get Pullinger irritated by the behaviour of the other side the better,’ agreed Beckwith.
‘What about Leanne Jefferies?’
‘As soon as I get an attorney’s response I’m issuing Alyce’s claim for alienation of affections and criminal conversation,’ said Reid.
‘And a medical report for her,’ prompted Beckwith.
‘The demand will go with the other claims.’
‘Anything more from your enquiry people?’
‘I’d have passed it on if there had been.’
‘We should meet again sometime next week.’
‘I guess it’s my turn to come up to you,’ offered Reid. ‘You going to include Harvey?’
‘He’s very hands-on. And the more he’s included in things the better I think he’ll perform in court if the dismissal submission fails.’
‘I might talk to the circuit office about availability for a closed hearing,’ said Reid. ‘It’s not dependent upon whether you succeed or not.’
‘The sooner the better,’ said Beckwith. ‘The moment there’s a public listing the media are going to be alerted. You warned Alyce against any public comment?’
‘I have, although it wasn’t really necessary. She wants to dig a hole and go hide in it. How about your boy?’
Beckwith’s snigger became a laugh. ‘He’s a tetchy son-of-a-bitch about what and how he’s called: to be referred to as “my boy” would send him ape. He certainly doesn’t need any warning about talking to the press. He’d like to go hide in the same hole as Alyce.’
‘Which was the start of both their troubles,’ reminded Reid, coarsely. ‘You got your diary with you to talk about next week?’
‘Your convenience,’ offered Beckwith.
‘Wednesday,’ chose the other lawyer. I might stay over.’
‘I’ll leave the evening free, in case. Harvey’s at the Carlyle, incidentally.’
‘High roller,’ commented Reid.
‘That’s what he tells me he is.’
‘Let’s hope he stays lucky.’
‘Let’s hope we all stay lucky.’
‘Getting Pullinger wasn’t lucky,’ reminded Reid.
‘Luckier,’ Beckwith corrected himself.
Jordan picked up the waiting message slips as he checked back in to the Carlyle and returned Beckwith’s call the moment he entered his suite.
Beckwith said, ‘I tried to get you a couple of times?’
‘I went to Atlantic City.’
‘How’d you do?’
‘Finished $4,500 up over the two days.’ And got accredited receipts for a total of $23,000 representing the money he’d taken in to the casinos and switched back and forth between dollars and chips, he reminded himself, more than satisfied with the trip. As he was more than satisfied with the accumulation in the five Appleton accounts in the Wall Street banks, which now stood at $56,000. The following morning he intended withdrawing most of it to put into the waiting safe-deposit boxes.
‘We’ve got Pullinger, the judge we didn’t want,’ declared Beckwith.
‘I was going to call you today to tell you I was thinking of briefly going back to England; see how things are there.’
‘You still can. Nothing’s going to happen except Bob coming up on Wednesday, to talk a few things through. Bring ourselves up to date.’
‘I’ll put it back,’ decided Jordan at once. ‘I’d like to be with you.’
‘I thought you would. There’s no real reason, though.’
‘I’ll be there,’ insisted Jordan. And lay out as many leads as I can for you to pick up, he thought.
‘Your choice.’
‘Will Alyce be there?’
‘I don’t know. Why?’
‘Just wondered,’ dismissed Jordan. ‘Where on Wednesday? What time?’
‘I’ll let you know.’
He had a day and a half to get all his ideas together for the meeting, thought Jordan: more than enough time.
Sixteen
The surprise wasn’t that the New York meeting was in Beckwith’s office but that Alyce was again ahead of him. And that Jordan was pleased to see her. He said, ‘Hello, yet again,’ and she smiled, very briefly, but didn’t speak. To the two lawyers Jordan said, ‘I’m sorry to be late. I allowed myself forty-five minutes! I don’t know how you manage to work at all in Manhattan.’
‘It’s an art form,’ said Beckwith.
‘So how bad is it that we got Pullinger?’ asked Jordan, as he sat.
Beckwith sighed. ‘You want coffee?’
‘I’d rather catch up on what I’ve missed.’
‘You haven’t missed anything,’ said Reid, as irritated at Jordan’s impatience as the other lawyer. ‘We small- talked, waiting for you.’
Jordan was aware of Alyce smiling again and this time wished she hadn’t. ‘Thank you. Coffee would be good.’ As well as his not appearing so anxious would have been good, he realized. He’d been thoroughly pissed off by the gridlock and the time it had taken him to stash his bank account money into the safe-deposit boxes, neither of which were causes for him flustering in as he had. He smiled his thanks to Suzie when she came in with his coffee, which he didn’t really want, wondering how she managed to breathe in her second-skin virginal white trousers and top.
‘So let’s pick up on your question,’ began Beckwith. ‘We’re stuck with Pullinger, which is bad luck but
