Eric was still with us.
I complimented Rosita on her excellent dinner as she cleared away the white cardboard and chopsticks, and she said it was an old family recipe. We even looked into the kitchen to see her progress in organizing her new domain.
Two new maids were to report to work tomorrow, and gardeners were already employed. Home, sweet home.
At ten o’clock I gave Katie instructions to get to bed early, and I left for the Hilton. It was a longer drive downtown from this house.
Now I had time to think.
I didn’t believe it anymore, what Nathan had said. Wealth and power don’t corrupt. It’s just that corrupt people often became wealthy and powerful.
I had changed in four weeks. It wasn’t for the worse, though. Maybe I’d said I’d never take the money, but I knew better now. I’d done nothing wrong in getting it, and I wouldn’t have to do anything wrong to keep it. I was going to keep it. I will be rich, I will be powerful. I accept it. Melvin Boyer knew his son, and he’d made the right decision.
Angela? Five days ago I’d been slapping myself about being at fault for her death, but that wasn’t really a reasonable way to look at it. I’d smothered a political attack against myself. I’d had every reason to believe that the suspicion of murder was unfounded. Unfortunately, I’d been wrong. But life goes on. For the rest of us, anyway.
The police were still clueless. They wouldn’t have been able to prevent it even if they had kept the investigation open. I’d made the right decision.
Melvin? I’d had nothing to do with his death; that was all on his own head. With as many enemies as he’d made, it was a wonder he’d lasted as long as he did. Melvin Boyer. Now, there was a paradigm of corruption, a man who was ruthless to begin with. He’d made his fortune because he was cruel and smart and lucky. But a person didn’t have to be that way to be rich. I wouldn’t be. I had him as an example of what to avoid.
Had he always been that way? I didn’t know him back in the beginning. He probably was. It was already showing when he was married to Ann.
I’d know it if I was becoming like him. I know that I’m not the kind of person he was. And I’m at the exit now, and I’ve wasted this whole time. I need to be ready to deal with Clinton Grainger, and Fred will be there, too, and this is no time for stupid arguments. So shut up.
24
I parked on the street. It’s not safe downtown at night, but I would have killed anyone who tried to mug me in that dark half block to the hotel. It was still quarter to eleven. I found the bar and a booth in it and sat in the shadow.
Ten minutes later, as inconspicuous as a blimp, Fred joined me. Once he was settled, though, the gloom swallowed him, and he was just a presence in the dimness.
“Three of Bright’s cabinet secretaries resigned an hour ago,” he murmured. “Transportation, Finance, and Education.”
“Education?” I didn’t even know who that person was.
“The ship is sinking and there’s not enough lifeboats.”
“Is it going down that fast?” I asked.
“Eileen McCloskey, the education secretary, is making her move to challenge him. She would make an interesting candidate if she can be controlled. She’s certainly trying to sink him now, so we could consider her an ally. And she won’t be the last.”
What pleasant people. Had power corrupted them, or had they been nasty from birth?
“So, who owns Malden, the lieutenant governor?”
“Forrester. Your father brokered the deal between him and Bright.”
“So if… I mean, when he becomes governor, Forrester is in control.”
“No. Henry Malden is a nonentity. He presides over the state senate and funnels information to Forrester, but he has no political skills. Forrester wanted an informant and Bright wanted a lieutenant who would never be a rival. As governor, Malden will be completely lost.”
“Then who will be in charge?”
As if I’d needed to ask Fred Spellman such a question. “Whoever is strongest,” he said.
“Anything else?”
“I have been advising several of your executive managers on how they are to respond to subpoenas.”
“We’re cooperating.”
“Yes, yes,” Fred said. “But the lines must be kept clear.”
“Whatever. We’ll tough it out. Do you have any suggestions for this evening?”
“Grainger may have something constructive to suggest concerning the current crisis. But mainly you’re both just looking. Remember, you’ve wrecked his main project. He may be holding a grudge. He’s going to abandon ship sometime, but his timing may depend on you.”
“I agree with what you said this morning,” I said. “I’d like him at least neutral. As long as he stays on the governor’s staff, he can use the governor against me.”
“Exactly. So convince him his future is better as your friend. Give him a small hint and see how he responds.”
Friend. The word grated somewhat, in the context of our conversation and setting. It implied trust, and decency-certainly the wrong word.
“What else might he do to fight back?” I was really just thinking aloud. We’d been through everything.
“I haven’t thought of anything else. He may indicate something tonight.”
On that note, we waited. Noisy, jumbled minutes were passing outside our booth. A television played over the bar, music, talking, lights splattering the room, but we were no part of it. We were the dark and silence that the life of the room broke through and sank back under.
At almost midnight the black deepened as Grainger slid in next to me. I hadn’t seen him come into the room. I shifted around into the back corner.
“Busy day,” he said. “I can’t stay long.”
That bordered on the moronic, but there wasn’t any better way to begin. The man’s alleged genius certainly wasn’t in conversation. I tried to think of something equally obvious to say.
“Bright’s career is over,” I said. “I had no choice.”
“Maybe.”
“What should I have done?” I wanted to see how personally he was taking it.
“It doesn’t matter. The governor doesn’t have many choices, either.”
It was hard to tell if that was a statement or a threat. His voice was expressionless, and his face would have been if I could have seen it.
“I made a business decision, to clean house,” I said. “There were too many risks the old way, including Bright as a business partner.” I leaned toward him. “Slamming me with a murder scandal didn’t add to the working relationship.”
“You shouldn’t react too hastily.” He sounded weary and carefully patient.
“Last month you said I took too long to make decisions.”
“That was a different situation. You’ve done a lot of damage, and it could have been avoided.” It was the first time I’d heard him speak with any inflection to his words, and it was condescension. “It’s going to take a lot of effort to repair.” Poor Clinton, having to clean up my mess.
Fred rumbled to life. “Don’t use that tone. You are speaking to adults here, not that toddler you baby-sit. The governor is finished, and you know it. The issue here is to manage the endgame.”
“I’m not conceding that,” Grainger said.
“You should,” I said. “I don’t want to have to do any more damage.” “What else will you do?” Grainger
