against his father, he would never again do business with Pilasters Bank. In particular, he would have canceled the Santamaria railroad issue. He would have told Edward that he was canceling it. And Edward would have told Micky.
'Oh, my God,' Hugh said aloud.
He had always wondered whether Micky had something to do with the death of Solly. He knew Micky had been in the neighborhood. But the motive had always puzzled him. As far as he knew, Solly had been about to consummate the deal and give Micky what he wanted; and if that was right Micky had every motive for keeping Solly alive. But if Solly had been about to cancel, Micky might have killed him to save the deal. Had Micky been the well-dressed man quarreling with Solly a few seconds before he was run over? The coachman had always claimed Solly was pushed into his path. Had Micky shoved Solly under the wheels of that carriage? The thought was horrifying and disgusting.
Hugh got out of bed and turned up the gaslight. He would not go back to sleep tonight. He put on a dressing gown and sat by the dying embers of the fire. Had Micky murdered two of his friends, Peter Middleton and Solly Greenbourne?
And if he had, what was Hugh going to do about it?
He was still agonizing over the question the next day when something happened that gave him the answer.
He spent the morning at his desk in the Partners' Room. He had once longed to sit here, in the quiet, luxurious center of power, making decisions about millions of pounds, under the eyes of his ancestors' portraits; but now he was used to it. And soon he would be giving it up.
He was tying up loose ends, completing projects he had already begun but not starting new ones. His mind kept returning to Micky Miranda and poor Solly. It maddened him to think that a man as good as Solly had been done away with by a reptile and parasite such as Micky. What he really wanted to do was strangle Micky with his bare hands. But he could not kill him; in fact there was not even any point in reporting his beliefs to the police, for he had no proof.
His clerk, Jonas Mulberry, had been looking agitated all morning. Mulberry had come into the Partners' Room four or five times on different pretexts but had not said what was on his mind. Eventually Hugh divined that the man had something to say that he did not want the other partners to hear.
A few minutes before midday Hugh went along the corridor to the telephone room. They had had the phone installed two years before, and they were already regretting the decision not to put it in the Partners' Room: each of them was called to the instrument several times a day.
On the way he met Mulberry in the corridor. He stopped him and said: 'Is there something on your mind?'
'Yes, Mr. Hugh,' said Mulberry with evident relief. He lowered his voice. 'I happened to see some papers being drawn up by Simon Oliver, Mr. Edward's clerk.'
'Come in here for a moment.' Hugh stepped into the telephone room and closed the door behind them. 'What was in the papers?'
'A proposal for a loan issue to Cordova--for two million pounds!'
'Oh, no!' said Hugh. 'This bank needs less exposure to South American debt--not more.'
'I knew you'd feel that way.'
'What is it for, specifically?'
'To build a new harbor in Santamaria Province.'
'Another scheme of Senor Miranda's.'
'Yes. I'm afraid that he and his cousin Simon Oliver have a great deal of influence over Mr. Edward.'
'All right, Mulberry. Thank you very much for letting me know. I'll try to deal with it.'
Forgetting his phone call, Hugh returned to the Partners' Room. Would the other partners let Edward do this? They might. Hugh and Samuel no longer had much influence, as they were leaving. Young William did not share Hugh's fear of a South American collapse. Major Hartshorn and Sir Harry would do as they were told: And Edward was Senior Partner now.
What was Hugh going to do about it? He had not left yet, and he was still earning his share of the profits, so his responsibilities were not at an end.
The trouble was that Edward was not rational: as Mulberry had said, he was completely under the influence of Micky Miranda.
Was there any way Hugh could weaken that influence? He could tell Edward that Micky was a murderer. Edward would not believe him. But he began to feel that he had to try. He had nothing to lose. And he badly needed to do something about the dreadful revelation he had had in the night.
Edward had already left for lunch. On impulse, Hugh decided to follow him.
Guessing Edward's destination, he took a hansom to the Cowes Club. He spent the journey from the City to Pall Mall trying to think of words that would be plausible and inoffensive, to help convince Edward. But all the phrases he thought of sounded artificial, and when he arrived he decided to tell the unvarnished truth and hope for the best.
It was still early, and he found Edward alone in the smoking room of the club, drinking a large glass of Madeira. Edward's skin rash was getting worse, he noticed: where his collar chafed his neck it was red and raw.
Hugh sat down at the same table and ordered tea. When they were boys, Hugh had hated Edward passionately, for being a beast and a bully. But in recent years he had come to see his cousin as a victim. Edward was the way he was because of the influence of two wicked people, Augusta and Micky. Augusta had suffocated him and Micky had corrupted him. However, Edward had not softened toward Hugh, and he now made no bones about showing that he had no wish for Hugh's company. 'You didn't have to come this far for a cup of tea,' he, said. 'What do you want?'
It was a bad start, but nothing could be done about that. Feeling pessimistic, Hugh began. 'I have something to say that will shock and horrify you.'
'Really?'
'You'll have trouble believing it, but all the same it's true. I think Micky Miranda is a murderer.'
'Oh, for God's sake,' Edward said angrily. 'Don't bother me with such nonsense.'
'Listen to me before you dismiss the idea out of hand,' Hugh said. 'I'm leaving the bank, you're Senior Partner, I have nothing left to fight for. But I discovered something yesterday. Solly Greenbourne knew that your mother was behind that press campaign to stop Ben Greenbourne's getting a peerage.'
Edward gave an involuntary start, as if what Hugh had said chimed with something he already knew.
Hugh felt more hopeful. 'I'm on the right track, am I not?' he said. Guessing, he went on: 'Solly threatened to cancel the Santamaria railroad deal, didn't he?'
Edward nodded.
Hugh sat forward, trying to contain his excitement.
Edward said: 'I was sitting at this very table, with Micky, when Solly came in, angry as the devil. But--'
'And that night Solly died.'
'Yes--but Micky was with me all night. We played cards here, then went on to Nellie's.'
