“You haven’t touched your dinner, Mario.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Is what he says true?”
Infantino nodded slowly. “I wish it weren’t but it is.
I’d give a lot to be able to say he was lying.”
And then Quantrell was back again, this time standing in front of a huge blowup of the Glass House.
“People have accused me of picking on the building you see behind me.
They maintain that there are dozens of high rises throughout the_city which are inherently fireproof shells that have been filled with enough combustibles to Turn them into tinderboxes. And they’re absolutely right-the city has dozens-, hundreds, of such buildings.
There are measures, of course, that can be taken. One is an extensive sprinkler system. But sprinkler systems are frequently unpopular with tenants because they’re unsightly and unpopular with builders because they’re expensive. Some progressive builders have nevertheless installed sprinkler systems throughout, perhaps in return for lower insurance rates. But our local building codes do not require a building to be completely sprinklered and until they do, competition will deprive most high-rise tenants of that protection.
“The Department of Building and Safety, however, is not completely blind to the hazards of high-rise fires and the fire codes have other requirements that builders have to follow; granted that adherence in these codes is often a matter between the local contractor and the building inspector. The vast majority of inspectors are honest men who are paid relatively small salaries for the work they do. But it would be too much to expect all of them to be above temptation. However, the construction of the tall buildings that dot our skyline involves huge amounts of money, and big money frequently has methods of, getting its own way besides the obvious but crude one of bribery”For instance, consider the city code requirement that all buildings above a certain height have stairwells that are pressurized to keep out smoke and thus serve as a safe, interior fire escape for tenants. This is a vital, relatively cheap protection for the occupants of our sky scrapers.
Listen to what Mario Infantino has to say about them. Mr. Infantino is the youngest and most knowledgeable of our city’s division fire chiefs as well as first assistant chief fire engineer.”
Infantino cursed and felt Doris’ hand on his shoulder.
Quantrell had faded from the screen, to be replaced by Infantino’s own image in a street interview that had been taped weeks before. He leaned forward to catch the words of his television alter ego.
“… well, -of course, the pressurized stairwell is an obvious and straightforward approach to confining the, spread of smoke during a high-rise fire. It offers invaluable protection to the tenants of such buildings at a minimal cost. As a protective device, it’s probably next in importance only to sprinkler systems-and in buildings that are only partially sprinklered, it may be even more important for the safety of the average tenant.”
Quantrell’s image reappeared on the screen.
“It may come as a shock to our viewers that the building amendment requiring pressurized stairwells was repealed by the City Council shortly after construction began on the Glass House, well after its building permits had been approved. Coincidence? Perhaps.”
Behind him appeared an architect’s drawing of a portion of the Glass House. The date under the National Curtainwall logo was quite clear.
Drawings from the earliest design period for the Glass House show that the plans never included a pressurized stairwell, despite the fact that at the time National Curtainwall’s architects were designing the Glass House, building codes clearly required such stairwells.
Prior knowledge that this requirement would no longer exist. when the building was finished? A wish? A mere hope? The management of National Curtainwall, as usual, had nothing to say. Nobody at City Hall seemed to know either And when we called the Fire Department, the usually knowledgeable Division Fire Chief Mario Infantino could not be reached for comment.
Nevertheless, the conclusion is inescapable that somebody We repeat: Big money is a law unto itself; it has a way of writing its own codes. Good night and may God watch over all of us-particularly those of you who live high in the sky.”
Infantino stalked over to the set and abruptly switched it off.
“He’s a goddamned muckraker. That was just a warning to me-play ball or I get tarred with the same brush he’s using on everybody els.
I wasn’t ducking his question, I was just ducking him. Everything I say to the bastard gets twisted.”
“He’s causing trouble between you and Chief Fuchs, isn’t he?”
Infantino shrugged. “He’s not helping any. Fuchs thinks I’m trying an end run behind his back. I don’t know what the hell he’ll think after tonight.”
“Don’t talk to that TV man at all then,” Doris-said pragmatically.
“What you don’t say can’t hurt you” Infantino shook his head, exasperated. “As far as opening my mouth goes, it’s damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I’ve been an idiot, I’ve said too much in the past.
If I clam up now, it’ll look as if the department has muzzled me, or worse yet, that I’ve been bought off.”
There were sudden noises from the basement and the three boys came boiling back into the living room; the program they had finally settled on was over. In a moment they began to roughhouse, rolling around on the floor and bumping against Infantino’s chair.
“Look, kids, I’ve got a lot on my mind-how about taking it easy on your old man?”
“It’s not too early for bedtime,” Doris warned.
There was a sudden silence and then a plaintive “But tomorrow’s a holiday!”
“All right,” she said. “You can go back down and watch for another hour-but only on condition that you don’t bother your mother and father.”
“We promise!” And they were gone like wind-blown leaves back into the basement.
Infantino sank back in his chair, shaking his head. “My God, I don’t think I can stand the silence.”
Doris suddenly came over and sat on his lap. “I think the dishes can wait,” she half whispered. He wrapped her small waist in his thick arms and pulled her to him, delighting in the softness of her body against the muscles of his midsection. Her hair was moist against his face, still smelling faintly of the perfume in the hair spray she used.
He buried his face in it, breathing in the scent, and then his hands were moving gently over her body as they kissed.
“The children,” Doris said quietly.
“They won’t bother us for an hour, you know that You sent them away, remember?”
She laughed and he kissed her on the ear and then on the mouth, then gathered her in his arms and stood up.
She was light and warm and moved gently against him as he carried her into-the bedroom. She kicked off her shoes as they entered and shoved the door closed behind them.
He let her down on the bed and then lay down beside her, running his fingers through her hair. She seemed so small and fragile against his bulk, too small to have borne him three boys, he thought.
They touched and quickly the ritual of removing clothing, undoing each other’s buttons and snaps and zippers, pausing every now and then to kiss and hold each other.
He was terribly excited now, part of the thrill being the slow, tender way they went about touching each other, each of them enjoying the delicious tension of anticipation.
Later, when they were unclothed and he was making love to her in the darkness of the bedroom, he thought how very lucky he was. For a second Quantrell intruded on his thoughts and he wondered how the newscaster had obtained the architect’s drawing, how he had known about the possible code violation. Then all thoughts of Quantrell faded from his mind and Mario Infantino lowered himself into his wife, his muscular body spasming in her arms as her nails raked light streaks through the sweat that coated his back and buttocks.
CHAPTER 4
“I think that’s the most egotistical man I’ve ever seen,” Rosette said. “Know what I mean, Harry? He really thinks he’s something when he’s in front of that camera!”
