the previous morning: the charge account application that also listed the addresses of Starrett's branch stores. She checked the location of the stores against the computer printout.
Then, smiling, she went back to bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
Chapter 19
'This kir is too sweet,' Helene Pierce complained.
'You were born a woman,' Turner said, 'and so you're doomed to eternal dissatisfaction. Also, it's a kir royale. Now eat a grape.'
He had frozen a bunch of white seedless grapes. They were hard as marbles, but softened on the tongue and crunched delightfully when bitten.
The Pierces were slumped languidly in overstuffed armchairs in Turner's frowsy apartment, having returned from lunch at Vito's where they had pasta primavera, a watercress salad, and shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Now they were sodden with food and wine, toying with the kirs and frozen grapes, both smiling at the memory of their rice-and-beans days.
'I have something to tell you,' Helene said.
'And I have something to tell you,' he said. 'But go ahead; ladies first.'
'Since when?' she said. 'Anyway, Clayton asked me to marry him.'
Turner's aplomb shattered. He drained his glass.
'When did this happen?' he asked hoarsely.
'A few days ago.'
'Why didn't you tell me immediately?'
'No rush,' she said. 'He has to ask mommy's permission first.'
'Sure,' Turner said, 'she owns the company now. He's really going to divorce Eleanor?'
'That's what he says.'
'Shit!'
'My sentiments exactly,' Helene said. 'How are we going to handle it?'
'Before we compute that, I better tell you my news; it'll give you a hoot. Felicia wants to marry me.'
They stared at each other. They wanted to laugh but couldn't.
'This family's doing splendidly,' Turner said with a twisted smile. 'What did Clayton offer?'
'Financial security. A prenuptial agreement on my terms.'
'Pretty much what Felicia offered me. There's a lot of loot there, kiddo.'
'I know.'
'Damn it!' he exploded. 'Things were going so great, and now this. How long can you stall Clayton?'
She shrugged. 'As long as it takes him to get a divorce. If Eleanor hires a good lawyer, it could be a year. Stop biting your nails.'
He took a deep breath. 'It means we'll have to revise our timetable. Another year on the gravy train and that's it.'
'What about Felicia?'
'I'll think of something.'
'You want to cut and run right now?' she asked curiously.
He shook his head. 'It took a lot of time and hard work to set up this deal. It's just beginning to pay off; I'm not walking away from it. And besides, if I split, Ramon would be a mite peeved.'
'The understatement of the year,' she said.
He nodded gloomily. 'I'll figure out how to handle Felicia; it's Clayton I'm worried about.'
'You worry too much,' she told him. 'Leave it to me.'
'If you say so,' he said doubtfully, and went into the kitchen to mix more kir royales.
Helene straightened up in her armchair, lighted a cigarette slowly. She heard him moving about, the gurgle of wine, clink of glasses. She looked toward the kitchen door, frowning.
She had caught something in his voice that disturbed her. Not panic-not yet-but there was an uncertainty she had never heard before. He was the one who had taught her self-assurance.
'Just don't give a dam',' he had instructed her. 'About anything. That gives you an edge on everyone who believes in something.'
And that's the way they had played their lives; amorality was their religion, and they had flourished. And as they thrived, their confidence grew. They thumbed their noses at the world and danced away laughing. But now, it seemed to her, his surety was crumbling. She imagined all the scenarios that could result from his weakness and how they would impact on her life.
He brought fresh drinks from the kitchen, and she smiled at him, thinking that if push came to shove, she might have to make a hard choice.
Chapter 20
Dora awoke the next morning convinced that her brainstorm of the previous night had been exactly that: a storm of the brain. Now, in the sunny calm of a new day, it seemed highly unlikely that the peculiarity she had spotted in the computer printout had any significance whatsoever. There were a dozen innocent explanations for it. It was a minor curiosity. It would lead her nowhere.
But still, she reflected glumly, it was all she had, and it deserved, at least, a couple of phone calls. So she dialed Arthur Rushkin. He wasn't in his office yet, and Dora continued calling at fifteen-minute intervals until, at about 10:30, she was put through to him.
'Did you find anything?' he asked eagerly.
'Not really,' she said, wondering if dissembling was part of her job or part of her nature. 'I just have a technical question, and I was hoping you'd be willing to give me the name of that computer expert you consulted.'
'I don't see why not,' Rushkin said slowly. 'His name is Sregor Pinchik, and he's in the Manhattan directory. He has his own business: computer consultant for banks, brokerages, credit card companies, and corporations.'
'Sounds like just the man I need.'
'There are two things you should know about him,' the attorney went on. 'One, he charges a hundred dollars an hour. And two, he's an ex-felon.'
'Oh-oh,' Dora said. 'For what?'
'Computer fraud,' Rushkin said, laughing. 'But since he's been out, he's discovered there's more money to be made by telling clients how to avoid getting taken by computer sharpies like him. Shall I give Pinchik a call and tell him he'll be hearing from you? That way you won't have to go through the identification rigmarole.'
'It would be a big help. Thank you, Mr. Rushkin.'
Then she phoned Mike Trevalyan in Hartford.
'Are you on to anything?' he asked.
'Not really,' Dora said again, 'but something came up that needs a little digging. Mike, remember when you were telling me about Starrett Fine Jewelry? You said that about a year ago Clayton Starrett fired most of his branch managers and put in new people. And about the same time he started trading in gold bullion.'
'So?'
'Starrett has fifteen branches in addition to their flagship store in New York. What I need to know is this: Which of the branch stores got new managers a year ago.'
'I'm not sure I can get that,' Trevalyan said, 'but if it's important, I'll try.'
'It's important,' Dora assured him. 'How come I always end up doing your job for you?' 'Not all of it. The other thing I wanted to tell you is that I'm going to hire a computer consultant.'
'What the hell for?'
