She went away for a moment; then another voice came on, feminine, cool: Mr. Davenport? This is Kerin Baki, Mr. Bones assistant. Can I help you?
I need to talk to Mr. Bone.
When?
As soon as possible.
Come over, and well get you in, she said.
BAKI WAS A CHILLY NORTHERN BLONDE, WITH AN oval face and pale blue fighter-pilot eyes. She met him without any softening smile. In the spring, Lucas thought, she probably had genetic dreams of turning her tanks toward Moscow…
She led him through into Bones office, said, Mr. Bone, Mr. Davenport, and left them, shutting the door behind her.
Bone was dressed in a subdued single-breasted wool suit with a crisp white shirt and an Italian necktie; but somehow the ensemble came off as a wry comment on Yankee bankertude. He had a telephone to one ear and a foot propped on the N-Z volume of theNew Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, which lay flat on his desk. He waved Lucas in, and as Lucas dropped into a bent-oak chair across the desk, said into the phone, Two? Thats as good as you can do? Last week it was one and seven… Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ill get back to you, but I think we might have to talk to Bosendorfer or Beckstein… Yeah, yeah. By four.
He hung up, made a notation on a legal pad, and said, I can give you all the time youd need this evening, butif you gotta talk now, you gotta talk fast. And this is all off the record at this point, right?
Lucas nodded. Yes. If we need an official statement, well send you a subpoena and get a formal deposition.
Bone leaned forward. So?
So do you think McDonald did it?
If one of us did it, it was McDonald. I didnt do it. Robles, no motive. ODell, too smart. Unless Im missing something. And to tell you the truth, I dont think its McDonald. Way down at the bottom, I dont think hes got the grit to pull it off.
Then whys he running the place?
Hes not. Hes only speaking for it. And thatll only last until ODell and I get the board sorted out. Then itll be one of us.
Lucas said, Huh, and then, Have you ever heard of George Arris? Does the name ring a bell?
Yes, of course. He was a famous case around here, around the bank. He was murderedthis mustve been a few months or maybe a year or so before I came here. Mustve been back in 85.
How was it famous? The name doesnt ring a bell with me…
It was over on the St. Paul side of the river. Somebody started shooting white guys who were walking in the black areasthere were like three or four of them in a few weeks, shot in the back of the head.
Ah, jeez, I remember that, Lucas said. Never solved. And Arris was one of them?
Yup.
Whatd he do here? Worked with the trust department, setting up portfolios for rich folk.
Would he have worked with McDonald?
Bone said, Probably. Id have to look up the exact dates, but they probably overlapped. They certainly both went through that department. I dont really know the details. I wasnt here yet. I just heard about the killing later.
Okay. How about Andrew Ingall?
Andy? He was a vice president, also in the trust department, but he died a few years ago in a boating accident up on Superior. You think Wilson had something to do with it?
Why would he? Lucas asked.
Bone leaned back, then spun his chair in a circle, stopped it with one foot, reached into a desk drawer where he apparently had a stereo tuner hidden. A Schumann piano piece, simple, easy, elegant, and sweet, sprang into the office, and Bone said, Schumann, and Lucas said, I knowScenes from Childhood, and Bone said, Christ, were so cultured I cant stand it, and Lucas said, A friend of mine used to play them. Why would McDonald do Andy Ingall?
Because they were both candidates to run the operation. Then Andy sailed out of Superior Harbor one day, just moving his boat up to the islands. He never got there. No storm, no emergency calls, nothing. Just phhht. Gone. The theory was that he had a leaky gas tankhe had some kind of old gas engine, an Atomic, or something like thatand gas leaked into the bilge, and he fired up the engine out on the water somewhere, and boom. He was gone before he could call for help. That was the theory, but nobody ever knew for sure. No wreckage was ever found.
So McDonald got the job.
Well, no. When Andy disappeared, everything was screwed up for a while; then we had a general shuffling around, and McDonald wound up as a senior vice president in the mortgage company.
Huh, said Lucas, and Bone said, Yeah, and asked, Cant you get this stuff from the FBI or somewhere?
Probably not. Besides, the computers down.
You too? Christ, its chaos downstairs…
Did you ever hear that McDonald might whack his wife around from time to time? Pretty seriously?
Bone nodded. I heard it. I went out with a lawyer lady for a while, old family, she knows that whole country clubbunch; and she said something to me about it. She might have some details… You could talk to her if you want.
Thatd be good…
Bone scratched a name and phone number on a piece of notepaper and pushed it across the desk. Sandra Ollsen, twols. Thats her office phone over at Kelly, Batten.
What kind of law?
Estate planning, wills, trusts. He looked at his watch and said, Listen, Ive got to go to a meeting, but I can talk to a guy whos gonna be there, and find out if there was anything between Wilson and Arris.
Lucas said, Thanks, stood up, and as they shook hands, said, I understand you used to play a little ball.
Yeah, a little, Bone said.
How well do you know Dama Isley?
Reasonably wellI heard he played for the Gophers, back when. Hard to believe.
Yeah. Listen, next time you see him, take a couple of minutes and talk a little ball, old-time stuff, like college days.
Bone shrugged. Sure. Why?
Private project, Lucas said. You still play?
Bone, grinning, said, I still shoot around a little bit on Saturdays. Always a couple of kids trying to take advantage of me.
Lucas said, A banker? Playing for money?
Good grief, no, Bone said. Not for money. Thatd be illegal.
ON THE WAY OUT, LUCAS PAUSED IN THE OPEN DOOR of Bones office, saw Kerin Baki talking to the secretary, and said, loud enough for her to overhear, Im probably going to want to talk about McDonald again.
Bone, already settling back into his desk, distracted, missed the double-directed comment, nodded, said, Okay, and Lucas pulled the door shut. He smiled at Baki on the way out and said, Thank you.
By the time the elevators reached the bottom floor, hethought, the word on McDonald would be out. If Baki was as efficient as she looked, she could never pass on the chance to screw one of her bosss competitors.
LIKE BONE, SANDRA OLLSEN WAS REALLY TOO BUSY TO talk to Lucas; but he mentioned Bones name and was admitted to the mahogany offices of Kelly, Batten, Orstein amp; Shirinjivi. Ollsen was a tall, coordinated woman who looked as though she might once have played some ball herself.
Hows Jim? she asked casually as Lucas settled into the chair across her desk.
Looks fine; something of a power struggle going on over there, Lucas said.
Yes. With Susan ODell. I hope she kicks his butt.
Really? Lucas asked.
