father and his brother still don’t talk because of a business partnership. I don’t want that to happen here.»
«Have you told Esperanza this?»
He shook his head. «But she’s given me a week to make a decision. Then she walks.»
«Tough spot,» Win said.
«Any suggestions?»
«Not a one.» Then Win tilted his head and smiled.
«What?»
«Your argument,» Win said. «I find it ironic»
«How so?»
«You believe in marriage and family and monogamy and all that nonsense, correct?»
«So?»
«You believe in raising children, the picket fences, the basketball pole in the driveway, peewee football, dance classes, the whole suburbia scene.»
«And again I say, so?»
Win spread his arms. «So I would argue that marriages and the like never work. They inevitably lead to divorce or disillusionment or the deadening of dreams or at the very least, bitterness and resentment. I might - similar to you – point to my own family as an example.»
«It’s not the same thing, Win.»
«Oh, I recognize that. But the truth is, we all take facts and compute them through our own experiences. You had a wonderful family life; thus you believe as you do. I am of course the opposite. Only a leap of faith could change our positions.»
Myron made a face. «Is this supposed to be helping?»
«Heavens, no,» Win said. «But I do so enjoy philosophical folly.»
Win picked up the remote and switched on the television. Nick at Night. Mary Tyler Moore was on. They grabbed fresh drinks and settled back to watch.
Win took another sip, reddening his cheeks. «Maybe Lou Grant will have your answer.»
He didn’t. Myron imagined what would happen if he treated Esperanza the same way Lou treated Mary. If Esperanza were in a good mood, she’d probably tear out his hair until he looked like Murray.
Bedtime. On his way to his room, Myron checked on Brenda. She was sitting lotus-style on the antique Queen Something-or-other bed. The large textbook was open in front of her. Her concentration was total, and for a moment he just watched her. Her face displayed the same serenity he’d seen on the court. She wore flannel pajamas, her skin still a little wet from a recent shower, a towel wrapped around her hair.
Brenda sensed him and looked up. When she smiled at him, he felt something tighten in his stomach.
«You need anything?» he asked.
«I’m fine,» she said. «You solve your business problem?»
«No.»
«I didn’t mean to eavesdrop before.»
«Don’t worry about it.»
«I meant what I said earlier. I’d like you to be my agent.»
«I’m glad.»
«You’ll draw up the papers?»
Myron nodded.
«Good night, Myron.»
«Good night, Brenda.»
She looked down and turned a page. Myron watched her for another second. Then he went to bed.
12
They took Win’s Jaguar to the Bradford estate because, as Win explained, people like the Bradfords «don’t do Taurus». Neither did Win.
Win dropped Brenda off at practice and headed down Route 80 to Passaic Avenue, which had finally completed a widening program that began when Myron was in high school. They finished up on Eisenhower Parkway, a beautiful four-lane highway that ran for maybe five miles. Ah, New Jersey.
A guard with enormous ears greeted them at the gate of, as the sign said, Bradford Farms. Right. Most farms are known for their electronic fences and security guards. Wouldn’t want anyone getting into the carrots and corn. Win leaned out the window, gave the guy the snooty smile, and was quickly waved through. A strange pang struck Myron as they drove through. How many times had he gone past the gate as a kid, trying to peer through the thick shrubs for a glance at the proverbial greener grass, dreaming up scenarios for the lush, adventure-filled life that lay within these manicured grounds?
He knew better now, of course. Win’s familial estate, Lockwood Manor, made this place look like a railroad shanty, so Myron had seen up close how the superrich lived. It was indeed pretty, but pretty doesn’t mean happy. Wow. That was deep. Maybe next time Myron would conclude that money can’t buy happiness. Stay tuned.
Scattered cows and sheep helped keep the farm illusion – for the purpose of nostalgia or a tax write-off, Myron could not say, though he had his suspicions. They pulled up to a white farmhouse that had undergone more renovations than an aging movie queen.
An old black man wearing gray butler’s tails answered the door. He gave them a slight bow and asked them to follow him. In the corridor were two goons dressed like Secret Service men. Myron glanced at Win. Win nodded. Not Secret Service guys. Goons. The bigger of the two smiled at them like they were cocktail franks heading back to the kitchen. One big. One skinny. Myron remembered Mabel Edwards’s descriptions of her attackers. Not much to go on if he couldn’t check for a tattoo, but worth keeping in mind.
The butler or manservant or whatever led them into the library. Rounded walls of books climbed three stories high, topped by a glass cupola that let in the proper amount of fresh light. The room might have been a converted silo, or maybe it just looked that way. Hard to tell. The books were leather and in series and untouched. Cherry mahogany dominated the scene. Paintings of old sailing vessels were framed under portrait lamps. There was a huge antique globe in the center of the room, not unlike the one Win had in his own office. Rich people like old globes, Myron surmised. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are both expensive and utterly useless.
The chairs and couches were leather with gold buttons. The lamps were Tiffany. A book lay strategically open on a coffee table next to a bust of Shakespeare. Rex Harrison was not sitting in the corner wearing a smoking jacket, but he should have been.
As though on cue, a door on the other side of the room – a bookshelf actually – swung open. Myron half expected Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson to storm into the room calling for Alfred, maybe tilt back the head of Shakespeare, and turn a hidden knob. Instead it was Arthur Bradford, followed by his brother, Chance. Arthur was very tall, probably six-six, thin, and stooped a bit the way tall people over the age of fifty are. He was bald, his fringe hair trimmed short. Chance was under six feet with wavy brown hair and the kind of boyish good looks that made it impossible to tell his age, though Myron knew from the press clippings that he was forty-nine, three years younger than Arthur.
Playing the part of the perfect politician, Arthur beelined toward them, a fake smile at the ready, hand extended in such a way as either to shake hands or to imply that the extended hand hoped to touch more than just flesh.
«Windsor!» Arthur Bradford exclaimed, grasping Win’s hand as if he’d been searching for it all his life. «How wonderful to see you.»
Chance headed toward Myron like it was a double date and he had gotten stuck with the ugly girl and was used to it.
Win flashed the vague smile. «Do you know Myron Bolitar?»
The brothers switched handshaking partners with the practiced proficiency of experienced square dancers. Shaking Arthur Bradford’s hand was like shaking hands with an old, unoiled baseball glove. Up close, Myron could
