On the other hand, I wouldn’t have minded taking a look around the property. But Kate and I weren’t even supposed to be here, and we were already late for our meeting with Major Schaeffer at state police headquarters. I glanced at Kate, then answered, “We’ll leave it to your staff to conduct the search. But we’ll be back in the morning with search parties.”
He nodded and said, “Fine. I’ll have my staff begin the search immediately. I’ll also make sure tomorrow’s search party has terrain maps and the use of my vehicles and staff.”
Kate asked, “Didn’t you say your staff is going on holiday?”
“The
“May I ask why you have so many security people here?”
Madox replied, “It’s really not that many if you consider they work in shifts to cover a seven-day week, twenty- four hours a day, every day of the year.”
“But why do you
He answered, “A house like this attracts unwanted attention. Besides, the local police are stretched thin and the state police are some distance away. I rely on my own security.”
She didn’t pursue that, and Bain Madox said, “I’ll show you out.”
We walked toward the door, and on the way, I asked him, “Will you be here tomorrow?”
“I may be.” He paused. “My plans are up in the air.”
And so were his two jets. I asked him, “Where do you live full-time?”
“New York City.”
“Any other homes?”
“A few.”
“How do you get out of here? Car? Plane?”
He replied, “Usually someone drives me to the regional airport in Saranac Lake. Why do you ask?”
“I just want to be sure we can reach you tomorrow. Do you have a cell phone?”
“I don’t give that number out, but if you’ll call the security guard number here, someone is on twenty-four hours a day, and they’ll locate me. If we discover anything, we’ll call you at The Point.” He gave me the security number. “But I’ll probably see you in the morning.”
“You will. Do you have a private plane?”
He hesitated, then replied, “I do. Why do you ask?”
“Can you be reached on the plane?”
“Usually. Why-?”
“Are you planning any flights in or out of the country?”
“I go when and where business takes me. I’m not sure why you need to know this.”
“I just need to know that I can contact you if there’s any misunderstandings or problems with your security people, who seem very protective and not particularly easy to deal with.”
“That’s what they get paid for, but I’ll make sure they understand that you and Ms. Mayfield can reach me, and that the search teams can traverse the property freely in the morning.”
“Great. That’s all we need.”
We passed through the library into the lobby, and I said, “So, you built this place.”
“Yes. In 1982.” He added, “As a kid, I always admired the grand lodges up here, and also what were called the Great Camps, built by millionaires at the turn of the last century. In fact, The Point, where you’re staying, was a Rockefeller Great Camp.”
“Yeah, I know. You have a tux I can borrow?”
He smiled. “I’d opt for room service.”
“Me, too. So, why didn’t you buy one of these old places which are probably for sale all over?”
He thought a moment, then replied, “Well, I looked at a few, but this private parcel was available in the park, and I bought it for three hundred thousand dollars. Less than twenty dollars an acre. Best investment I ever made.”
“Better than oil?”
We made eye contact, and he said, “I suppose you know who I am.”
“Well, you’re not exactly unknown.”
“I try to keep a low profile. But that’s not always possible. Thus, the security here.”
“Right. Good idea. Nobody’s going to get you here.”
“I don’t think anyone is actually after me.”
“You never know.” He ignored that, and I asked him, “Hey, what’s with the price of oil? Up or down?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“That’s pretty scary.”
He smiled and replied, “Bet on fifty dollars a barrel as we get closer to the war in Iraq.” He added, “You didn’t hear that from me.”
“Gotcha.”
He seemed to want to talk, which was fine with me, and he drew our attention to a wall where about two dozen bronze plaques were mounted, each bearing a name and a date.
He said, “These are some of the men I served with and their dates of death. The earlier dates are those who died in Vietnam, the later ones died in one war or another since then, and some died natural deaths.” He moved closer to the plaques and said, “I built this place partly as a memorial to them, partly as a reminder of our beginnings at the Custer Hill Officers Club, and partly as a place to gather on Veterans Day and Memorial Day for those of us still around.”
After a few seconds of silence, Kate said, “That’s very nice.”
Bain Madox continued to stare at the names, then turned to us. “Also, when I built this place, it was the height of the Cold War, and you might remember that the news media was trying to whip the country into a state of hysteria about Reagan leading us to nuclear Armageddon.”
I said, “Yeah, I remember that. They had me going for a while. I was buying canned chili and beer by the case.”
Madox smiled politely and continued, “Well, I never thought we were going to have a nuclear exchange-not with Mutually Assured Destruction-but the idiots in the media and Hollywood had us all dead and buried.” He added, “Basically, they’re a bunch of old ladies.”
“That’s an insult to old ladies.”
He went on, “Anyway, I suppose that was on my mind when I decided to build this place. I know it was on my wife’s mind.”
“You’re married?”
“Not anymore.”
“Is she a Democrat or something?”
“She’s a card-carrying consumer.”
“So,” I asked, “you have a fallout shelter here?”
“I do. A totally useless expense, but that’s what she wanted.”
“Well,” I said, “fallout is tricky stuff.”
“Fallout is overrated.”
I’d never heard radioactive fallout described in quite that way, and for a moment I thought I was speaking to Dr. Strangelove.
Madox glanced at a Black Forest cuckoo clock on the wall and said to us, “I’d show you around, but I’m sure you have other stops to make.”
I reminded him, “We’ll be back tomorrow at first light.”
He nodded and moved toward the door.
I said, “Great painting of the Little Bighorn.”
“Thank you. It’s very old, artist unknown, and I don’t think it’s an accurate representation of the final moments of that battle.”
“Who would know? They all died.”
“The Indians didn’t all die.”
I wanted to tell him my joke, but I could feel Kate’s eyes on me. “Well, they were foolhardy, but brave.”
