Stuart Woods - Unnatural acts

“Who’s buying? Herbie?”

“Woodman and Weld, until they can bill Marshall Brennan.”

“I can do that,” Mike said. “Is Herbie with you?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Put him on the phone.”

“Of course.” Stone pointed at Herbie, then at the phone on the coffee table before the sofa in his office.

Herbie went to the sofa and picked up the phone. “Mr. Freeman? Yes, sir. No, sir, I cut up his credit cards and gave his cash to the driver of the Winwood Farm van. He was wearing jeans and a polo shirt and a brown leather jacket and sneakers. I picked him up at his Yale dorm room. No, sir, I don’t know the name of his roommate or his friends, and I don’t know if he has a girlfriend. Yes, sir, I’ll be there in an hour.” Herbie hung up, and turned toward Stone. “Mr. Freeman is on it, and I’m to go to his office.”

“Herbie, you’re about to have a very valuable learning experience. Watch how Mike and his people work and remember everything.”

“Okay, Stone,” Herbie said, getting to his feet.

“And don’t walk, Herbie, it makes you pant and sweat. Take a cab.”

Herbie took his leave.

Joan buzzed.

“Yes?”

“Dino on one.”

Stone pressed the button. “Hey, Dino.”

“We need to talk,” Dino said. “Elaine’s, eight-thirty?”

“Dino,” Stone said sadly, “take a deep breath. Elaine’s is no more, remember?” Stone could hear the sound of Dino smiting his forehead.

“Jesus, I’ve got to get my head on straight.”

“Where shall we go?” Stone asked.

“I have no idea,” Dino said.

“I know how you feel. How about P.J. Clarke’s?”

“Right,” Dino said, sounding relieved. “Eight-thirty.”

“You book,” Stone replied. “They don’t hold a table for us at Clarke’s.”

“Not yet,” Dino said, then hung up.

Herbie Fisher arrived at Mike Freeman’s Strategic Services office in exactly fifteen minutes and was shown in.

“Good afternoon, Herbie,” Mike said, shaking his hand and waving him to a seat.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Freeman.”

“Please call me Mike.”

“Yessir, Mike.”

Freeman consulted a computer monitor on his desk. “Well, let’s see: Dink Brennan managed to steal back his wallet and cash before departing the Winwood Farm van, by the simple device of opening a rear door and jumping out when the van stopped for a light. Dink, it seems, is fleet of foot.

“His roommate, Parker Mosely, who was returning to the dorm as Dink was driven away, followed the van and has confessed to picking him up upon his escape from the van.

“Dink’s most likely destination is his girlfriend’s parents’ country house in Washington, Connecticut. Mr. Mosely did not give us that information, but his mien on being asked about it gave my people to understand that that is where he might be. The girlfriend’s name is Carson Cullers, and her parents are Robert and Louise Cullers, of Ten-Ten Fifth Avenue, New York. They were apparently not aware of this spontaneous use of their country place.”

Herbie was in awe. “Jesus, you found out all that in fifteen minutes?”

“When you have good people in appropriate places it is remarkable what they can learn in fifteen minutes,” Freeman said. “Incidentally, Dink has already reported the loss of his credit cards to the various companies, and replacements have been overnighted to him. We were unable to ascertain the address to which they were sent-that would take us another day, at least-but it seems likely they went to the Kirby Road house in Washington. Two of my people are en route there from Hartford and should arrive in another hour or so.”

“There doesn’t seem to be much left for me to do, does there?”

“I suppose not. If my people find him in Washington, you may be sure that he will have been returned to Winwood Farm by dinnertime.”

“That’s great.”

“Herbie, judging from what I have learned, you did a very fine job today. Dink’s being returned to Winwood Farm is entirely due to the self-commitment letter you required him to sign. That was a very smart move, as was your obtaining a durable power of attorney. I’ll see that Bill Eggers is aware of that.”

“Thank you, Mike, that would be a load off my mind.”

“I should tell you,” Freeman said, “that since our phone conversation I have been able to learn a great deal about you. I was appalled at the mess you made of your existence early on, but I’m very impressed with the turnaround you’ve made in your life. Because I’m impressed, I’m going to do you a favor, with your permission.”

“You have my permission,” Herbie said, “whatever the favor is.”

“You will recall that when Stone handled your divorce he got your former wife to cede to you her investment account at her father’s firm, amounting to some three million dollars.”

“Yes, I recall that, but she and her brother stole so much from the firm’s clients that I don’t see how those funds can ever be released to me.”

“That would be the case if any of the victims had bothered to sue the young woman, but although there was a suit against the firm, their insurance company has made good most of their losses, so a request made to the United States attorney can be made to release the funds to you.” Freeman slid a sheet of paper across the table. “If the wording of this request seems satisfactory to you, sign it and we’ll go to work to get your money. The trick is to get the funds released before the firm realizes that they should have sued the daughter.”

Herbie read the document and signed it. “Thank you, Mike, I’m very grateful to you.”

Freeman typed a short e-mail and sent it. “You’ll be pleased to learn that, since your divorce, the funds have grown to about three million, six hundred thousand dollars, due to a very successful IPO of a company in which your former wife owned shares.”

“Wow.”

“Herbie, you’re a very impressive young man, and I’m always looking for impressive young men to join Strategic Services. Perhaps you’ve found an interesting and rewarding career at Woodman and Weld, but I suspect that, in time, you might well be considering a career path that offers you more latitude for personal growth.”

“You suspect correctly, Mike,” Herbie said. “The truth is, I’m already finding the law something of a grind, because of the sort of work assigned to associates.”

“You mean work that no one else wishes to do?”

“Exactly. I mean, getting Dink Brennan into treatment and settling his gambling debt was fun, in its way, but not something that helps build a career.”

“Don’t be too sure about that,” Freeman said. “I’ll see that Marshall Brennan knows of your role, and you may be sure that he will express his gratitude, and not just to Bill Eggers.”

“That’s kind of you, Mike.”

“Has it occurred to you that Eggers is probably considering you for the role of the new Stone Barrington at Woodman and Weld?”

“It has occurred to me.”

“Stone had a fair deal there, one that paid him a very good income, but one that did not improve his status in the firm. That did not occur until Stone gained us as a client, and further, the Steele Companies, an insurance conglomerate I was able to introduce him to. After that, when he brought his late wife, Arrington Calder, into the firm, a partnership became possible for Stone.”

“I had a sort of general idea about that,” Herbie said.

“But it took him a long time to accomplish that, and if the firm sidetracked you into the kind of services Stone provided them for so long, you might not get as lucky as he did. Strategic Services offers extremely interesting work and much more rapid advancement for the right young people. I suspect that you might be one of those people.”