Richard Patterson - Fall from Grace

Jack closed his eyes. Watching him, Adam was overcome by the tragedy of all that he had learned, the incalculable damage to so many lives. Quietly, he said, “You’ve been worried all along that you’d get found out. It was you who followed me here, wasn’t it?”

Drained, his father could barely nod. “I wanted to see what you were doing. From the start, you were sure that someone killed him.”

“What does my mother know?”

“Nothing. When I came back to the house, I told her I couldn’t find him. By morning, I’d figured out a plan. Incinerate the boots I’d worn, then stumble across his body on the beach, as though his death were an accident.” Jack paused, touching his eyes. “It almost worked.”

“Not for Teddy,” Adam retorted. “They’re about to charge him with killing Ben.”

Jack stiffened. “How can that be?”

“Doesn’t matter. The point is that I know you’re a murderer. But if I turn you in to the police, they may think my mother’s an accomplice. On the other hand, there’s Teddy to consider. I can’t let him take the fall for you.”

Jack straightened. “Do you think I can? After I tell Clarice what happened, I’m going to the police.”

“Don’t overdo it, Jack. There’s been heartache enough, most of it Ben’s doing.” Adam paused, finding a calmer tone. “You are my father, after all. So I’d prefer that you not pay for getting Teddy off the hook. And given that you’re a reasonably accomplished liar, why not make that work for you?”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“You’ll have to improve your story, merging it with Teddy’s. In my version, Ben never threatened my mother with disinheritance. Because he was drunk and abusive, you decided to confront him in your role as her protector.” Adam looked into his father’s eyes. “You found him here, and asked him to stop mistreating her. A quarrel ensued. Suddenly, he took a swing at you and lost his balance, the victim of alcohol and disequilibrium caused by his tumor. When you reached for him, it was too late.”

Jack stared at the place where Ben had fallen. At last, he said, “Still more lies, after so many. Do you think they’d believe me now?”

“Not really. They’ll also think you’re protecting Teddy. But I’ve become familiar with what the police know and don’t know. They have no witnesses to the murder. Teddy’s account will cover all the physical evidence, leaving them with nothing to refute your latest story.” Reading Jack’s doubt, he added, “Granted, telling it will take some nerve. But once you do, it creates reasonable doubt in Teddy’s favor, and he’ll do the same for you. George Hanley is nothing if not practical. He’ll see the wisdom in letting go of the death of a dying man.”

Jack studied him, then shook his head. In a tone of sadness, he asked, “When did you become so cold-blooded? I wonder.”

“The day I left here. All I’ve done since is refine my talents.” Adam paused, struggling with emotions he refused to show. “But that’s for another day-if ever. This family has one more thing it needs to settle.”

“You can practice on my mother,” Adam had told Jack on the way to the house. Now, as the first light came through the window, he watched her face as she listened to Jack’s carefully crafted falsehoods.

In rapid sequence, her expressions betrayed surprise, bewilderment, anger, horror, and, at length, deep anxiety. Unless she and Jack were extraordinarily accomplished actors, Adam concluded to his relief, their unrehearsed interaction suggested that Clarice knew nothing about Ben’s death. That Jack had planted another lie at the heart of their relationship was the price of saving him.

Clarice took Jack’s hand, shedding the pretense of years. Worriedly, she asked, “Do you really have to tell them?”

“He does,” Adam broke in flatly. “What the police have on Teddy could convict him of a murder he didn’t commit.”

Clarice turned to him. “How can you know all that?”

“Just trust me that I do.” He paused, then said, “Like you, Teddy lied to the police about your phone call. That was your idea, wasn’t it?”

Slowly, Clarice nodded.

“I assume you were trying to protect him,” Adam continued, “and not just yourself and Jack. But I know that Teddy was protecting you.” Turning to Jack, he finished, “I’m sure that Avi Gold would represent you, and work with Teddy’s lawyer. That’ll help everyone keep their lines straight.”

Staring at him, Clarice said, “This is a lot to absorb, Adam.” Seeing his expression, she added softly, “For all of us, I suppose.”

“Then brace yourself, Mother. Because there’s more.” He sat back, speaking in the same clipped tone. “The will contest has become more complex than you know. Thanks to me, you won’t get caught trying to pass off the postnup as misplaced self-actualization. On the other hand, I’m now aware of the truth-that you got plenty of ‘consideration’ for signing it, from continuing to live here to concealing the messy facts surrounding my birth. And I suspect that Carla Pacelli knows that, too.”

Clarice looked stricken. “Ben told her?”

“I’m pretty sure he did. If so, I can’t lie about it. Right now you’ve got a decent shot at overturning Ben’s will. But between Carla and me, you could wind up with nothing. So here’s what you’re going to do.

“First, your lawyer will offer Carla a settlement of three million dollars, on which you’re also paying the estate taxes-”

“No,” Clarice protested. “I refuse to treat her as an equal.”

“You’ve got no choice,” Adam said coldly. “So feel grateful to get by with that. Carla’s got a real chance of walking off with everything; at a minimum, she’ll get almost two million for her son. Who, by the way, is Teddy’s brother, Jack’s nephew, and my cousin. All of us need to see to his well-being. This family has inflicted enough misery on its own.”

He paused a moment, allowing Clarice time to absorb this. “Next, Jenny gets her million, also tax free. That leaves you with roughly seven million dollars, of which you should give Teddy one million for himself.” Adam looked from his mother to Jack. “The two of you will have more than enough to live here. Though if I were you, I’d sell this place. The karma leaves a lot to be desired.”

Clarice seemed to blanch. “How do you know that Carla will agree?”

“Because I’m developing a sense of her. In fact, despite my best efforts, I may have a better grasp of Carla Pacelli than of either one of you. That’ll give me food for thought on the flight back to Afghanistan.” Briefly, he paused, watching the stunned look in his parents’ eyes. “For now,” he told them, “I plan to shower, drink several cups of coffee, and then call Avi Gold. After that Jack should meet with Avi, and I’m going to see Carla Pacelli. If she consents to this, as I think she will, we’re settling Ben’s estate. Are all of us agreed?”

Clarice looked at Jack, who nodded. Facing Adam, his mother retrieved some of her composure, accenting the sadness in her eyes. “I still look at you, Adam, and see him. The same iron will, the same belief that you can bend the world to your ends.”

Despite himself, Adam discovered, comparisons to Benjamin Blaine still pierced him. “Better ends, I hope-especially yours and Jack’s. But I’d appreciate it if both of you disappeared for the next few hours. I really do need to be alone.”

At ten o’clock, Adam went to see Carla Pacelli.

She was waiting for him on the deck, a light breeze rippling her hair. Smiling a little, she said, “Thanks for calling. It gave me time to dress.”

Then I regret that, Adam might have said in another life. But he felt way too tired, and even more confused. “I had to see you.”