Brian Freemantle - The Namedropper

From them Alfred Appleton began to emerge a world class yachtsman, predicted, not just as a potential US Olympic team choice, but also as an obvious selection for the American team that competed in the America’s Cup in 1992. The date rang an immediate bell in Jordan’s mind: 1992 was the second of the missing three years. The final reference to Alfred Appleton was in The Yacht, in its February edition of that year. The two-line item recorded Appleton’s withdrawal – for ‘personal reasons’ – from among those on the selection list. Jordan switched from where he was working to access the records of the New York Yacht Club, the America Cup’s governing body. Appleton was named four times in the selection procedures in late 1991. Without explanation the man’s name dropped out of the list in November of that year. The only other mention was the same as that in The Yacht, of Appleton’s withdrawal. Again, there was no offered explanation other than the amorphous ‘personal reasons’.

Was he trying too hard, Jordan asked himself, so outraged at his entrapment that he was too eager to attach importance where none existed? It was years – although not too many – before Appleton’s marriage to Alyce, so those ‘personal reasons’ were too far in the past to have any possible relevance now. Or did they still have relevance, if the characteristics of honesty or integrity or moral rectitude or whatever other words covered personal behaviour – Appleton’s, not his – still applied? Jordan still wanted to know: he still wanted a fully supplied and primed arsenal of every available weapon at his disposal for the battles – wars even – with which he might conceivably be confronted. Or have others declare against him.

But who to fire these supposed weapons? He couldn’t, not yet. He was the unwilling conscript press-ganged on to a battlefield upon which he didn’t want to be and upon which he couldn’t officially shoot back at those who were shooting at him. Others – Beckwith or Reid or both – had to press the triggers, which meant they had to be led to where the ammunition was. He’d come in at the end, to fight his own, already decided and increasingly well-planned guerilla campaign, not needing anyone else’s help or company.

Guerilla campaigns relied upon intelligence, the sort of intelligence he was assembling. He was sure there was still some – maybe a lot – that Alyce could provide. How really difficult would it be to seduce her a second time, the difference being that they both kept their clothes on?

Calling upon a sailing analogy, Jordan decided that he was stuck in the doldrums, becalmed by circumstances with no forward movement after such an initial fair wind. This was surely because it had been such a good beginning, he acknowledged, pleased at the quickness of the balancing awareness. He’d achieved so much because so much had been literally handed to him on a plate in days instead of his having to probe and scour for weeks or months. So, he consoled himself, thoughts of doldrums and becalming was nothing more than stupid impatience.

He continued to access his strategic computer monitors, disappointed – but no longer impatient – at the absence of any further traffic involving the impending divorce action. It was an afterthought – which surprised him for it not having occurred before – to occupy some of the time towards the end of the week expanding what he already knew of the Bellamy family, which took him back to the New York library’s reference section.

What it lacked in terms of noted and recorded American history, it compensated for in longevity with forefathers predating the Appleton arrival in the New World by a good seventy years. A Nathaniel Bellamy was recorded as having fought in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and a William Bellamy briefly served on the personal staff of George Washington, although there was no cited, historical event accredited to either man. There were, however, substantial and continuing listings of over three hundred years of Bellamys who’d served in the North Carolina legislature and five – Alyce’s grandfather being the most recent – who had been elected senators to Congress in Washington. It was the grandfather who had founded the Bellamy Foundation which was described as one of the largest charitable groupings in the country. The printed records contained no reference, apart from her birth, to Alyce until her marriage to Appleton. The concentration then had inevitably been on the bonding between the two American founding families, all the details of which Jordan already knew. The one relevant – and contradictory – fact that did stand out to Jordan was the substantial land holdings throughout the state, predominantly in Forsyth, Rowan, Macon, Allamance and Durham counties, of the Bellamy family, which made nonsense of Appleton’s claimed offer of financially supporting Alyce’s widowed mother. Jordan wondered if Reid had picked up on that – or had it properly pointed out by Alyce – to refute the need, impudence even, for such a suggestion when the case finally reached court.

On the Friday morning, with an empty weekend before him and no contact from Daniel Beckwith, Jordan decided to go again to Atlantic City, and during the drive there made up his mind to call the lawyer on his Monday return. If there was no likelihood of any active court movement he could use the following week to go back to England and ensure no problems had arisen with the Paul Maculloch identity and the rental of the Hans Crescent flat. With the uncertainty of everything here in America it would be a sensible precaution to extend that lease for a further six months.

‘Pullinger,’ announced Reid.

‘Shit!’ said Beckwith.

‘It’s scarcely a surprise,’ said the North Carolina lawyer. ‘Hope you don’t mind my calling at a weekend, instead of waiting until Monday?’

‘I’m glad you did. No point in holding back,’ said Beckwith. ‘You got the official notification?’

‘A friendly call from the circuit office. I’m getting the formal notification in Monday’s mail.’

‘I guess I’ll get one too.’

‘You should do.’

‘What about a hearing date?’

‘Still to be fixed.’

‘I guess this puts me first out of the gate?’ said Beckwith.

‘I had Pullinger’s record checked. He’s heard three alienation of affection and criminal conversation cases. Each time he’s refused pre-trial submissions for dismissal.’

‘I ran the same checks,’ said Beckwith. ‘I’ve still got to try it.’

‘Of course you have,’ agreed the other lawyer. ‘I’ll file for an attendance of interest, obviously.’

‘You heard any more from Bartle?’

‘I’d have passed it on if I had. I might also apply to Pullinger for a compliance of exchange order, particularly over the medical records.’

‘The more we can get Pullinger irritated by the behaviour of the other side the better,’ agreed Beckwith.

‘What about Leanne Jefferies?’

‘As soon as I get an attorney’s response I’m issuing Alyce’s claim for alienation of affections and criminal conversation,’ said Reid.

‘And a medical report for her,’ prompted Beckwith.

‘The demand will go with the other claims.’

‘Anything more from your enquiry people?’

‘I’d have passed it on if there had been.’

‘We should meet again sometime next week.’

‘I guess it’s my turn to come up to you,’ offered Reid. ‘You going to include Harvey?’

‘He’s very hands-on. And the more he’s included in things the better I think he’ll perform in court if the dismissal submission fails.’

‘I might talk to the circuit office about availability for a closed hearing,’ said Reid. ‘It’s not dependent upon whether you succeed or not.’