Sidney Sheldon - Rage of Angels

The waiter had begun to clear the dishes from the table. Jennifer tried to speak, but it came out a cross between a laugh and a sob. ‘Mr Warner –’

He said gravely, ‘After all we’ve been through together, I think it should be Adam.’

‘Adam –’

‘Yes?’

‘I hope it won’t ruin our relationship, but –’ Jennifer moaned, ‘I’m starved!’

The next few weeks raced by. Jennifer found herself busy from early morning until late at night, serving summonses – court orders to appear to answer a legal action – and subpoenas – court orders to appear as a witness. She knew that her chances of getting into a large law firm were nonexistent, for after the fiasco she had been involved in, no one would dream of hiring her. She would just have to find some way to make a reputation for herself, to begin all over.

In the meantime, there was the pile of summonses and subpoenas on her desk from Peabody & Peabody. While it was not exactly practicing law, it was twelve-fifty and expenses.

Occasionally, when Jennifer worked late, Ken Bailey would take her out to dinner. On the surface he was a cynical man, but Jennifer felt that it was a facade. She sensed that he was lonely. He had been graduated from Brown University and was bright and well-read. She could not imagine why he was satisfied to spend his life working out of a dreary office, trying to locate stray husbands and wives. It was as though he had resigned himself to being a failure and was afraid to try for success.

Once, when Jennifer brought up the subject of his marriage, he growled at her, ‘It’s none of your business,’ and Jennifer had never mentioned it again.

Otto Wenzel was completely different. The short, potbellied little man was happily married. He regarded Jennifer as a daughter and he constantly brought her soups and cakes that his wife made. Unfortunately, his wife was a terrible cook, but Jennifer forced herself to eat whatever Otto Wenzel brought in, because she did not want to hurt his feelings. One Friday evening Jennifer was invited to the Wenzel home for dinner. Mrs Wenzel had prepared stuffed cabbage, her specialty. The cabbage was soggy, the meat inside was hard, and the rice half-cooked. The whole dish swam in a lake of chicken fat. Jennifer attacked it bravely, taking small bites and pushing the food around on her plate to make it seem as though she were eating.

‘How do you like it?’ Mrs Wenzel beamed.

‘It – it’s one of my favorites.’

From that time on, Jennifer had dinner at the Wenzel’s every Friday night, and Mrs Wenzel always prepared Jennifer’s favorite dish.

Early one morning, Jennifer received a telephone call from the personal secretary of Mr Peabody, Jr.

‘Mr Peabody would like to see you this morning at eleven o’clock. Be prompt, please.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

In the past, Jennifer had only dealt with secretaries and law clerks in the Peabody office. It was a large, prestigious firm, one that young lawyers dreamed of being invited to join. On the way to keep her appointment, Jennifer began to fantasize. If Mr Peabody himself wanted to see her, it had to be about something important. He probably had seen the light and was going to offer her a job as a lawyer with his firm, to give her a chance to show what she could do. She was going to surprise all of them. Some day it might even be Peabody, Peabody & Parker.

Jennifer killed thirty minutes in the corridor outside the office, and at exactly eleven o’clock, she entered the reception room. She did not want to seem too eager. She was kept waiting for two hours, and was finally ushered into the office of Mr Peabody, Jr. He was a tall, thin man wearing a vested suit and shoes that had been made for him in London.

He did not invite her to sit down. ‘Miss Potter –’ He had an unpleasant, high-pitched voice.

‘Parker.’

He picked up a piece of paper from his desk. ‘This is a summons. I would like you to serve it.’

At that instant, Jennifer sensed that she was not going to become a member of the firm.

Mr Peabody, Jr., handed Jennifer the summons and said, ‘Your fee will be five hundred dollars.’

Jennifer was sure she had misunderstood him. ‘Did you say five hundred dollars?’

‘That is correct. If you are successful, of course.’

‘There’s a problem,’ Jennifer guessed.

‘Well, yes,’ Mr Peabody, Jr., admitted. ‘We’ve been trying to serve this man for more than a year. His name is William Carlisle. He lives on an estate in Long Island and he never leaves his house. To be quite truthful, a dozen people have tried to serve him. He has a bodyguard-butler who keeps everyone away.’

Jennifer said, ‘I don’t see how I –’

Mr Peabody, Jr. leaned forward. ‘There’s a great deal of money at stake here. But I can’t get William Carlisle into court unless I can serve him, Miss Potter.’ Jennifer did not bother to correct him. ‘Do you think you can handle it?’

Jennifer thought about what she could do with five hundred dollars. ‘I’ll find a way.’

At two o’clock that afternoon, Jennifer was standing outside the imposing estate of William Carlisle. The house itself was Georgian, set in the middle of ten acres of beautiful, carefully tended grounds. A curving driveway led to the front of the house, which was framed by graceful fir trees. Jennifer had given a lot of thought to her problem. Since it was impossible to get into the house, the only solution was to find a way to get Mr William Carlisle to come out.

Half a block down the street was a gardener’s truck. Jennifer studied the truck a moment, then walked over to it, looking for the gardeners. There were three of them at work, and they were Japanese.

Jennifer walked up to the men. ‘Who’s in charge here?’

One of them straightened up. ‘I am.’

‘I have a little job for you …’ Jennifer began.

‘Sorry, miss. Too busy.’

‘This will only take five minutes.’

‘No. Impossible to –’

‘I’ll pay you one hundred dollars.’

The three men stopped to look at her. The chief gardener said, ‘You pay us one hundred dollars for five minutes’ work?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What we have to do …?’

Five minutes later, the gardener’s truck pulled into the driveway of William Carlisle’s estate and Jennifer and the three gardeners got out. Jennifer looked around, selected a beautiful tree next to the front door and said to the gardeners, ‘Dig it up.’

They took their spades from the truck and began to dig. Before a minute had gone by, the front door burst open and an enormous man in a butler’s uniform came storming out.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

‘Long Island Nursery,’ Jennifer said crisply. ‘We’re takin’ out all these trees.’

The butler stared at her. ‘You’re what ?’

Jennifer held up a piece of paper. ‘I have an order here to dig up these trees.’

‘That’s impossible! Mr Carlisle would have a fit!’ He turned to the gardeners. ‘You stop that!’

‘Look, mister,’ Jennifer said, ‘I’m just doin’ my job.’ She looked at the gardeners. ‘Keep diggin’, fellas.’

‘No!’ the butler shouted. ‘I’m telling you there’s been a mistake! Mr Carlisle didn’t order any trees dug up.’

Jennifer shrugged and said, ‘My boss says he did.’

‘Where can I get in touch with your boss?’

Jennifer looked at her watch. ‘He’s out on a job in Brooklyn. He should be back in the office around six.’

The butler glared at her, furious. ‘Just a minute! Don’t do anything until I return.’

‘Keep diggin’,’ Jennifer told the gardeners.