Arthur Hailey - Overload

"And was worried as hell," Nim said. "Otherwise he would never have trapped himself by those statements."

The facts of the matter were simple.

Walter Talbot had been a pioneer in drawing attention to huge financial losses incurred by electric and gas utilities as a result of theft. He had written articles on the subject, made speeches, been interviewed by news media, and had appeared as an expert witness in a New York State criminal trial which wended its way, via appeals, through higher courts. The case had generated wide interest. Also correspondence.

Some of the correspondence had been with a member of the United States Supreme Court.

Justice Paul Sherman Yale.

It was clear from the exchange that Walter Talbot and Paul Yale had known each other well during earlier years in California.

The first letter was on a distinguished letterhead.

Supreme Court of the United States

Washington, D.C. 20543

It began: My dear Walter.

The writer expressed his interest, as a legal scholar, in a burgeoning new field of law enforcement, namely, that related to the stealing of electricity and gas. He asked for more details of the types of offenses intervened and methods being used to combat them. Also requested were any known facts about prosecutions, and their outcomes, in various parts of the country. The letter inquired after the health of Ardythe and was signed "Paul."

Walter Talbot, with a sense of decorum, had replied more formally: My dear justice Yale .

His letter was four pages long. Accompanying it was a photocopy of one of Walter's published articles.

Several weeks later Paul Yale wrote again. He acknowledged the letter and article and posed several pertinent questions which demonstrated he had read the material carefully.

The correspondence continued through five more letters, spaced over eight months. In one of them Walter Talbot described the function of the Property Protection Department in a typical public utility, and the duties of an individual heading it-such as Harry London.

Not surprisingly, the letters pointed up the sharp, inquiring mind, the lively interest in everything, of Paul Sherman Yale.

And the entire correspondence had taken place only two years before Mr. Justice Yale's retirement from the bench. Could Paul Yale possibly have forgotten? Nim had already asked himself that question and decided the answer was an emphatic "no". Tbe old man had demonstrated, too many times, his remarkable memory-both for large issues and for detail-to make that believable.

It was Harry London who raised the key issue Nim had been debating. "Why did the old boy do it? Why did he lie to us the way he did?"

"Probably," Nim said thoughtfully, "because he knew Walter was dead, and because the chance of any of the three of us-the chairman, you, me-knowing about that correspondence was remote. In fact, it must have been obvious that we didn't. Also, the odds on those letters ever surfacing were a million to one against."

London nodded his agreement, then said, “The next question, I reckon, is: How many other times has the Honorable Paul done the same thing and gotten away with it?"

"We'll never know, will we?"

The Property Protection chief motioned to the letters. "Of course, you'll show these to the chairman."

"Yes, this afternoon. I happen to know Mr. Yale is coming in later today."

"Which brings up something else." Harry London's voice was bitter. "Will we go on trying as hard as we have to keep that precious Yale name out of those court proceedings which are coming up? Or, in view of this new information, will 'Mr. Integrity' take his chances like anybody else?"

"I don't know." Nim sighed. "I simply don't know. And, in any case, it won't be my decision."

* * *

The showdown with Mr. Justice Yale occurred shortly after 4 pm in the chairman's office suite.

When Nim arrived, having been summoned by J. Eric Humphrey's secretary, it was obvious that tension already existed. The chairman's expression could best be described, Nim thought, as "wounded old Bostonian." Humphrey's eyes were cold, his mouth tightly set. Paul Yale, while unaware of precisely what was afoot, clearly shared the knowledge that it was something disagreeable and his normal cheerfulness had been replaced by a frown. The two were seated at a table in the conference area and neither man was speaking when Nim joined them.

Nim took the chair on Eric Humphrey's left, facing Mr. Justice Yale. He placed on the table before him the file containing the Talbot-Yale correspondence.

Earlier, Eric Humphrey and Nim, after some debate, had agreed on the sequence of procedure. They also decided that Harry London need not, this time, be included.

"Paul," Humphrey began, "on the previous occasion when the three of us were together, we had a discussion about certain problems of power stealing. In part, they intervened the Yale Family Trust. I'm sure that you remember."

Mr. Justice Yale nodded. "Yes, of course."

"At that time you made a number of statements. All were to the effect that you had no idea, prior to that moment, that such a thing as power theft existed."

"Now stop this!" Paul Yale's face flushed angrily. "I do not like your tone or attitude, Eric. Nor am I here to be questioned about what I may, or may not, have said .

Humphrey's voice cut acidly across the protest. “There is no 'may' about it. What you told us was precise and unambiguous. Moreover, it was repeated several times. I remember it that way. So does Nim."

It was plain to Nim that Paul Yale's mind was working at high speed. The old man said sternly, "Whatever was said, it does not follow from it . . ."

"Nim," the chairman ordered, "show Mr. Yale the contents of our file."

Opening the folder, Nim slid the small pile of letters and attachments across the table. The earliest dated letter-on Supreme Court stationery-was on top.

Paul Yale picked it up, glanced at it, then dropped it hastily. He did not bother with the others. His face, which had been flushed before, suffused an even deeper red.

Afterward, replaying the scene in his mind, Nim guessed that while Yale expected some kind of unfavorable revelation, the possibility of being confronted with his old correspondence had not occurred to him. If Nim's conjecture was true, it would explain the old man's abject, total shock.

His tongue moistened his lips. He seemed unable to find the words he wanted.

Then be said awkwardly, defensively, "Sometimes, especially in Washington. . . with so much happening, so many papers, the unending correspondence. . . one forgets . . ." the statement trailed off. Obviously it sounded as false and unconvincing to Mr. Justice Yale as it did to the other two. Strike that," he said abruptly, and stood up. Pushing back his chair, he walked away from the table and, without looking at Nim or Humphrey, asked, "Please give me a moment to collect my thoughts."

Briefly the old man paced the chairman's broadloom. Then he turned, though continuing to stand.

"It is plain, gentlemen, as only documentary evidence can make it, that I have been guilty of deception and-no doubt deservedly-been caught."

Paul Yale's voice was lower than normal-, his face reflected pain as he continued. "I will not compound my error by explanations or excuses, either by describing my considerable anxiety at the time of our earlier talk, or my urgent and natural desire to protect my good name."

Just the same, Nim thought, you've managed to do both while sayin- that you wouldn't.

I will, however," Yale went on, "swear to you that I neither participated in power theft by the Yale Family Trust, nor had any knowledge of it prior to our first discussion here."