Jeffrey Archer - Sons of Fortune

‘It’s a bloody cannon,’ responded Fletcher. ‘Ralph Elliot doesn’t deal in shots, so we’ll need to find out what the hell he’s up to.’

‘I’ve no idea,’ said Harry. ‘All I can tell you is that I had a call from George Turner to alert me that Elliot had asked for all the papers that the bank has ever been involved with, and yesterday morning he called again asking for more details on the Cedar Wood project, and in particular the original terms of agreement that I recommended to the Senate.’

‘Why the Cedar Wood project? That’s proving to be a huge success story, with a rush of applications to lease space. Just what is he up to?’

‘He’s also asked to see copies of all my speeches, and any notes I’d made at the time of the Gates Amendment. No one has ever asked me for copies of my old speeches before, let alone my notes,’ said Harry. ‘It’s very flattering.’

‘ “He only flatters to deceive,” ’ said Fletcher. ‘Remind me of the finer points of the Gates Amendment?’

‘I insisted that any purchaser of council land valued at over one million dollars be named and not be able to hide his or her identity behind the offices of a bank or a law firm so we’d know exactly who we were dealing with. They were also required to pay the full amount on the signing of any contract to prove they were a viable company. That way there would be no hold-ups.’

‘But everyone now accepts that as good practice. In fact, several other states have followed your lead.’

‘It could just be an innocent enquiry.’

‘You’ve obviously never dealt with Ralph Elliot before,’ said Fletcher. ‘Innocent is not part of his vocabulary. However, in the past he has always selected his enemies carefully. Once he’s driven past the Gates Library a few times, he may decide you’re not someone to cross. But be warned, he’s up to something.’

‘By the way,’ said Harry, ‘has anyone told you about Jimmy and Joanna?’

‘No,’ said Fletcher.

‘Then I’ll keep my mouth shut. I’m sure Jimmy will want to tell you in his own time.’

‘Congratulations, Tom,’ said Su Ling, as she opened the front door. ‘I’m so pleased for both of you.’

‘That’s kind of you,’ said Julia, as Tom handed his hostess a bunch of flowers.

‘So when are you going to get married?’

‘Sometime in August,’ said Tom, ‘we haven’t settled on a date, in case you and Luke were booked for another trip to Disneyland, or Nat was off for a spell of night ops with the reserve.’

‘No, Disneyland is a thing of the past,’ said Su Ling, ‘Can you believe Luke’s now talking about Rome, Venice and even Arles — and Nat’s not due down at Fort Benning until October.’

‘Why Arles?’ asked Tom.

‘It’s where Van Gogh painted at the end of his life,’ said Julia as Nat walked into the room.

‘Julia, I’m glad you’re here, because Luke needs to consult you on a moral dilemma.’

‘A moral dilemma? I didn’t think you started worrying about those until after puberty.’

‘No, this is far more serious than sex, and I don’t know the answer.’

‘So what’s the question?’

‘Is it possible to paint a masterpiece of Christ and the Virgin Mary if you are a murderer?’

‘It’s never seemed to worry the Catholic Church,’ said Julia. ‘Several of Caravaggio’s finest works are hanging in the Vatican, but I’ll go up and have a word with him.’

‘Caravaggio, of course. And don’t stay up there too long,’ added Su Ling, ‘there are so many questions I want to ask you.’

‘I’m sure Tom can answer most of them,’ said Julia.

‘No, I want to hear your version,’ said Su Ling as Julia disappeared upstairs.

‘Have you warned Julia what Ralph Elliot is up to?’ asked Nat.

‘Yes,’ Tom replied, ‘and she can’t foresee any problems. After all, why should it ever occur to Elliot that there were two Julia Kirkbridges. Don’t forget, the first one was only with us for a few days and has never been seen or heard of since, whereas Julia has been around for a couple of years now, and everybody knows her.’

‘But it’s not her signature on the original cheque.’

‘Why’s that a problem?’ asked Tom.

‘Because when the bank cleared the $3.6 million, the council asked for the cheque to be returned to them.’

‘Then it will be tucked away in a file somewhere, and even if Elliot did come across it, why should he be suspicious?’

‘Because he has the mind of a criminal. Neither of us thinks like him.’ Nat paused. ‘But to hell with that, let me ask you, before Julia and Su Ling return, am I looking for a new chairman, or has Julia agreed to settle in Hartford and wash dishes?’

‘Neither,’ said Tom, ‘she’s decided to accept a takeover bid from that fellow Trump, who’s been after her company for some time.’

‘Did she get a good price?’

‘I thought this was meant to be a relaxed evening to celebrate...?’

‘Did she get a good price?’ repeated Nat.

‘Fifteen million in cash, and a further fifteen million in Trump shares.’

‘That’s a PE ratio of about sixteen. Not bad,’ said Nat, ‘although Trump obviously believes in the potential of the Cedar Wood project. So does she plan to open a real estate company in Hartford?’

‘No, I think she ought to tell you what she has in mind,’ said Tom as Su Ling returned from the kitchen.

‘Why don’t we invite Julia to join the board?’ asked Nat. ‘And put her in charge of our property division. That would free me up to spend more time concentrating on the banking side.’

‘I think you’ll find she considered that scenario at least six months ago,’ said Tom.

‘Did you by any chance offer her a directorship if she agreed to marry you?’ asked Nat.

‘Yes, I did originally, and she turned both down. But now I’ve convinced her to marry me, I’ll leave it to you to persuade her to join the board because I have a feeling she has other plans.’

Fletcher was on the floor of the chamber listening to a speech on subsidized housing when the proceedings were interrupted. He’d been checking through his notes, as he was due to speak next. A uniformed officer entered the chamber and passed a slip of paper to the presiding member, who read it, and then read it again, banged his gavel and rose from his place. ‘I apologize to my colleague for interrupting proceedings, but a gunman is holding a group of children hostage at Hartford Elementary. I am sure Senator Davenport will need to leave, and, given the circumstances, I believe it would be appropriate to adjourn for the day.’

Fletcher was on his feet immediately and had reached the door of the chamber even before the presiding member had closed the proceedings. He ran all the way to his office, trying to think on the move. The school was in the middle of his district, Lucy was a pupil and Annie was head of the PTA. He prayed that Lucy wasn’t among the hostages. The whole of the State House seemed to be on the move. Fletcher was relieved to find Sally standing by the door to his office, notebook in hand. ‘Cancel all of today’s appointments, call my wife and ask her to join me at the school, and please stay by the phone.’

Fletcher grabbed his car keys and joined the flood of people hurrying out of the building. As he drove out of the members’ parking lot, a police car shot in front of him. Fletcher pressed his foot hard down on to the accelerator and swung into the police car’s slipstream as they headed towards the school. The line of cars became longer and longer, with parents making their way to pick up their offspring, some looking frantic after hearing the news on their car radios, others still blissfully unaware.