“Sorry, Mary and…”
“Harper, Sarah. This is Harper Lloyd.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lloyd. I don’t mean to be rude, but unfortunately now is not a good time. We are dealing with a family crisis and need our privacy.”
“My God, Sarah, are you okay?”
Sarah was never good at hiding her emotions and could no longer hold in what was distressing her. “Apparently, Walter, without my knowledge, took on a case that could endanger his whole career, and it has done just that.”
At that point, Walter came out of his office. “Hello, Mary, Harper.”
After they returned his greeting, Sarah indicated Harper. “You know him?”
“He’s been helping us out on the Laidlaw case.”
“That case, the one that’s ruining us.” Suddenly, it dawned on Sarah. “Mary, did you know about this?”
“I found out about it a few days ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have stopped it.”
“They said to keep it confidential for Walter’s sake.”
“That certainly turned out well.”
“Sarah—”
“You’re my best friend, Mary. Don’t you think it was important enough to tell me when my husband was risking everything?”
“Honestly, I didn’t know you didn’t know and—”
“Go to hell, all of you!” She stomped off to the back of the house. Mary took a few seconds to process what had just happened and ran after her.
“Welcome to married bliss, Harper,” said Walter. “Bet it makes you want to run out and tie the knot.”
“I can’t decide between that and stabbing myself in the eye. Now, what the hell happened, Walter?”
Mary found Sarah in her sewing room, sitting in a club chair with a piece of knitting on her lap. It was a work in progress, so much so that it was impossible to determine what it would eventually be.
“I don’t care how mad you are at me. We have to talk.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“You don’t get that choice. We’ve been close for too long. Yell at me, berate me, accuse me, but you have to speak.”
“Okay. I hate you and you’re a shit, Mary Handley!”
“That’s a start. Now tell me what happened.”
“Figure out for yourself how you destroyed us.”
“Here’s how it’s going to work. You tell me everything you know, then I tell you everything I know. Afterward, if you’re still mad at me, we can choose seconds and have a duel, box, cross swords, arm-wrestle, your option, but we’re going to work this out.”
“I used to always beat you and Sean at arm-wrestling.”
“Apparently, you’ve already chosen.” Mary waited patiently for Sarah to start. They could both be stubborn, but after a while Sarah relented.
“The telephone rang, I answered it, and it was a woman who wanted to speak with Walter.”
“Colleen Murphy?”
“Who’s that?”
“She’s the daughter-in-law of my mother’s friend. I’ll tell you all about that later. Go on.”
“The woman was a wealthy client, and she had decided to fire Walter. They discussed it for a while, but she was resolute.”
“I’m sure that’s happened before.”
“Not that often, but you’re right. It had. Still, Walter was upset. I told him not to let it bother him, that even great lawyers like him lose clients once in a while. Nothing soothed him. He started pacing, working himself into a frenzy. I couldn’t understand why he was bothered so. Then phone calls started coming in. One by one, clients, good-paying clients, began firing him. In the space of a few hours his whole practice disappeared.”
“All his clients?”
“Every single case except one.”
“The Laidlaw case?”
“You know that, too. Did everyone know except me? Was Sophie in on it?”
“Russell Sage is behind this. The man’s a sour, vindictive—”
“Maybe Walter should have considered that before he decided to sue one of the most powerful men in America.”
“He was trying to help someone. Walter’s a wonderful, generous man, Sarah, and I know that’s a large part of why you love him.”
Mary then told Sarah every detail of what she knew and how she got involved. “Can you believe it?” she exclaimed. “I wanted to kill him because I thought he was cheating on you, then I find out he’s just trying to help a poor, crippled man.”
Sarah’s anger had subsided, softening a bit. She shook her head and grimaced. “That’s my husband. Kind to a fault.”
“Sarah, you have my word that I will do everything in my power to correct this, and you know what happens when I get determined.”
“You’re as stubborn as your mother.”
“Believe me. Russell Sage has never gone face-to-face with anyone like my mother.” The mood finally lightened. “I will find a way.”
“Here’s hoping.”
“Take it easy on Walter. You know he has a good heart.”
“I will…later. I want to keep the upper hand for a while.”
Mary smiled, then pointed to the knitting. “What are you making?”
Sarah held it up. “It was going to be a sweater, but maybe I’ll make it a tent in case we have to live on the streets.”
Mary left Sarah knowing that for now her friend was still her friend and her marriage was intact. Walter and Harper were still in the entry hallway.
“She’s calmed considerably, Walter,” said Mary, “though the days ahead may be a bit bumpy for you.”
“I can handle bumpy. It’s the catastrophic explosions that worry me.”
“Are you talking about Sarah or Russell Sage?”
“Both.”
“I guess that’s a form of equality we women have attained. I assume you’ve told Harper.”
“I’ve heard all the gory details,” Harper said. “By the way, Walter does have some criminal experience, and he has agreed to take on Edgar’s case.”
“That’s so generous of you, Walter.”
Walter shrugged. “I have nothing else to do.”
“Harper and I are going to find out how this happened and what we have to do to turn it around.”
“You may not have much luck,” Walter said. “In my experience, fired is final.”
“Not when Russell Sage is involved.”
Outside the Cooper house, Mary turned to Harper. “I’m going to visit Colleen Murphy, and I think it’s best if I do it alone. Her husband’s family has been friends of mine for many years, and I’ll get more out of her without a relative stranger there.”
“I’ll see Choate, find out what he knows about this, and even more important, if he has any suggestions.”
“Good idea.”
They took off in opposite directions. After a few steps, Mary turned back toward him. “Harper,” she called. He stopped and looked at her. “I’m glad we’re on the same side.”
He smiled. “So am I.”
It was more than just an apology for all the scolding she had given him, and he knew it.
27
The Murphy family owed Mary a favor. She had given Brian free investigative services and Colleen sound advice about the Laidlaw case. Besides, as her mother had pointed out, she and Brian’s mother had been friends ever since the day she “first set foot on these shores from good ol’ Ireland.” She expected that some or all of this gave her enough cachet that if they knew something, they would tell her. Of course, she had to tread lightly. She didn’t know whether Colleen knew about Brian’s hiring her or whether she had told him about testifying. Mary figured she would judge how to navigate those waters when she saw who was home.
A Conestoga wagon was on the street outside their apartment house, along with numerous pieces of furniture, which two men were loading onto the already half-full wagon. Mary didn’t realize it was Colleen and Brian who were moving until she entered their apartment a
nd saw that it was almost empty. They were both scurrying around, checking closets and drawers, making sure they weren’t leaving anything of worth behind. Brian came out of the kitchen.
“Colleen, you left your grandmother’s pot under the kitchen sink.” He saw they had a visitor. “Hi, Mary.”
“Hello, Brian.” Before she had a chance to speak another word, Colleen came out of one of the bedrooms.
“I can’t believe I almost forgot—” She stopped once she saw Mary. The guilt on her face was unmistakable. “Mary, hello. What brings you here?”
“It’s lucky I did stop by or I may not have found you.”
“We bought a house in Clinton Hill,” said Brian. “Three bedrooms, a big backyard for the children—” He suddenly stopped, having noticed that Colleen was staring daggers at him. “She’s going to find out eventually, Colleen. We might as well tell her now.”
“The expression you see on Colleen’s face, Brian, is the remnant of what little conscience she has left. Clinton Hill is expensive, and I’m sure you didn’t get there from your savings as a merchant marine. This reeks of Russell Sage.”
“She did what she had to do for the sake of her family.”
“I don’t know how he found out about me. I swear. When Mr. Byrnes stopped by—”
“Thomas Byrnes, Inspector Thomas Byrnes?”
“Yes. I was scared. I thought Mr. Sage was going to have me arrested. Powerful men like him can do that, you know. It turned out—” She pointed to her surroundings, indicating the move, obviously meaning it was a bonanza.
“I suppose I can safely assume you’re not testifying?”
“Would you?”
“I’m not a good person to ask. I’ve never taken blood money and I never will.”
Brian stepped forward. “Now, wait one minute. If you think—”
“Reserve your indignation for someone else, Brian. I was honest with you when you hired me, and I’m not going to change in order to ease your guilt.”
“Brian told me all about that, Mary. Thank you for helping out.”
“Maybe you’re upset I didn’t pay you,” said Brian. “I can now.”
“My offer was genuine, and like I said before, I don’t take blood money.”
“You can’t seriously be likening us to Judas.”
“Because you’ve allowed yourselves to be bought, a poor man will live in poverty and agonizing pain for the rest of his life. A lawyer, a good man also with a family, has been stripped of his livelihood.”
“Mr. Choate?” Colleen asked.
“Not him. He’s too big to be affected: Walter Cooper, but who cares? You get to move to Clinton Hill.”
Brian held steadfast. “Walter Cooper was not part of our deal, and we’re not changing our minds.” Colleen suddenly turned pale. Brian noticed. “What is it, Colleen?”
“I may have accidentally mentioned his name to Mr. Byrnes. I feel awful.”
Brian quickly jumped in. “Not awful enough to give the money back. Not now, not ever.”
Mary ignored Brian. “Colleen, do you honestly want to be the cause of so much misery?”
Colleen didn’t answer right away and Brian became concerned. “Colleen. Colleen, tell her. Tell her that we’re keeping it.”
Colleen straightened, seeming resolute. “I have been poor all my life, and I’m not going to pass up my one chance of bettering myself.”
“I guess we have different definitions of ‘bettering.’ ”
“That’s enough, Mary,” said Brian. “You can go now.”
“I’d be happy to. This conversation is making me ill.” Mary headed for the door, then stopped and turned. “By the way, might I ask how much he paid you?”
“It’s none of your business,” Brian quickly answered.
“It’s okay,” Colleen said. “I don’t mind telling you. Eight thousand dollars.”
Mary smiled, shaking her head.
“It’s a lot of money,” Colleen insisted.
“Russell Sage stood to lose hundreds of thousands on that lawsuit. I’m sure he was thrilled to find a couple of fools he could buy so cheaply.”
Brian immediately turned on Colleen. “I told you we should have held out for more!”
As the two of them argued, Mary made her exit. She had discovered the source of the leak. Doing something about it would be more difficult.
28
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was on his way back from his ranch in the Dakotas to Washington, D.C., when he was induced to make a detour to New York City. His second wife, Edith, was with him, along with his five children, whose ages ranged from just a few months to ten years. The oldest, Alice, was his only child from his first wife, who had died shortly after Alice was born. They were staying in a luxurious suite of rooms at the Waldorf Hotel, which had been built the year before by William Astor. Astor and his aunt Caroline were feuding, and he had built it right next to her home for the express purpose of annoying her. In that respect and also financially, it was very successful.
It was after dinner on Sunday and their nanny had the night off. Edith was busy with the children: putting some of them to sleep, seeing that others were reading or playing quietly, and eventually getting some alone time nursing the baby. In the main living room, Roosevelt was entertaining his good friend and confidant Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republican senator from Massachusetts; Jacob Riis, whom Roosevelt greatly admired for his journalistic and photographic exposure of societal inequities; Harper Lloyd; and Mary Handley. They were all seated, Roosevelt on the edge of a desk. The day before a group of influential New York reformers, including Republican mayoral candidate William Strong, had met with him.
“Can you believe Strong offered me head of sanitation?” said an incredulous Roosevelt. “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a garbage collector.”
“That was a couple of weeks ago, and he corrected it yesterday, TR,” said Lodge. “President of the New York Police Commission is a completely different matter.”
“It’s a lovely offer, Henry,” said Roosevelt, “but I must think of my family. Edith loves our life in D.C., and the children are very happy there.” Roosevelt was currently head of the Civil Service Commission. The job had lasted through two administrations; he’d been appointed by the Republicans and asked to stay on by the Democrats.
“You conveniently left out one very important element, TR. You.”
“I’m fine. The Civil Service Commission isn’t the most exciting place to be. In fact, it’s downright boring, but it’s steady, and that’s been good for all of us.”
“And since when does Teddy Roosevelt settle for boring?”
“Experience has told me that boring is the desired state. Whenever I’ve stirred the pot, the party hacks run around as if they were chickens and I was about to cut off their heads.”
“Those were crooked politicians, and they had every right to be afraid of you. You would have had their heads.”
“They do rule the roost though.”
“I know you had a bad experience when you ran for mayor.” Roosevelt had been the Republican nominee for mayor of New York City in 1886. It was a three-way race, and the party was afraid he and the Democratic candidate, Abram Hewitt, would split the vote and give the election to Henry George, the independent candidate. Their fear of George’s radical views on taxes and property ownership was stronger than their belief in Roosevelt. Many of them voted for Hewitt, who won the election. Roosevelt came in third.
“But this is different,” Lodge continued. “There’s nothing between you and the job. You will be anointed, TR, and the politicians can’t stop you. Your power will be absolute.”
“I must admit that does sound enticing.”
“And mark my words. This is New York, the largest city in our great country. If you become the man who cleans up the cesspool that currently calls itself the New York City Police Department, it will be noticed. Who knows where it might take you?”
“Maybe Strong was co
nfused about what garbage he wanted me to sweep away.”
They all laughed. Roosevelt walked around the desk and sat in a chair. Serious again, he turned to Riis. “You’ve been silent, Jacob. What’s your opinion here?”
“I can’t speak to your family’s welfare. Only you and Edith can do that. I can say that there is an unrest in this country that is unprecedented. Go to any workingman’s neighborhood and you can see the despair on their faces. I fear more anarchist violence like the Berkman attack on Henry Frick and the Norcross bombing is not far off.”
“It’s never been proved that Norcross was an anarchist.”
“I’ve brought my friend Harper Lloyd with me. He’s a very talented and devoted journalist who has been investigating the Norcross case.” Riis gestured to Harper.
“You’re right, Mr. Roosevelt. It’s never been definitively proven that Henry L. Norcross was an anarchist. But let’s just look at the action. He decided to blow himself up with the hope of taking Russell Sage with him. To the best of my knowledge, it is the first suicide of its kind in the United States, clearly an act of desperation.”
“And more likely the act of a lunatic.”
“Agreed, but when does anarchism turn to lunacy? An anarchist in Russia killed himself and the czar.”
“I heard there are conflicting reports. Some say he just wanted the money and the explosion was an accident. The satchel with the bomb slipped off of his shoulder.”
“Even so. Think about who Norcross chose. It wasn’t a doctor or a random wealthy person who might have been an easier victim. It was Russell Sage, who epitomizes capitalistic greed.”
“Excuse me, everyone,” said Mary, “but no matter how much I might agree with all of you, we have wandered off topic.”
“Leave it to a woman to bring us males down to earth. Edith does that for me, and I’m forever grateful she does. Bully for you, Miss Handley.”
“Thank you, sir. We should be concentrating on what you can personally accomplish as president of the New York Police Commission, and the answer is plenty. Most important of all is to restore the people’s trust in their own police force. Clubber Williams has openly bragged about taking bribes, and it is widely known that Thomas Byrnes has acquired great wealth doing the bidding of Andrew Carnegie, Russell Sage, Jay Gould, and others. Because of their influential friends, the Lexow Committee investigation into their activities will be proven fruitless. We need someone to clean house, say ‘you’re gone’ and mean it.”
Last Stop in Brooklyn Page 18
