Scarne sat across from Tierney. He’d already sized Todd up. A successful Chicago lawyer who thought he was every bit as good as his New York counterparts. The man wasn’t afraid to throw money around, if the Patek Philippe chronograph on his left wrist was an indication. And he was a clothes horse. Tierney, no slouch in that department, was wearing a blue Hugo Boss pinstripe, his standard lawyer’s uniform, with a red-striped tie. Todd’s gray-wool, chalk-stripe suit, also three-piece, was bespoke Saville Row all the way. His plaid silk tie was purple and silver and he had a flower square in his breast pocket. Scarne liked to talk to potential clients, if that what Todd was, who wore Saville Row suits, although he thought the pocket square was a bit much. Scarne felt under-dressed, in his blue Brooks Brothers blazer. Well, at least he’d worn a tie; one of his favorites, a maroon number that Evelyn bought him for Christmas. It had little sailboats on it.
Todd’s white hair was combed straight back and not a strand was out of place. He had a ruddy complexion, a prominent nose and chin, and piercing blue eyes. Considerably shorter than either Scarne or Tierney, he was rapier thin and was probably older than he looked. Scarne put him on the north side of 70. Scarne knew not to underestimate him.
“I bet I could talk you gentlemen into a drink,” Todd said, waving over the bartender and his martini cart.
“You’d get longer odds on Secretariat,” Tierney.
They all ordered martinis made, at Todd’s insistence, with Nolet's Silver Dry Gin. Scarne would have preferred Pinnacle gin, but he had to admit his drink was superb.
As they drank, Todd said, “I’m not in town long, so I wonder if we might order.” He signaled the waiter. “I already know what I’m getting. I know it will be the death of me, but I can’t resist the Crackling Pork Shank with the Firecracker Apple Sauce.”
“Fine choice, sir, it’s our signature dish. Anything to start?”
“No. But bring creamed spinach, button mushrooms and some of those French fries with the malt mayo for the table.” He looked at his dining companions. “That OK with you?” they nodded. He looked back at the waiter. “You can do that, can’t you?”
“Certainly, sir.”
Scarne knew that for someone like Todd the restaurant would provide creamed elephant if he asked. Tierney winked at him and they both ordered Flat Iron Steak Sandwiches.
“I think a Pinot Noir would go well with everything we’re eating,” Todd said.
He again looked at Scarne and Tierney, who again nodded, although Scarne was sorely tempted to break the man’s pretensions by asking for a glass of Boone’s Farm Apple Wine.
“A bottle of your best Pinot Noir,” Todd told the waiter. “Perhaps the Ribbon Ridge?”
“Certainly, Mr. Todd.”
After the servers left, Todd leaned forward and said, “Let’s get down to business, Jake. May I call you Jake?”
“Sure, Winston.”
Todd smiled.
“Of course. Perhaps you can start by telling me a little about yourself, how you operate.”
“Winston,” Tierney said, looking annoyed. “With all due respect. You know everything you need to know about Jake. I filled you in, and I vouched for him. Besides, even if Jake was Inspector Clouseau, you have to offer him the job. You just told me she made that very clear.”
If Todd was angered by Tierney’s remarks, he didn’t show it. That’s why he’s probably a good lawyer, Scarne thought, while wondering what the hell they were talking about. Who was “she?”
CHAPTER 4 - THE WIDOW
“My firm represents Katherine Vallance,” Todd said. “The widow of Bryan Vallance, who, as you may know, was killed in a tragic skydiving incident almost five months ago.”
Scarne had no trouble recalling the circumstances. Vallance’s death had been a media sensation, with shocking cell phone images plastered all over the Internet.
“Hawaii, right? A murder-suicide.”
“Yes. The police established that the man jumping with Bryan had already murdered most of his family and decided to take his own life. A group of BVM Corporation executives, led by Bryan, who was the chairman and chief executive officer, participated in the jump as part of a corporate retreat. They call it tandem skydiving, suitable for first-timers.”
“And last-timers,” Scarne said, dryly.
“Yes, well that’s true, I suppose. Anyway, the man left a note that included a rant against corporate America, which he apparently blamed for our recent wars. He was an Army veteran. Poor Bryan was basically just a symbol to him.”
The door to the Mahogany Room opened and two waiters arrived with their food and wine. Todd told them he didn’t want to be disturbed and he would handle the wine pouring himself. He waited until after they left and he and his guests started eating before continuing.
“Katherine was devastated, of course.” Todd took a sip of his wine and smiled appreciatively. “The death was a shock, and the media frenzy afterward was, well, frankly disgusting.”
“It was that,” Tierney said. “But what did you expect, Winston? Vallance was the C.E.O. of one of the nation’s largest corporations. He did his swan dive onto a field full of high school kids playing baseball.”
The food and drink were certainly excellent, Scarne mused, but he wished Todd would stop beating about the bush.
“Where do I fit into all this, Winston?”
Todd cleared his throat.
“Well, I suppose I have to get to it.” He affected a rueful smile. “Mrs. Vallance thinks her husband was murdered.”
Scarne laughed. He couldn’t help it.
“I hope you didn’t bill her for that information, Winston. Everyone else on the planet thinks the same thing.”
Todd shook his head.
“You don’t understand. She doesn’t believe that the skydiver who killed Bryan was making some sort of political statement and just picked him because he was a handy target. She thinks Campbell, that was the fellow’s name, was put up to it by someone else. It was a murder, just not the one the police assumed.”
Scarne looked at Tierney, whose face was impassive.
“She bases that on what?” Scarne asked.
“Well, for one thing,” Todd continued, “this Campbell fellow specifically asked to be paired with Bryan Vallance when the jumpers were broken down into teams. Gave the guy who was set to go with Bryan some cock-and-bull story about friends in common. Man never questioned it and just switched.”
“So,” Scarne said, “what’s strange about that? Campbell wanted to kill the head man.”
“Then, there was Campbell’s family.”
“What about it? I don’t remember the exact details, but I seem to recall that the cops were sure he killed them. A confession. Lots of forensic evidence.”
“They still are convinced,” Todd said, “which makes all this so much more difficult. Katherine doesn’t think Campbell murdered his wife and daughter. For one thing, there was another child, a baby boy, who was not harmed. She thinks a truly deranged person would not have spared him.”
“Deranged means crazy,” Scarne said. “You don’t know what was going on inside the guy’s head. Maybe he didn’t have the stomach or the heart for it.”
“That’s what I told Katherine,” Todd said, waving a fork with a piece of crackling pork at Scarne. Then he put it in his mouth. “But she’s adamant.”
“Adamant about what? Who does she think killed the wife and daughter?”
Now, Todd looked really uncomfortable.
“Whoever forced Campbell to kill her husband. She believes the family was probably being held hostage until Campbell murdered Bryan, and then killed anyway to silence them.”
“Does she have anything to back any of this up?”
“No.”
“Has she gone to the police with her suspicions?”
“No. She came to us first, for advice. She knows that without proof she could open herself up to slander charges from some of the people she suspects.”
“She gave you names?”
“No. Katherine Vallance sees a conspiracy of some kind and will spare no expense to uncover it. She says Bryan’s death was just too convenient for some other people. But she realizes that some of those who benefited from Bryan’s death didn’t necessarily kill him.” Todd paused. “If anyone did, that is. Obviously, when there is a change at the top, opportunities arise for advancement within the company. But she believes that this goes beyond mere corporate ambition. And there is another consideration. She is afraid that if she is correct and the purported killer, or killers, finds out she is suspicious, she’ll be next. She’d only be safe if the police believed her and started an investigation. But without any proof, she doesn’t think that is very likely. So, she is counting on you to get her the proof she needs, while keeping her involvement secret.”
“Does Mrs. Vallance jump out of planes, too?”
“You are being flip, Jake. I’ve heard that you value a sense of humor that is not always appreciated by others. In this case, of course, I respect your incredulity.”
“Winston, you are from Chicago,” Scarne said. “I know a couple of first-rate investigation firms in the Windy City. Why me?”
“Would you believe me if I said she wants the very best?”
“He would,” Tierney said. “Jake doesn’t suffer from excess modesty.”
“Well, why should he, Don?” Todd pointed his cigar at Scarne. “Your cases have been pretty notorious, Jake. Ballantrae. That business with Arachne. And more recently, the publishing thing with Quimper.” He smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but personally I would have preferred a man with a lower profile. But Mrs. Vallance was very insistent.”
Todd stood up.
“Excuse me a moment. I think the help is taking my request for privacy to extremes. They may never come back.”
He went to the door and left the room. Scarne looked at Tierney. He’d already decided not to take the case. It had professional disaster written all over it. He was always willing to risk that in the service of a good cause, but this was something else. The Vallance woman was right to be worried about slander suits.
“Don, I’m inclined to pass. I would think it’s Todd’s fiduciary duty to talk Mrs.Vallance out of this nonsense before she makes a fool of herself.”
Tierney leaned forward.
“You are preaching to the choir, Jake. I told Todd that. He got a bit uppity with me. Sibellius, Rockford and Todd is old school. It has a rock-solid reputation for putting clients first. Which is why it has the best client list in Chicago. Winston said they’ve done everything they could to talk Mrs. Vallance out of this.”
Todd returned with the waiters, who quickly cleared the table and poured coffee. One of them then went to the sideboard and brought over the cigar service and a bottle of Willet Pot Still Reserve bourbon and three snifters. Scarne and Tierney declined the cigars, but not the bourbon. Todd made the usual show of picking out a cigar, a Canario D’oro Rothchild Robusto, which the server expertly clipped and lighted for him. Todd took a few serious puffs, which imparted the room with what Scarne thought was a pleasant odor, although in a non-private venue elsewhere in New York City it would have probably attracted a SWAT team led by the city’s fanatic anti-smoking billionaire Mayor. The waiters left.
“Listen, Winston,” Scarne said, “I appreciate your confidence in my alleged abilities. But it sounds to me that this woman needs another kind of help. Psychiatric. Surely, a good grief counselor. How old is she? Perhaps she’s become demented. And I’m not being flip.”
“Katherine is a young woman, many years Bryan’s junior. I can assure you that she is all there mentally. In fact, she is an extraordinarily intelligent individual.”
“Trophy wife?”
“Not in the traditional sense. I mean, she was quite a catch and all, but she was his first wife. Bryan was a bit of a playboy into his 40’s before putting his nose to the grindstone at BVM. I know that in recent years there were several potential Mrs. Vallances, but he was a bit of a slippery devil, at least until Katherine came along.”
“So, she’s lost her meal ticket.”
“That would be a cynical conclusion, my friend. And a wrong one. I don’t believe Katherine’s quest has anything to do with money. Bryan left her very well off. Property, corporate stock, insurance, jewelry. None of that will change substantially whether she’s right or wrong about his death.”
“Children?”
Todd shook his head sadly.
“Katherine was three months pregnant when Bryan was killed. The shock of his death and the media circus surrounding it was too much for her. She lost the baby.”
“That’s really tough,” Scarne said, a bit chagrined at his censorious comment about the woman’s potential gold-digging motivation. “I’m sorry. I really am. The woman lost her husband, and then miscarried. I’m not surprised she is obsessing on all of this, even if she has all her marbles. But I don’t see what I can do. I’m not your man.”
“Perhaps this will change your mind,” Todd said, blowing a smoke ring before putting down his cigar. “Don, kindly pass me my briefcase.” He pulled out a folder and passed a document to Tierney. “Standard contract. Of course, you and Don should read it before you sign, but I’ll give you the gist.”
Scarne was somewhat miffed at the man’s presumption.
“Winston, I just told you I’m not interested.”
Todd ignored him, with the air of a man who made a lot of money ignoring things he didn’t consider important.
“Your normal rates don’t concern my client,” he said. “If you sign, you will be paid a retainer of $100,000. Non-refundable and subject to adjustment higher, if necessary.”
Tierney and Scarne both stared at the old lawyer in astonishment. It was an absurd amount of money.
“I don’t do assassinations,” Scarne finally said, only half in jest.
“The $100,000 is yours, no matter what you find out,” Todd continued in his attorney’s voice. “You do not have to provide an accounting of your time or your methods. Mrs. Vallance is only interested in the results of your investigation, whatever they may be. You get to keep the retainer even if you prove her wrong. She trusts you implicitly.”
Scarne couldn’t believe his ears.
“That proves it. She has to be crazy, Winston. I don’t even know Katherine Vallance.”
“This is where it may get dicey, Jake,” Todd said. “You do know her.” He paused. “Her full name is Katherine Ellenson Vallance.”
“Oh, shit,” Tierney said.
“I understand Katherine left you at the altar, Jake” Todd said, not unkindly.
“Not quite,” Scarne said, recovering. He took a belt of his bourbon. “We hadn’t yet decided on wedding invitations.”
CHAPTER 5 - FRANKENSTEIN STUFF
“You should have told me about this, Todd,” Tierney said. Scarne could tell from his tone that he was angry. “Jake is my friend, as well as client. I would have discussed this with him so he wasn’t blindsided.”
“I’m sorry, Don.” Todd didn’t sound sorry. “But I had my instructions from my client. “Mrs. Vallance wanted Jake to hear her story unencumbered by any past prejudices or emotions. One other thing. The $100,000 fee is non-negotiable. If Jake takes the case, he must take the fee. Katherine doesn’t want this to be pro bono. She realizes that he might feel conflicted, but she wants to keep this as businesslike as possible.”
“Do I have to be here for this meeting?” Scarne said. “Or don’t I have any say in any of this?”
Todd looked at his watch.
“I have a flight out of JFK at 4:10. You two will probably want to discuss this. I’ll leave the contract with you, Don. Call and tell me what Jake wants to do. If he signs it, just overnight it to me with bank instructions on where to deposit the retainer. Then I’ll arrange a meeting with Mrs. Vallance.”
He stood, as did the others.
“It was a pleasure to meet you
, Jake,” Todd said, putting out his hand. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bit brusque and mysterious, but Katherine didn’t leave me much choice in the matter. Please don’t shoot the messenger. She really is a wonderful woman. If you decide to help her, I know you can put her mind to rest, no matter what you find out. But I certainly understand that this is not an easy decision.”
He then shook Tierney’s hand and left.
***
“Kate.”
Scarne let the name hang in the air.
“It’s a hair ball,” Tierney said. They were lingering in the Mahogany Room over coffee. “How do you feel about her now?”
“I don’t know. She’s been out of my life for a long time, but I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t think about her. Often. But you know what I’ve been doing since she left. It’s not as if I planned on tracking her down. I had basically closed the door on that chapter of my life. We were young. Dudley said she was like a poison in my blood, but I’ve found a few antidotes in the last few years.”
Tierney knew that Dudley Mack, Scarne’s quasi-mobster best friend, had introduced Kate Ellenson to Scarne. He also knew that one of the “antidotes” Scarne alluded to, a woman named Alana Loeb, might have scarred the private investigator more deeply than anyone, including Kate.
“It’s an awful lot of money, Jake.” Tierney had finished reading the proposed contract. “This is a solid offer. No strings attached.”
“I don’t want her money.”
“Why? The rents in Rockefeller Center drop? You have a staff to consider. If you take this on, take the money. Maybe it will give you some perspective.”
Scarne drummed his fingers on the table.
“A faint heart never won the chorus girl.”
“What’s that?” Tierney asked.
Scarne smiled.
“It’s a favorite saying of George Mack, Dudley’s old man. He said it was the women who drove you crazy that matter in the long run. Kate certainly fit the bill. She was always a bit of a loose cannon. Unpredictable. Even volatile. Sure drove me nuts.”
THE VIRON CONSPIRACY (JAKE SCARNE THRILLERS #4) Page 3
