him. Then I must go and look for Prickles. You understand that?’
Dr. Selmer
nodded and laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘I won’t forget this, Leonard. Just
talk sense into those bastards, that’s all. I’ll catch you later.’
Dr. Petrie was
about to leave when he noticed Mrs. Haskins.
‘Anton,’ he
said quietly. ‘She still doesn’t believe it. Tell her, for Christ’s sake, or
she’s going to stand by that fountain all night.’
Dr. Selmer
nodded. Then Dr. Petrie turned, and walked quickly down the hospital corridor,
out through the double doors, and into the humid tropical night. By the clock
over the hospital’s main entrance, it was just past one-thirty. He slung his
jacket in the back of his car, started the engine, and squealed off south.
He made a
conscious effort to wipe any thoughts of Prickles out of his mind as he drove.
There were too many giddy dollies in this city to think about just one of them,
no matter how dearly he loved her ,- no matter how much
it hurt to leave her to whatever fate she faced.
TWO
I vor Glantz stalked fiercely across his New York apartment, plucked
the stopper out of the whiskey decanter, and splashed himself a
more-than-generous glassful. He swallowed it like medicine, grimacing at every
gulp, and then, with heavily suppressed fury, he set the glass quietly and
evenly back on the table.
His attorney,
Manny Friedman, stood watching this performance with respectful distaste.
‘Ivor,’ he
said, in his persistent, nasal voice. ‘Ivor, you’ll kill yourself.’
Ivor Glantz
looked at him and said nothing. He walked across to the floor-to-ceiling
window, and parted the expensive translucent drapes. Sixteen floors below, on
this gray and rainy Tuesday, the four o’clock traffic was beginning to congest
the junction of First Avenue, measled with yellow taxis and teeming with
people. Glantz let the drape fall back, and turned to face his attorney with
exasperation and badly-concealed ill grace.
‘You
smart-ass,’ he growled. ‘You unctious, greasy,
half-circumcized smart-ass.’
Manny Friedman
frowned nervously. He was clutching his briefcase in front of him like a
protective shield.
‘Ivor,’ he said
uncertainly, ‘it’s a question of legal technique.’
‘Technique?’
snapped Glantz. ‘You tell the jury what a short-tempered tyrannical bastard I
am, and that’s supposed to be technique?’
Manny Friedman
licked his lips. ‘Ivor, I explained it. I explained that we had to admit your
past mistakes before the defense could get their teeth into them and make a
meal out of the whole thing. What we’re trying to say is that you’re human, and
you’ve made mistakes, but that now, in spite of everything, you’ve been
misjudged, and taken advantage of.’
Ivor Glantz sat
down heavily in one of the huge off-white armchairs. ‘Oh, sure,’ he said
sarcastically. ‘Well, you certainly made a good job of that. Now they think I’m
a cross between Caligula and Adolf Hitler. I’ve been misjudged? And taken
advantage of? What the hell kind of a performance is that?’
‘Ivor, listen
to me...’
‘I won’t
listen!’ snapped Glantz. ‘I think I’ve listened to your half-assed advice long
enough! This is my court case, and we’ll run it the way I want it! Just because
that Finnish bastard has lived a life of one hundred percent purity, that’s
supposed to give him the right to steal my research? It’s not my fault the
guy’s a virgin, is it? That’s my fucking patent, and he’s infringed it. That’s
all there is to it!’
Manny Friedman
swallowed hard. He sat down, still clutching his briefcase.
‘Ivor,’ he
said. ‘For one moment, just for one second, please listen.’
Ivor Glantz
sniffed. ‘What do you want me to do now? Confess that I’m a homosexual, so the
jury won’t think I’m having an incestuous relationship with my daughter?’ He
paused, looking the discomfited Manny up and down. ‘Come on, stop looking so
goddamned
Dr. Selmer
nodded and laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘I won’t forget this, Leonard. Just
talk sense into those bastards, that’s all. I’ll catch you later.’
Dr. Petrie was
about to leave when he noticed Mrs. Haskins.
‘Anton,’ he
said quietly. ‘She still doesn’t believe it. Tell her, for Christ’s sake, or
she’s going to stand by that fountain all night.’
Dr. Selmer
nodded. Then Dr. Petrie turned, and walked quickly down the hospital corridor,
out through the double doors, and into the humid tropical night. By the clock
over the hospital’s main entrance, it was just past one-thirty. He slung his
jacket in the back of his car, started the engine, and squealed off south.
He made a
conscious effort to wipe any thoughts of Prickles out of his mind as he drove.
There were too many giddy dollies in this city to think about just one of them,
no matter how dearly he loved her ,- no matter how much
it hurt to leave her to whatever fate she faced.
TWO
I vor Glantz stalked fiercely across his New York apartment, plucked
the stopper out of the whiskey decanter, and splashed himself a
more-than-generous glassful. He swallowed it like medicine, grimacing at every
gulp, and then, with heavily suppressed fury, he set the glass quietly and
evenly back on the table.
His attorney,
Manny Friedman, stood watching this performance with respectful distaste.
‘Ivor,’ he
said, in his persistent, nasal voice. ‘Ivor, you’ll kill yourself.’
Ivor Glantz
looked at him and said nothing. He walked across to the floor-to-ceiling
window, and parted the expensive translucent drapes. Sixteen floors below, on
this gray and rainy Tuesday, the four o’clock traffic was beginning to congest
the junction of First Avenue, measled with yellow taxis and teeming with
people. Glantz let the drape fall back, and turned to face his attorney with
exasperation and badly-concealed ill grace.
‘You
smart-ass,’ he growled. ‘You unctious, greasy,
half-circumcized smart-ass.’
Manny Friedman
frowned nervously. He was clutching his briefcase in front of him like a
protective shield.
‘Ivor,’ he said
uncertainly, ‘it’s a question of legal technique.’
‘Technique?’
snapped Glantz. ‘You tell the jury what a short-tempered tyrannical bastard I
am, and that’s supposed to be technique?’
Manny Friedman
licked his lips. ‘Ivor, I explained it. I explained that we had to admit your
past mistakes before the defense could get their teeth into them and make a
meal out of the whole thing. What we’re trying to say is that you’re human, and
you’ve made mistakes, but that now, in spite of everything, you’ve been
misjudged, and taken advantage of.’
Ivor Glantz sat
down heavily in one of the huge off-white armchairs. ‘Oh, sure,’ he said
sarcastically. ‘Well, you certainly made a good job of that. Now they think I’m
a cross between Caligula and Adolf Hitler. I’ve been misjudged? And taken
advantage of? What the hell kind of a performance is that?’
‘Ivor, listen
to me...’
‘I won’t
listen!’ snapped Glantz. ‘I think I’ve listened to your half-assed advice long
enough! This is my court case, and we’ll run it the way I want it! Just because
that Finnish bastard has lived a life of one hundred percent purity, that’s
supposed to give him the right to steal my research? It’s not my fault the
guy’s a virgin, is it? That’s my fucking patent, and he’s infringed it. That’s
all there is to it!’
Manny Friedman
swallowed hard. He sat down, still clutching his briefcase.
‘Ivor,’ he
said. ‘For one moment, just for one second, please listen.’
Ivor Glantz
sniffed. ‘What do you want me to do now? Confess that I’m a homosexual, so the
jury won’t think I’m having an incestuous relationship with my daughter?’ He
paused, looking the discomfited Manny up and down. ‘Come on, stop looking so
goddamned
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