your mother would have wanted you to have. You should leave Manhattan, though. It’s not a very easy place to keep things simple. Things have a way of getting out of hand.”
“Things like what, Mr. Williams? Things like the fund?” Scarsford had moved into the room.
“Don’t answer that, Dad. Mr. Scarsford, please leave the room. I have asked for counsel, and this conversation is over.”
“It seemed like a small thing at the beginning, Charlie. Just a quick thing that didn’t seem to hurt anyone.”
Charlotte was starting to cry, her body shaking uncontrollably. Where was Arthur? “Shh, Daddy, don’t talk now. We’re waiting for Arthur, OK?”
Jacob smiled up at her, just as he always had. “Honey, it’s too late for Arthur. It’s not his fault.” He reached up and stroked the side of her face. “You look like your mom, did I tell you that?”
Charlotte sobbed. “Yes, Daddy, you told me that.”
And then she took his head in her arms and held him tightly, as he started to sob himself. “It was just a small thing, Jackie, just a small thing. I’m so sorry, Jackie.”
Charlotte held on tight and waited for the lawyer.
Chapter
TEN
After that, things got even worse. Jacob had cried for a while and then fallen silent and sullen, refusing to talk even to Charlotte. Arthur had ordered the investigators from the room.
“I think it’s clear your father is in shock, Charlotte. I think we should have him looked at by a doctor.”
Charlotte felt as if she herself could use some medical attention, or at least a Xanax or three, but she pushed it down. “Will it be someone we know or someone they bring?”
Arthur frowned. “I’m not sure.”
In the end, the investigators allowed Jacob’s own doctor to attend him, and once Dr. Levinger was finished, they allowed him to transport Jacob to a hospital for further evaluation.
Mallory was brusque. “Mr. Bedford, if this is your client’s attempt to escape prosecution by feigning illness, then you should advise him that it hasn’t worked for organized crime, and it won’t work for him.”
Arthur was starting to get his confidence back, now that his own shock was receding. He looked down his nose at the policeman. “Good grief, Detective, there’s no need to be rude. Mr. Williams has suffered a great shock, and the doctor merely wishes to ensure that there isn’t anything else going on. If hecollapses while in your care, it wouldn’t look very good for you, would it?”
Mallory said nothing for a moment, then, “I’m not sure you realize how angry people are about this. If I let him leave the building unguarded, he might not make it to the sidewalk.”
Charlotte went pale. “What are you talking about? What people?”
“The people whose money he stole, Miss Williams. Did you think it was all faceless corporations and big banks? No, he took the life savings of couples who’d planned to retire, who’d worked all their lives and were finally about to be able to rest. He took the nest eggs of families with children. He took whatever he wanted, Miss Williams, and people tend to look askance at that kind of greed.”
“You’re wrong about him,” Charlotte said, although inside she was feeling less sure. Her father had seemed so happy and normal and confident only the other night. Was it possible that everything she took for granted, everything she thought was certain, was actually a total lie? She’d have broken down if she’d had any tears left.
WHEN THEY LEFT the building, her father in a wheelchair, his doctor at his side, she saw firsthand what Mallory had been talking about.
“There he is, there’s Williams!” A small crowd surged forward, their faces twisted with rage. “You thief!”
Charlotte made eye contact with one woman, a normal-looking woman in her early forties maybe.
“You bitch!” the woman cried. “Your father stole everythingI ever worked for. He’s a fucking thief, and I hope he dies in jail, and you, too,
“Things like what, Mr. Williams? Things like the fund?” Scarsford had moved into the room.
“Don’t answer that, Dad. Mr. Scarsford, please leave the room. I have asked for counsel, and this conversation is over.”
“It seemed like a small thing at the beginning, Charlie. Just a quick thing that didn’t seem to hurt anyone.”
Charlotte was starting to cry, her body shaking uncontrollably. Where was Arthur? “Shh, Daddy, don’t talk now. We’re waiting for Arthur, OK?”
Jacob smiled up at her, just as he always had. “Honey, it’s too late for Arthur. It’s not his fault.” He reached up and stroked the side of her face. “You look like your mom, did I tell you that?”
Charlotte sobbed. “Yes, Daddy, you told me that.”
And then she took his head in her arms and held him tightly, as he started to sob himself. “It was just a small thing, Jackie, just a small thing. I’m so sorry, Jackie.”
Charlotte held on tight and waited for the lawyer.
Chapter
TEN
After that, things got even worse. Jacob had cried for a while and then fallen silent and sullen, refusing to talk even to Charlotte. Arthur had ordered the investigators from the room.
“I think it’s clear your father is in shock, Charlotte. I think we should have him looked at by a doctor.”
Charlotte felt as if she herself could use some medical attention, or at least a Xanax or three, but she pushed it down. “Will it be someone we know or someone they bring?”
Arthur frowned. “I’m not sure.”
In the end, the investigators allowed Jacob’s own doctor to attend him, and once Dr. Levinger was finished, they allowed him to transport Jacob to a hospital for further evaluation.
Mallory was brusque. “Mr. Bedford, if this is your client’s attempt to escape prosecution by feigning illness, then you should advise him that it hasn’t worked for organized crime, and it won’t work for him.”
Arthur was starting to get his confidence back, now that his own shock was receding. He looked down his nose at the policeman. “Good grief, Detective, there’s no need to be rude. Mr. Williams has suffered a great shock, and the doctor merely wishes to ensure that there isn’t anything else going on. If hecollapses while in your care, it wouldn’t look very good for you, would it?”
Mallory said nothing for a moment, then, “I’m not sure you realize how angry people are about this. If I let him leave the building unguarded, he might not make it to the sidewalk.”
Charlotte went pale. “What are you talking about? What people?”
“The people whose money he stole, Miss Williams. Did you think it was all faceless corporations and big banks? No, he took the life savings of couples who’d planned to retire, who’d worked all their lives and were finally about to be able to rest. He took the nest eggs of families with children. He took whatever he wanted, Miss Williams, and people tend to look askance at that kind of greed.”
“You’re wrong about him,” Charlotte said, although inside she was feeling less sure. Her father had seemed so happy and normal and confident only the other night. Was it possible that everything she took for granted, everything she thought was certain, was actually a total lie? She’d have broken down if she’d had any tears left.
WHEN THEY LEFT the building, her father in a wheelchair, his doctor at his side, she saw firsthand what Mallory had been talking about.
“There he is, there’s Williams!” A small crowd surged forward, their faces twisted with rage. “You thief!”
Charlotte made eye contact with one woman, a normal-looking woman in her early forties maybe.
“You bitch!” the woman cried. “Your father stole everythingI ever worked for. He’s a fucking thief, and I hope he dies in jail, and you, too,
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