were barely polite. Apparently Miami doesn’t have a
shortage of murders that are easier to solve.”
He
reached in his pocket and took out a thick envelope, placing it on the table
and pushing it to Scarne.
“Bottom
line, I’ve got nowhere else to go. Here’s $20,000 to start. I'll pay your
expenses, too. Go to Miami, turn over some rocks. Maybe something will slither
out. You will find much of what you need to start in that envelope. Josh's
address, employer and so on. You can stay in Josh's apartment and use his car.
I’ll call Mario. He’ll have everything ready. If you turn up something, we can
make further arrangements. But this money is yours to keep for trying.”
“You
can’t be serious.”
“Why,
isn’t it enough?”
“That’s
not the point. Mr. Shields, I think you may be grasping at straws. What you
have told me is interesting. But this is all pretty thin. I don't want to take
your money on false pretenses.”
“Are
there any other kind of pretenses, Jake? If you conclude that Josh’s death was
indeed an accident, or perhaps a random act of violence, I’ll have to live with
it. But if Victor Ballantrae thought Josh was just a no-name, two-bit reporter
for a Florida weekly...well, I don’t know. I can’t live with the thought that I
may have caused my son’s murder. I have to find out.”
“And
what about your brother? I can’t be discreet about this.”
Shields
smiled.
“I
finally told Randolph what Josh said about Ballantrae. And the missing
computer, everything. He said I had no right to do what I did. He said Josh
thought everyone was a crook. Was exaggerating, trying to please me. He raised
many of the points you and the police have. We had a huge row. Claimed I was
jealous of him and wanted to run the company. Victor Ballantrae was a dear
friend and I was going to destroy everything. If Emma wasn’t there, I think we
might actually have come to blows.”
“Emma?”
“Randolph’s
daughter, Emerald. She and Josh grew up together and were always thick as
thieves. More like brother and sister than cousins. Hell, Adele and I
practically raised her, what with Randolph always scooting around the world,
and usually between wives and mistresses. Emma took Josh’s death particularly
hard. I’m not sure she agrees with her father.”
“How
did you leave it with your brother?”
The
old man looked at his brandy glass, twirling it as he spoke.
“I
was angry. I didn’t like what he said about Josh, although now I’m sure he
didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” He finished his drink. “I told him that I
wasn’t going to drop it. I was going to find out what Josh meant.”
“Sounds
like you’ve burned your bridges.”
“Randolph
and I aren’t speaking. It is what it is. I’ve lost my wife and my son. If Josh
was right about Ballantrae, and I can prove it, Randolph will come around. It’s
still family, after all.”
“And
if you can’t?”
“Then
I assume Randolph will put me out to pasture.” Shields smiled. “Or follow
through on his most recent threat – and have me committed.” He looked at
Scarne. “Will you help me?”
Now
Scarne signaled for another brandy. A $20,000 payday doesn’t come along every
day, he reflected while the waiter poured. But the potential risks for going up
against one of the most powerful media personalities in the world as well as a
rising Wall Street star were incalculable. And for what? A wild goose chase to
ease a grieving man’s conscience?
“Sure,”
Scarne said, without knowing why.
CHAPTER
5 – FIRST CONTACT
Keitel
considered his new vantage point on the median on Park Avenue a miserable
compromise. The constant stream of traffic made surveillance difficult but he
was probably far enough away not to be spotted by the nosy doorman. As an added
precaution he put his cheap and garish cloth ski hat, hastily purchased earlier
from an inexplicably cheerful Pakistani street vendor, in his pocket. As a
result his hair
shortage of murders that are easier to solve.”
He
reached in his pocket and took out a thick envelope, placing it on the table
and pushing it to Scarne.
“Bottom
line, I’ve got nowhere else to go. Here’s $20,000 to start. I'll pay your
expenses, too. Go to Miami, turn over some rocks. Maybe something will slither
out. You will find much of what you need to start in that envelope. Josh's
address, employer and so on. You can stay in Josh's apartment and use his car.
I’ll call Mario. He’ll have everything ready. If you turn up something, we can
make further arrangements. But this money is yours to keep for trying.”
“You
can’t be serious.”
“Why,
isn’t it enough?”
“That’s
not the point. Mr. Shields, I think you may be grasping at straws. What you
have told me is interesting. But this is all pretty thin. I don't want to take
your money on false pretenses.”
“Are
there any other kind of pretenses, Jake? If you conclude that Josh’s death was
indeed an accident, or perhaps a random act of violence, I’ll have to live with
it. But if Victor Ballantrae thought Josh was just a no-name, two-bit reporter
for a Florida weekly...well, I don’t know. I can’t live with the thought that I
may have caused my son’s murder. I have to find out.”
“And
what about your brother? I can’t be discreet about this.”
Shields
smiled.
“I
finally told Randolph what Josh said about Ballantrae. And the missing
computer, everything. He said I had no right to do what I did. He said Josh
thought everyone was a crook. Was exaggerating, trying to please me. He raised
many of the points you and the police have. We had a huge row. Claimed I was
jealous of him and wanted to run the company. Victor Ballantrae was a dear
friend and I was going to destroy everything. If Emma wasn’t there, I think we
might actually have come to blows.”
“Emma?”
“Randolph’s
daughter, Emerald. She and Josh grew up together and were always thick as
thieves. More like brother and sister than cousins. Hell, Adele and I
practically raised her, what with Randolph always scooting around the world,
and usually between wives and mistresses. Emma took Josh’s death particularly
hard. I’m not sure she agrees with her father.”
“How
did you leave it with your brother?”
The
old man looked at his brandy glass, twirling it as he spoke.
“I
was angry. I didn’t like what he said about Josh, although now I’m sure he
didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” He finished his drink. “I told him that I
wasn’t going to drop it. I was going to find out what Josh meant.”
“Sounds
like you’ve burned your bridges.”
“Randolph
and I aren’t speaking. It is what it is. I’ve lost my wife and my son. If Josh
was right about Ballantrae, and I can prove it, Randolph will come around. It’s
still family, after all.”
“And
if you can’t?”
“Then
I assume Randolph will put me out to pasture.” Shields smiled. “Or follow
through on his most recent threat – and have me committed.” He looked at
Scarne. “Will you help me?”
Now
Scarne signaled for another brandy. A $20,000 payday doesn’t come along every
day, he reflected while the waiter poured. But the potential risks for going up
against one of the most powerful media personalities in the world as well as a
rising Wall Street star were incalculable. And for what? A wild goose chase to
ease a grieving man’s conscience?
“Sure,”
Scarne said, without knowing why.
CHAPTER
5 – FIRST CONTACT
Keitel
considered his new vantage point on the median on Park Avenue a miserable
compromise. The constant stream of traffic made surveillance difficult but he
was probably far enough away not to be spotted by the nosy doorman. As an added
precaution he put his cheap and garish cloth ski hat, hastily purchased earlier
from an inexplicably cheerful Pakistani street vendor, in his pocket. As a
result his hair
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