Adam's Daughter (58 page)

J.D.’s gray eyes were locked on hers, and Kellen realized he expected some kind of response from her. She believed J.D. was sincere. And in just this one evening she had seen for herself the affection between her brother and this man. She recognized now that Tyler had found something with J.D., a contentment that she had always assumed would be denied to him.

“I understand,” she said.

Tyler came back in the dining room. “So what were you two talking about in my absence?” Tyler said.

“Politics,” J.D. said, with a smile. “Just politics.”

Soon after, J.D. left the room so Tyler and Kellen could discuss the business about the radio station. Tyler signed the papers. It was almost ten by the time Kellen got ready to leave. She said good night to J.D., and Tyler walked her out to her car, carrying his wineglass.

The air was warm and it was quiet except for the crickets. The stars were strung together like translucent white ribbons in the black sky.

“I like him, Tyler,” Kellen said.

Tyler looked at her, his finger tapping the edge of the empty glass, a gesture of nervous joy. “I’ve given you a lot to worry about over the years,” he said.

She shrugged. “That’s what family’s for.”

Tyler glanced back at the house. “I know I’ve only known J. D. for a little while but it’s different this time, Kellen. It’s like we’ve always known each other. Like we just belong together.” He gave her a puzzled smile. “You have any idea what I’m talking about?”

She stared at her brother. “Yes,” she said softly.

Kellen hesitated then put her arms around Tyler, hugging him tightly.

Finally, Tyler pulled away, his eyes on the ground. “Drive carefully,” he said.

She nodded and got into the car.
Hers was the only car on the road, and she rolled down the window to let the warm, fragrant air rush over her. It was a moonless night and the headlights seemed inadequate pinpricks in the dark ahead. She wished suddenly she had accepted Tyler’s invitation to stay the night. The drive ahead seemed too long, the road too dark. And she felt an emptiness that she finally recognized as envy —- a great longing for the fulfillment her brother had so unexpectedly found.

She groped on the passenger seat and her fingers found a cassette. She quickly thrust it in the player. A second later, the sounds of Puccini’s
Tosca
spilled out. After a moment, she reached over and turned the volume up high, then even higher, filling the car and night with music.

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Lilith stood staring out the window, down at the people in Union Square. After a minute, she turned back to face Ian, sitting at his desk. “She outmaneuvered you,” she said.

“There was nothing I could do,” Ian said. “That’s the way Father set it up. One vote for each of us.”

“But why didn’t you see it coming? Why didn’t you know about the FCC thing?” Lilith heaved a big sigh. “That station made a lot of money.”

“I know, Mother. I was the one who set it up to do exactly that.”

“I just don’t see why you
—-”

Ian slammed his hand down on the desk. “It’s gone! Sold! Let’s forget it, all right?”

Lilith stared at him, wide-eyed. Then she walked regally to a chair and sat down, wearing a hurt look.

“I’m sorry,” Ian said.

“You’re awfully tense, dear.”

“I have a lot on my mind.” Ian began to sift through some papers as a way of hinting to Lilith that he wished she’d leave. But she just sat there and after a moment he noticed Lilith’s eyes wandering around the room intently and that she was frowning.

“What is it?” he asked in exasperation.

“Do you plan to see Richardson today?” she asked.

“No, he left for New York two days ago.”

“Without giving us his answer?” she asked, surprised.

“He’s coming back next week,” Ian said. “But I get the impression he’s not interested.”

“Nonsense. I think he’s just stringing us along to get a better price. Perhaps if you were more aggressive
—-”

“Mother, I’ve talked to that man until I’m blue in the face. I just don’t think he wants the papers.”

“Well, despite what all the gossips say, I don’t think he’s here just to renew old acquaintances, although I certainly wouldn’t put it past Kellen.” She paused. “I think we should lower our asking price. This sale has to go through.”

Ian stared at her for a long time. “I don’t get it,” he said. “I’ve listened to you complain for years about how Father stole your family’s newspaper. And you keep telling me how important it is for me to run things so Robert can sit in this office. But now you’re ready to just turn around and hand it to an outsider. I don’t get it, Mother. I just don’t get it. What in the hell do you want?”

Lilith opened her purse and pulled out a gold compact. She opened it and looked at her reflection, smoothing a stray black hair away from her heavily powdered cheek. She put it away and leveled her dark eyes at Ian.

“I want to hurt Adam the way he hurt me,” she said.

For one fearful moment, Ian thought he saw tears form in Lilith’s eyes and he froze, not having any idea of what to do. But then Lilith’s mouth drew into a firm line.

“He left me for that woman,” she said. “He’s dead and I have to hurt him
—- both of them —- the only way I can, through their daughter. Kellen won’t get the one thing he wanted her to have most.”

Ian could think of nothing to say. Finally, he picked up some papers on the pretense of stacking them in a neat pile.

“Richardson said he’s coming back next week,” he said. “I’ll present him with a new offer.”

Lilith smiled.

“You know, Mother,” Ian said, “even if Richardson bites, there’s no guarantee we can count on Tyler. He’s obviously aligned himself with Kellen.”

Lilith began to button her jacket. “I wouldn’t worry about Tyler. He can be persuaded. You just have to find the right button to push. If I’m right about my hunch, Tyler has a secret that might prove very embarrassing if it got out.”

Lilith smiled, enjoying Ian’s bewildered look. “Why, didn’t you know, dear? Your little brother’s a homosexual.”

“Tyler? A faggot? I don’t believe it!”

Lilith frowned. “I so dislike that word.” She rose, picking up her purse. “Well, as unbelievable as it might sound, I really think it’s true. And what’s more, I think his...his friend is that politician Waverly.”

Ian’s mouth fell open. “How do you know that?”

“I saw them together at the Black and White Ball. By the end of the night they seemed awfully friendly.” She shook her head at Ian’s incredulous face. “One just has to be observant, dear.”

Ian recovered slightly. “Well, if you’re planning to go into the blackmail business, Mother, you’d better have more than a hunch. Besides, you know Tyler. He probably couldn’t care less if anyone knew.”

“Yes, I know. But I wonder how Mr. Waverly might feel. He has a family image to protect. I’ve seen him in public with women so he’s obviously not out of the cupboard.”

“The closet,” Ian said.

“Whatever.”

She glanced at her watch. “Well, I must run.” She went to the door then turned back to Ian. “You know, you’re right, dear. We do need something more than just my hunch. I think we should hire someone to watch them.”

“A detective? Good Lord, Mother.”

“Just to gather some information,” Lilith said. “Just in case we need it. You’ll do it for me, won’t you, dear? Of course you will. You’re such a good son.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

In the next month, Kellen relied on work to keep her from thinking about Garrett. But the words he had said to her that day at the Sutro Baths remained in her head and she turned them over repeatedly, carefully, like pages in a book, looking for insight to his feelings and her own.

True to his word, he didn’t contact her. And she didn’t call him. She finally admitted to herself that she was afraid to.
Afraid seeing him again would melt whatever resolve she had.

So she worked. The sale of the television station went through smoothly, and Stephen’s plan for the plant was resurrected. It was projected the plant would take a year to complete but Stephen, working at a furious pace, was flogging everyone toward a nine-month completion date. He was away from home and the office often, and Kellen turned his long absences to her advantage, maintaining her own heavy schedule at work.

She concentrated on the unsolved problem of the
Times’
flagging city circulation but a solution remained as elusive as ever. Then, on a routine trip to the loading dock, she overheard two delivery men talking. One man said he was quitting the
Times
next week and taking a job at the
Journal
.

S
he approached the men, introduced herself and asked the man why he had quit.

“Well, ma’am,” he said uneasily. “It’s got nothing to do with the
Times
. I like working here. But my wife is a nurse and she works a lot of night shifts. I need to get home in time to watch the kids.”

“And you can’t if you work here?” she asked.

He shook his head. "I can’t make my deliveries and get home by six,” he said. “Traffic’s just a mess, you know?”

She nodded
. The roads and freeways were congested and the
Times
was delivered during the beginning of rush hour. The
Journal
trucks, on the other hand, maneuvered through the empty predawn streets.

The man
gestured toward a truckload of the
Times
sitting at the loading dock. “This is driving me crazy, ma’am.”

“Me, too,” Kellen said ruefully.

The man shrugged. “Well, maybe you should just starting delivering the
Times
in the morning.”

Back in her office upstairs,
Kellen kept thinking about the man’s comments. She was thinking, too, about that vice presidents meeting months ago where the circulation man had said he had been getting a lot cancellations in the city because of late deliveries.

Deliver
the
Times
in the morning. She knew the man down on the docks had been joking. But could it be as simple as that?

Kellen punched her intercom. “Adele, come in, please. I’m going to need some help getting some information I need.”

Three hours later, she leaned back in her chair staring at the production reports spread out on the desk and her scribblings on the legal pad.

It could be done, she thought with rising excitement. The
Times
could be converted to a morning publication.

She
quickly packed her briefcase. She couldn’t wait to get home and tell Stephen about her idea.

Stephen set the legal pad down on the desk, taking off his glasses. He looked up at Kellen.

“It seems like a good idea but I don’t know,” he said slowly. “There are a lot of things you haven’t taken into consideration.”