Sons of Fortune (59 page)

“But
what else could it be?” said Nat.

“Rebecca?”
said Tom.

“What
do you mean?” asked Nat.

“That
you made her pregnant and forced her to have an abortion.”

“That’s
hardly a crime,” said Murray.

“Unless
she tries to claim you raped her.”

Nat
laughed. “Elliot’s never going to raise that particular 39i subject, because he
might well have been the father himself, and abortion is not part of his
holier-than-thou image.”

“Have
you considered going on the attack yourself?” asked Murray.

“What
do you have in mind?” asked Nat.

“Didn’t
Elliot have to resign from Alexander
Dupont
and Bell
on the same day as the senior partner because half a million went missing from
a client account?”

“No,
I will not stoop to his level,” said Nat. “In any
case,
Elliot’s involvement was never proved.”

“Oh
yes, it was,” said Murray. Tom and Nat stared across at the chairman. “A friend
of mine was the client in question, and phoned to warn me the moment he heard
that Elliot was representing us in the takeover.”

Nat
sighed. “That may well be the case, but the answer is still no.”

“Good,”
said Murray, “then we’ll beat him on your terms, which means that well have to
spend the rest of the afternoon preparing answers to whatever you imagine might
be the questions.”

At
six o’clock, Nat left the bank feeling wrung out. He phoned Su Ling and told
her what had happened. “Do you want me to come along tonight?” she asked.

“No,
little flower, but can you keep Luke well occupied? If it’s going to be
unpleasant, I’d rather he wasn’t around. You know how sensitive he can be, and
he always takes it all so personally.”

“I’ll
take him to a movie-there’s a French film playing at the Arcadia that he and
Kathy have been pressing me to see all week.”

Nat
tried not to appear nervous when he arrived at Goodwin House that night. He
walked into the hotel’s main dining room to find it was packed with several
hundred local businessmen chatting to each other. But who were they supporting,
he wondered? He suspected many of them still hadn’t made up their minds, as the
polls kept reminding them that 10 percent were still undecided. The headwaiter
directed him to the top table, where he found Elliot chatting to the local
party chairman. Manny Friedman swung around to welcome Nat.

Elliot
leaned across and made a public show of shaking hands. Nat sat down quickly and
began to make notes on the back of a menu.

When
the chairman called for order he introduced “the two heavyweights both well
qualified to be our next governor,” and then invited Elliot to make his opening
remarks. Nat had never heard him speak so poorly. The chairman then asked Nat
to reply and when he resumed his place, he would have been the first to admit
he hadn’t done much better.

The
first round, he thought, had ended in a no-points draw.

When
the chairman called for questions, Nat wondered when the missile would be
launched and from which direction.

His
eyes swept the hall as he waited for the first question.

“How
do the candidates feel about the education bill that is currently being debated
in the Senate?” came from someone sitting at the top table. Nat concentrated on
the provisions in the bill that he felt should be amended, while Elliot kept
reminding them that he had completed his undergraduate degree at the University
of Connecticut.

The
second questioner wanted to know about the new state income tax, and whether
both candidates would guarantee not to raise it. Yes and yes.

The
third questioner was interested in the policy on crime,
andwitha
particular reference to young offenders.

Elliot
said they should all be locked up and taught a lesson. Nat was less sure that
prison was the answer to every problem, and that they should perhaps consider
some of the innovations which Utah had recently introduced into their penal
system.

When
Nat resumed his seat, the chairman rose and looked around the room for another
question. As soon as the man stood up without actually looking at him, Nat knew
this had to be the plant. He glanced at Elliot, who was scribbling notes,
pretending to be oblivious of his presence. “Yes, sir,” said the chairman,
pointing at him.

“Mr.
Chairman, may I ask if either of the candidates has ever broken the law?”

Elliot
was on his feet immediately. “Several times,” he said. “I’ve had three parking
tickets in the past week, which is why I’ll be easing parking restrictions in
town centers the moment I’m elected.” Word perfect, thought Nat; even the
timing had been rehearsed. A splattering of applause broke out.

Nat
rose slowly and turned to face Elliot.

“I
shall not be changing the law to accommodate Mr. Elliot, because I believe
there should be fewer vehicles in our city centers, not more. It may not be
popular, but someone has to stand up and warn people that their future will be
bleak if we build bigger and bigger cars that consume more and more gas and
then spit out more and more toxic fumes. We owe our children a better heritage
than that, and I have no interest in being elected on glib remarks that will be
quickly forgotten once I’m in power.” He sat down to loud applause and hoped
that the chairman would move on to another questioner, but the man remained
standing.

“But,
Mr. Cartwright, you didn’t answer my question as to whether you’d ever broken
the law.”

“Not
that I’m aware of,” replied Nat.

“But
isn’t it true that you once cleared a check for three million six hundred
thousand dollars from Russell’s Bank, when you knew that the funds had already
been misappropriated and that the signature on the check was fraudulent?”

Several
of the audience began chattering at once, and Nat had to wait for some time
before he could reply.

“Yes,
Russell’s was swindled out of that money by a very clever fraudster, but as
that exact sum was owed to the local council, I felt that the bank had no
choice but to honor the debt and pay the council the amount in full.”

“Did
you inform the police at the time that the money had been stolen? After all, it
belonged to the customers of Russell’s Bank and not to you,” continued the
questioner.

“No,
because we had every reason to believe that the cash had been transferred
abroad, so we knew that there would be no possibility of retrieving it.” Nat
realized as soon as he had finished speaking that his answer would not placate
the questioner or several others in the audience.

“If
you were to become governor, Mr. Cartwright, would you treat the taxpayers’
money in the same cavalier fashion?”

Elliot
was immediately on his feet. “Mr.
Chairman, that
was a
disgraceful suggestion and nothing more than innuendo and slur; why don’t we
move on?” He sat down to loud applause while Nat remained standing. He had to
admire the sheer nerve of Elliot setting up the question and then being seen to
come to his opponent’s defense. He waited for complete silence.

“The
incident you refer to occurred over ten years ago. It was a mistake on my part
that I regret, although it is ironic that it turned out to be a massive
financial success for all those involved, because the three point six million
the bank invested in the Cedar Wood project has been a boon to the people of
Hartford, not to mention the city’s economy.”

The
questioner still wouldn’t sit down. “Despite Mr. Elliot’s magnanimous comments,
may I ask him if he would have reported such a misappropriation of funds to the
police?”

Elliot
rose slowly. “I would prefer not to comment without knowing all the details of
this particular case, but I am happy to take Mr. Cartwright’s word when he says
that he did not commit any offense, and bitterly regrets not reporting the
matter to the appropriate authorities at the time.” He paused for some time.
“However, if I am elected governor, you can be assured of open government. If I
make a mistake, I will admit it at the time and not ten years later.” The
questioner sat down, his job completed.

The
chairman found it difficult to bring the meeting back to order. There were
several more questions, but they were not listened to in silence, as those
seated in the body of the hall continued to discuss Nat’s revelation.

When
the chairman finally brought the meeting to a close, Elliot left the room
quickly while Nat remained in his place. He was touched by how many people came
up and shook him by the hand, many agreeing that the Cedar Wood project had
proved beneficial for the city.

“Well,
at least they didn’t lynch you,” Tom said as they left the room.

“No,
they didn’t, but there will only be one subject on the voters’ minds tomorrow.
Am I a suitable person to occupy the governor’s mansion?” the cedar wood
scandal was the headline in the Hartford Courant the following morning. A
photograph of the check and Julia’s real signature had been placed side by
side. It didn’t read well, but luckily for Nat half the voters had gone to the
polls long before the paper hit the streets. Nat had earlier prepared a short
withdrawal statement should he lose, which congratulated his opponent, but fell
short of endorsing him for governor. Nat was in his office when the result was
announced from Republican headquarters.

Tom
took the call and rushed in without knocking.

“You
won, you won, 11,792 to
11,673-x’s
only by a hundred
and nineteen votes, but it still puts you in the lead in the electoral college,
29-27.”

The
next day, the leader in the Hartford Courant did point out that no one had lost
any money by investing in the Cedar Wood project, and perhaps the voters had
made their intentions clear.

Nat
still had to face three more caucuses and two more primaries before the
candidate was finally selected.

He
was therefore relieved to find that Cedar Wood quickly became yesterday’s news.
Elliot won the next caucus
19-18,
and Nat the primary
four days later, 9,702-6,379, which put him even further ahead as they
approached the final primary.

In
the
electoral college
, Nat now led 116-91 and the
polls were showing him seven points ahead in the town of his birth.

On
the streets of Cromwell, Nat was joined by his parents, Susan and Michael, who
concentrated on the older voters, while Luke and Kathy tried to persuade the
young to turn out. As each day passed, Nat became more and more confident that
he was going to win. The Courant began to suggest that the real battle lay
ahead for Nat when he would have to face Fletcher Davenport, the popular
senator for Hartford. However, Tom still insisted that they take the television
debate with Elliot seriously.

“We
don’t need to trip up at the final hurdle,” he said. “Clear
that,
and you’ll be the candidate. But I still want you to spend Sunday going over
the questions again and again, as well as preparing for anything and everything
that might come up during the debate. You can be sure that Fletcher Davenport
will be sitting at home watching you on TV and analyzing everything you say. If
you stumble, he will have issued a press statement within minutes.”

Nat
now regretted that some weeks before he’d agreed to appear on a local
television program and debate with Elliot the night before the final primary.
He and Elliot had settled on David
Anscott
to conduct
the proceedings.

Anscott
was an interviewer who was more interested in coming over
as
popular than
incisive. Tom didn’t object to him as he felt the occasion
would act as a dry run for the inevitably more serious debate with Fletcher
Davenport scheduled for some time in the future.

Reports
were coming back to Tom each day that volunteers were deserting Ralph Elliot in
droves and some were even switching over and joining their team, so by the time
he and Nat arrived at the television studio they both felt quietly confident.
Su Ling accompanied her husband, but Luke said he wanted to stay at home and
watch the debate on television so he could brief his father on how he came over
to the larger audience.

“On
the sofa with Kathy, no doubt,” suggested Nat.

“No,
Kathy went back home this afternoon for her sister’s birthday,” said Su Ling,
“and Luke could have joined her, but to be fair he’s taking his role as your
youth advisor very seriously.”

Tom
came rushing into the green room and showed Nat the latest opinion poll
figures. They gave him a six percent lead. “I think only Fletcher Davenport can
now stop you becoming governor.”

“I
won’t be convinced until the final result has been announced,” said Su Ling.
“Never forget the stunt Elliot pulled with the ballot boxes after we’d all
assumed the count was over.”

“He’s
already tried every stunt he can think of and failed,” said Tom.