The Rich Are Different (76 page)

She looked at me as if I were talking Greek – modern Greek, the kind classical scholars can’t understand.

I tried again. ‘It’s a power-symbol,’ I said. ‘Paul understood power. He knew that the more splash you make the less likely people are to step on you. If you’re a millionaire you’ve got to live like a millionaire to keep the power building in momentum.’

‘I guess that’s what Mama must have meant,’ said Emily, ‘when she used to mutter that Uncle Paul was betraying his class by living like a shoddy-rich arriviste. But Cornelius, I still don’t see why this ghastly place has to be a cross between the Metropolitan Museum and some over-staffed grand hotel. Is it really necessary to have so many footmen waiting at table and at least three housemaids gossiping in every corridor?’

I heaved another sigh. Emily was still mentally back in Velletria.

‘Emily, when Sam
and I first came to live here we were so darn scared of the servants that we hated to come home from work, but we knew we just had to get used to it. If I try to behave like a simple straightforward guy from an Ohio farm, no one would have any respect for me, can’t you see?’ With inspiration I saw an appropriate yardstick of comparison. ‘You wouldn’t tell the British Royal Family to cut down on the trappings of their position, would you?’

‘Cornelius!’ gasped Emily, at last getting the point, ‘are you trying to tell me you’re in the same position as the King of England?’

‘No,’ I said in despair, seeing she was appalled. ‘I have more power.’

‘Cornelius!’

‘I’ve had to survive, Emily!’ I burst out in misery, desperate to recover her sympathetic understanding. ‘You don’t know what I’ve been through at the office, the intrigues, the machinations, the power struggles and the blood-baths—’ I stopped. Instinct told me I was making matters worse. Finally I managed to say levelly: ‘There are people who don’t want me at Van Zale’s and because I’m so young nobody’s inclined to take me seriously, but as long as I’ve got the money and can live here like a king they can’t quite manage to ignore me.’

She was silent. I got up and began to pace around the room. ‘So I live here,’ I said. ‘I’ve now reached the stage where I hardly notice the servants. I see the butler and housekeeper regularly to give them instructions and I have an aide who checks their accounts, but otherwise they’re just part of the scenery too. I sold Paul’s Rolls-Royces because I believe one should support American industry, so now my chauffeurs drive only Cadillacs. I have another aide who deals with the begging letters, the invitations and the general correspondence. I have a valet. I have, as you’ve no doubt noticed, a bodyguard. I do see that this way of life must seem unnecessarily vulgar to you, but all I want you to understand is that I had no choice but to adopt it. It’s part of my inheritance from Paul.’

‘Well, it all sounds dreadfully exhausting to me,’ said Emily frankly, ‘but if you don’t mind it I shan’t feel sorry for you. What happened to that nice bodyguard Uncle Paul had?’

‘Peterson?’ I said. ‘I fired him, naturally. He failed to protect Paul.’

‘Oh, but …’ She bit her lip and turned away. ‘You’ve changed,’ she said at last.

‘Yes,’ I said coldly, abandoning all attempts to win her approval and trying only to conceal how hurt I was. ‘For the better. Money gives you the freedom to be yourself. I don’t have to sit around in Velletria any more while you and Mama debate whether Plutarch was a more reliable historian than Dio Cassius. I can just turn around and say who the hell cares.’

‘Cornelius – oh darling, I
am
sorry!’ No one could have been more contrite. Rushing over she hugged me so hard I started to wheeze. Hastily I put out my cigarette. ‘I’ve been so beastly, criticizing you – your home – your way of life – oh Cornelius, how
could
I be so mean! I’m so glad to be here and so glad to see you!’

I was
happy again. Hugging her in return I promised to take her out as soon as I arrived home from the office the following day, and during the next week I spent all my spare time escorting her to concerts, art galleries and theatres. I knew I was doing it to prove to us both that I could still be the brother she had grown up with in Ohio, but we both enjoyed ourselves and I didn’t grudge her one moment of the time I spent with her. Vivienne Coleman phoned several times, but I had my secretaries handle the calls. I thought it would do her no harm to think I had lost interest but in fact I had long since recovered from my rage and daydreamed constantly of that tantalizing decolletage.

Meanwhile I was stealthily progressing with my investigation of the Sullivan twins. I had told Luke that the partners wanted a full report on the Trust’s portfolio with particular emphasis on the high-risk stocks, and when he had promised to work on it I had said: ‘No hurry!’ to reassure him that I wasn’t breathing down his neck. While I was smoothing Luke’s feathers so carefully, Sam made a discreet inquiry about the location of the Trust’s records, and found out that the books were lodged at the office of Van Zale Participations. It could be argued that the logical place for the books was surely in the Trust’s own office, but the investment trust was little more than an
alter ego
for the bank and when Steve had managed its affairs everyone had taken for granted that the books would be kept in his office. Since Luke too now had a desk at One Willow Street it would have been natural for him to have retained the books there, and their removal from the bank confirmed our suspicions that something was wrong.

‘We’re on the trail,’ I said pleased to Sam. ‘What shall I do next? Maybe I’ll call Vivienne again.’

But Greg Da Costa called first, he asked if he could meet me in a midtown speak-easy, but when I insisted that we met at my house Sam and I raced home to wire the library for sound.

[4]

He was ten minutes late so I kept him waiting quarter of an hour. These little power plays may seem petty but they are quite essential when dealing with difficult dangerous men like Da Costa, and I had already decided to show him I had to be treated with respect.

‘Good evening,’ I said abruptly, and without bothering with any social niceties I added: ‘How may I help you?’

He was disconcerted but recovered fast. ‘Well, it’s about a business matter—’

‘Then we should have set up a meeting at the office. I dislike discussing business in my leisure hours.’

‘Sure, but I didn’t want the Sullivan boys to know I was seeing you … You wouldn’t have anything to drink, by any chance, would you?’

‘I never drink when I’m discussing business. What is the matter you wish to raise with me, Mr Da Costa?’

‘Maybe I
should see one of the other partners,’ he said, responding to my coldness with a show of hostility. I guessed it would be less than two minutes before he had thrown all discretion to the winds. ‘I chose you because you seemed a nice kid and I figured we could get along.’

In translation that meant he had decided I was a fool who would swallow any story he chose to feed me.

‘Sure we can get along,’ I said. ‘You’re here and I’m willing to do business with you. Go ahead.’

‘Well … it’s about Van Zale Participations. See here, Cornelius – Jesus, does everyone really call you Cornelius?’

‘Why don’t you try calling me Mr Van Zale?’

‘Sorry, no offence! It’s just such a quaint name. Where was I? Oh yeah. Well, see here, Cornelius, I’ve done a lot of things in my time, bummed around a bit, seen a lot of sights, all that kind of thing, and hell, it’s been fun, I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve had a good life. But I’m nearer forty than thirty now and I’d kind of like to settle down. I need a little stability, a steady income, a respectable job, but of course for a man of my age with my kind of – well, varied experience, it’s not too easy to land the kind of job I figure I could handle. You understand?’

‘No.’

‘Well, Cornelius, it’s like this. Matt’s told me all about his job as president of Van Zale Participations and I reckon it would suit me pretty well. It’s not too strenuous because Luke does all the hard work, and yet there’s plenty of prestige – I like the idea of being a president, being part of the financial community, you understand? After all, I
am
my father’s son – I’d like to feel that at last I had the chance to follow however modestly in his footsteps, and besides you
are
Paul’s nephew, you know what I mean? You do owe me something. Now don’t get me wrong – I don’t want to resurrect the family feud again, but—’

‘How do you suggest I get rid of Matt Sullivan?’

‘Well, Cornelius, I could tell you a thing or two about old Matt. Hell, I like Matt, he’s an old, old friend of mine from way back, but he runs with a funny kind of crowd and I just don’t think he’s the kind of guy you want to head that investment trust. Now I really think you and I can do a deal on this. You and Steve Sullivan aren’t exactly pals, are you? Matt tells me you hate each other’s guts, and frankly my sympathies are with you, I never liked Steve either. All right, here’s the deal. You fire Matt and hire me to replace him, and I’ll give you the evidence to light a fire under Steve.’

‘Forget it,’ I said. ‘I don’t get rid of anyone until I’ve seen the evidence. Besides I would have to consult with my partners.’

He slid his tongue around his lips. The going was so much tougher than he had anticipated.

‘Maybe I could put some evidence out front,’ he said at last.

‘And maybe you couldn’t. I think this is just a stunt to get a soft job.’

He slid his tongue around his lips again. ‘Supposing I give you the combination of the safe down Willow Street where Luke keeps the books?’

‘Luke will
produce the books if he’s asked for them.’

‘Not these books he won’t,’ said Greg Da Costa. ‘He keeps two sets, you know what I mean?’

I knew. One set would be for the public and partners and the other would show what was really going on at Van Zale Participations.

‘I shall have to consult with my partners,’ I said for the benefit of my brand new Dailygraph recording machine, a vast improvement on the old Vox we had used to record the mayhem of last year. ‘I cannot connive at any illegality.’

‘Hell, who said anything about illegality! Isn’t the law so loose on Wall Street that’s it’s almost impossible to break it? Let’s just call the trouble mismanagement! And why tell your partners? They’ll let Steve wriggle off the hook!’

‘I still find your information hard to accept. How did you find out about the books?’

‘Matt told me when we were out drinking. Once he’s liquored up he couldn’t keep a secret for a million bucks, and since I had my suspicions of him anyway it wasn’t too difficult to winkle the truth out of him. Cornelius, I just know you and I can get together on this—’

‘I’ll think about it,’ I said. ‘I’ll call you later to arrange a further meeting. Goodnight, Mr Da Costa.’

I walked out of the room without giving him the chance to detain me.

‘You could promise him the job in exchange for the safe combination,’ suggested Sam after we had listened to the recording of the conversation. ‘Then you could hire and fire him on the same day.’

‘He’s obviously hoping to manoeuvre himself into a position where I can’t fire him. He knows of the illegality and once he knows I know too he’ll have me on the short end of a rope. As soon as we’ve covered up this mess – and for the bank’s sake we’ll have to cover it up – he’ll turn around, accuse me of conspiring to conceal a crime and threaten to go to the police unless I let him remain president of Van Zale Participations. I know how that gangster’s mind works, Sam. This is his new meal-ticket. Damn him! What the hell are we going to do?’

‘Be nice to him,’ said Sam at once. ‘We don’t want him getting nasty and trying to peddle the facts somewhere else.’

‘Yes, he’s got to think I might play ball with him. I’ll call Vivienne,’ I added, trying not to sound too eager. ‘He’ll take it as an encouraging sign if I start dating his cousin again.’

But once more the telephone rang before I could call Vivienne. This time it was Emily. She had decided to spend the day visiting old acquaintances and one of my chauffeurs had driven her out to Long Island to see Steve’s wife. Emily did not know Caroline well, but it was typical that once she had heard Caroline was convalescing after a cancer operation she had offered to call on her.

‘Emily?’ I said, glancing at my watch to confirm that it was late in the evening. ‘Where are you?’

She told
me she was still at the Sullivans’ house. The housekeeper had just walked out, the children’s nurse had given notice, Caroline had had to return to hospital for a second operation and Emily had volunteered to play the Good Samaritan.

‘That’s bad news about Caroline,’ I said, remembering our mother reading us the story of the Good Samaritan on countless far-off Sundays. ‘I’m sorry. Maybe someone should cable Steve,’ I added, although Steve Sullivan was the last person I wanted back in New York at that time.

‘Caroline said he didn’t come before and he won’t come now. She’s very bitter about Steve – oh, it’s all so sad, Cornelius! Apparently Steve’s been having an absolutely blatant affair with that dreadful girl Dinah Slade – how he could! Everyone knows she almost wrecked Uncle Paul’s marriage.’

‘Yes.’ I felt acutely embarrassed to be discussing marital infidelity with Emily.

‘You knew about Steve and Miss Slade?’ she said shocked.

‘Hal Beecher told me when he got back to New York. Well, I guess I’d better go now, Emily,’ I said, and hung up as fast as I could.

A minute later I was still clasping the telephone but Vivienne – at long last – was on the other end of the wire.

‘Hullo,’ I said, and although the butler had already taken my name I found myself repeating feverishly: ‘This is Cornelius Van Zale. How are you?’

‘Ah yes,’ she said, ‘the banker. I remember. I’m very well, thank you – how sweet of you to inquire after all this time!’

I felt uncomfortable but managed to laugh ‘Sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you lately, but—’

‘Why, that’s all right! Making money must be such a time-consuming occupation!’

I seriously wondered whether to hang up but I was very, very tired of being celibate.