Whispers (45 page)

At 4:20, content with his progress on the Frye estate and soothed by the magnificent view of the autumn valley beyond his window, he got up from his chair and went out to the reception area. Karen Farr was pounding the hell out of an IBM Selectric II, which would have responded equally well to a feather touch. She was a slip of a girl, pale and blue-eyed and soft-voiced, but she attacked every chore with tremendous energy and strength.

“I am about to treat myself to an early whiskey,” Joshua told her. “When people call and ask for me, please tell them I am in a disgraceful drunken condition and cannot come to the phone.”

“And they’ll all say, ‘What? Again?’ ”

Joshua laughed. “You’re a lovely and charming young woman, Miss Farr. Such a delightfully quick mind and tongue for such a mere wisp of a lass.”

“And such a lot of malarkey you’ve got for a man who isn’t even Irish. Go and have your whiskey. I’ll keep the bothersome hordes away.”

In his office again, he opened the corner bar, put ice in a glass, added a generous measure of Jack Daniel’s Black Label. He had taken only two sips of the brew when someone knocked on his office door.

“Come in.”

Karen opened the door. “There’s a call—”

“I thought I was permitted to have my drink in peace.”

“Don’t be a grouch,” she said.

“It’s part of my image.”

“I told him you weren’t in. But then when I heard what he wanted, I thought maybe you should talk to him. It’s weird.”

“Who is it?”

“A Mr. Preston from the First Pacific United Bank in San Francisco. It’s about the Frye estate.”

“What’s so weird?”

“You better hear it from him,” she said.

Joshua sighed. “Very well.”

“He’s on line two.”

Joshua went to his desk, sat down, picked up the phone, and said, “Good afternoon, Mr. Preston.”

“Mr. Rhinehart?”

“Speaking. What can I do for you?”

“The business office at Shade Tree Vineyards informs me that you’re the executor of the Frye estate.”

“That’s correct.”

“Are you aware that Mr. Bruno Frye maintained accounts at our main office here in San Francisco?”

“The First Pacific United? No, I wasn’t aware of that.”

“A savings account, a checking account, and a safe-deposit box,” Preston said.

“He had several accounts in several banks. He kept a list of them. But yours wasn’t on the list. And I haven’t run across any passbooks or canceled checks from your bank.”

“I was afraid of that,” Preston said.

Joshua frowned. “I don’t understand. Are there problems with his accounts at Pacific United?”

Preston hesitated, then said, “Mr. Rhinehart, did Mr. Frye have a brother?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Did he ever employ a look-alike?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Did he ever have need for a double, someone who could pass for him on fairly close inspection?”

“Are you pulling my leg, Mr. Preston?”

“I know it’s a rather strange question. But Mr. Frye was a wealthy man. These days, what with terrorism on the rise and all sorts of crazies on the loose, wealthy people often have to hire bodyguards, and sometimes—not often; I admit it’s rare; but in certain special cases—they even find it necessary to employ look-alikes for security reasons.”

“With all due respect for your fair city,” Joshua said, “let me point out that Mr. Frye lived here in the Napa Valley, not in San Francisco. We don’t have that sort of crime here. We have a much different lifestyle from that which you . . . enjoy. Mr. Frye had no need for a double, and I’m certain he did not have one. Mr. Preston, what on earth is this all about?”

“We only just discovered that Mr. Frye was killed last Thursday,” Preston said.

“So?”

“It is the opinion of our attorneys that the bank can in no way be held responsible.”

“For what?” Joshua asked impatiently.

“As executor of the estate, it was your duty to inform us that our depositor had died. Until we received that notice—or learned of it third-hand, as we did—we had absolutely no reason to consider the account frozen.”

“I’m aware of that.” Slumped in his chair, staring wistfully at the glass of whiskey on his desk, afraid that Preston was about to tell him something that would disturb his rosy complacency, Joshua decided that a bit of curmudgeonly gruffness might speed the conversation along. He said, “Mr. Preston, I know that business is conducted slowly and carefully in a bank, which is fitting for an institution handling other people’s hard-earned money. But I wish you could find your way clear to get to the point quickly.”

“Last Thursday, half an hour before our closing time, a few hours
after
Mr. Frye was killed in Los Angeles, a man who resembled Mr. Frye entered our main branch. He had Mr. Frye’s personalized checks. He wrote a check to cash, reducing that account to one hundred dollars.”

Joshua sat up straight. “How much did he get?”

“Six thousand from checking.”

“Ouch.”

“Then he presented his passbook and withdrew all but five hundred from the savings account.”

“And how much was that?”

“Another twelve thousand.”

“Eighteen thousand dollars altogether?”

“Yes. Plus whatever he might have taken from the safe-deposit box.”

“He hit that, too?”

“Yes. But of course, we don’t know what he might have gotten out of it,” Preston said. Then he added hopefully: “Perhaps nothing.”

Joshua was amazed. “How could your bank release such a substantial sum in cash without requiring identification?”

“We did require it,” Preston said. “And you’ve got to understand that he looked like Mr. Frye. For the past five years, Mr. Frye has come in two or three times every month; each time he has deposited a couple of thousand dollars in his checking. That made him noticeable. People remembered him. Last Thursday, our teller recognized him and had no reason to be suspicious, especially since he had those personalized checks and his passbook and—”

“That’s not identification,” Joshua said.

“The teller asked for ID, even though she recognized him. That’s our policy on large withdrawals, and she handled it all according to policy. The man showed her a valid California driver’s license, complete with photograph, in the name of Bruno Frye. I assure you, Mr. Rhinehart, First Pacific United has not acted irresponsibly in this matter.”

“Do you intend to investigate the teller?” Joshua asked.

“An investigation has already begun.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.”

“But I’m quite sure it won’t lead anywhere,” Preston said. “She’s been with us for more than sixteen years.”

“Is she the same woman who let him get to the safe deposit box?” Joshua asked.

“No. That’s another employee. We’re investigating her as well.”

“This is a damned serious matter.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Preston said miserably. “In all my years in banking, I’ve never had it happen to me. Before I phoned you, I notified the authorities, the state and federal banking officials, and First Pacific United’s attorneys.”

“I believe I should come down there tomorrow and have a chat with your people.”

“I wish you would.”

“Shall we say ten o’clock?”

“Whenever it’s convenient for you,” Preston said. “I’ll be at your disposal all day.”

“Then let’s make it ten o’clock.”

“I’m terribly sorry about this. But of course, the loss is covered by federal insurance.”

“Except for the contents of the safe deposit box,” Joshua said. “No insurance covers that loss.” That was the part of it that was giving Preston a bad case of the jitters, and they both knew it. “The box might have held more of value than the savings and checking accounts combined.”

“Or it might very well have been empty before he got to it,” Preston said quickly.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Mr. Preston.”

Joshua hung up and stared at the telephone.

Finally he sipped his whiskey.

A double for Bruno Frye? A dead ringer?

Suddenly, he remembered the light he had thought he’d seen in Bruno’s house at three o’clock Monday morning. He’d spotted it on his way back to bed from the bathroom, but when he’d put on his glasses, there had been no light. He’d figured that his eyes had played a trick on him. But perhaps the light had been real. Perhaps the man who had looted those Pacific United accounts had been in Bruno’s house, looking for something.

Joshua had been to the house yesterday, had taken a brisk five-minute tour to be certain everything was as it should be, and he had not noticed anything awry.

Why had Bruno kept secret bank accounts in San Francisco?

Was there a dead ringer, a double?

Who? And why?

Evidently, overseeing the complete and final settlement of the Frye estate was not going to be as short and easy a job as he had thought.

 
At six o’clock Tuesday evening, as Tony swung the Jeep into the street that ran past his apartment building, Hilary felt more awake than she had all day. She had entered that peculiar second-wind state of grainy-eyed alertness that came after being awake for a day and a half. Suddenly, the body and the mind seemed to decide to make the best of this forced consciousness; and, by some chemical trick, the flesh and the spirit were renewed. She stopped yawning. Her vision, which had been blurry at the edges, grew clear again. The grinding weariness receded. But she knew it would be only a short-lived reprieval from exhaustion. In an hour or two, this surprising high would end in an abrupt and inevitable crash, not unlike the sudden descent from an amphetamine energy peak, and then she would be too drained even to stay on her feet.

She and Tony had successfully dealt with all of their business that needed tending to—the insurance adjuster, the house cleaning service, the police reports, and all the rest. The only thing that hadn’t gone smoothly was the stop at the Wyant Stevens Gallery in Beverly Hills. Neither Wyant nor his assistant, Betty, was there, and the plump young woman in charge was reluctant to take possession of Tony’s paintings. She didn’t want the responsibility, but Hilary finally convinced her that she would not be sued if one of the canvases was marked or torn accidentally. Hilary had written a note to Wyant, explaining the artist’s background, and then she and Tony had gone to the offices of Topelis & Associates to ask Wally to make excuses to Warner Brothers. Now the slate was clean. Tomorrow, after Frank Howard’s funeral, they would catch the 11:55 PSA flight that would take them to San Francisco in time to board a connecting commuter air shuttle to Napa.

And then a rented car to St. Helena.

And then they would be on Bruno Frye’s home ground.

And then—what?

Tony parked the Jeep and switched off the engine.

Hilary said, “I forgot to ask if you managed to find a hotel room.”

“Wally’s secretary made reservations for me while you and Wally were huddling in his office.”

“At the airport.”

“Yes.”

“Not twin beds, I hope.”

“One kingsize.”

“Good,” she said. “I want you to hold me while I drift off to sleep.”

He leaned over and kissed her.

They took twenty minutes to pack a pair of suitcases for him and to carry their four bags down to the Jeep. During that time, Hilary was on edge, fully expecting Frye to leap out of a shadow or step around a corner, grinning.

He didn’t.

They drove to the airport by a roundabout route that was full of twists and turns. Hilary watched the cars behind them.

They were not followed.

They reached the hotel at 7:30. With a touch of old-fashioned chivalry that amused Hilary, Tony signed them in as husband and wife.

Their room was on the eighth floor. It was a restful place, done in shades of green and blue.

When the bellhop left, they stood by the bed, just holding each other for a minute, silently sharing their weariness and what strength they had left.

Neither of them felt capable of going out to dinner. Tony ordered from room service, and the operator said service would take about half an hour.

Hilary and Tony showered together. They soaped and rinsed each other with pleasure, but the pleasure wasn’t really sexual. They were too tired for passion. The shared bath was merely relaxing, tender, sweet.

They ate club sandwiches and french fries.

They drank half a bottle of Gamay rosé by Robert Mondavi.

They talked only a little while.

They draped a bath towel over a lamp and left the lamp on for a nightlight because, for only the second time in her life, Hilary was afraid to sleep in the dark.

They slept.

Eight hours later, at 5:30 in the morning, she woke from a bad dream in which Earl and Emma had come back to life, just like Bruno Frye. All three of them pursued her down a dark corridor that grew narrower and narrower and narrower. . . .

She couldn’t get back to sleep. She lay in the vague amber glow of the makeshift nightlight and watched Tony sleep.

At 6:30 he woke, turned toward her, blinked, touched her face, her breasts, and they made love. For a short while, she forgot about Bruno Frye, but later, as they dressed for Frank’s funeral, the fear came back in a rush.

“Do you really think we should go to St. Helena?”

“We have to go,” Tony said.

“But what’s going to happen to us there?”

“Nothing,” he said. “We’ll be all right.”

“I’m not so sure,” she said.

“We’ll find out what’s going on.”

“That’s just it,” she said uneasily. “I have the feeling we’d be better off not knowing.”

 
Katherine was gone.

The bitch was gone.