The 38 Million Dollar Smile - Stevenson Richard - Страница 54

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240 Richard Stevenson

now retailing the absurd story that Bill, or Bill and I, paid

Duane and Matthew to shove Sheila off the cruise ship? Is this

part of his grand plan to discredit Bill and take control of the company and come back to Albany and make us pay for

something that is a pure figment of his and other people’s

imaginations?”

“I don’t know if that’s what Gary has in mind. I think,

however, that I had better ask him. Timmy and I have been

batting around a somewhat different version of what you have

just outlined.”

“I think you’re lying, Strachey. I think you know exactly

what Gary has in mind. Bill found out that the people in the

Caymans trying to take over the company and drive us all into

the poorhouse are fronting for a Thai group. Did Gary really

believe that we wouldn’t realize that he was behind this cruel

and misbegotten betrayal of the memory of Max and Bertha

Griswold? Or was he planning to tell us when it was all a fait

accompli and then gloat over his ghastly trick and laugh at our

pain?”

“The latter, I think.”

“Also, Bob Chicarelli has been asking around Albany about

Duane and Matthew. I demand to know why.”

“Oh, has he? And what has he learned about them?”

“I am not in touch with them and I am not in touch with

Bob. I heard about his obnoxious snooping through a reliable

third party. But there is something you should know about

Duane and Matthew. It will explain a lot.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“To bury those vile stories once and for all about Bill hiring

Duane and Matthew to throw Sheila off her boat, I am going to

fly over to Bangkok and show you something that will put

everything into perspective and erase any doubt about who

Sheila really was and about what became of her.”

“You’ll love Thailand, Ellen. It’s exciting. But how about a

sneak preview of your revelations? Events here are moving at

too fast a clip for any leisurely explication on your part.”

THE 38 MILLION DOLLAR SMILE 241

“I’ll be there in under twenty-four hours. I’m at JFK now,

and my Thai Airways nonstop boards in half an hour. And Bill

is coming with me. He is going to try to talk some sense into

Gary if it isn’t too late. And to you.” She gave me her flight

information, and I told her that someone would meet her plane.

One of Pugh’s people would be at the airport holding up a sign

that read ALBANY GROUP.

Timmy was awake now, and I repeated to him what Ellen

Griswold had just told me.

Timmy said, “She’s going to be awfully disappointed if she

gets over here and her ex-husband tells her that he hired Hubbard and Mertz to kill Bill’s ex-wife. And that now he’s

atoning for it by handing the family company over to a

Buddhist study and retreat center.”

“If that’s what actually happened. But I don’t think it did.”

“I don’t either.”

“It’s time for Griswold to fess up. I’m going to ask him to

tell me the truth about Hubbard and Mertz. And if he refuses,

I’ll threaten to gum up the whole Buddhism center deal. Tell the seer that Trump Tower is made out of Cheez Whiz or

something.”

I got out of bed and into my pants. “You’re going to ask

Griswold now?” Timmy said. “He’s on painkillers. How

coherent is he going to be?”

“Not too coherent, but just enough, I hope.”

§ § § § §

One of the Dream Boys was on sentry duty on a chair

outside Griswold’s room squinting at a Thai soap opera on a

TV set the size of a brick. I saw light under Griswold’s door,

and when I knocked lightly he murmured something and I

opened the door. He was not only wide-awake but was seated in

front of the computer in his underwear. He turned and actually

smiled at me.

“The deal is done,” he said. “On Friday, the eighteenth, our

group will own the controlling shares of Algonquin Steel. This

242 Richard Stevenson

will coincide with a change of administration in Thailand that

will rid us of the pesky General Yodying. We can proceed with

the Sayadaw U center without having to worry about people like

the general whose only motives are greed and self-

aggrandizement. Having transferred most of my wealth into the

project, I’ll be close to penniless except for my condo and some cash reserves. But I will have helped establish an institution of great spiritual significance, and I will have helped atone for a great moral crime.”

I sat down on the edge of Griswold’s bed and said, “Was the

great moral crime the murder of your former sister-in-law,

Sheila Griswold?”

He flinched just once, then seemed to relax. “Yes. My

brother and your former client — and my ex-wife — Ellen had

Sheila killed. I’m going to confront them with the evidence of

the atrocity they committed, and then I’m going to tell them

that I have set the moral balance right and from now on it is

only their consciences they need fear. And of course, the abject misery of their future lives.”

Griswold actually looked peaceful. He had nine candles

burning on his desk and a jasmine garland draped over the PC

he was using.

I said, “So you didn’t pay Duane Hubbard and Matthew

Mertz to throw Sheila off the ship?”

He gave me a look. “Me? Don’t be absurd. Why would I do

that? God, Strachey, what kind of man do you think I am?”

“Then why did you pay Hubbard two million dollars six

months ago?”

He registered mild surprise but was so into his reverie of

moral satisfaction that he didn’t seem unduly fazed by my

knowledge of the two goons.

He said, “They blackmailed me. They came over to Thailand

to tell me they had proof that Bill and Ellen had hired them to

kill Sheila, and unless I paid them two million dollars, they

would send an incriminating recording that they had to the

THE 38 MILLION DOLLAR SMILE 243

police. They would then disappear, but Bill and Ellen would be

prosecuted.”

“Why were they blackmailing you? Why not blackmail Bill

and Ellen? They could have saved a bundle on airfare.”

“Because they had found out that I had cashed out my

shares in the company and had access to large amounts of ready

funds, and Bill and Ellen were merely stock rich. Duane and

Matthew had some scheme they wanted to invest in — a chain

of fitness-slash-fast-food centers called Bitchin’ Burritos. The idea was, you’d spend half an hour on a treadmill sweating and

then get a cheese and bean burrito as a reward, and with no net

gain in calories for the visit. Have any of these places opened in Albany that you know of?”

“Not yet.”

“I decided to pay those two criminals off for two reasons.

One was, I really don’t want Bill and Ellen to go to prison.

There’s no love lost between my brother and me, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for Ellen. She never gave me a really

hard time when I came out, and she still really cares for me, I

think.”

“That’s my impression.”

“Also, there is a higher justice, and it is that higher justice I wanted badly for them to become acquainted with. It would

mean that in their next lives they might choose to devote

themselves to activities that could lead eventually to moral and spiritual redemption.”

“How,” I asked, “did Hubbard and Mertz find out that you

had cashed out your shares in Algonquin Steel? Presumably

they were not privy to company goings-on.”

Griswold looked at me wearily and said, “I’ll bet you can

guess.”

“Bill and Ellen told them?”

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