The Namedropper (19 page)

He continued to access his strategic computer monitors, disappointed – but no longer impatient – at the absence of any further traffic involving the impending divorce action. It was an afterthought – which surprised him for it not having occurred before – to occupy some of the time towards the end of the week expanding what he already knew of the Bellamy family, which took him back to the New York library's reference section.

What it lacked in terms of noted and recorded American history, it compensated for in longevity with forefathers predating the Appleton arrival in the New World by a good seventy years. A Nathaniel Bellamy was recorded as having fought in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and a William Bellamy briefly served on the personal staff of George Washington, although there was no cited, historical event accredited to either man. There were, however, substantial and continuing listings of over three hundred years of Bellamys who'd served in the North Carolina legislature and five – Alyce's grandfather being the most recent – who had been elected senators to Congress in Washington. It was the grandfather who had founded the Bellamy Foundation which was described as one of the largest charitable groupings in the country. The printed records contained no reference, apart from her birth, to Alyce until her marriage to Appleton. The concentration then had inevitably been on the bonding between the two American founding families, all the details of which Jordan already knew. The one relevant – and contradictory – fact that did stand out to Jordan was the substantial land holdings throughout the state, predominantly in Forsyth, Rowan, Macon, Allamance and Durham counties, of the Bellamy family, which made nonsense of Appleton's claimed offer of financially supporting Alyce's widowed mother. Jordan wondered if Reid had picked up on that – or had it properly pointed out by Alyce – to refute the need, impudence even, for such a suggestion when the case finally reached court.

On the Friday morning, with an empty weekend before him and no contact from Daniel Beckwith, Jordan decided to go again to Atlantic City, and during the drive there made up his mind to call the lawyer on his Monday return. If there was no likelihood of any active court movement he could use the following week to go back to England and ensure no problems had arisen with the Paul Maculloch identity and the rental of the Hans Crescent flat. With the uncertainty of everything here in America it would be a sensible precaution to extend that lease for a further six months.

‘Pullinger,' announced Reid.

‘Shit!' said Beckwith.

‘It's scarcely a surprise,' said the North Carolina lawyer. ‘Hope you don't mind my calling at a weekend, instead of waiting until Monday?'

‘I'm glad you did. No point in holding back,' said Beckwith. ‘You got the official notification?'

‘A friendly call from the circuit office. I'm getting the formal notification in Monday's mail.'

‘I guess I'll get one too.'

‘You should do.'

‘What about a hearing date?'

‘Still to be fixed.'

‘I guess this puts me first out of the gate?' said Beckwith.

‘I had Pullinger's record checked. He's heard three alienation of affection and criminal conversation cases. Each time he's refused pre-trial submissions for dismissal.'

‘I ran the same checks,' said Beckwith. ‘I've still got to try it.'

‘Of course you have,' agreed the other lawyer. ‘I'll file for an attendance of interest, obviously.'

‘You heard any more from Bartle?'

‘I'd have passed it on if I had. I might also apply to Pullinger for a compliance of exchange order, particularly over the medical records.'

‘The more we can get Pullinger irritated by the behaviour of the other side the better,' agreed Beckwith.

‘What about Leanne Jefferies?'

‘As soon as I get an attorney's response I'm issuing Alyce's claim for alienation of affections and criminal conversation,' said Reid.

‘And a medical report for her,' prompted Beckwith.

‘The demand will go with the other claims.'

‘Anything more from your enquiry people?'

‘I'd have passed it on if there had been.'

‘We should meet again sometime next week.'

‘I guess it's my turn to come up to you,' offered Reid. ‘You going to include Harvey?'

‘He's very hands-on. And the more he's included in things the better I think he'll perform in court if the dismissal submission fails.'

‘I might talk to the circuit office about availability for a closed hearing,' said Reid. ‘It's not dependent upon whether you succeed or not.'

‘The sooner the better,' said Beckwith. ‘The moment there's a public listing the media are going to be alerted. You warned Alyce against any public comment?'

‘I have, although it wasn't really necessary. She wants to dig a hole and go hide in it. How about your boy?'

Beckwith's snigger became a laugh. ‘He's a tetchy son-of-a-bitch about what and how he's called: to be referred to as “my boy” would send him ape. He certainly doesn't need any warning about talking to the press. He'd like to go hide in the same hole as Alyce.'

‘Which was the start of both their troubles,' reminded Reid, coarsely. ‘You got your diary with you to talk about next week?'

‘Your convenience,' offered Beckwith.

‘Wednesday,' chose the other lawyer. I might stay over.'

‘I'll leave the evening free, in case. Harvey's at the Carlyle, incidentally.'

‘High roller,' commented Reid.

‘That's what he tells me he is.'

‘Let's hope he stays lucky.'

‘Let's hope we all stay lucky.'

‘Getting Pullinger wasn't lucky,' reminded Reid.

‘Luckier,' Beckwith corrected himself.

Jordan picked up the waiting message slips as he checked back in to the Carlyle and returned Beckwith's call the moment he entered his suite.

Beckwith said, ‘I tried to get you a couple of times?'

‘I went to Atlantic City.'

‘How'd you do?'

‘Finished $4,500 up over the two days.' And got accredited receipts for a total of $23,000 representing the money he'd taken in to the casinos and switched back and forth between dollars and chips, he reminded himself, more than satisfied with the trip. As he was more than satisfied with the accumulation in the five Appleton accounts in the Wall Street banks, which now stood at $56,000. The following morning he intended withdrawing most of it to put into the waiting safe-deposit boxes.

‘We've got Pullinger, the judge we didn't want,' declared Beckwith.

‘I was going to call you today to tell you I was thinking of briefly going back to England; see how things are there.'

‘You still can. Nothing's going to happen except Bob coming up on Wednesday, to talk a few things through. Bring ourselves up to date.'

‘I'll put it back,' decided Jordan at once. ‘I'd like to be with you.'

‘I thought you would. There's no real reason, though.'

‘I'll be there,' insisted Jordan. And lay out as many leads as I can for you to pick up, he thought.

‘Your choice.'

‘Will Alyce be there?'

‘I don't know. Why?'

‘Just wondered,' dismissed Jordan. ‘Where on Wednesday? What time?'

‘I'll let you know.'

He had a day and a half to get all his ideas together for the meeting, thought Jordan: more than enough time.

Sixteen

T
he surprise wasn't that the New York meeting was in Beckwith's office but that Alyce was again ahead of him. And that Jordan was pleased to see her. He said, ‘Hello, yet again,' and she smiled, very briefly, but didn't speak. To the two lawyers Jordan said, ‘I'm sorry to be late. I allowed myself forty-five minutes! I don't know how you manage to work at all in Manhattan.'

‘It's an art form,' said Beckwith.

‘So how bad is it that we got Pullinger?' asked Jordan, as he sat.

Beckwith sighed. ‘You want coffee?'

‘I'd rather catch up on what I've missed.'

‘You haven't missed anything,' said Reid, as irritated at Jordan's impatience as the other lawyer. ‘We small-talked, waiting for you.'

Jordan was aware of Alyce smiling again and this time wished she hadn't. ‘Thank you. Coffee would be good.' As well as his not appearing so anxious would have been good, he realized. He'd been thoroughly pissed off by the gridlock and the time it had taken him to stash his bank account money into the safe-deposit boxes, neither of which were causes for him flustering in as he had. He smiled his thanks to Suzie when she came in with his coffee, which he didn't really want, wondering how she managed to breathe in her second-skin virginal white trousers and top.

‘So let's pick up on your question,' began Beckwith. ‘We're stuck with Pullinger, which is bad luck but something we have to live with. What we really have to do is use the cantankerous old son of a bitch more to our advantage than to Appleton's – ' he turned to Alyce – ‘I guess we've already covered the ground but we're going to have to talk about your husband as if he's the enemy, OK?'

‘As far as I am concerned he
is
the fucking enemy. So let's stop apologizing for something that doesn't need or deserve apology,' responded Alyce.

There was a brief, although not actually shocked, silence and Jordan was glad that her impatience had risen to match his, hoping she took his smile as appreciation, not condescension. As in Raleigh they were away from an official working area. There were more polished plants than in Reid's annex and a skyscraper view uptown towards the unseen park. All the sepia photographs on the wall were of early American settlers and Native Americans, most in full tribal regalia, which Jordan supposed was fitting for someone of Alyce's ancestry and Beckwith's dress code.

‘Let's do just that,' said Beckwith, recovering. ‘I got the formal notification on Monday and the same day filed for a pre-trial dismissal hearing on our part. I haven't yet got an acknowledgement, obviously …' He paused, gesturing to Reid.

‘And I've filed for court acceptance, to be party to each and every pre-hearing application. As well as making our own applications. The first is for court enforcement of our being supplied with Appleton's medical records. The second, again against Appleton – which is the only legal way open to me – is to enforce Leanne Jefferies, upon risk of contempt, to comply with the demands of Alyce's damages claim by providing an attorney reference. Once I have her lawyer through whom to work I can apply for her medical records, to establish if she was a sufferer from chlamydia—'

‘What about the other admitted mistress, Sharon Borowski?' broke in Jordan, his script – as well, he hoped, as its presentation – well prepared during the preceding day and a half.

Reid frowned, appearing irritated at having been interrupted. ‘I already told you, she's dead—'

‘The result of a car accident, not a sexual disease,' broke in Jordan again, looking directly at the North Carolina lawyer. ‘Bad luck, Sharon, rest in peace. But if Appleton caught it off her, not Leanne, got himself fixed, and Leanne is provably clean, who gave it to Alyce? I didn't, which we can prove. Which leaves your case that Alyce didn't have any lovers previous to me shot to bits before you even begin, don't you think, Bob?'

From the reaction from both lawyers Jordan thought it was turning into a conference without words: clearly it was a possibility neither had considered.

Eventually Beckwith said, ‘That's a damned good point.'

‘I suppose Pullinger could order the production of Sharon Borowski's medical records,' said Reid, although doubtfully. There was an asthmatic catch in his voice.

‘Do doctors keep medical records of people who've died?' asked Alyce, quietly. ‘I wouldn't have thought so.'

‘What I do think is that it could be one great big problem for us,' finally admitted Reid.

‘Doctors might not keep medical records,' Jordan pointed out. ‘Police or coroners might. If she died in a traffic accident there would have been an autopsy, wouldn't there? With a pathology report?'

‘Let's hope there was and that the medical examination went beyond finding the immediate cause of death,' said Reid. He was talking now with a discernible wheeze.

The lawyer was embarrassed by his oversight, Jordan knew. As the man deserved to be. Jordan didn't expect any more criticism from his own attorney for playing amateur advocate. ‘Could Pullinger refuse to hear a dismissal submission?'

‘If he did we could appeal over his head. So he won't,' said Beckwith. He looked towards Alyce. ‘I'm going to need to call you, of course.'

‘Of course,' she accepted.

‘It'll be an opportunity to bring out things that Appleton's attorney might object to being introduced during your full hearing,' picked up Reid, talking to his client. ‘That's why I want participation access.'

‘Like the missing three years?' questioned Jordan, seizing the obvious opening. They'd judge him a total smart-ass after today. But Jordan didn't give a damn because it was his own ass he was trying to save and that was his only consideration.

There was none of the earlier initial irritation at Jordan's intervention from the two lawyers, although Beckwith said, ‘Why do I think we're going to be found wanting again?'

‘I've got little else to do here but read the statement exchanges and think about what's there and what's not there,' said Jordan, weighing each word before he spoke, determined against being caught out himself. ‘I've spent some time in the library, reading reference books: there's a lot about the Appleton and Bellamy families and their lineage. Appleton left Harvard a golden boy, no suggestion of a job apart from representing his country in the Olympics and being part of the 1992 America's Cup team. It wasn't a question of “if' he'd be selected. It was a done deal. Except it didn't become that. Appleton withdrew, for “personal reasons”, from any consideration of selection, for either the Olympics or the America's Cup.' Jordan was talking to Alyce now. ‘You any idea what those personal reasons were? Here's a guy, always in the papers, society superstar and then abruptly, nothing for about three years until he joins his first Wall Street brokerage firm before breaking away to set up his own commodity businesses about six months before marrying you.'