Heads You Win

Pierre left quickly, followed by Rosenthal, cursing under his breath.

When Anna and Maria reached the hallway a few moments later, they found Duval standing by the front door, one hand resting on a crate.

“Thank you for being so kind to my wife,” he said. “Here’s the package I was asked to deliver, along with a letter for Mrs. Lowell.”

“I’ll see madame gets them both as soon as she returns,” said Maria.

Duval took Anna gently by the arm and led her out of the house to find the passenger door of the van already open. It was the little details that Rosenthal was so good at.

As the van moved slowly down the drive, Duval wondered if Maria would find it strange that they had used such a large van to deliver one picture.

“Any problems, Anna?” said Rosenthal from the back of the van.

“Other than being pregnant, having two husbands, neither of whom I’m married to, and a stepson I’ve never even met, nothing in particular.”

“Remember to drive slowly, Dominic,” said Rosenthal. “We mustn’t forget that we have precious cargo on board.”

“How thoughtful of you,” said Anna, touching her stomach.

Rosenthal had the grace to smile, as Anna leaned out of the window and waved good-bye to Maria. She waved back, a puzzled look on her face.

35

ALEX

Boston

Alex arrived at the bank so early the following morning that Errol hadn’t yet taken up his post, and the night security guard had to let him in. Someone else who needed to be convinced that he was the new chairman.

He went up in the elevator alone, and when he stepped out into the corridor on the twenty-fourth floor, he was amused to see that Miss Robbins had left her light on. Fuelish, he would tease her. He opened the door, intending to switch the light off, only to be greeted with, “Good morning, chairman.”

“Good morning,” said Alex, not missing a beat. “Have you been here all night?”

“No, sir, but I wanted to bring the mail up to date before you arrived.”

“Anything interesting?”

“There’s one letter and a package I thought you ought to see immediately. They’re on the top of the pile on your desk.”

“Thank you,” said Alex, curious to discover what Miss Robbins considered interesting. He walked into his office to find the promised mountain of mail awaiting him.

He took the letter from the top of the pile and read it slowly. He then opened the package and stared in disbelief at the real thing. His hands were still shaking as he put it back in the package. He had to agree with Miss Robbins, the letter was interesting, and she’d offered her opinion without knowing what was in the package.

The second letter was from Bob Underwood, a director of the bank who felt the time had come for him to retire, not least because he was seventy. He suggested that the emergency board meeting on Monday morning would be an ideal time to inform the board of his intention. Alex cursed, because Underwood was one of the few people he had hoped would remain on the board. He seemed perfectly satisfied with the ten thousand dollars a year he received as a non-executive director, he rarely claimed any expenses, and you didn’t have to read between the lines of the minutes to realize that he was one of the few board members who was willing to stand up to Ackroyd and his cronies. Alex would have to try and get him to change his mind.

And then his eyes returned to the words, emergency board meeting on Monday morning. Why hadn’t Miss Robbins informed him about that earlier?

There was a gentle tap on the door and Miss Robbins appeared bearing a cup of coffee, black no sugar, and a plate of digestive biscuits. How did she find out what his favorite biscuits were?

“Thank you,” said Alex, as she placed a silver tray that must have been one of Lawrence’s family heirlooms on the desk in front of him. “May I ask a delicate question, Miss Robbins? You must have a first name?”

“Pamela.”

“And I’m Alex.”

“I’m aware of that, chairman.”

“I agree with you, Pamela, that Mrs. Ackroyd’s letter is interesting. But as I don’t know the lady, how would you advise me to respond to her offer?”

“I would accept it in good faith, chairman. After all, it’s common knowledge that their recent divorce was acrimonious…” Miss Robbins hesitated.

“I don’t think we have time to observe the social niceties, Pamela, so spit it out.”

“I was only surprised how few women were named as co-respondents.”

“That’s sure spitting it out,” said Alex. “Carry on.”

“The latest of his secretaries, a Miss Bowers, may well have hidden attributes of which I am unaware, but she certainly couldn’t spell.”

“So you feel I should take Mrs. Ackroyd’s words at face value?”

“I most certainly do, chairman, and I particularly enjoyed the last paragraph of her letter.”

Alex read it again, and indeed it brought a smile to his face.

“Anything else, chairman?”

“Yes,” said Alex, “before you go, Pamela, I also read Mr. Underwood’s letter and he’s under the impression there’s an emergency board meeting next Monday. If that’s the case, it’s news to me.”