heart?”
He nodded. “It happened after Oscar called. I never suspected that I have a ... condition. I’m afraid now the voters must be told. It wouldn’t be fair to elect a man not physically capable of carrying out the duties of his office.” He smiled wistfully, sadly. I felt sorry for the old boy.
“Anyway, I’m not concerned with the politics of the affair.”
“Really? But what ...”
“Just a loose end, Lee. They bother me.”
“I see. I don’t understand, but I see ... if you can make sense of that.”
I waved the smoke away from in front of him. “I know what you mean. Now about why you wanted to see me. Pat gave me part of it already, enough so I can see the rest.”
“Yes. You see, Oscar intimated that no matter what happened, he was going to see to it that I was broken, completely broken. He mentioned some documents he had prepared.”
I crushed the butt out and looked at him. “What kind of documents?”
Lee shook his head slowly. “The only possible thing he could compound would be our relationship as brothers. How, I don’t know, because I have all the family papers. But if he could establish that I was the brother of a man committed to a mental institution, it would be a powerful weapon in the hands of the opposition.”
“There’s nothing else,” I asked, “that could stick you?” He spread his hands apart in appeal. “If there was it would have been brought to light long ago. No, I’ve never been in jail or in trouble of any sort. I’m afraid that my attention to business precluded any trouble.”
“Uh-huh. How come this awful hatred?”
“I don’t know, actually. As I told Pat and you previously, it may have been a matter of ideals, or because though we were twins, we weren’t at all alike. Oscar was almost, well ... sadistic in his ways. We had little to do with each other. As younger men I became established in business while Oscar got into all sorts of scrapes. I’ve tried to help him, but he wouldn’t accept help from me at all. He hated me fiercely. I’m inclined to believe that this time Oscar had intended to bleed me for all the money he could, then make trouble for me anyway.”
“You were lucky you took the attitude you did. You can’t pay off, it only makes matters worse.”
“I don’t know, Mike; as much as he hated me I certainly didn’t want that to happen to him.”
“He’s better off.”
“Perhaps.”
I reached for another cigarette. “You want me to find out what he left then, that’s it.”
“If there is anything to be found, yes.”
When I filled my lungs with smoke I let it go slowly, watching it swirl up toward the ceiling. “Lee,” I said, “you don’t know me so I’ll tell you something. I hate phonies. Suppose I do find something that ties you up into a nice little ball. Something real juicy. What do you think I should do with it?”
It wasn’t the reaction I expected. He leaned forward across the desk with his fingers interlocked. His face was a study in emotions. “Mike,” he said in a voice that had the crisp clarity of static electricity, “if you do, I charge you to make it public at once. Is that clear?”
I grinned and stood up. “Okay, Lee. I’m glad you said that.” I reached out my hand and he took it warmly. I’ve seen evangelists with faces like that, unswerving, devoted to their duty. We looked at each other then he opened his desk drawer and brought out a lovely sheaf of green paper. They had big, beautiful numbers in the corners.
“Here is a thousand dollars, Mike. Shall we call it a retainer?”
I took the bills and folded them tenderly away. “Let’s call it payment in full. You’ll get your money’s worth.”
“I’m sure of it. If you need any additional information, call on me.”
“Right. Want a receipt?”
“No need of it. I’m sure your word is good enough.”
“Thanks. I’ll send you a report if anything turns up.” I flipped a card out of my pocket and laid it on his
He nodded. “It happened after Oscar called. I never suspected that I have a ... condition. I’m afraid now the voters must be told. It wouldn’t be fair to elect a man not physically capable of carrying out the duties of his office.” He smiled wistfully, sadly. I felt sorry for the old boy.
“Anyway, I’m not concerned with the politics of the affair.”
“Really? But what ...”
“Just a loose end, Lee. They bother me.”
“I see. I don’t understand, but I see ... if you can make sense of that.”
I waved the smoke away from in front of him. “I know what you mean. Now about why you wanted to see me. Pat gave me part of it already, enough so I can see the rest.”
“Yes. You see, Oscar intimated that no matter what happened, he was going to see to it that I was broken, completely broken. He mentioned some documents he had prepared.”
I crushed the butt out and looked at him. “What kind of documents?”
Lee shook his head slowly. “The only possible thing he could compound would be our relationship as brothers. How, I don’t know, because I have all the family papers. But if he could establish that I was the brother of a man committed to a mental institution, it would be a powerful weapon in the hands of the opposition.”
“There’s nothing else,” I asked, “that could stick you?” He spread his hands apart in appeal. “If there was it would have been brought to light long ago. No, I’ve never been in jail or in trouble of any sort. I’m afraid that my attention to business precluded any trouble.”
“Uh-huh. How come this awful hatred?”
“I don’t know, actually. As I told Pat and you previously, it may have been a matter of ideals, or because though we were twins, we weren’t at all alike. Oscar was almost, well ... sadistic in his ways. We had little to do with each other. As younger men I became established in business while Oscar got into all sorts of scrapes. I’ve tried to help him, but he wouldn’t accept help from me at all. He hated me fiercely. I’m inclined to believe that this time Oscar had intended to bleed me for all the money he could, then make trouble for me anyway.”
“You were lucky you took the attitude you did. You can’t pay off, it only makes matters worse.”
“I don’t know, Mike; as much as he hated me I certainly didn’t want that to happen to him.”
“He’s better off.”
“Perhaps.”
I reached for another cigarette. “You want me to find out what he left then, that’s it.”
“If there is anything to be found, yes.”
When I filled my lungs with smoke I let it go slowly, watching it swirl up toward the ceiling. “Lee,” I said, “you don’t know me so I’ll tell you something. I hate phonies. Suppose I do find something that ties you up into a nice little ball. Something real juicy. What do you think I should do with it?”
It wasn’t the reaction I expected. He leaned forward across the desk with his fingers interlocked. His face was a study in emotions. “Mike,” he said in a voice that had the crisp clarity of static electricity, “if you do, I charge you to make it public at once. Is that clear?”
I grinned and stood up. “Okay, Lee. I’m glad you said that.” I reached out my hand and he took it warmly. I’ve seen evangelists with faces like that, unswerving, devoted to their duty. We looked at each other then he opened his desk drawer and brought out a lovely sheaf of green paper. They had big, beautiful numbers in the corners.
“Here is a thousand dollars, Mike. Shall we call it a retainer?”
I took the bills and folded them tenderly away. “Let’s call it payment in full. You’ll get your money’s worth.”
“I’m sure of it. If you need any additional information, call on me.”
“Right. Want a receipt?”
“No need of it. I’m sure your word is good enough.”
“Thanks. I’ll send you a report if anything turns up.” I flipped a card out of my pocket and laid it on his
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