Page 27 of The List
His idea of a night at home was like last Saturday.
He and Ashley had curled under a blanket on the back porch and watched the stars, talking like they used to.
Sure, every night couldn’t be like that, but was it a sin if they happened along every once in a while?
He could not remember a time when he and Paula shared such intimacy.
Their relationship seemed more like roommates than spouses.
Just making love became an ordeal of hygiene and etiquette.
Most of their weekend nights had been consumed at functions where a room full of people small-talked their way to midnight.
Paula had loved the social life. He’d hated it.
“You’ve got to let this go,” Hank said.
“I never should have let things go that far.”
“Don’t you think the time for repentance is over? It’s been eleven friggin’ years.”
He said nothing.
But Hank could see right through him. “Don’t bullshit me. You came back here to let it go.”
That’s right. He had. But he still wasn’t ready to openly admit that.
Not yet.
“On a different subject,” Hank said. “Did you look into those numbers I gave you?”
He was hoping Hank had forgotten about them. “Not yet.”
“I need you to do that. Per the terms we agreed upon.”
He knew the right answer.
“Okay. Soon.”
9:20 A.M.
J ON CALMLY REPORTED WHAT HE FOUND IN C ONCORD. H E WAS sitting in Hamilton Lee’s Blue Tower office. He’d been waiting for Lee to arrive at work since 7:30.
“This is a problem,” Lee said. “A big problem.”
“I tried to find you last evening but was unsuccessful.”
“I was out,” Lee said, volunteering nothing more about his night.
“I could not suspend further processing without your approval, based on what you said yesterday.”
“Is the list complete?”
“The final Priority, Number 7, was processed an hour ago.”
“Any problems?”
“A hunting accident.” While he was on the subject he went ahead and made a full report.
“Number 6 was processed last Friday. Number 8 the same day. Only the hunting accident occurred in Woods County, the two others were scattered around the state. I’d like to point out that I was forced to okay two accidental deaths in one locale for the same month. That violates Rule.”
“You worry too much, Jon.”
And you worry too little , he thought.
He resented the cavalier attitude Lee took on Priority decisions.
This was not something trivial. People were being murdered, and he didn’t particularly want to be caught.
Yet he realized most of Lee’s nonchalance could be Jon’s own fault.
He’d made the program so efficient that success had come to be expected, no matter what the risks.
“Look, Jon, there’s nothing connecting those two deaths.
They’re two tragic accidents, things that happen from time to time.
The local funeral homes should be grateful.
I think Hughes owns one of them in Concord, doesn’t he?
Right now, I’m far more worried about our immediate problem.
Is there any indication what, if anything, was accessed from Marlene Rhoden’s terminal? ”
“The directory noted only from what folder in the central banks the information originated. I checked the SECURED FOLDER this morning. On June 6 it contained one file. May’s list of eight authorized Priorities.”
“Even assuming the file was copied, a list of eight numbers would mean nothing. It could easily be seen as some kind of work file.”
“Until it’s deciphered.”
“Assuming someone cares enough to do that,” Lee said.
“You told me yourself Hank Reed is clever. Maybe he’s clever enough to want to decipher the list?”
“He may not even have it.”
He detected a hint of hope in the last statement and couldn’t resist. “As I recall, last week you were positive Reed had the memo we planted. If he has that, then he has the list.”
10:00 A.M.
C HRIS SENSED H AMILTON L EE WAS AGITATED, AND THE SIGHT BOTH pleased and interested him. They were in the boardroom on the thirtieth floor, engaged in a special meeting, originally called to discuss the upcoming union negotiations, but another subject now seemed of greater urgency.
“We have a problem,” Lee said.
Then he listened as his partner reported what De Florio had found.
“This is our first breach in the program,” Hughes noted.
“Alleged breach. We have no idea if anyone actually has the Priority list.”
“Why did you find it necessary to plant memos in the system for Reed to find?” Chris asked. “I don’t recall us approving such a tactic.”
“During the last negotiations it became obvious that Reed accessed the system and used our own cost projections against us. The idea of that happening again galled me, so I decided to turn it around to our advantage.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“I wrote a memo instructing our Concord people that we weren’t interested in a five-year deal. I told them it wasn’t worth the trouble and to take three years when offered, but try and get takebacks for the concession.”
He understood. “You figured if Reed knew that, he’d come to us and offer five years on a silver platter. Those two years are his strongest bargaining chip.”
Lee nodded. “And when he made that offer, the cost would be far less than last time.”
“Since Reed would figure we didn’t give a damn about five years to start with.”
“Seemed like a good plan.”
Actually it was, and Lee was clearly proud of himself for thinking of it.
“What if he doesn’t offer to get those two years for us?” Chris asked.
“He will. I know Hank.”
“Come on, Chris,” Hughes said. “That whole move was damn smart.”
“Maybe. But no vote was taken on that strategy.”
“That’s right,” Lee said. “I made the decision on my own.”
“And because of that somebody got into the secured folders and may have enough evidence to indict us all for mass murder.”
“How could I know there’d be storm damage to the system at the precise time someone was trying to nibble on my bait?”
He wasn’t backing down this time. “You invited someone to snoop in the computer. That comes with clear risk.”
Lee shook his head. “Reed was going to do that anyway. I only left something for him to find.”
“What’s being done about the problem?”
“I’ve directed De Florio to find out whether Reed has the list and, if so, what he knows about it. I didn’t ask how he proposes to do that, nor do I want to know. Jon will take care of it, like he always does.”
“And what of May’s list?” he asked.
“Fully processed, with no problems, including the three approved at our last meeting.”
His mind raced, more pieces of the plan he’d conceived fitting into place. “Needless to say, I assume we’re in agreement to suspend any further Prioritizing until this matter is resolved.”
Neither objected, then Hughes changed the subject. “What about the negotiations? How are we going to handle things this time?”
Chris had been waiting for a mention. “I have to be at the mill for the close of the fiscal year. I thought I could put in the customary appearance by ownership.”
“I have no objection to that,” Lee said.
“Nor I,” Hughes said.
No surprise on either count. Though industrial relations lay within Hughes’ sphere of supervision, he routinely delegated all the responsibility to subordinates.
Similarly, whenever negotiation time came around Lee looked for an excuse not to spend two weeks cooped up in Woods County.
They both also probably figured the three hundred miles between Atlanta and Concord would get him out of their hair, at least for a while.
He knew what he had to say. “I’ll get the five years, as cheap as I can.”
“You should be able to get them for only agreeing to no takebacks,” Hughes said. “Reed will be happy to settle for what he’s got right now. The status quo is good for all of us.”
“Assuming he doesn’t have the list and doesn’t know what it is.”
Neither one of them said a word.
“I’ll keep both of you informed as to my progress.
” But he had no intention of doing any such thing.
What he did need, “Hamilton, have Jon report directly to me in Concord what he finds concerning the list. I also want Brent Walker involved in the negotiations. I may need to use him with Reed. I want him close by. Please arrange for that to happen.”
10:50 A.M.
C HRIS STOOD ALONE BEFORE THE OUTER GLASS IN HIS OFFICE.
The meeting had adjourned a few minutes ago after more decisions on how to handle the upcoming negotiations. All three men had promptly left the boardroom and returned to their respective offices on the twenty-ninth floor.
It was not even noon, yet his abdomen ached. It seemed to start earlier and earlier each day.
He gazed down over the morning traffic, thinking again about the Priority program. A long time had passed since it started. Then its victims were simply aggravations, problems that seemed to constantly jeopardize a tenuous investment. The first one?
How could he forget.
Robbie Shuman.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing about Robbie Shuman,” Lee said again.
They were in the middle of the monthly board meeting, crowded around an oval table in a tiny conference room, part of the space the corporation leased in one of downtown Atlanta’s older office buildings.
The Savannah Morning News lay before them, its front page headlined PAPER COMPANY UNDER FEDERAL SCRUTINY , the article anything but flattering.