“I did a search on Thomas Drew; he’s a real person, some kind of political aide to the Prime Minister. Some pooh-bahs in Ottawa want to shut you up, or misdirect you.”
“In such a brazen way?” Dispatching a trained monkey on a five-hour flight to snitch on Silent Shawn Hamilton-even on the murky playing fields of political connivance, that seemed extreme. “Maybe they do have the goods on Shawn.”
“Oh, God, I read him completely wrong.”
“Wentworth, I’m just speculating.”
“I blew it. I have to think through this again. I actually thought Drew might be the perp.” His high, cracking voice.
“Calm down.”
“Sorry.”
Arthur fretted through his lamb stew about this political hack’s bizarre visit-especially outlandish given that Margaret was running neck and neck with the chicken-plucking candidate for Drew’s party. Reluctantly, he phoned the Green campaign office to compare notes with Eric Schultz, who knew the backroom boys of Ottawa.
Schultz was in session with his finance team but took the call, orating in his burp-gun manner. “Bad news is that we’re skint, Arthur, in deep hock. O’Malley’s got money to burn. TV attack ads. We’re naive, we’re environmental scaremongers. The good news is we’ve evened up, it’s decimal points either way. But they’re holding on to their core vote; it’s like chipping away at a brick wall. All depends on the all-candidates. And your trial, of course, they’re still making hay about Blake being up a tree with Brown. Innuendo, guilt by association.”
That’s why Arthur had been reluctant to call him, the pressure, the constant nagging about the trial, its political implications.
Schultz had some background on Drew: ex-Alberta oil patch overseer, long-time soldier in the election trenches, rewarded with a job in the PM’s office, generally regarded as useless. “What did he have to say?”
“It was off the record, Eric. We gave an undertaking.”
Schultz grumbled at that, passed the phone to Margaret, who sounded tense and weary. “I’ve lost fifteen pounds, nothing fits. It’s like an episode of Survivor. Three more days.”
“And then we celebrate.”
“Then we sleep.”
“Darling, about tomorrow, I have some distressing-”
“It’s okay, Arthur. It was on the news. I’m fuming at that judge.”
“I made you a promise.”
“You’re absolved.”
“I feel wretched.”
“Oh, nonsense. I’ll see you at home on Sunday. I’m taking a day of rest, if you can call it that. There may be some press following me around. We’ll have to do Reverend Al’s service, that’s a given. A few teas and klatches. Oh, and I guess there’s that party for Lavinia and Nick. Well, we’ll just have to find some time together.”
She carried on stoutly like that, determined to let Arthur off the hook, refusing to hear regrets or apology. So he let the matter be and entertained her with tales of the trial, the muff by Leich, the star-struck judge, Cud with his swaggering demands for financial redress. But he was depressed on disconnecting, burdened with a sense he’d failed her.
A trio of codgers, armed with martinis, sat down to watch the news. “Tellie, old boy.” Manfred clicked on the TV and turned up the volume to aid the hard of hearing.
“Bangladesh is going under again,” one said.
“What?”
“Bangladesh.” Shouting over the newscaster. “A thousand homes washed away.”
“Global warming.”
“No way to stop it. Head for higher ground.”
“Here’s that poet character. Screwed the judge’s new bride in the hot tub.”
“Don LeGrand’s daughter.”
“Bit of a whore, they say.”
“Bad seed. Happens in the best families.”
Footage of Cud flashing a victory salute at the camera. Here was Astrid Leich avoiding microphones. Here was the British Ambassador himself, walking from the law courts, looking fat, Wentworth at his shoulder like a pilot fish. He couldn’t hear the announcer over the shouted commentary.
“What?”
“Hanky-panky!”
“Hank who?”
“Bought himself a judgeship!”
Brian Pomeroy appeared on screen, staring bleakly from a taxi window, sylphlike April giving the driver directions.
“Wouldn’t kick her out of bed. Who’s in the car?”
“Lawyer who flipped out.”
A rerun of the famous scene of Pomeroy galloping down Nelson Street, his gown flapping in the rain like a loose sail. Arthur must banish him from the courtroom, he’s a menace, Polyphemus reincarnated. Cyclops! Cruel one! who didst not fear to eat the strangers sheltered by thy roof.
It had forgotten to rain today, so Arthur took a brisk morning walk to Gastown, down Hastings and Water Streets, enjoying the sweet, damp smell of coming spring. He’d already seen snowdrops. Crocuses soon, then daffodils in vast bounty. Skunk cabbage blossoming in the swales. He must get back to garden and greenhouse, there’s much to do. Spring comes two months later in Ottawa…
Outside the Leap of Faith Prayer Centre a scrawny man bleated a greeting. “Hallelujah, brother!”
“Yes, indeed, hallelujah.” Arthur didn’t accept his tract but read the posted announcement. Sadly, he will miss Pastor Blythe’s revving up on Sunday.
Upstairs, at reception, he was greeted by the seraphic smile of April Fan Wu, whose continuing role in this spectaculum confused him. Arthur had recently fired her for spying; why ought she be trusted now? Her sponsors, the LeGrands, had obviously pulled strings with immigration, and no one seemed concerned that the office madman had rehired her. Wentworth had explained they were short-staffed, insisted she was “on our side.” The artful young lady seemed to have beguiled him.
“I can’t deny I’m a little astonished to see you back, April, but welcome.”
“I am sorry I deceived you. I had always dreamed of immigrating to Canada, and I took stupid risks. I’m really not such a shady person, Mr. Beauchamp, and I’ll prove my loyalty.” She shook his hand with a penitent smile, then added, enigmatically, “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.”
Arthur would have to work at that one. “I understand you’ve been babysitting Brian. For some reason he seems accepting of that. I do not want him in court today.”
“It’s the last place he wants to be. Ms. Leich’s evidence has convinced him he’s the target of a conspiracy. ‘They’re setting me up to take the rap,’ is how he put it.” She pressed a key combination and a printer expelled several pages. “His latest chapter.”
Arthur idly browsed through this farrago of comment and fiction, part novel, part a Pomeroyesque stream of consciousness, with quotes from Hector Widgeon’s witless, dreary prose.
“‘The tardy entrance of your final suspect must not be seen as an afterthought, idly tossed off. Even the dullest of readers should exclaim Eureka! as they realize they ought to have paid more attention to the boring parts.’ That’s low, you smarmy bastard, pay attention to your own boring parts. Help me through this, April. Are you there? I’m enslaved to him and his cookie-cutter recipes.”
A faultless transcription of an unexpected bit of self-awareness. April gave him an odd smile, knowing and sharing. Again, that sense of her peering into his soul. Others had fallen victim to her; Arthur must not.
Wentworth emerged with two heavy book bags, tried to herd Arthur down to a waiting taxi. Arthur held back for a moment, flipped the pages, came upon this narrative: “Florenza had heard of the cagey old dog defending Cuddles. Little did Beauchamp know how well she’d prepared for him…”
Another twinge. That sense of unreality, of being Brian’s invention.
As they settled in the taxi, Arthur asked, “Did you remember the letters?”
“What letters? Oh.” Wentworth went into his briefcase, produced a file folder with about a dozen hand-written or typed letters on white paper, lined paper, airmail paper. “I had to ransack my bottom dresser drawer. A lot of these are from my mom, some are from a girlfriend I had once. A few from a dating bureau I belonged to.”