«Have you ever seen anyone turned off in Washington? It’s a hell of a sight. He can yell all he cares to, but somehow no one wants to listen. No one wants to get touched by the leper… Even the President.»
«What about him? The President.»
«The simplest part of the exercise. I’ll hold a group session with the aides, and together we’ll present a strong case for the President to extricate himself from Trevayne. He’ll listen to us; he’s got too goddamned many other problems. We’ll give him the options of doing it gracefully or with acid. He’ll choose the former, of course. There’s an election in eighteen months. He’ll see the logic. No one’ll have to draw pictures.»
Green’s man looked sympathetically at Webster as he spoke. «Bobby, I’m here to instruct you to call it all off. That was the exact way Mr. Green put it. ‘Instruct him to call everything off.’ He doesn’t care about De Spadante; you say you can’t control that anyway. But Trevayne isn’t to be touched… That’s the word. It’s final.»
«It’s wrong. I’ve thought this out to the last detail. I’ve spent weeks making sure every goddamn piece falls into place. It’s perfect.»
«It’s out. There’s a whole new set of circumstances now. Mr. Green is meeting with three or four others to clarify everything… I’m sure you’ll be apprised.»
Webster understood the throw-away quality of the man’s last sentence. He wouldn’t be apprised of a damn thing unless they wanted something. Nor could he force his way into the newly formed circle. Alliances were being altered, or, conversely, made more interdependent, consolidated. Whichever, he was excluded.
Webster probed for survival clues. «If there are to be any substantial changes of policy, I think I’d better be informed immediately. I don’t like to use the bromide, but the White House is, after all, where it’s at.»
«Yes… Yes, of course.» Green’s man looked at his watch.
«A number of questions will be directed at me. From a wide spectrum of influential people. I should have answers.»
«I’ll tell Mr. Green.»
«He should know it.» Webster watched himself; he didn’t want to appear desperate.
«I’ll remind him.»
He was being excluded, and in a manner that was far too cavalier, thought Webster. The White House was being excluded. It was a moment for audacity.
«Do more than ‘remind’ him. Make it clear that there are a few of us down here who wield pretty big sticks. There are some areas of Genessee Industries that we’re more knowledgeable about than anyone else. We like to think of them as our insurance policies.»
The man from Green abruptly looked up from the table and locked his eyes with Webster’s. «I’m not sure that’s an apt term, Bobby. ‘Insurance policies,’ I mean. Unless you’re thinking about double indemnity; that’s expensive.»
The moment sustained itself. Green’s man was telling Robert Webster of the White House that he, too, could be removed from the chessboard. Webster knew it was time to initiate the beginning of his retreat. «Let’s clarify; since there seems to be a lot of that going around. I’m not so concerned for myself; my credentials couldn’t be much better. I can go back to Akron and pick and choose. My wife would like that best. And I wouldn’t mind one bit… But there are others; they might not be able to pick and choose. None of them has the White House on his résumé. They could be troublesome.»
«I’m sure everything will work out. For all of you. You’re experienced people.»
«Well, there aren’t that many—»
«We know,» interrupted the emissary from Aaron Green. The statement implied far more than the understated way it was phrased. «It’s time for me to go. I’ve still got a lot to do today.»
«Sure. I’ll pay for the drinks.»
«Thanks very much.» Green’s man got up from the table. «You’ll get those photographs back from Rod Bruce? Kill any story?»
«He won’t like it, but I will.»
«Good. We’ll be in touch… And, Bobby. About Akron. Why don’t you start preparing that résumé.»
39
The servants had turned on the table lamps in Aaron Green’s glass-enclosed porch with the potted plants everywhere. Outside, toward the rear, two yellowish floodlights lit up the snow-covered lawn—the burlapped shrubbery and the far-off, ghostlike white arbor in the distance. A silver coffee service was on the glass-topped round table between the white wrought-iron furniture, cups and saucers in their places. Several yards away on still another glass-topped table—this one a rectangle, longer, higher, and against the wall—was a selection of liqueurs with crystal brandy glasses off to the side.
The servants had been excused. Mrs. Green had retired to her sewing room upstairs; the lights in the rest of the house, except for the front hall and entrance, were extinguished.
Aaron Green was about to hold a meeting. A meeting with three men, but only one had been a guest for dinner. A Mr. Ian Hamilton.
The other two were driving out to Sail Harbor together. Walter Madison would stop by Kennedy Airport and pick up Senator Alan Knapp, who was flying in from Washington; together they would drive to Sail Harbor. They would arrive around ten o’clock.
They did. Precisely at ten o’clock.
At six minutes past ten the four men entered the glass-enclosed porch.
«I shall pour coffee, gentlemen. The drinks—the brandies—are over there. I do not trust these old hands to tip a bottle into those tiny glasses. I also find it difficult to read the labels; consequently, I do not indulge… Perhaps it’s fortunate I can find my chair.»
«Absolutely nothing wrong with you but sheer laziness, Aaron.» Ian Hamilton laughed, going to the brandy table. «I’ll pour.»
Walter Madison accepted his brandy and sat at Green’s left. Hamilton brought Knapp’s drink to the round table and placed it at Green’s right; the Senator sat down promptly. Hamilton then pulled back the chair opposite Aaron Green and did the same, not too promptly.
«We could be sitting down for a hand of bridge,» said Madison.
«Or a rough game of poker,» added Senator Knapp.
«Perhaps baccarat unlimited might be more appropriate.» Ian Hamilton raised his glass to Green. «Your health, Aaron… All our healths.»
«Also appropriate, my friend,» replied Green in his low voice. «These are times that require the best of health. Health of body and mind. Especially the mind.»
They drank, and Knapp was the first to replace his glass on the table. He was impatient but knew that patience was a valued commodity at this table. Still, he was a respected senator, a man this table needed. There was no point in feigning a composure he did not feel. He was not famous for his tact; tact was irrelevant to him.
«I’ll put my first card face-up on the table, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Green. I’m not leaving you out, Walter, but I think your position here is somewhat the same as mine. All we’ve heard is that Andrew Trevayne is not to be … ‘taken advantage of’ is the best way to put it. Walter and I discussed it in the car. There’s no point obscuring that fact. To be frank, I’ll be damned if I can understand. Bobby Webster’s strategy seemed to me a beautiful piece of work.»
Ian Hamilton looked over at Green, and after several seconds he nodded his head. It was a very slight motion; he was giving the old Jew permission to speak.
«Mr. Webster’s strategy was a beautiful piece of work, Senator,» said Green. «As the General’s brilliant maneuver might win a battle—to the great rejoicing of his command post—while in another section of the terrain the enemy mounts a blitzkrieg that will win the war.»