The Predators
Page 33
He nodded. “Just turn them over to me. I’ll get in touch with you as soon as I find out if they like the deal.”
I picked up the briefcase and gave it to him. “Everything’s in there. All you have to do is call me and I’ll sign the papers.”
He looked at me. “Do you have an attorney here?”
“Yes,” I said. “Former Judge Eugene Winick.”
Miss White laughed. “You may not know it,” she told me in confidence. “Most of Frank’s associates call him ‘the Judge.’”
“I can appreciate that,” I said. “He said that Mr. Costello would have a real grasp of this situation.” I got up. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Miss White, and thank you for lunch, Mr. Costello. You can reach me at the Plaza Hotel. I will be waiting for your call.”
* * *
They didn’t call him “the Judge” for nothing. The word around town was that the families used him to straighten up any of their problems that could be negotiated. Apparently, it also was true with the Carlinos and the Colombos. It was only two days later that I was called to Uncle Harry’s bottling company offices on Madison Avenue. I was told to bring Judge Winick.
Uncle Harry was in his seventies now, but he seemed to be exactly the same. Kitty was sitting off to the side. I looked at her. She seemed to look a lot older. She had lines around her mouth that made her look very hard. She would not meet my eyes.
We said hello, but we did not shake hands. Uncle Harry smiled at me. “How are you? Feeling well?”
“I’m okay,” I answered.
He kept rattling. “Kitty and I have two sons. They’re bright, both going to college,” he said.
“That’s great,” I said agreeably. “Who do they look like, you or Kitty?”
“It’s funny,” Harry said. “They don’t look like either of us. Our oldest looks more like your mother, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Nothing makes any sense, Uncle Harry.” I looked at Kitty, and for one tiny second our eyes met. I knew. Kitty was fucking me just before they got married.
“My lawyer is waiting for us,” Harry said. “What do you say we get this thing done?”
“I’m ready,” I said. “I want Buddy to come in here while the papers are being signed. He can be one of the witnesses when we sign.”
Harry looked at Buddy as he walked into the room. “You never change,” he said.
“Some things never do.” Buddy laughed.
Then the two lawyers spread out the papers and we signed them all and it was all over except for one thing. Harry had to hand me the check.
I looked at the check in my hand. It was a cashier’s check for two million dollars payable to me. I looked at him and suddenly I began to laugh.
“Thank you, Uncle Harry!” I said, my eyes tearing with laughter. “Thank you for everything!”
“Robbins’s dialogue is moving.… His people have the warmth of life.”
—The New York Times
“Robbins’s books are packed with action, sustained by a strong narrative drive, and given vitality by his own colorful life.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Robbins has the ability to hold his readers absorbed.”
—Chicago Tribune
“His characters are compelling, his dialogue is dramatic, and his style is simple and straightforward.”
—Los Angeles Times
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE PREDATORS
Copyright © 1998 by the Estate of Harold Robbins
All rights reserved.
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
ISBN: 0-812-57178-9
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 98-5553
First edition: May 1998
First international mass market edition: November 1998
First mass market edition: April 1999
eISBN 9781466833760
First eBook edition: November 2012