Emperor of Ocean Park

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by Stephen L Carter


  And, indeed, some of the characters do make embarrassing mistakes. Misha Garland incorrectly states the law regarding cooperation with federal investigators in his argument with Agents Foreman and McDermott, but the reader should remember that criminal law is not his area of expertise. Marc Hadley, in his enthusiasm for his own ideas, misstates both the facts and the holding of the Supreme Court’s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, which had nothing to do with physicians or unmarried women. (He may be thinking of Eisenstadt v. Baird, or he may, as so often, be making it up as he goes along.) Lionel “Sweet Nellie” Eldridge always inflates his career scoring average from the National Basketball Association, rounding his points per game upward, from 18.6 to 19. Still, as Pony Eldridge, his wife and statistician, likes to say, this is permissible license, because his career scoring average would have been 19.5, had he not come back bravely after his injury for that last disastrous season—this is Pony talking—trying to reach ten thousand career points before retiring.

  Most chess writers attribute the quotation used as the epigraph to this book to Siegbert Tarrasch, but it is sometimes said to have originated with the former world champion Alexander Alekhine. Different sources provide various renderings of the line from Felix Frankfurter quoted by Wallace Wainwright. I have chosen what seems to me the most authoritative, the late Bernard Schwartz’s influential 1996 book Decision: How the Supreme Court Decides Cases. Professor Schwartz confirmed the quotation with a law clerk who was present when the statement was made.

  Finally, I must confess that not every line in this book is my own creation. The precise wording of Bentley’s announcement that he is riding on a boat was actually devised not by Misha Garland’s son but by my own. Rob Saltpeter’s bon mot about the United States as a Christian nation I first heard from the thoughtful David Bleich, who is both a rabbi and a law professor. The rules to the courtroom polka are not my own invention, nor are they Misha Garland’s; they draw on a dim memory from my childhood, a joke about President Lyndon Johnson dancing the “press-conference polka.” (I would be grateful to any reader who might direct me to the original source.) And Dana Worth’s zinger about Bonnie Ziffren was actually coined, in a similar context, by my late Yale colleague Leon Lipson, whose subtlety, wit, and sheer joy in knowledge will always inspire but can never be replaced.

  I must acknowledge my gratitude to my literary agent, Lynn Nesbit, who waited many patient years for me to finish the manuscript I kept promising next month. Lynn encouraged me through my frequent blocks and never tried to make me rush. The novel has benefitted immeasurably from the graceful and sympathetic editing of Robin Desser at Knopf, and from the thoughtful comments of the small circle of intimates who read the manuscript prior to publication.

  Finally, as always, I have no adequate words to express my gratitude to my family: my children, Leah and Andrew, with whom I missed many a Saturday afternoon of fun because “Daddy has to write”; their great-aunt Maria Reid, who put up with my ignoring her for hours as I sat, chained to my computer, in my study; and, most of all, to my wife, Enola Ard, without whose steadfast love, clear-eyed readings, gentle cajoling, and spiritual guidance this novel could never have been completed. May God bless you all.

  May 2001

  A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Stephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982. He is the author of seven acclaimed nonfiction books, including The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion and Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy. He and his family live near New Haven, Connecticut.

  THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK

  PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

  Copyright © 2002 by Stephen L. Carter

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  www.aaknopf.com

  Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carter, Stephen L., [date]

  The emperor of Ocean Park / Stephen L. Carter—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  eISBN: 978-1-4000-4010-0

  1. African American college teachers—Fiction. 2. Martha’s Vineyard (Mass.)—Fiction. 3. African American families—Fiction. 4. African American judges—Fiction. 5. Fathers and sons—Fiction. 6. Fathers—Death—Fiction. 7. Law teachers—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3603.A78 E4 2002

  813’.6—dc21

  2001038227

  v3.0

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue: The Vineyard House

  Part 1 - Nowotny Interference

  Chapter 1 - The Latest News by Phone

  Chapter 2 - A Visit to the Coast

  Chapter 3 - The White Kitchen

  Chapter 4 - The Charmer

  Chapter 5 - A Graveside Encounter

  Chapter 6 - The Problemist

  Chapter 7 - The Roller Woman

  Chapter 8 - More News by Phone

  Chapter 9 - A Pedagogical Disagreement

  Chapter 10 - A Tragic Coincidence

  Chapter 11 - A Modest Proposal

  Chapter 12 - A Special Delivery

  Chapter 13 - A Familiar Face

  Chapter 14 - Various Freedoms of Speech

  Chapter 15 - Two Encounters

  Chapter 16 - The Three Fools

  Chapter 17 - The Brass Ring

  Part 2 - Turton Doubling

  Chapter 18 - More News by Phone

  Chapter 19 - Two Tales are Told

  Chapter 20 - The Halls of Justice

  Chapter 21 - A Trip Around the Circle

  Chapter 22 - Conversation with a Colonel

  Chapter 23 - The Ambiguous Figure

  Chapter 24 - The Diagnosis

  Chapter 25 - A Modest Request

  Chapter 26 - Sam Loyd’s Challenge

  Chapter 27 - A Painful Encounter

  Chapter 28 - Two News Flashes

  Chapter 29 - An Enjoyable Evening

  Chapter 30 - The Usual Suspects

  Chapter 31 - Brown Week

  Chapter 32 - A Piece of the Answer

  Chapter 33 - A Helpful Chat

  Chapter 34 - A Story Unravels

  Chapter 35 - The Skeleton

  Chapter 36 - A Brothers Tale

  Chapter 37 - Some Historical Notes

  Part 3 - Unprovided Flight

  Chapter 38 - A Domestic Interlude

  Chapter 39 - Unexpected Visitors

  Chapter 40 - Another Discovery

  Chapter 41 - Confrontation

  Chapter 42 - Deadline

  Chapter 43 - A Choice is Made

  Chapter 44 - Stormy Weather

  Chapter 45 - A Call to Arms

  Chapter 46 - Resting Places

  Chapter 47 - A Decision at Post

  Chapter 48 - Zwischenzug

  Chapter 49 - A Plan is Carried Out

  Chapter 50 - Again Old Town

  Chapter 51 - An Old Friend Returns

  Chapter 52 - Old Friends Visit

  Chapter 53 - Another Old Friend Arrives

  Chapter 54 - An Unsteady Return

  Chapter 55 - The Elm Harbor Connection

  Chapter 56 - A Summer Stroll

  Chapter 57 - Some Pieces are Traded Off

  Chapter 58 - A Plausible Account

  Chapter 59 - On the Other Hand …

  Chapter 60 - Endgame

  Chapter 61 - Angela’s Boyfriend

  Chapter 62 - The Battle for George

  Chapter 63 - The Water Baby

  Chapter 64 - Double Excelsior

  Author’s Note

  A Note About the Author

  Copyright

  L. Carter, Emperor of Ocean Park

 

 

 


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