Kane and Abel

by Jeffrey Archer

  William dropped the paper onto the breakfast table and didn’t finish his coffee. He left the house without another word. As soon as he arrived at his office, he called Thomas Cohen at Cohen, Cohen and Yablons.

  ‘It’s been a long time, Mr Kane,’ were Cohen’s first words. ‘I was very sorry to learn of the death of your friend, Mr Lester. How are your wife and your son - Richard - isn’t that his name?’

  William always admired Cohen’s instant recall of names and relationships.

  ‘They’re both well, thank you, Mr Cohen. And how is Thaddeus?’

  ‘He’s just become a partner of the firm, and recently made me a grandfather. So what can I do for you, Mr Kane?’ Thomas Cohen also recalled that William could only manage about one sentence of small talk.

  ‘I want to employ, through you, the services of a reliable private investigator. I do not wish my name to be associated with the inquiry, but I need a full update on Henry Osborne, who, it seems, is now an alderman in Chicago. I want to know everything he’s done since he left Boston, and in particular whether there is any personal or professional connection between him and Abel Rosnovski, the president of the Baron Group.’

  There was a pause before the lawyer said, ‘I understand.’

  ‘Can you report to me in one week?’

  ‘Two please, Mr Kane, two,’ said Cohen.

  Thomas Cohen was as reliable as ever, and a full report appeared on William’s desk by the fifteenth morning. He read the dossier several times, underlining certain passages. There appeared to be no formal business relationship between Abel Rosnovski and Henry Osborne. Rosnovski, it seemed, found Osborne useful as a political fixer, but nothing more. Osborne had drifted from job to job since leaving Boston, ending up in the claims office of the Great Western Casualty Insurance Company. That was probably how he had come into contact with Rosnovski, as the old Chicago Richmond had been insured by Great Western. When the hotel was burned to the ground, the insurance company had originally refused to pay the claim. A certain Desmond Pacey, the former manager, had been sent to prison for ten years after pleading guilty to arson, and there had initially been some suspicion that Rosnovski might have been involved. But nothing was proved, and the insurance company settled for three-quarters of a million dollars. Osborne, the report went on, was now an alderman and a full-time politician at City Hall. It was common knowledge that he hoped to become the next congressman for Illinois. He had recently married a Miss Marie Axton, the daughter of a wealthy drug manufacturer, and as yet they had no children.

  William went over the report once again to be sure he had not missed anything, however inconsequential. Although there did not seem to be a great deal to connect the two men, he couldn’t help feeling that the association between Abel Rosnovski and Henry Osborne, both of whom detested him, for totally different reasons, was potentially dangerous. He mailed a cheque to Thomas Cohen and requested that he update the file every quarter. But as the months passed, and the quarterly reports revealed nothing new, he began to stop worrying, thinking that perhaps he had overreacted to the photograph in the Boston Globe.

  Kate presented William with a daughter in the spring of 1936; they christened her Virginia. William started changing diapers again, and such was his fascination with ‘the little lady’ that Kate had to rescue the child each night for fear she would never get any sleep. Richard, now three years old, didn’t care too much for the new arrival to begin with, but time and a new electric train set helped to allay his jealousy.

  By the end of the year William’s department at Kane and Cabot had made a handsome profit for the bank. He had emerged from the lethargy that had overcome him following Matthew’s death, and was fast regaining his reputation as a shrewd investor in the stock market, not least when ‘Sell’em Short Smith’ admitted he had only perfected a technique developed by William Kane of Boston. Even Tony Simmons’s direction had become less irksome. Nevertheless, William was secretly frustrated by the knowledge that he could not hope to become chairman of Kane and Cabot until Simmons retired in fifteen years’ time, but he wasn’t sure what he could do about it.

  36

  CHARLES LESTER had grown very old in the three years since Matthew’s death, and it was rumoured in financial circles that he had lost all interest in his work, and was rarely seen at the bank. So it didn’t come entirely as a surprise when William read of the old man’s death in the New York Times.

  The Kanes travelled down to New York for the funeral. Everyone seemed to be there, including John Nance Garner, the Vice President of the United States. After the funeral, William and Kate took the train back to Boston, numbly conscious that they had lost their last close link with the Lester family.

  Three months later, William received a letter from Sullivan and Cromwell, the distinguished New York lawyers, asking him if he would be kind enough to attend the reading of the will of the late Charles Lester at their offices on Wall Street.

  William decided to attend the reading, more out of loyalty to the Lester family than from any desire to find out what Charles Lester had left him. He hoped for a small memento that would remind him of Matthew and would join the ‘Harvard Oar’ that hung on the wall of his study at the Red House. He also looked forward to the opportunity to renew his acquaintance with so many members of the Lester family whom he had come to know during his school and college vacations.

  He drove down to New York in his newly acquired Daimler the night before the reading and stayed at the Harvard Club. The will was to be read at ten o’clock the following morning, and he was surprised to find on his arrival at the offices of Sullivan and Cromwell that more than fifty people were already present. Many of them glanced up at him as he entered the room, and he greeted several of Matthew’s cousins and aunts, who looked rather older than he remembered them; he could only conclude they must be thinking the same about him. He searched the room for Matthew’s sister Susan, but couldn’t see her. He assumed that by now she must be married and have a brood of young children.

  As ten o’clock struck, Mr Arthur Cromwell entered the room, accompanied by an assistant carrying a brown leather folder. Everyone fell silent in hopeful expectation. The lawyer began by explaining that the contents of the will had not been disclosed until now, three months after Charles Lester’s death, at Mr Lester’s specific instruction. Having no son to whom to leave his fortune, he had wanted the dust to settle following his death before his final intentions were made clear.

  William looked around the room and studied the faces, many of which were clearly intent on every syllable coming from the lawyer’s mouth. Arthur Cromwell took nearly an hour to read the handwritten will. After reciting the usual bequests to family retainers, charities and a rather large donation to Harvard University, he went on to reveal that Charles Lester had divided the remainder of his fortune among his relations, treating them more or less according to their degree of kinship. His daughter Susan received the largest share of the estate, while his five nephews and three nieces each received an equal portion of the remainder. All their money and stock were to be held in trust by the bank until they were thirty. Several other cousins, aunts and distant relations were to receive cash payments.

  William was surprised when Mr Cromwell announced, ‘That disposes of all the known assets of the late Charles Lester.’

  People began to shuffle around in their seats, and a murmur of nervous conversation broke out.

  ‘It is not, however, the end of Mr Lester’s Last Will and Testament,’ said the imperturbable lawyer. Everyone stopped fidgeting, fearful of some late and unwelcome thunderbolt.

  Mr Cromwell went on. ‘I shall now continue in Mr Lester’s own words: “I have always considered that a bank and its reputation are only as good as the people who serve it. It was well known that I had hoped my son Matthew would succeed me as chairman of Lester’s, but his tragic and untimely death sadly intervened. Until now, I have never divulged my choice of a successor. I therefore wish it be known that I de
sire William Lowell Kane, son of one of my dearest friends, the late Richard Lowell Kane, and at present the deputy chairman of Kane and Cabot, to be appointed chairman of Lester’s Bank and Trust Company following the next full board meeting.” ‘

  There was an immediate uproar. Everyone looked around the room in search of the mysterious William Lowell Kane, of whom few but the immediate Lester family had ever heard.

  ‘I have not yet finished,’ said Arthur Cromwell quietly.

  Silence fell once more. Some of the would-be beneficiaries were now looking apprehensive.

  The lawyer continued: ‘All the above grants and divisions of stock in Lester and Company are expressly conditional upon the beneficiaries voting for Mr Kane at the next annual general meeting, and continuing to do so for at least the following five years, unless Mr Kane himself indicates that he does not wish to accept the chairmanship.’

  Uproar again replaced the quiet murmurings. William wished he were a million miles away, not sure whether to be deliriously happy or to concede that he was the most detested person in the room.

  ‘That concludes the Last Will and Testament of the late Charles Lester,’ said Mr Cromwell, but only the front row heard his words. William looked up to see Susan Lester walking towards him. The puppy fat had disappeared, but the attractive freckles remained. He smiled, but she walked straight past him without acknowledging his presence.

  As William made his way to the door, a tall, grey-haired man wearing a pin-striped suit and a silver tie caught up with him.

  ‘You are William Kane, are you not, sir?’

  ‘Yes, I am,’ said William nervously.

  ‘My name is Peter Parfitt,’ said the stranger.

  ‘One of the bank’s vice chairmen,’ said William.

  ‘Correct, sir. I do not know you, but I know something of your reputation, and I count myself lucky to have been acquainted with your distinguished father. If Charles Lester thought you were the right man to be chairman of his bank, that’s good enough for me.’

  William had never been so relieved in his life.

  ‘Where are you staying in New York?’ asked Parfitt.

  ‘At the Harvard Club.’

  ‘Splendid. May I ask if you are free for dinner tonight, by any chance?’

  ‘I had intended to return to Boston this evening,’ said William, ‘but now I expect I’ll have to stay in New York for a few more days.’

  ‘Good. Why don’t you join me and my wife for dinner at my home, say eight o’clock?’

  The banker handed William his card, with an address embossed in copperplate script. ‘I shall enjoy the opportunity of chatting with you in more convivial surroundings, and learning what plans you might have for the future of the bank.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ said William, pocketing the card as other people crowded around him. Some stared at him with hostility; others wanted to offer their congratulations.

  When William eventually managed to make his escape and return to the Harvard Club, the first thing he did was to phone Kate to tell her the news.

  She said very quietly, ‘How happy Matthew would be for you, darling.’

  William didn’t respond, aware that Matthew should have been the next chairman.

  ‘When are you coming home?’

  ‘Heaven knows. I’m dining tonight with a Mr Peter Parfitt, a vice chairman of Lester’s. He’s welcomed my appointment, which could make life much easier. I’ll spend the night here at the club and call you sometime tomorrow to let you know how things are panning out.’

  ‘All right, darling.’

  ‘All quiet on the Eastern Seaboard?’

  ‘Well, Virginia has cut a tooth and seems to think she deserves special attention, Richard was sent to bed early last night for being rude to Nanny, and we all miss you.’

  William laughed. ‘Makes my problems look fairly mundane. I’ll call you tomorrow, my darling.’

  ‘Yes, please do. By the way, many congratulations. I approve of Charles Lester’s judgement, even if we are going to have to move to New York.’

  William arrived at Peter Parfitt’s home on East Sixty-Fourth Street just after eight o’clock that evening, and was taken by surprise to find that his host had dressed for dinner. William felt slightly ill at ease in his dark banker’s suit, and explained to his hostess that he had originally intended to return to Boston that evening. Diana Parfitt, who turned out to be Peter’s second wife, could not have been more charming, and seemed as delighted as her husband that William was to be the next chairman of Lester’s. During an excellent dinner, William could not resist asking Parfitt how he thought the rest of the board would react to Charles Lester’s bombshell.

  ‘They’ll all fall in line,’ said Parfitt. ‘I’ve spoken to most of them already. There’s a full board meeting on Monday morning to confirm your appointment, and I can only see one small cloud on the horizon.’

  ‘What’s that?’ asked William, trying not to sound anxious.

  Well, between you and me, the other vice chairman, Ted Leach, was rather expecting to be appointed chairman himself. In fact, I think I would go as far as saying he assumed he was the natural successor. We’d all been informed that no nominations could be considered until after the will had been read, but Charles’s wishes must have come as rather a shock to Ted.’

  ‘Will he put up a fight?’ asked William.

  ‘I’m afraid he might, but there’s nothing for you to worry about.’

  ‘I don’t mind admitting,’ said Diana Parfitt as she studied the rather flat souffle in front of her, ‘that Ted Leach has never been my favourite man.’

  ‘Now, dear,’ said Parfitt reprovingly, ‘we mustn’t say anything behind Ted’s back before William has had a chance to judge for himself. There’s no doubt in my mind that the board will confirm William’s appointment at the meeting on Monday, and there’s even the possibility that Ted will resign.’

  ‘I don’t want anyone to feel he has to resign because of me,’ said William.

  ‘A very creditable attitude,’ said Parfitt. ‘But don’t bother yourself about a puff of wind. I’m confident that the whole matter is well under control. You return to Boston, and I’ll keep you informed on the lie of the land.’

  ‘Perhaps it might be wise if I dropped in to the bank tomorrow. Wouldn’t your colleagues find it a little curious if I make no attempt to meet any of them?’

  ‘No, I don’t think that would be advisable given the circumstances. In fact, it might be wiser for you to stay out of the way until the board has confirmed your appointment. They won’t want to seem any less independent than they can help, and some of them may already feel like glorified rubber stamps. Take my advice, Bill, you go back to Boston. I’ll call you with the good news around noon on Monday.’

  William reluctantly agreed, and went on to spend a pleasant evening discussing with the Parfitts where he and Kate might stay in New York while they were looking for a permanent home. He was somewhat surprised that Peter Parfitt seemed to have no desire to discuss his own views on the direction the bank should be taking, but assumed it was because his wife was present. The evening ended with a little too much brandy, and William did not arrive back at the Harvard Club until after one o’clock.

  The first thing he did on returning to Boston was to let Tony Simmons know what had transpired in New York; he did not want him to hear about the appointment from anyone else. Simmons turned out to be apprehensive when he heard the news.

  ‘I’m sorry that you’ll be leaving us, William. Lester’s may well be two or three times the size of Kane and Cabot, but it will be very hard to replace you. I hope you’ll consider very carefully before accepting the offer.’

  William was surprised by Tony’s response.

  ‘Frankly, Tony, I would have thought you’d be only too happy to see the back of me.’

  ‘William, when will you accept that my first interest has always been the bank? There has never been any doubt in my mind that you are one of th
e shrewdest investment advisors in America today. If you leave Kane and Cabot now, many of the bank’s most important clients will want to follow you.’

  ‘I wouldn’t even transfer my own trust funds to Lester’s,’ said William, ‘let alone expect any of the bank’s clients to move their accounts because I’d left.’

  ‘Of course you wouldn’t solicit them to join you, William, that’s not your style, but some of them will want you to continue managing their portfolios. Like your father and Charles Lester, they believe quite rightly that banking is about people and reputations.’

  William and Kate spent a tense weekend awaiting a call from Peter Parfitt following the result of the board meeting in New York. William sat nervously in his office the whole of Monday morning, answering every telephone call personally, but he had still heard nothing as the morning dragged into the afternoon. He didn’t even leave the office for lunch. Parfitt finally called a little after five.

  ‘I’m afraid there’s been an unexpected development, Bill,’ were his opening words.

  William’s heart sank.

  ‘Nothing for you to worry about, but the board wants the right to oppose your nomination and put up their own candidate. One of them has produced legal opinions suggesting that the relevant clause in the will has no validity. I’ve been given the unpleasant task of asking if you would be willing to fight an election against the board’s candidate.’

  ‘Who would be the board’s candidate?’ asked William.

  ‘No names have been mentioned yet, but I imagine it will be Ted Leach. No one else has shown any interest in running against you.’

  ‘I’d like a little time to think about it,’ William replied. ‘When will the next board meeting be?’