The Stars Shine Down (23 page)

He shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, Lara. I’m just not ready to go out.”

The following morning Philip’s barber and a manicurist appeared at the apartment. Philip was taken aback. “What’s all this?”

“If Mohammed won’t go to the mountain, the mountain comes to Mohammed. They’ll be here every week for you.”

“You’re a wonder,” Philip said.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Lara grinned.

The following day, a tailor arrived with some sample swatches for suits and shirts.

“What’s going on?” Philip asked.

Lara said, “You’re the only man I know who has six pairs of tails, four dinner jackets, and two suits. I think it’s time we got you a proper wardrobe.”

“Why?” Philip protested. “I’m not going anywhere.”

But he allowed himself to be fitted for the suits and shirts.

A few days later a custom shoemaker arrived.

“Now what?” Philip asked.

“It’s time you had some new shoes.”

“I told you, I’m not going out.”

“I know, baby. But when you do, your shoes will be ready.”

Philip held her close. “I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s what I keep telling you.”

They were in a meeting at the office. Howard Keller was saying, “We’re losing the shopping mall in Los Angeles. The banks have decided to call in the loans.”

“They can’t do that.”

“They’re doing it,” Keller said. “We’re overleveraged.”

“We can pay the loans off by borrowing on one of the other buildings.”

Keller said, patiently, “Lara, you’re already leveraged to the hilt. You have a sixty-million-dollar payment coming up on the skyscraper.”

“I know that, but completion is only four months away now. We can roll the loan over. The building’s on schedule, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Keller was studying her thoughtfully. It was a question she never would have asked one year ago. Then she would have known exactly where everything stood. “I think it might be better if you spent more time here in the office,” Keller told her. “Too many things are becoming unraveled. There are some decisions that only you can make.”

Lara nodded. “All right,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll be in tomorrow morning.

“William Ellerbee is on the telephone for you,” Marian announced.

“Tell him I can’t talk to him.” Philip watched her as she returned to the phone.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ellerbee. Mr. Adler is not available just now. Can I take a message?” She listened a moment. “I’ll tell him. Thank you.” She replaced the receiver and looked up at Philip. “He’s really anxious to have lunch with you.”

“He probably wants to talk about the commissions he’s not getting anymore.”

“You’re probably right,” Marian said mildly. “I’m sure he must hate you because you were attacked.”

Philip said quietly, “Sorry. Is that the way I sounded?”

“Yes.”

“How do you put up with me?”

Marian smiled. “It’s not that difficult.”

The following day William Ellerbee called again. Philip was out of the room. Marian spoke to Ellerbee for a few minutes, then went to find Philip.

“That was Mr. Ellerbee,” Marian said.

“Next time tell him to stop calling.”

“Maybe you should tell him yourself,” Marian said. “You’re having lunch with him Thursday at one o’clock.”

“I’m what?”

“He suggested Le Cirque, but I thought a smaller restaurant might be better.” She looked at the pad in her hand. “He’s going to meet you at Fu’s at one. I’ll arrange for Max to drive you there.”

Philip was staring at her, furious. “You made a lunch date for me without asking me?”

She said calmly, “If I had asked you, you wouldn’t have gone. You can fire me if you want to.”

He glared at her for a long moment, and then he broke into a slow smile. “You know something? I haven’t had Chinese food in a long time.”

When Lara arrived from the office, Philip said, “I’m going out for lunch on Thursday with Ellerbee.”

“That’s wonderful, darling! When did you decide that?”

“Marian decided it for me. She thought it would be a good idea for me to get out.”

“Oh, really?”
But you wouldn’t go out when I suggested it.
“That was very thoughtful of her.”

“Yes. She’s quite a woman.”

I’ve been stupid,
Lara thought.
I shouldn’t have thrown them together like this. And Philip is so vulnerable right now.

That was the moment when Lara knew she had to get rid of Marian.

When Lara arrived home the following day, Philip and Marian were playing backgammon in the game room.

Our game,
Lara thought.

“How can I beat you if you keep rolling doubles?” Philip was saying, laughing.

Lara stood in the doorway watching. She had not heard Philip laugh in a long time.

Marian looked up and saw her. “Good evening, Mrs. Adler.”

Philip sprang to his feet. “Hello, darling.” He kissed her. “She’s beating the pants off me.”

Not if I can help it,
Lara thought.

“Will you need me tonight, Mrs. Adler?”

“No, Marian. You can run along. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thank you. Good night.”

“Good night, Marian.”

They watched her leave.

“She’s good company,” Philip said.

Lara stroked his cheek. “I’m glad, darling.”

“How’s everything at the office?”

“Fine.” She had no intention of burdening Philip with her problems. She would have to fly to Reno and talk to the Gaming Commission again. If she were forced to, she would find a way to survive their cutting off the gambling at the hotel, but it would make it a lot easier if she could dissuade them.

“Philip, I’m afraid I’m going to have to start spending more time at the office. Howard can’t make all the decisions himself.”

“No problem. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to Reno in the next day or two,” Lara said. “Why don’t you come with me?”

Philip shook his head. “I’m not ready yet.” He looked at his crippled left hand. “Not yet.”

“All right, darling. I shouldn’t be gone more than two or three days.”

Early the following morning when Marian Bell arrived for work, Lara was waiting for her. Philip was still asleep.

“Marian…you know the diamond bracelet that Mr. Adler gave me for my birthday?”

“Yes, Mrs. Adler?”

“When did you see it last?”

She stopped to think. “It was on the dressing table in your bedroom.”

“So you did see it?”

“Why, yes. Is something wrong?”

“I’m afraid there is. The bracelet is missing.”

Marian was staring at her. “Missing? Who could have…?”

“I’ve questioned the staff here. They don’t know anything about it.”

“Shall I call the police and…?”

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t want to do anything that might embarrass you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you? For your sake, I think it would be best if we dropped the whole matter.”

Marian was staring at Lara in shock. “You know I didn’t take that bracelet, Mrs. Adler.”

“I don’t know anything of the kind. You’ll have to leave.” And she hated herself for what she was doing.
But no one is going to take Philip away from me. No one.

When Philip came down to breakfast, Lara said, “By the way, I’m getting a new secretary to work here at the apartment.”

Philip looked at her in surprise. “What happened to Marian?”

“She quit. She was offered a…a job in San Francisco.”

He looked at Lara in surprise. “Oh. That’s too bad. I thought she liked it here.”

“I’m sure she did, but we wouldn’t want to stand in her way, would we?”
Forgive me,
Lara thought.

“No, of course not,” Philip said. “I’d like to wish her luck. Is she…?”

“She’s gone.”

Philip said, “I guess I’ll have to find a new backgammon partner.”

“When things settle down a bit, I’ll be here for you.”

Philip and William Ellerbee were seated in a corner table at Fu’s restaurant.

Ellerbee said, “It’s so good to see you, Philip. I’ve been calling you, but…”

“I know, I’m sorry. I haven’t felt like talking to anyone, Bill.”

“I hope they catch the bastard who did this to you.”

“The police have been good enough to explain to me that muggings are not a high priority in their lives. They equate it just below lost cats. They’ll never catch him.”

Ellerbee said hesitantly, “I understand that you’re not going to be able to play again.”

“You understand right.” Philip held up his crippled hand. “It’s dead.”

Ellerbee leaned forward and said earnestly, “But
you’re
not, Philip. You still have your whole life ahead of you.”

“Doing what?”

“Teaching.”

There was a wry smile on Philip’s lips. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? I had thought about doing that one day when I was through giving concerts.”

Ellerbee said quietly, “Well, that day is here, isn’t it? I took the liberty of talking to the head of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. They would give anything to have you teach there.”

Philip frowned. “That would mean my moving up there. Lara’s headquarters are in New York.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t do that to her. You don’t know how wonderful she’s been to me, Bill.”

“I’m sure she has.”

“She’s practically given up her business to take care of me. She’s the most thoughtful, considerate woman I’ve ever known. I’m crazy about her.”

“Philip, would you at least think about the offer from Eastman?”

“Tell them I appreciate it, but I’m afraid the answer is no.”

“If you change your mind, will you let me know?”

Philip nodded. “You’ll be the first.”

When Philip returned to the penthouse, Lara had gone to the office. He wandered around the apartment, restless. He thought about his conversation with Ellerbee.
I would love to teach,
Philip thought,
but I can’t ask Lara to move to Rochester, and I can’t go there without her.

He heard the front door open. “Lara?”

It was Marian. “Oh, I’m sorry, Philip. I didn’t know anyone was here. I came to return my key.”

“I thought you’d be in San Francisco by now.”

She looked at him, puzzled. “San Francisco? Why?”

“Isn’t that where your new job is?”

“I have no new job.”

“But Lara said…”

Marian suddenly understood. “I see. She didn’t tell you why she fired me?”

“Fired you? She told me that you quit…that you had a better offer.”

“That’s not true.”

Philip said slowly, “I think you’d better sit down.”

They sat across from each other. “What’s going on here?” Philip asked.

Marian took a deep breath. “I think your wife believes that I…that I had designs on you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She accused me of stealing the diamond bracelet you gave her, as an excuse to fire me. I’m sure she has it put away somewhere.”

“I can’t believe this,” Philip protested. “Lara would never do anything like that.”

“She would do anything to hold on to you.”

He was studying her, bewildered. “I…I don’t know what to say. Let me talk to Lara and…”

“No. Please don’t. It might be better if you didn’t let her know I was here.” She rose.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll find another job.”

“Marian, if there’s anything I can do…”

“There is nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Take care of yourself, Philip.” And she was gone.

Philip watched her leave, disturbed. He couldn’t believe that Lara could be guilty of such a deception, and he wondered why she hadn’t told him about it. Perhaps, he thought, Marian
did
steal the bracelet, and Lara had not wanted to upset him. Marian was lying.

T
he pawnshop was on South State Street in the heart of the Loop. When Jesse Shaw walked through the door, the old man behind the counter looked up.

“Good morning. Can I help you?”

Shaw laid a wristwatch on the counter. “How much will you give me for this?”

The pawnbroker picked up the watch and studied it. “A Piaget. Nice watch.”

“Yeah. I hate like hell to part with it, but I’ve run into a little bad luck. You understand what I mean?”

The pawnbroker shrugged. “It’s my business to understand. You wouldn’t believe the hard-luck stories I hear.”

“I’ll redeem it in a few days. I’m starting a new job Monday. Meanwhile, I need to get as much cash as I can for it.”

The pawnbroker was looking at the watch more closely.
On the back of the case, some writing had been scratched off. He looked at the customer. “If you’ll excuse me a minute, I’ll take a look at the movement. Sometimes these watches are made in Bangkok, and they forget to put anything inside.”

He took the watch into the back room. He put a loupe to his eye and studied the scratch marks. He could faintly make out the letters “T Phi p wi h L v fro L ra.” The old man opened a drawer and took out a police flyer. It had a description of the watch and the engraving on the back, “To Philip with Love from Lara.” He started to pick up the telephone when the customer yelled, “Hey, I’m in a hurry. Do you want the watch or don’t you?”

“I’m coming,” the pawnbroker said. He walked back into the next room. “I can loan you five hundred dollars on it.”

“Five hundred? This watch is worth…”

“Take it or leave it.”

“All right,” Shaw said grudgingly. “I’ll take it.”

“You’ll have to fill out this form,” the pawnbroker said. “Sure.” He wrote down
John Jones, 21 Hunt Street.
As far as he knew, there was no Hunt Street in Chicago, and he sure as hell was not John Jones. He pocketed the cash. “Much obliged. I’ll be back in a few days for it.”

“Right.”

The pawnbroker picked up the telephone and made a call.

A detective arrived at the pawnshop twenty minutes later.

“Why didn’t you call while he was here?” he demanded.

“I tried. He was in a hurry, and he was jumpy.”

The detective studied the form the customer had filled out.

“That won’t do you no good,” the pawnbroker said. “It’s probably a false name and address.”

The detective grunted. “No kidding. Did he fill this out himself?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll nail him.”

At police headquarters it took the computer less than three minutes to identify the thumbprint on the form.
Jesse Shaw.

The butler came into the drawing room. “Excuse me, Mr. Adler, there’s a gentleman on the telephone for you. A Lieutenant Mancini. Shall I…?”

“I’ll take it.” Philip picked up the telephone. “Hello?”

“Philip Adler?”

“Yes…?”

“This is Lieutenant Mancini. I came to see you in the hospital.”

“I remember.”

“I wanted to bring you up-to-date on what’s happening. We had a bit of luck. I told you that our chief was going to send out flyers to pawnshops with a description of your watch?”

“Yes.”

“They found it. The watch was pawned in Chicago. They’re tracking down the person who pawned it. You did say that you could identify your assailant, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. We’ll be in touch.”

Jerry Townsend came into Lara’s office. He was excited. “I’ve worked out the party list we talked about. The more I think about the idea, the better I like it. We’ll celebrate your fortieth birthday on the day the tallest skyscraper in the world opens.” He handed Lara the list. “I’ve included the Vice President. He’s a big admirer of yours.”

Lara scanned it. It read like a who’s who from Washington,
Hollywood, New York, and London. There were government officials, motion picture celebrities, rock stars…It was impressive.

“I like it,” Lara said. “Let’s go with it.”

Townsend put the list in his pocket. “Right. I’ll have the invitations printed up and sent out. I’ve already called Carlos and told him to reserve the Grand Ballroom and arrange your favorite menu. We’re setting up for two hundred people. We can always add or subtract a few if we have to. By the way, is there any more news on the Reno situation?”

Lara had talked to Terry Hill that morning.
“A grand jury is investigating, Lara. There’s a possibility that they’ll hand down a criminal indictment.”

“How can they? The fact that I had some conversations with Paul Martin doesn’t prove anything. We could have been talking about the state of the world, or his ulcers, or a dozen other damned things.”

“Lara, don’t get angry with me. I’m on your side.”

“Then do something. You’re my lawyer. Get me the hell out of this.”

“No. Everything is fine,” Lara told Townsend.

“Good. I understand that you and Philip are going to the mayor’s dinner Saturday night.”

“Yes.” She had wanted to turn down the invitation at first, but Philip had insisted.

“You need these people. You can’t afford to offend them. I want you to go.”

“Not without you, darling.”

He had taken a deep breath. “All right. I’ll go with you. I guess it’s time I stopped being a hermit.”

Saturday evening Lara helped Philip get dressed. She put his studs and cuff links in his shirt and tied his tie for him. He stood there, silently, cursing his helplessness.

“It’s like Ken and Barbie, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“There you are, darling. You’ll be the most handsome man there.”

“Thanks.”

“I’d better get dressed,” Lara said. “The mayor doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“I’ll be in the library,” Philip told her.

Thirty minutes later Lara walked into the library. She looked ravishing. She was dressed in a beautiful white Oscar de la Renta gown. On her wrist was the diamond bracelet Philip had given her.

Philip had difficulty sleeping Saturday night. He looked across the bed at Lara and wondered how she could have falsely accused Marian of stealing the bracelet. He knew he had to confront her with it, but he wanted to speak with Marian first.

Early Sunday morning, while Lara was still asleep, Philip quietly got dressed and left the penthouse. He took a taxi to Marian’s apartment. He rang the bell and waited.

A sleepy voice said, “Who is it?”

“It’s Philip. I have to talk to you.”

The door opened and Marian stood there.

“Philip? Is something wrong?”

“We have to talk.”

“Come in.”

He entered the apartment. “I’m sorry if I woke you up,” Philip said, “but this is important.”

“What’s happened?”

He took a deep breath. “You were right about the bracelet. Lara wore it last night. I owe you an apology. I thought…perhaps that you…I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Marian said quietly, “Of course, you would have believed her. She’s your wife.”

“I’m going to confront Lara with it this morning, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

Marian turned to him. “I’m glad you did. I don’t want you to discuss it with her.”

“Why not?” Philip demanded. “And why would she do such a thing?”

“You don’t know, do you?”

“Frankly, no. It makes no sense.”

“I think I understand her better than you do. Lara is madly in love with you. She would do anything to hold on to you. You’re probably the only person she has ever really loved in her life. She needs you. And I think you need her. You love her very much, don’t you, Philip?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s forget all this. If you bring it up to her, it won’t do any good, and it will only make things worse between the two of you. I can easily find another job.”

“But it’s unfair to you, Marian.”

She smiled wryly. “Life isn’t always fair, is it?”
If it were, I would be Mrs. Philip Adler.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“At least let me do something for you. Let me give you some money to make up for…”

“Thank you, but no.”

There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew that it was hopeless. He was a man in love. What she said was: “Go back to her, Philip.”

The construction site was on Chicago’s Wabash Avenue, south of the Loop. It was a twenty-five-story office building, and it was half finished. An unmarked police car pulled up to the corner, and two detectives got out. They walked over
to the site and stopped one of the workers passing by. “Where’s the foreman?”

He pointed to a huge, burly man cursing out a workman. “Over there.”

The detectives went over to him. “Are you in charge here?”

He turned and said impatiently, “I’m not only in charge, I’m very busy. What do you want?”

“Do you have a man in your crew named Jesse Shaw?”

“Shaw? Sure. He’s up there.” The foreman pointed to a man working on a steel girder a dozen stories up.

“Would you ask him to come down, please?”

“Hell, no. He has work to…”

One of the detectives pulled out a badge. “Get him down here.”

“What’s the problem? Is Jesse in some kind of trouble?”

“No, we just want to talk to him.”

“Okay.” The foreman turned to one of the men working nearby. “Go up top and tell Jesse to come down here.”

“Right.”

A few minutes later Jesse Shaw was approaching the two detectives.

“These men want to talk to you,” the foreman said, and walked away.

Jesse grinned at the two men. “Thanks. I can use a break. What can I do for you?”

One of the detectives pulled out a wristwatch. “Is this your watch?”

Shaw’s grin faded. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” He pointed to his wrist. “I wear a Seiko.”

“But you pawned this watch.”

Shawn hesitated. “Oh, yeah. I did. The bastard only gave me five hundred for it. It’s worth at least…”

“You said it wasn’t your watch.”

“That’s right. It’s not.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it.”

“Really? Where?”

“On the sidewalk near my apartment building.” He was warming up to his story. “It was in the grass, and I got out of my car, and there it was. The sun hit the band and made it sparkle. That’s how I happened to see it.”

“Lucky it wasn’t a cloudy day.”

“Yeah.”

“Mr. Shaw, do you like to travel?”

“No.”

“That’s too bad. You’re going to take a little trip to New York. We’ll help you pack.”

When they got to Shaw’s apartment, the two detectives began looking around.

“Hold it!” Shaw said. “You guys got a search warrant?”

“We don’t need one. We’re just helping you pack your things.”

One of the men was looking in a clothes closet. There was a shoe box high up on a shelf. He took it down and opened it. “Jesus!” he said. “Look what Santa Claus left.”

Lara was in her office when Kathy’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Tilly is on line four, Miss Cameron.”

Tilly was the project manager on Cameron Towers.

Lara picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“We had a little problem this morning, Miss Cameron.”

“Yes?”

“We had a fire. It’s out now.”

“What happened?”

“There’s was an explosion in the air-conditioning unit. A
transformer blew. There was a short circuit. It looks like someone wired it up wrong.”

“How bad is it?”

“Well, it looks like we’ll lose a day or two. We should be able to clean everything up and rewire it by then.”

“Stay on it. Keep me informed.”

Lara came home late each evening, worried and exhausted.

“I’m concerned about you,” Philip told her. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Nothing, darling. Thank you.” She managed a smile. “Just a few problems at the office.”

He took her in his arms. “Did I ever tell you that I’m mad about you?”

She looked up at him and smiled. “Tell me again.”

“I’m mad about you.”

She held him close and thought,
This is what I want. This is what I need.
“Darling, when my little problems are over, let’s go away somewhere. Just the two of us.”

“It’s a deal.”

Someday,
Lara thought,
I must tell him what I did to Marian. I know it was wrong. But I would die if I lost him.

The following day Tilly called again. “Did you cancel the order for the marble for the lobby floors?”

Lara said slowly, “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Somebody did. The marble was supposed to have been delivered today. When I called, they said it was canceled two months ago by your order.”

Lara sat there fuming. “I see. How badly are we delayed?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Tell them to put a rush on it.”

Keller came into Lara’s office.

“I’m afraid the banks are getting nervous, Lara. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off.”

“Just until Cameron Towers is finished. We’re almost there, Howard. We’re only three months away from completion.”

“I told them that,” he sighed. “All right. I’ll talk to them again.”

Kathy’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Tilly’s on line one.”

Lara looked at Keller. “Don’t go.” She picked up the phone. “Yes?” Lara said.

“We’re having another problem here, Miss Cameron.”

“I’m listening,” Lara said.

“The elevators are malfunctioning. The programs are out of sync, and the signals are all screwed up. You press the button for down, and it goes up. Press the eighteenth floor, and it will take you to the basement. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Do you think it was done deliberately?”

“It’s hard to say. Could have been carelessness.”

“How long will it take to straighten it out?”

“I have some people on the way over now.”

“Get back to me.” She replaced the receiver.

“Is everything all right?” Keller asked.

Lara evaded the question. “Howard, have you heard anything about Steve Murchison lately?”

He looked at her, surprised. “No. Why?”

“I just wondered.”

The consortium of bankers financing Cameron Enterprises had good reason to be concerned. It was not only Cameron Enterprises that was in trouble; a majority of their corporate clients had serious problems. The decline in junk bonds had
become a full-fledged disaster, and it was a crippling blow to the corporations that had depended on them.