Part 23 (1/2)
I placed the phone into my carryall, which had been placed into the boat, no doubt while I lay in a drugged stupor. All my clothes were neatly pressed and folded.
Henry. Right and proper to the last.
Such an enigmatic man, so devoted to duty, just like the captain. Two dinosaurs in a world that no longer had any room for them.
The t.i.tanic was farther away now, and I noticed all its lights were ablaze, and I could hear, very faintly, the strains of a waltz being played by the band. I glanced at my watch, and saw it was now just after eleven. In about half an hour, at precisely 11:40, the explosive rivets would detonate, ripping open the hull and letting in the icy Atlantic-just as it did one hundred years before.
And just as it did on that cold April night so long ago, R.M.S. t.i.tanic would crack in half and sink to a watery grave two and a half miles down to rest beside its rusted ancestor. Only this time, no other lifeboats would be launched.
This time, there would only be one survivor....
20.
I closed the MacBook and sat back in my chair, regarding Solly and Ken with tired eyes and a battered soul. At their request, I'd returned to the Harvard Club the next day. It was now late afternoon and the sun slanted through the Commonwealth Lounge's windows, making bright grid patterns on the thick red carpet. I took a sip of my wine and spoke.
”In case you were wondering, I did what Harlan asked me, what I'd promised him. I didn't use the satellite phone until dawn the next morning. In all, I spent two full days in that lifeboat before a Coast Guard helicopter found me and brought me back to their station in Portland, Maine. Except for some minor exposure, I was fine. And that was the end of it. Now you know....”
Ken and Solly were silent, as were the half dozen other members scattered about the lounge who'd listened in. That old cliche about a pin dropping would have found a home there.
Solly removed the unlit cigar from his mouth and rubbed the bridge of his nose, a deep sigh escaping his lungs. ”So, that's it, then,” he said, drawing out the words. ”Harlan and all those people just pulled the G.o.dd.a.m.ned plug. Is that what you're telling us?”
”You calling me a liar, Solly? You heard those people in their own words. You saw the looks in their eyes. They all wanted to die.”
”And I suppose that broad you met, she wanted to die, too.”
”Yes,” I said, meeting his smoldering gaze.
”Well, I think it's c.r.a.p. There's something you're not telling us. Harlan wouldn't do that!”
I shook my head, and gathered up my disks. I could see this whole thing had been a ma.s.sive waste of time. Some people, when faced with a situation of such horrific proportions, refuse to acknowledge the truth of it, even when the evidence is shoved down their throats.
”Where are you going?” Solly demanded, sitting up in his chair.
”I don't know. Out of here.”
”You sit down and tell me the f.u.c.king truth!”
”Come on, Solly, cool it,” Ken said, touching him on the arm.
The big man shook him off. ”b.u.t.ton it, Ken, Trevor and I are talking. Why don't you go and play businessman, or something.”
Ken leapt up from his chair and delivered a roundhouse punch to Solly's chin, knocking him over backwards onto the carpet. He lay there, stunned-both from the blow and Ken's unexpected reaction.
Ken stood over him, pointing a finger down into his chubby face.
”This is the last G.o.dd.a.m.ned time you ever put me down. You hear me, you fat piece of s.h.i.+t?” Solly nodded dumbly, rubbing his chin. ”Good, then I want you to get up and get the h.e.l.l out of here, go take Karen to a show...or something.”
Solly struggled to his feet, his face mottled red. He looked as if he was going to say something else, to get in the last word, as he'd always done before. Then he deflated, looking for all the world like what he was: a middle-aged bully who'd finally been put in his place.
”Screw it,” he said, and stalked out of the room.
After Solly left, Ken turned to me. ”I'm sorry for that, Trev.”
”I'm not,” I said, smiling. ”I've wanted to do that for years. But I'm glad it was you.”
Ken gave me a lopsided grin. ”Yeah, me too.”
”Can I buy you a drink?”
”Thanks, but I've got to be going. I've got a date.”
”Hey, that's great! And it's about time.”
”I thought so, too. I saw Marge and her boyfriend down at Fanueil Hall the other day. She looked so happy. I was angry as h.e.l.l at first, wanted to wring her neck. But all of a sudden I realized she had every right to be happy. And so did I. The next day I asked out my Executive Vice President. Boy, was she surprised.”
”Did she accept?”
”Yeah. And you know what she said? 'What took you so long?' Can you beat that?” Ken laughed. ”You know, Trev, for what it's worth, I'm sorry, for Harlan, for Maddy, for a lot of things. Mostly for being such a spineless wimp.”
”But not anymore.”
”No, not anymore.... You going to be all right?” he asked.
”Yeah, I think so.”
”What are you going to do?”
”I've got a book to write.”
”Yeah, well that's an understatement,” Ken said, his grin widening.
I stood up and stuck out my hand. Ken knocked it aside and enveloped me in a bear hug.
”You take care, kiddo.”
Hearing him use Harlan's pet name for me brought tears to my eyes. He clapped me on the back and left.
A few minutes later I did too, hailing a cab at the corner of Ma.s.sachusetts and Commonwealth Avenues.
When I got home, I set up the MacBook at my desk and brought up my word processor and the first two chapters. While I liked what I'd written, there were a couple of parts still bothering me and I wanted to get right to it, as Marty was now calling me three times a day, wanting to know how I was doing.
”Time to screw the muse, right Marty?” I said with a smile I barely felt.
”You have a call,” Millie said, her voice booming through the surround speakers. Startled, I reached for the volume and turned it down a few notches.