Connie shook her head. "What can anyone do, Mike? Obviously, Lenny and Grace were not who we thought they were."
Michael Gray looked surprised. "You don't seriously think Grace is guilty of these charges, do you?"
Connie shrugged. "I don't know what to think anymore. The world's gone mad."
"Yes, but money laundering? Grace?"
"I don't see what's so impossible about that. After all, look at Lenny. We all loved and respected him. But it turns out he was nothing but a thief and a coward."
There was a venom in Connie's voice that Michael had never heard before. It frightened him.
"We all know Grace was obsessed with Lenny. Who knows what she might have done to protect him, or to help him?"
MARIA PRESTON TREATED GRACE'S ARREST LIKE an exciting episode in one of her soap operas.
"The police are saying that Grace stole John Merrivale's partnership. That she and Lenny were planning to rip him off as well as the investors and run off with all the money! 'Grace Brookstein is the Quorum Fund's only living partner,' that's what it says here. 'That makes her legally responsible for all of Quorum's losses.' Can you believe that?"
Andrew couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe any of it. Since that fateful trip to Nantucket, he'd barely slept.
I've been lucky so far. The FBI has bigger fish to fry. But the knock on the door will come eventually. I know it will.
It wasn't exposure itself that scared him, or even prison. It was losing Maria. Everything he'd done, he'd done for her. And she thinks the whole thing's a game!
"I think I'll wear my new Dior to the trial. The fuchsia one."
"We're not going to the trial."
"Not going? But, Andy, everyone will be there."
"Jesus, Maria, it's not a fucking Broadway show!" It was so rare for Andrew to lose his temper, Maria just stared at him. She rather liked this new, macho Andrew. "Billions of dollars are missing. The feds are all over us like a rash. Everyone at Quorum's under suspicion."
"Well, they won't be anymore," said Maria cheerfully, cutting herself another slice of panettone. "It looks like the FBI has found its sacrificial lamb. Sweet little butter-wouldn't-melt Gracie is going to jail."
Andrew thought, I hope so, then realized what a terrible thought that was.
When had he become so callous, so coldhearted?
I don't recognize myself anymore. Oh, Maria! What have you done to me?
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO JAIL, GRACE. Let's get that straight from the get-go. You're innocent, and you're going to plead innocent. Okay?"
Grace nodded weakly. It was all so confusing.
Frank Hammond seemed so upbeat. Not like her first lawyer, Kevin McGuire. Kevin was an old friend of Grace's parents from East Hampton. Grace called him the day she was arrested. She wanted him to rescue her from the bullying agent with the dead eyes, and he had. But once they were alone, he didn't pull his punches.
"As a full partner in Quorum, you're legally liable for Lenny's actions, whether you actually made any decisions or not," Kevin told her. "You have to plead guilty."
"But I never even knew I was a partner."
Kevin McGuire was sympathetic, but firm. Ignorance might be a moral defense, but it wasn't a legal one. "You signed the contract, Grace. If you don't take responsibility, the judge may be even harsher at sentencing." He was firm about bail, too. "My advice is not to seek it."
Grace couldn't believe it. "You mean...you want me to stay in jail? But it could be months before the case gets to court."
"It will be months. And I know it's tough. But believe me, Grace, you're safer in there. I don't think you fully appreciate the anger people feel toward you and Lenny."
He was right. Grace didn't. Apart from the small crowd who heckled her when she left her apartment to stay with the Merrivales, she'd had little or no direct contact with the outside world since she returned to New York. John refused to let her watch the TV reports, and did not allow newspapers in the house. The day after the coroner officially ruled Lenny's death a suicide, Kevin McGuire had shown Grace some of the headlines she'd been shielded from.
BROOKSTEIN TOOK COWARD'S WAY OUT
"DESPICABLE" CON MAN COMMITS SUICIDE, CHEATS JUSTICE
BROOKSTEINS "MOST HATED COUPLE IN AMERICA"
A week ago, the headlines would have shocked her. Now, having been through the horror of identifying Lenny's body, Grace doubted anything would have the power to shock her ever again. Instead she felt numb. Dissociated.
Are they talking about Lenny? About me? How can people hate us? We haven't done anything wrong.
As for the idea of Lenny committing suicide, well, that was just ludicrous. Anyone who had ever met him knew that Lenny loved life. He would have clung to life to the bitter end, no matter what. It was an accident, a freak storm. No one could have predicted what happened that day.
Kevin McGuire kept trying to get her to focus on the present, to acknowledge the fact that she may well be sent to prison. But Kevin didn't understand. Prison didn't frighten Grace. It didn't matter what happened to her. Without Lenny, nothing mattered anymore. The world could hold no joy for Grace, no hope. They may as well lock me up. My life's already over.
Once again, it was John Merrivale who had ridden to her rescue and made her see sense. The whole world was accusing Grace of betraying him, of conspiring with Lenny to "steal" his stake in Quorum, but John's loyalty remained unwavering. "It's a mistake, Grace, all right? A mistake. I don't know why Lenny d-did it, but he must have had his reasons."
"You know he would never have tried to cheat you John. Neither of us would."