the Third Twin

58

JEANNIE WROTE THE PRESS RELEASE, LISA ACCESSED WorldSpan Travelshopper and checked flights, and Steve got the Yellow Pages and started calling all the major hotels to say: “Do you have a press conference scheduled tomorrow for Genetico Inc. or Landsmann?”

After six tries it occurred to him that the press conference did not have to take place in a hotel. It could be held in a restaurant or a more exotic location such as on board a ship; or they might have a big enough room at Genetico headquarters, just north of the city. But on his seventh call a helpful desk clerk said: “Yes, that’s in the Regency Room at noon, sir.”

“Great!” Steve said. Jeannie looked questioningly at him, and Steve grinned and made a thumbs-up sign. “Could I reserve a room for tonight, please?”

“I’ll connect you with reservations. Please hold on for one moment.”

He booked a room, paying with his mother’s American Express card. As he hung up, Lisa said: “There are three flights that would get Henry King here on time, all US Air. They leave at six-twenty, seven-forty, and nine forty-five. Seats are available on all of them.”

“Book a seat on the nine forty-five,” Jeannie said.

Steve passed Lisa the credit card and she tapped in the details.

Jeannie said: “I still don’t know how to persuade him to come.”

“Did you say he’s a student, working in a bar?” Steve said. “Yeah.”

“He needs money. Let me try something. What’s his number?”

Jeannie gave it to him. “He’s called Hank,” she said.

Steve called the number. No one answered the phone. He shook his head disappointedly. “Nobody home,” he said.

Jeannie looked downcast for a moment, then she snapped her fingers. “Maybe he’s working at that bar.” She gave Steve the number and he dialed it.

The phone was answered by a man with a Hispanic accent. “The Blue Note.”

“May I speak to Hank?”

“He’s supposed to be working, you know?” the man said irritably.

Steve grinned at Jeannie and mouthed He’s there! “It’s very important, I won’t keep him long.”

A minute later a voice just like Steve’s own came down the line. “Yeah, who’s this?”

“Hi, Hank, my name is Steve Logan, and we have something in common.”

“Are you selling something?”

“Your mother and mine both received treatment at a place called the Aventine Clinic before we were born. You can check that with her.”

“Yeah, so?”

“To cut a long story short, I’m suing the clinic for ten million dollars and I’d like you to join in the suit with me.”

There was a thoughtful pause. “I don’t know if you’re for real or not, buddy, but either way I don’t have the money for a lawsuit.”

“I’ll pay all the legal costs. I don’t want your money.”

“So why are you calling me?”

“Because my case would be strengthened by having you on board.”

“You better write me with the details—”

“That’s the problem. I need you to be here in Baltimore, at the Stouffer Hotel, tomorrow at noon. I’m holding a press conference ahead of my lawsuit and I want you to appear.”

“Who wants to go to Baltimore? Like, it’s not Honolulu.”

Get serious, asshole. “You have a reservation on the US Air flight out of Logan at nine forty-five. Your ticket is paid for, you can check with the airline. Just pick it up at the airport.”

“You’re offering to split ten million dollars with me?”

“Oh, no. You get your own ten million.”

“What are you suing them for?”

“Breach of implied contract by fraud.”

“I’m a business student. Isn’t there a statute of limitations on that? Anything that happened twenty-three years ago—”

“There is a statute of limitations, but it runs from the time of discovery of the fraud. Which in this case was last week.”

In the background, a Hispanic voice shouted: “Hey, Hank, you got about a hundred customers waiting!”

Hank said into the phone: “You’re beginning to sound a little more convincing.”

“Does that mean you’ll come?”

“Hell, no. It means I’ll think about it after I get off work tonight. Now I have to serve drinks.”

“You can reach me at the hotel,” Steve said, but he was too late: Hank had hung up.

Jeannie and Lisa were staring at him.

He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said frustratedly. “I don’t know if I convinced him or not.”

Lisa said: “We’ll just have to wait and see if he shows up.”

“What does Wayne Stattner do for a living?”

“He owns nightclubs. He probably already has ten million dollars.”

“Then we’ll have to pique his curiosity. Do you have a number?”

“Yes.”

Steve called it, and got an answering machine. “Hi, Wayne, my name is Steve Logan and you may notice that my voice sounds exactly like yours. That’s because, believe it or not, we are identical. I’m six feet two, a hundred and ninety pounds, and I look exactly like you except for hair color. Some other things we probably have in common: I’m allergic to macadamia nuts, I have no nails on my little toes, and when I’m thinking I scratch the back of my left hand with the fingers of my right. Now here’s the kicker: We’re not twins. There are several of us. One committed a crime at Jones Falls University last Sunday—that’s why you got a visit from the Baltimore police yesterday. And we’re meeting tomorrow at the Stouffer Hotel in Baltimore at noon. This is weird, Wayne, but I swear to you it’s all true. Call me or Dr. Jean Ferrami at the hotel, or just show up. It will be interesting.” He hung up and looked at Jeannie. “What do you think?”

She shrugged. “He’s a man who can afford to follow his whims. He may be intrigued. And a nightclub owner probably doesn’t have anything pressing to do on a Monday morning. On the other hand, I wouldn’t take a plane on the strength of a phone message like that.”

The phone rang and Steve picked it up automatically. “Hello?”

“Can I speak to Steve?” The voice was unfamiliar.

“This is Steve.”

“This is Uncle Preston. I’m putting your dad on.”

Steve did not have an uncle Preston. He frowned, mystified. A moment later another voice came on the line. “Is anyone with you, is she listening?”

Suddenly Steve understood. Mystification gave way to shock. He could not think what to do. “Hold on a moment,” he said. He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “I think this is Berrington Jones!” he said to Jeannie. “And he thinks I’m Harvey. What the hell do I do?”

Jeannie spread her hands in a gesture of bewilderment. “Improvise,” she said.

“Gee, thanks.” Steve put the phone to his ear. “Uh, yeah, this is Steve,” he said.

“What’s going on? You’ve been there hours!”

“I guess so.…”

“Have you found out what Jeannie’s planning to do?”

“Uh … yes, I have.”

“Then get back here and tell us!”

“Okay.”

“You’re not trapped in any way, are you?”

“No.”

“I suppose you’ve been fucking her.”

“You could say that.”

“Get your goddamn pants on and come home! We’re all in bad trouble!”

“Okay.”

“Now, when you hang up, you’re going to say it was someone who works for your parents’ lawyer, calling to say you’re needed in D.C. as soon as possible. That’s your cover story, and it gives you a reason to hurry. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Berrington hung up and Steve did likewise.

Steve’s shoulders slumped with relief. “I think I fooled him.”

Jeannie said: “What did he say?”

“It was very interesting. It seems Harvey was sent here to find out what your intentions are. They’re worried about what you might do with the knowledge you have.”

“They? Who?”

“Berrington and someone called Uncle Preston.”

“Preston Barck, president of Genetico. So why did they call?”

“Impatience. Berrington got fed up with waiting. I guess he and his cronies are waiting to find out so they can figure out how to respond. He told me to pretend I have to go to Washington to see the lawyer, then get back to his house as fast as I can.”

Jeannie looked worried. “This is very bad. When Harvey doesn’t show up, Berrington will know something’s wrong. The Genetico people will be forewarned. There’s no telling what they might do: move the press conference to another location, step up security so we can’t get in, even cancel the event altogether and sign the papers in a lawyer’s office.”

Steve frowned, staring at the floor. He had an idea, but he hesitated to propose it. Finally he said: “Then Harvey must go home.”

Jeannie shook her head. “He’s been lying there on the floor listening to us. He’ll tell them everything.”

“Not if I go in his place.”

Jeannie and Lisa stared at him, aghast.

He had not worked it out; he was thinking aloud. “I’ll go to Berrington’s home and pretend to be Harvey. I’ll reassure them.”

“Steve, it’s so hazardous. You don’t know anything about their life. You wouldn’t even know where the bathroom was.”

“If Harvey could fool you, I guess I could fool Berrington.” Steve tried to sound more confident than he felt.

“Harvey didn’t fool me. I found him out.”

“He fooled you for a while.”

“Less than an hour. You’d have to stay there longer.”

“Not much. Harvey normally returns to Philadelphia on Sunday evening, we know that. I’ll be back here by midnight.”

“But Berrington is Harvey’s father. It’s impossible.”

He knew she was right. “Do you have a better idea?”

Jeannie thought for a long moment, then she said: “No.”