First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery (9 page)

Everything about the place screamed old money and new tax loopholes. Even the mail clerks were better dressed than me.

Two receptionists sat behind a long mahogany desk. One looked as if she was in her mid-sixties, with silver hair sprayed into a stiff wave seen only in fifties horror movies and
Town and Country
magazine. Her facelift was pul ed so tight that every time she blinked her hairline moved down an inch.

From the way she was looking at Freddy and me, it was impossible not to imagine she had one hand on the police cal button.

The other woman looked to be in her mid-thirties.

She was attractive, but in a less artificial and frightening way. I told her we were there for the reading of Al en Harrington’s wil .

After checking my name against a printed list, she ushered us to a plush waiting area, where we sank into brown leather armchairs that cost more than I made in a month. And I make a lot in a month. An older man sitting across from us snorted. A passing attorney looked at Freddy and me questioningly.

“May I bring you something?” the nicer, younger receptionist inquired. “Coffee, tea?”

“Valium?” I asked.

“Five or ten mil igrams?” She winked.

“Fifty,” I answered.

The receptionist whispered. “Don’t be intimidated.

Most of them take the train back to Brooklyn just like the rest of us.”

“You’re a dol ,” Freddy said to her. Then, to me:

“See? I told you there was nothing to be afraid of. I’m sure everything’s going to go fine. How bad can it be?”

Ten minutes later, the receptionist took Freddy and me to a swank, windowed corner office, where the other invitees were seated at a smal oval conference table.

I recognized the Harrington sons, Michael, the oldest, and Paul. Michael was as handsome and wel -built as he appeared in his picture. His forehead was high and distinguished. Strong cheekbones pointed the way to a perfectly sculpted nose and thick lips.

He had a footbal player’s body. Bulky and dense, with wel -rounded shoulders and biceps that peaked even under his suit jacket. You could have posted a bil board on his expansive chest.

Paul was even more effete than he looked in his picture. He was dressed in true metrosexual style, in a Hugo Boss suit and two-tone Prada shoes that were new for this season.

In person, he was better looking, though. Thinner and less muscular than his brother, he was nonetheless trim and fit. He shared his brother’s handsome features, and although not quite as striking as Michael, his blue eyes and lighter hair made him look less imposing and more approachable.

His wife, Alana, perched at his side. She, too, was perfectly turned out in a charcoal gray Chanel-like suit and an impenetrable mask of Clinique. Even seated, you could see she was tal er than Paul.

She was wearing a sweet perfume that I could smel from across the table. It did little to soften her attractive but harsh features.

There were two other women in the room I didn’t recognize. One was long and skinny, with smal dark eyes and a short-cropped haircut. The other was short and stocky, with an attractive face that looked nervous. Her eyes were red and teary.

Their clothing was sensible and modest. I guessed Banana Republic for the skinny one and Lane Bryant for the other.

No one was speaking.

Alana regarded me and Freddy with narrowed eyes. She whispered something to her husband, who chuckled.

Michael refused to look at us at al .

So far, it was going fabulously.

Freddy and I sat, too.

Freddy looked at Michael and kicked me under the table. “Who’s the hunky one?” he whispered.

I kicked him back harder. “Shhhh!”

Freddy stuck his chin out at Alana and Paul.

“They’re whispering!” he whined.

“I thought you were going to behave yourself,” I hissed.

A door opened at the far end of the office. A tal black woman with strong features and a bald head walked through it. She was impeccably dressed in a man-tailored black suit with a white silk blouse underneath. Two-inch heels provided a percussive accompaniment to her confident stride and increased her already impressive stature.

“Thank you al for coming,” she began, sitting down at the end of the table nearest the Harrington family. “I’m Tamela Steel, Mr. Harrington’s attorney.” Freddy elbowed me. “
Get Christie Love,”
he stage whispered.

Ms. Steel looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

Freddy straightened up in his chair.

“The purpose of our meeting today is to go over the bequests of Mr. Harrington’s wil . Mr. Harrington left specific instructions …”

Paul Harrington interrupted her. “Excuse me, Miss, um, Beals, but is this real y necessary?” He spoke in an irritated, above-it-al sigh. “I’m sure you could handle the disposition of my father’s estate in a more appropriate manner. I don’t know why we have to hear about it in front of” he waved his hand at the four of us who weren’t part of his family “these people.”

The look the lawyer gave him could have melted a brick. “It’s Ms.
Steel.
And as I was saying, Mr.

Harrington left specific instructions as to how he wanted his wishes conveyed. Everyone in this room is here at his request.”

She leaned forward, getting in Paul’s face. “His
last
request. I trust you have no problem honoring your father’s last request, Mr. Harrington?” I never heard anyone harrumph before, but I suppose that was the noise that escaped from Paul’s lips.

“Hey,” Freddy whispered, “did that guy just fart out of his mouth?”

“If there are no more interruptions, then,” Ms. Steel continued, “some time ago, Mr. Harrington taped a video to be played for you al in the event of his death.”

She pressed a button under the table, and a thin, fifty-inch plasma screen descended from the ceiling.

The lights automatical y dimmed and a quiet popping sound signaled the presence of hidden speakers in the wal .

“Cool,” Freddy said aloud. Ms. Steel tried to give him a dirty look, but she couldn’t help smiling. Like I said, Freddy has that way with people.

Although not, I couldn’t help but notice, with the Harringtons. Paul harrumphed again, and Alana looked like she wanted to strangle Freddy with the strap of her Louis Vuitton bag.

The screen came on and there, suddenly, bigger than life, was the understandably serious face of Al en Harrington.

“Thank you for coming,” the familiar voice said. I felt a chil down the back of my neck. “Trust me, I have never been more honest than when I say I only wish I could be there with you today.”

The skinny woman I didn’t know laughed aloud and then, embarrassed, covered her mouth. Her companion, though, took a sharp breath and started to quietly sob. The skinny one put her arm around her. Opposites attract, I thought.

I saw Paul Harrington staring at me, but I wouldn’t return his gaze. Although I did wonder why he was looking at me when his father’s last appearance was playing on a screen a few feet away.

“I’m sure this videotape may seem a bit dramatic to you, but every time I tried to write this down, I found myself uncharacteristical y at a loss for words.

So, I thought, why not just tape the damn thing and be done with it?

“First, I’d like to address my sons. Michael, Paul.

What can I say? I can stil remember the day each of you was born; they were among the happiest of my life. For so many years, watching you grow up was what gave shape and meaning to my existence. As hard as I worked, I always believed it was for you, my boys, the lights of my life.

“But you can’t let anyone, even your children, become your life. And for a long time that’s what I did, ignoring parts of myself that I was afraid would take me away from you. Denying the things my soul craved, denying my heart.

“But the heart can only be denied for so long.

“By the time I was ready to face the truth, I was almost dead inside. But I wanted to wait until I thought you boys could deal with my being gay. I wanted to believe that we could stil be a family.” Al en’s expression turned sad.

“But I was wrong.

“While you were children, I could forgive you. But now you are men, and stil your minds are closed. As are your hearts. I’ve reached out to you both over the years, but each time I’ve been rebuffed.

“What you are doing, Michael, makes me especial y sad.”

I made a mental note—what was Michael doing?

“Stil , I have provided for each of you in my wil .” I looked at the Harrington boys. Paul’s sudden smile made me think of a vulture finding a particularly tasty corpse on the road. Alana clenched her fist and nodded as if to say “yes!”

Michael stayed stoic.

“Oh, not as much as I could have. And not as much as I know you’re hoping for. But enough for me to go to my grave knowing I did the right thing.

“Even if my boys didn’t.

“Now, to my dear friend Kevin.”

I could feel al the eyes in the room fal on me.

“Kevin, you have refused the gifts I’ve offered you over the years. But what you didn’t know is that I’ve been taking the money I wanted to give you and investing it on your behalf.

“And, if you don’t mind my saying so, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s investing.”

Al en smiled.

“You’ve always told me that you wanted to earn enough money to put yourself through school. Wel , now you’l find that you have more than enough to fol ow that dream. And maybe even take a nice vacation before you enrol .

“Maybe you can take that friend Freddy you’re always going on about. I’ve got a feeling you two are going to be spending a lot of time together.” Freddy looked at me in surprise. I tried not to notice. Had I led Al en to think that my feelings for Freddy extended beyond friendship?

Did they?

And what was Al en’s inheritance going to mean in my life? Had my world just changed? Again?

Al en continued. “Kevin, I thank you for your companionship. Although my own boys wouldn’t let me be a part of their lives, you were like a son to me.

Now, go and make me proud.”

Alana turned to Paul. “Oh, please.” He harrumphed in response.

“You real y should see a doctor about that noise you keep making,” Freddy said with mock sincerity.

“Shhh,” Ms. Steel said, barely suppressing a grin.

“The bulk of my estate,” Al en said “I leave to the Association for the Acceptance of Lesbian and Gay Youth.” The two women I didn’t know gasped and clutched each other. The heavier one blushed furiously.

“Lori, May, I believe you have the opportunity to do something wonderful with your work. I only hope that through your contributions you can help ensure that other young people don’t have to face the repression and isolation I felt for so much of my life. I’m so glad I can help you begin your journey.”

“Lastly, a message to my sons. Wel , my biological ones, that is.

“You’ve wasted a lot of your lives on negative emotions. But it’s not too late for you to change.

Anger is the only poison in the world that kil s both the giver and the receiver.

“Get over it.”

The screen went black. Ms. Steel pressed a button, and it disappeared back into the ceiling as the lights came back on.

“Wel ,” said Alana, tapping the table with her perfectly manicured nails, “I guess he put the homosexual agenda ahead of his own family right until the end, didn’t he?”

Even her husband looked shocked by the bluntness of Alana’s comment.

The thinner woman (Lori? May?) from the gay youth group wrinkled her nose in disgust and rose from her chair. “Ms. Steel, thank you for arranging for us to come in today. Unfortunately,” she said, looking at Alana Harrington, “I’m afraid the air in here has gotten quite fetid.”

Her companion stood, too. She looked genuinely grief-stricken. “I’m s-s-s-sorry about your father,” she said shyly to the Harrington boys. “Your father-in-law, too,” she added to Alana. “I …” she began, and then dissolved into heavy sobs. Her companion led her from the room.

Alana watched the two women leave.

“Wel ,” she said, “at least we don’t have to deal with any more dykes.”

Tamela Steel’s glare was withering. “Not. Quite.”

“Oh,” Alana said.

“What does ‘fetid’ mean?” Freddy asked.

I gave Ms. Steel credit—she managed to conclude the meeting without throwing Alana Harrington out the window. She explained that we would al be receiving notices through registered mail that explained how much we each stood to inherit, and that we would be issued checks when the estate passed through probate.

In as professional a manner as possible, she ushered us out of the office, only breaking character to slap Freddy on the ass once the Harringtons cleared the hal way. “You stick with that boy,” she said, motioning towards me. “Al en Harrington was a great man. Any companion of his is bound to be a good catch.”

“We’re just friends,” Freddy said.

Ms. Steel looked at us. “Oh, is that the story? Wel , I like a good story, too.”

I wasn’t quite sure I knew what she meant, but she was heading back into her office and I never got the chance to ask.

Freddy and I were anxious to talk, but when we reached the elevator, Paul and Alana Harrington were waiting there. Michael was nowhere to be seen.