"If only you hadn't been on vacation."

"My bet is she took that into consideration as well," said Nat."But how?"

"One call to my secretary asking for an appointment that week, and she would have known I would be in LA, and no doubt you confirmed as much soon after you'd met her."

Tom hesitated. "Yes, I did. But it doesn't explain why Ray didn't refuse to action the transfer."

"Because you'd deposited the full amount in her account, and the law is very clear in a case like this: if she asks for a transfer, we have no choice but to carry out her instructions. As her lawyer pointed out when he called Ray at four fifty, by which time you were on your way back home."

"But she'd already signed a check and handed it over to Mr. Cooke."

"Yes, and if you had returned to the bank and informed our chief teller about that check, he might have felt able to hold off any decision until Monday."

"But how could she be so confident that I would authorize the extra money to be placed in her account?"

"She wasn't, that's why she opened an account with us and deposited $500,000, assuming we would accept that she had more; than sufficient funds to cover the purchase of Cedar Wood."

"But you told me that her company checked out?"

"And it did. Kirkbridge and Company is based in New York and made a profit of just over a million dollars last year, and surprise, surprise, the majority shareholder is a Mrs.

Julia Kirkbridge. And it was only because Su Ling thought she was a phony that I even called to check and see if the company was having a board meeting that morning. When the switchboard operator informed me that Mrs. Kirkbridge couldn't be disturbed as she was in that meeting, the last piece of the jigsaw fell neatly into place. Now that's what I mean by attention to detail.", "But there's still a missing link," said Tom.

"Yes, and that's what turns her from an ordinaryflim-flam artist into a fraudster of true genius.

It was Harry Gates's amendment to the finance bill that presented her with a hoop that she knew we would have to jump through."

"How does Senator Gates get in on the act?" asked Tom.

"It was he who proposed the amendment to the property bill stipulating that all future transactions enacted with the council should be paid in full on signature of the agreement."

"But I told her that the bank would cover whatever surplus proved necessary."

"And she knew that wouldn't be sufficient," said Nat, "because the senator's amendment insisted that the principal beneficiary," Nat opened the brochure at a passage he had underlined, "had to sign both the check and the agreement. The moment you rushed back to inquire if she had a checkbook with her, Julia knew she had you by the balls."

"But what if I'd said the deal is off unless you can come up with the full amount?"

"She would have returned to New York that night, transferred her half million back to Chase, and you would never have heard from her again."

"Whereas she pocketed three point one million dollars of our money and held on to her own $500,000," said Tom.

"Correct," said Nat, "and by the time the banks open in San Francisco this morning, that money will have disappeared off to the Cayman Islands via Zurich or possibly even Moscow, and although I'll obviously go through the motions, I don't believe we have a hope in hell of retrieving one cent of it."

"Oh, God," said Tom, "I've just remembered that Mr. Cooke will be presenting that check this morning, and I gave him my word that it would be cleared the same day."

"Then we shall have to clear it," said Nat. "It's one thing for the bank to lose money, quite another for it to lose its reputation, a reputation which your grandfather andfather took a hundred years to establish."

Tom looked up at Nat. "The first thing I must do is resign."

"Despite your naivete, that's the last thing you should do. Unless, of course, you want everyone to find out what a fool you've made of yourself and immediately transfer their accounts to Fairchild's. No, the one commodity I need is time, so I suggest you take a few days off. In fact, don't mention the Cedar Wood project again, and if anyone should raise the subject, you simply refer them to me."

Tom remained silent for some time, before he said, "The true irony is that I asked her to marry me."

"And her true genius is that she accepted,"

replied Nat.

"How did you know that?" asked Tom.

"It would have all been part of her plan."

"Clever girl," said Tom.

"I'm not so sure," said Nat, "because if you two had become engaged, I was ready to offer her a place on the board."

"So she had you fooled as well," said Tom.

"Oh yes," replied Nat, "with her grasp of finance she wouldn't have been a passenger, and had she married you she would have made a lot more than three point one million, so there must be another man involved." Nat paused. "I suspect he was the one on the other end of the phone." Nat turned to leave. "I'll be in my office," he said, "and remember, we only ever discuss this matter in private, nothing in writing, never on the phone."

Tom nodded as Nat closed the door quietly behind him.

"Good morning, Mr. Cartwright," said Nat's secretary as he walked into his office, "did you have a good vacation?"

"Yes, I did, thank you, Linda," he replied cheerily. "I'm not sure who enjoyed Disneyland more, Luke or myself." She smiled.

"Any real problems?" he asked innocently.

"No, I don't think so. The final documents for the takeover of Bennett's came through last Friday, so from January first, you'll be running twobanks."

Or none, thought Nat. "I need to speak to a Mrs. Julia Kirk-bridge, the director of..."

"Kirkbridge and Company," said Linda. Nat froze. "You asked for the details of her company just before you went on vacation."

"Of course I did," said Nat.

Nat was rehearsing what he would say to Mrs.

Kirkbridge, when his secretary buzzed through to tell him that she was on the line.

"Good morning, Mrs. Kirkbridge, my name is Nat Cartwright, I'm the chief executive of Russell's Bank in Hartford, Connecticut.

We have a proposition we thought your company might be interested in, and as I'm in New York later today, I hoped you would be able to spare me a few minutes."

"Can I call you back, Mr. Cartwright?" she replied in a crisp English accent.

"Of course," said Nat, "I look forward to hearing from you."

He wondered how long it would take Mrs.

Kirkbridge to discover that he was the chief executive of Russell's Bank. She was obviously checking, because she didn't even ask for his telephone number. When the phone rang again his secretary said, "Mrs. Kirkbridge on the line."

Nat checked his watch; it had taken her seven minutes.

"I could see you at two thirty this afternoon, Mr.

Cartwright; would that suit you?"

"Suits me just fine," said Nat.

He put the phone down and buzzed Linda.

"I'll need a ticket on today's eleven-thirty train to New York."

Nat's next call was to Rigg's Bank in San Francisco, who confirmed his worst fears.

They had been instructed to send the money to Banco Mexico only moments after it had been deposited with them. From there, Nat knew it would follow the sun until it finally disappeared over the horizon. He decided it would be pointless to callin the police unless he wanted half the banking community let in on the secret. He suspected that Julia, or whatever her real name was, had also worked that out.

Nat got through a great deal of the backlog caused by his absence before leaving the office to catch the train to New York. He made it to the offices of Kirkbridge and Co. on 97th Street with only moments to spare. He hadn't even had time to take a seat in reception before a door opened. He looked up to see an elegant, well-dressed woman standing in the doorway. "Mr. Cartwright?"

"Yes," he said, rising from his seat.

"I'm Julia Kirkbridge; would you like to come through to my office?" The same crisp English accent. Nat could not recall how long ago it was that a director of any company had come to collect him in the reception area rather than sending a secretary, especially one working out of New York.

"I was intrigued by your call," said Mrs.

Kirkbridge as she ushered Nat through to a comfortable seat by the fireplace. "It's not often a Connecticut banker comes to New York to visit me."

Nat took some papers out of his case, as he tried to assess the woman sitting opposite him.

Her clothes, like those of her impersonator, were smartly tailored, but far more conservative, and although she was slim and in her mid-thirties, her dark hair and dark eyes were a total contrast to the blond from Minnesota.

"Well, it's quite simple really," began Nat.

"Hartford City Council has put another site on the market that has planning approval for a shopping mall. The bank has purchased the land as an investment and is looking for a partner. We thought you might be interested."

"Why us?" asked Julia.

"You were among the original companies that bid for the Robinson's site, which, incidentally, has proved to be a great success, so we thought you might want to be involved in this new venture."

"I'm somewhat surprised that you didn't think ofapproaching us before you made your bid," said Mrs.

Kirkbridge, "because had you done so, you would have discovered that we had already considered the terms far too restrictive." Nat was taken by surprise. "After all," continued Mrs.

Kirkbridge, "that is what we do."

"Yes, I know," said Nat, buying time.

"May I ask how much it went for?" asked Mrs. Kirkbridge.

"Three point six million."

"That was way above our estimate," said Mrs.

Kirkbridge, turning a page of the file on the table in front of her.

Nat had always considered himself a good poker player, but he had no way of knowing if Mrs.

Kirkbridge was bluffing. He only had one card left. "Well, I'm sorry to have wasted your time,"

he said, rising from his place.

"Perhaps you haven't," said Mrs. Kirkbridge, who remained seated, "because I'm still interested in listening to your proposal."

"We're looking for a fifty-fifty partner," said Nat, resuming his seat.

"What does that mean exactly?" asked Mrs.

Kirkbridge.

"You put up $1.8 million, the bank finances the rest of the project, and once the debt has been recouped, all the profits will be divided fifty-fifty."

"No bank fees, and the money loaned at prime rate?"

"I think we would consider that," said Nat.

"Then why don't you leave all the details with me, Mr. Cartwright, and I'll come back to you.

How long have I got before you need a decision?"

"I'm meeting two other possible investors while I'm in New York," said Nat. "They were also bidders for the Robinson's site."

From the expression on her face, there was no way of telling if she believed him.

Mrs. Kirkbridge smiled. "Half an hour ago," she said, "I had a call from the chief executive of the Hartford City Council, a Mr.Cooke." Nat froze. "I didn't take the call as I thought it would be prudent to see you first.

However, I find it hard to believe that this was the type of case study they expected you to analyze at Harvard Business School, Mr. Cartwright, so perhaps the time has come for you to tell me why you really wanted to see me."

Annie drove her husband to City Hall, and it was the first time they had been alone all day. "Why don't we just go home?" said Fletcher.

"I expect every candidate feels that way just before the count."

"Do you know, Annie, we haven't once discussed what I'm going to do if I lose."

"I've always assumed you'd join another law firm. Heaven knows enough have been knocking on your door. Didn't Simpkins and Welland say they needed someone who specializes in criminal law?"

"Yes, and they've even offered me a partnership, but the truth is that politics is what I enjoy doing most. I'm even more obsessed than your father."

"That's not possible," said Annie. "By the way, he said to use his parking space."