«I’m not holding back any of the essentials,» he said.
«I didn’t say you were. I said you were elliptical. You refer to a man in Geneva you won’t identify; you speak of conditions you only half describe, the oldest children of two families you won’t name. You’re leaving out a great deal.»
«For your own good.»
«That’s condescending and, considering this letter, very insulting.»
«I didn’t mean to be either.» Holcroft leaned forward. «No one wants that bank account even remotely connected with you. You’ve read that letter; you know what’s involved. Thousands and thousands of people, hundreds of millions of dollars. There’s no way to tell who might hold you responsible. You were the wife who told him the truth; you left him because he refused to accept it. When he finally realized that what you said was true, he did what he did. There may be men still alive who would kill you for that. I won’t let you be put in that position.»
«I see.» Althene drew out the phrase, then repeated it as she rose from her chair and walked slowly across the room to the bay window. «Are you sure that’s the concern the men in Geneva expressed?»
«They—he—implied it, yes.»
«I suspect it was not the only concern.»
«No.»
«Shall I speculate on another?»
Noel stiffened. It was not that he underestimated his mother’s perceptions—he rarely did that—but, as always, he was annoyed when she verbalized them before he had the chance to state them himself.
«I think it’s obvious,» he said.
«Do you?» Althene turned from the window and looked at him.
«It’s in the letter. If the sources of that account were made public, there’d be legal problems. Claims would be made against it in the international courts.»
«Yes.» His mother looked away. «It’s obvious, then. I’m amazed you were allowed to tell me anything.»
Noel leaned back in the chair apprehensively, disturbed at Althene’s words. «Why? Would you really do something?»
«It’s a temptation,» she answered, still gazing outside. «I don’t think one ever loses the desire to strike back, to lash out at someone or something that’s caused great pain. Even if that hurt changed your life for the better. God knows mine—ours—was changed. From a hell to a level of happiness I’d given up looking for.»
«Dad?» asked Noel.
Althene turned. «Yes. He risked more than you’ll ever know protecting us. I’d been the fool of the world and he accepted the fool—and the fool’s child. He gave us more than love; he gave us our lives again. He asked only love in return.»
«You’ve given him that.»
«I’ll give it till I die. Richard Holcroft is the man I once thought Clausen was. I was so wrong, so terribly wrong… The fact that Heinrich has been dead these many years doesn’t seem to matter; the loathing won’t go away. I do want to strike back.»
Noel kept his voice calm. He had to lead his mother away from her thoughts; the survivors of Wolfsschanze would not let her live. «You’d be striking back at the man you remember, not the man who wrote that letter. Maybe what you saw in him at first was really there. At the end, it came back to him.»
«That would be comforting, wouldn’t it?»
«I think it’s true. The man who wrote that letter wasn’t lying. He was in pain.»
«He deserved pain, he caused so much; he was the most ruthless man I ever met. But on the surface, so different, so filled with purpose. And—oh, God—what that purpose turned out to be!»
«He changed, mother,» interrupted Holcroft. «You were a part of that change. At the end of his life he wanted only to help undo what he’d done. He says it: ‘Amends must be made.’ Think what he did—what the three of them did—to bring that about.»
«I can’t dismiss it; I know that. Any more than I can dismiss the words. I can almost hear him say them, but it’s a very young man talking. A young man filled with purpose, a very young, wild girl at his side.» Althene paused, then spoke again, clearly. «Why did you show me the letter? Why did you bring it all back?»
«Because I’ve decided to go ahead. That means closing the office, traveling around a lot, eventually working out of Switzerland for a number of months. As the man in Geneva said, you wouldn’t have accepted all that without asking a lot of questions. He was afraid you’d learn something damaging and do something rash.»
«At your expense?» asked Althene.
«I guess so. He thought it was a possibility. He said those memories of yours were strong. ‘Indelibly printed’ were his words.»
«Indelibly,» agreed Althene.
«His point was that there were no legal solutions; that it was better to use the money the way it was intended to be used. To make those amends.»
«It’s possible he was right. If it can be done. God knows it’s overdue. Whatever Heinrich touched, very little of value and truth was the result.» Althene paused, her face suddenly strained. «You were the one exception. Perhaps this is the other.»
Noel got out of the chair and went to his mother. He took her by the shoulders and drew her to him. «That man in Geneva said you were incredible. You are.»
Althene pulled back. «He said that? ‘Incredible’?»
«Yes.»
«Ernst Manfredi,» she whispered.
«You know him?» asked Holcroft.
«It’s a name that goes back many years. He’s still alive then.»
Noel did not answer her question. «How did you know it was he?»
«A summer afternoon in Berlin. He was there. He helped us get out. You and I. He got us on the plane, gave me money. Dear God…» Althene disengaged herself from her son’s arms and walked across the room, toward the desk. «He called me ‘incredible’ then, that afternoon. He said they would hunt me, find me. Find us. He said he would do what he could. He told me what to do, what to say. An unimpressive little Swiss banker was a giant that afternoon. My God, after all these years …»
Noel watched his mother, his astonishment complete. «Why didn’t he say anything? Why didn’t he tell me?»
Althene turned, facing her son but not looking at him. She was staring beyond him, seeing things he could not see. «I think he wanted me to find out for myself. This way. He was not a man to call in old debts indiscriminately.» She sighed. «I won’t pretend the questions are put to rest. I promise nothing. If I decide to take any action, I’ll give you ample warning. But for the time being I won’t interfere.»
«That’s kind of open ended, isn’t it?»
«It’s the best you’ll get. Those memories are, indeed, indelibly printed.»
«But for now you’ll do nothing?»
«You have my word. It’s not lightly given, nor will it be lightly taken back.»
«What would change it?»
«If you disappeared, for one thing.»
«I’ll stay in touch.»
Althene Holcroft watched her son walk out of the room. Her face—so tense, so rigid, only moments ago—was relaxed. Her thin lips formed a smile; her wide eyes were reflective, in them a look of quiet satisfaction and strength.
She reached for the telephone on her desk, pressed the single button 0, and seconds later spoke.
«Overseas operator, please. I’d like to place a call to Geneva, Switzerland.»
He needed a professionally acceptable reason to close up Holcroft, Incorporated. Questions of substance could not be asked. The survivors of Wolfsschanze were killers for whom questions were too easily construed as interference. He had to disappear legitimately… But one did not disappear legitimately: One found plausible explanations that gave the appearance of legitimacy.