Death at Tammany Hall Read Online Free PDF Page A

judge would also block any attempt to rehabilitate Harry’s reputation.
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    Early in the afternoon, Pamela was back in her office, gazing out the window, reflecting on Theresa’s predicament. Prescott appeared at the open door. “May I come in?”
    â€œYes, of course.” She returned to her desk. His eyes were bright and eager.
    â€œDo you have news?” she asked.
    â€œI do.” He pulled up a chair and sat leaning toward her. “I’ve just heard from my lawyer in Connecticut that my marriage to Gloria has finally been dissolved.”
    â€œI’m happy for you. This has been a difficult issue.” Her heart beat faster.
    He showed Pamela the court’s decree. Gloria’s alimony would continue until she married again. Prescott seemed pleased with the terms, probably assuming Gloria would soon marry her friend, the banker George Fisher, and the alimony would end. But if Fisher broke with her, then she would likely remain single and be a financial burden for a long time.
    Pamela was puzzled. “Shouldn’t Gloria have insisted on more money?”
    â€œYou would think so,” Prescott replied. “Apparently, she’s anxious that her friend, Fisher, might grow impatient with any delay and slip out of her hands. That prospect might have made her more willing to settle on reasonable terms. The process has often been a nightmare, but it’s over and I’m free.”
    â€œCongratulations!” Pamela added in her own mind that now their relationship rested on a new and sounder footing. In the two and a half years they had known each other she had grown fond of Prescott, and the thought of marrying him had crossed her mind, but she hadn’t allowed herself to pursue the idea or to raise hopes. Her failed marriage with Jack Thompson had left her scarred and wary. She was reluctant to commit herself legally or romantically to another man.
    â€œDinner and dancing tonight?” Prescott asked. There was a new lilt in his voice.
    â€œGladly,” she replied, banishing for the moment any lingering anxieties.
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    At the Volksgarten Café, their favorite Austrian music hall, they chose a table in the mezzanine that offered a view of young couples waltzing to the music of Johann Strauss. After an aperitif, they joined the dancers for the popular “Blue Danube.” Back at the table they ordered the traditional Austrian Wiener schnitzel with spaetzle and a light red wine.
    During the meal Pamela asked Prescott about his son Edward, a junior at Williams College, whom she had never met. Through his father, however, she already knew the young man well and was fond of him.
    â€œHe’s thriving. Next weekend, I’ll visit him in Williamstown for the annual football game with Amherst College, Williams’s chief rival. Edward has always been a good student, but he has also grown into an outstanding athlete in several sports and will play fullback on Saturday.”
    â€œWill the game be well attended?”
    Prescott nodded. “It’s the main event of the college’s autumn social season and attracts many parents, friends, and alumni. Franklin Carter, the college president, invited me, so I feel obliged to go.”
    He gazed fondly at Pamela. “Would you care to join me? I’ll leave Friday morning and return on Sunday evening.”
    Her mind immediately urged caution, but her heart leaped at the opportunity. The conflict lasted but a moment. “I’d be delighted to meet Edward and on such an auspicious occasion.”
    â€œThen I’ll reserve rooms for us at the Greylock Hotel on Main Street in the village, a stone’s throw from Edward’s fraternity house.” He raised his glass. “Shall we toast the weekend?”
    Pamela lifted her glass and they clinked. She shivered with anticipated pleasure.
    Their conversation shifted to Harry’s problems with the Sullivan family. Pamela mentioned that