Chapter Five
TED STANDS IN the large shower, with its expensive Italian tiles they’d chosen so carefully, the hot water pouring over him.
He’s in a strange state, poised between relief and terror.
Now Jill knows everything, and part of him is glad.
Keeping the secret of their financial situation from her had been eating away at him; he doesn’t want to keep secrets from Jill.
He has always seen them as a team. And now she will be involved, in one way or another.
He hadn’t liked the look in her eyes when he told her the truth. She was furious at him. He could see it in her face, hear it in her voice. It was every bit as bad as he’d expected. He has to fix this. He has to regain her respect. He can’t lose her.
And now, they’re going to ask his brother for money.
He hates asking Greg for anything, but it’s worth a try.
Greg might be willing to lend them money, might enjoy watching him grovel, bailing him out, holding it over him.
It would be one solution. He doesn’t know what Greg will say.
If he says yes, he’ll take the money. But if he says no, then maybe Jill will begin to understand what Greg is really like.
He doesn’t want to be beholden to his brother for the rest of his life.
If he’s honest, he wants to be rid of Greg once and for all and have all his money for himself.
It’s funny how quickly he arrived at this decision as the perfect solution to all his problems, starting at the restaurant last night.
There it was, staring him in the face. He wonders how Jill would feel about him murdering his brother.
Of course he can’t ask her. How do you ask your wife to be a partner in a murder?
It’s a shock to him that he is thinking this way.
But he has to admit, the shock of it is fading.
Now that he’s really considering it, he is focused more on the practical. How to do it and get away with it?
It would have been much better if he’d taken care of all this on his own, if he’d acted before she’d even known about this crisis.
He can’t get rid of Greg now without her knowing – or at least suspecting – he had a hand in it.
How would she feel about living with a murderer?
She might be horrified, leave him, even tell the police.
Or she might pretend that she had no idea he had a part in it, and they could carry on as they always have – only happier, ridiculously rich.
He realizes he doesn’t know her well enough to predict.
He wouldn’t hire someone else to do it. He couldn’t live with someone having that kind of hold over him.
He must do it himself. He’s heard that hit-and-run cases are almost never solved.
But how do you pull that off in downtown Manhattan?
Impossible. And regardless of how he does it, they will automatically suspect him, because he inherits everything.
He will be the prime suspect, whatever happens.
So it must be an accident, but not a hit-and-run. And it has to be foolproof.
He thinks now about going out with Greg in the sailboat and tossing him overboard and leaving him there.
But it’s risky. What if he fails to get Greg over the side, and Greg realizes what he was trying to do?
Greg is a couple of inches taller than he is, and very fit.
Ted would have to take him completely by surprise.
He couldn’t hesitate. And even if he did get him off the boat and waited till he was sure Greg was dead before calling for help, it would look suspicious because he is the heir.
No, there has to be a better way. He must think of something else, something better. His mind slows, thinking it through. Maybe if Jill was on the boat too, she could back up his story about how it happened. And she’s his wife. She can’t be made to testify against him.
How does life come to this? A series of poor decisions, one biggish mistake, and he’s standing in his shower thinking about whether to suggest to his wife that they murder his brother together.
And now she is insisting that they try to see Greg today, after that humiliating dinner last night, to ask him for money.
She wants to come with him, because she thinks Greg’s more likely to say yes if she’s there.
Greg loves to show off in front of beautiful women, even his younger brother’s wife.
Ted turns off the water and slowly reaches for his monogrammed towel.
Ted is dressed in smart chinos, a white open-necked shirt, and a very expensive casual jacket.
Jill sparkles beside him in a light sleeveless blouse and skirt.
Ted has always known how to dress – that’s what happens when you grow up with money.
He doesn’t know why Jill’s so good at it.
She just has natural style and a figure that looks good in anything.
Now, it’s midafternoon as Ted and Jill take an Uber to Greg’s swanky place in Tribeca.
He’d bought a spectacular condo with a pretentious address – 33 Park Row – overlooking City Hall Park, when his marriage to Min ended.
It’s a short drive, less than fifteen minutes, over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Ted would have preferred to drive his Porsche but he knows there won’t be any parking.
Greg hadn’t been surprised to hear from them.
Jill has been cool to Ted since their frank conversation earlier that morning.
He has kept his distance; he refuses to appear pitiful to her.
She would hate that. They’ve barely spoken, except for the arrangements to meet at Greg’s for drinks.
Jill had made the call; he’d watched her do it.
Her voice was as natural and charming as ever.
He couldn’t detect any nerves in it. It didn’t rise higher, and she didn’t laugh inappropriately, as he’s noticed some women do when they’re uncomfortable.
He has to admire her cold-bloodedness. She wants money from Greg, enough to get them back in a good place, to save them from having to remortgage their beloved brownstone.
And she’s been very clear to Ted that she doesn’t necessarily expect to pay him back.
He’s good with that. He was thinking the same thing. And if Greg does lend him money, if he’s generous, then maybe he doesn’t have to die.
Now, as they take the elevator to Greg’s floor, Jill surprises him by saying, ‘Let me handle this.’
Then they are at Greg’s door, and it opens and Greg is standing in front of him, and it suddenly hits Ted hard, what he’s been thinking about.
He finds himself focusing on his brother’s tanned, open face, realizing that Greg has no idea what has been on his mind obsessively since last night.
It gives Ted a strange feeling of power, as if he has the upper hand.
He’s not used to feeling this way around his older brother.
He experiences a surge of confidence that he wasn’t expecting.
He finds himself smiling quite naturally. He knows something Greg doesn’t know.
The condo is a showplace – floor-to-ceiling glass – with an unparalleled view of the park and the skyline.
It’s a hot day and Greg takes them through to the terrace, where there’s a bit of a breeze.
He’s got bubbly chilling in an ice bucket, snacks arranged on the table.
They sit in this shaded oasis, high above Lower Manhattan, on a steaming hot July day, making small talk.
But not for long. Greg says, filling their glasses, ‘So why are you here?’
Jill gives Ted a glance and speaks for them both. ‘We have a bit of a problem.’
Greg grins back at them, enjoying himself. ‘I think I can guess.’
Ted bites his tongue, tries to hold on to his feeling of power.
It doesn’t matter; none of this matters.
He tells himself that he will have the last laugh.
Because if Greg doesn’t give him what he needs, then at some point soon, Greg will be out of the picture and Ted will have everything.
He’s made up his mind. And Greg, sitting there complacent and superior, is oblivious.
Now Greg grabs his glass of bubbly off the table and settles back in his rattan chair. Takes a sip, and asks, ‘How much did you lose on that deal, Ted?’
If he downplays it, Greg will probably find out the truth somehow. He might even know already; Ted wouldn’t be surprised. Greg knows a lot of people. So he tells the truth. ‘About a million.’
‘Ouch,’ Greg says.
Ted covers up his annoyance by taking a sip of his drink and reminding himself that he just needs to get through this meeting. Let him have his moment, the bastard. He waits for Jill to speak up.
‘The thing is,’ she says, ‘we need a bit to tide us over until Ted can make up the loss.’
‘Yeah, I thought that’s what this was about,’ Greg says. He keeps his attention on Ted. ‘So you’re making Jill ask me for money? Not man enough to ask me yourself?’
Ted sees the expression on Jill’s face change.
She’s looking at his brother with loathing, but Greg doesn’t notice because he’s too intent on watching Ted’s reaction.
He’s not going to give him one. He says blithely, ‘I’m happy to ask.
So, Greg, will you lend me a million, or thereabouts?
Actually, one point five would be better. ’
Greg smiles back at him, glances at Jill, who is smiling once again, takes his time to answer, and says, ‘No.’
Ted looks at Jill. He’d been half expecting this, but she clearly had not. She thought they’d walk out of here today with their problems solved. But he knows his brother. He knows it was never going to be that easy. She’ll never hate Greg as much as he does, but maybe she’ll hate him enough.
‘I’m not going to lend you money, and I’m going to tell you why,’ Greg says.
Of course you are, you arrogant son of a bitch, he thinks to himself.
‘I mean, it’s not like I can’t afford it,’ Greg says. ‘But if I bail you out now, you won’t learn from your mistakes.’
Ted watches Jill go from disbelief to anger.
He shrugs. He’s not going to stick around for a lecture.
‘Fine. I think we’ll be going.’ He finishes his champagne and puts his glass down.
‘We don’t want to waste any more of your valuable time.
’ He stands, buttoning his jacket, his dignity intact, because he knows what Greg doesn’t know.
Jill is still rooted to her rattan chair, her face flushed. ‘Come on, Jill, we’re leaving.’
‘You don’t have to go just because you didn’t get your way,’ Greg says.
Jill rises then and flashes a resentful look at Greg over her shoulder as they leave.
He looks back at Greg too, still standing on the terrace, drink in hand, watching them make their swift exit. He is going to rid the world of his brother somehow. And he will take everything he has.