O'hara's Choice - Leon Uris [70]
LET US LAY THIS ALL OUT ON THE DESK AND SEE IF WE CAN CONNECT SOME DOTS.
OPTION: If it appears Amanda and O’Hara are heading for a roll in the hay, then arrange a discreet accident for him. Now, we have to tread slowly, Horace my friend. It seems that every time an elimination has been called for at Dutchman’s Hook, it is never carried off without someone bumbling. If we go this route, a foolproof plan must be made.
IF, GOD FORBID: Amanda becomes pregnant via O’Hara, I do not wish to go through the same experience I had with Emily.
We still have the weapon of statutory rape and the privilege of a closed court. O’Hara would face twenty-five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. He must be made aware of these consequences.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Once their engines get running at full steam, it might be impossible to stop them. Face what you know, Horace. There is no real protection from a grown man in heat.
ALL TOLD: The abortion option is dicey. I must contrive another scheme. Say that Amanda becomes pregnant. With the threat of prison over him, O’Hara would agree to an “elopement” marriage and then get it annulled. In such case, the baby would be legitimate and certainly awarded by the court to Amanda with total restrictions against O’Hara seeing the child.
STICKY WICKET: How do we keep Glen Constable in the game? Even if marriage/annulment/child happens, I say the odds are still in our favor of capturing GC. The point is, we have to keep GC in any picture if we are to obtain the Constable South Basin.
ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCETERA.
NOW THEN: The cream is rising to the top. It is basic, when we get to the bottom line, that Amanda burns ambitiously for everything Dutchman’s Hook will bring her. In addition, Amanda wants to achieve something of high moral purpose.
IF I can link Dutchman’s Hook with high moral purpose, it would be irresistible to Amanda.
THERE REMAINS: A simple, direct, bloodless way. The secretary of the navy owes me a few. He can arrange for O’Hara NOT TO COME TO NEWPORT but be shipped to . . . Nepal . . .
THANK YOU, GOD: Every man finds himself faced with dilemmas. YOU have shown me that it takes a great man to use evil devices in order to defeat a greater evil. Otherwise, greater evil would always triumph.
“Excuse me, Mr. Kerr,” Allsop, his secretary, said, tiptoeing into the room. “Secretary Culpeper’s assistant telephoned and asked if Secretary Culpeper could drop by and see you at half two.”
“I’ll be damned,” Horace said under his breath. His own thought waves seemed to have been transmitted to another person of similar concerns. By God, that’s more than a coincidence. It was celestial!
“Of course, delighted,” Horace answered. “Is a butler at his station?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Kendall’s on duty.”
“You have him order me up a little breakfast. Steak and eggs, home fries, and a rasher of bacon. And Mr. Allsop, gather up these notes and burn them in the fireplace.”
The Kerrs’ butler greeted Nathaniel Culpeper and took his top hat and cane. The secretary of the navy wove his way in, spotted the deepest and softest armchair, and flopped into it.
“Tea and pastries?” Kerr asked.
Culpeper scrunched up his face.
“How about a nip of the hair that killed the dog, Nathaniel?”
“No, thank you, Horace. I’ve an epic case of tummy wobbles. I ran into a table of high-capacity drinkers from Colorado.”
“Colorado? Do we have a navy base in Colorado?” Then Kerr turned his attention to the butler. “Kendall, fix Secretary Culpeper a brandy and bitters. The same for myself, only leave out the bitters and make the brandy a double.”
They clinked glasses.
“May the sides of our ships be as strong as your stomach, Horace . . . Awful stuff, this.” He winced. “Well now, Mr. Kerr, may I bask in your glory?”
Horace smiled and nipped from his cognac snifter.
“I have survived two Constitution Balls with my three daughters,” Culpeper went on, “all beautiful women, but combined, they