Page 159 (1/1)
Thaddeus Cohen’s pen was scratching away as furiously as his father’s had before him
’All these questions must be answered as quickly as possible so that I can decide if it’s necessary to brief ave his father’s shy smile as he 9hut his briefcase ’I’m sorry that you should be troubled in this hile you are still convalescing I’ll be back to you as soon as I can ascertain the facts’
He paused at the door ’I aden’
Williaour rapidly in the following months, and the scars on his face and chest faded into relative insignificance At night Kate would sit up with him until he fell asleep and whisper, ’Thank God you were spared! The terrible headaches and periods of ath returned to his right arm Kate would not allow hi cruise in the - West Indies
William relaxed with Kate ether in London She revelled in the fact that there were no banks on the ship for hih she feared if they stayed on board another week - Willia vessel as one of Lester’s latest assets, redrganising the crew, routes, tis and even the way they sailed ’the boae, as Williareat liner He was tanned and restless once the ship docked in New York Harbour, and Kate could not dissuade hi iain in Lesters proble and fast -America’s modem banks, under the watchful eye of President Tniman, the man who had won, a surprise victory for a second term in the White House after the world had been informed that Deas certain to win the election As if not satisfied with their prediction, the Chicago Tribune went on to anYaounce that Dewey had actually won the election, but it was Harry S Truman who remained in the White House William knew very little about the diminutive ex - senator from Missouri, except what he read in the newspapers, and as a staunch Republican, he hoped that his party would find the right n
The first report ca for shares in Lester’s bank and had approached all the other benefactors of the will but only one agreement had been concluded Susan Lester had refused to see William’s lahen he approached her, so he was unable to discover why she had sold her six per cent All he could ascertain was that she had no financial reason for doing so ’Hell hath no fury,’ mumbled William
The document was admirably comprehensive
Henry Osborne, it seemed, had been appointed a director of the Baron Group in May of 1947, with special responsibility for the Lester’s account More importantly, Abel Rosnovski secured Susan Lester’s shares without it being possible to trace the acquisition back to either him or to Osborne
Rosnovski noned six per cent of Lester’s Bank and appeared to be willing to pay at least another 750,000 to obtain Peter Parfitt’s two per cent William was only too aware of the actions Abel Rosnovski could carry out once he was in possession of eight per cent Even rowth rate of Lester’s compared unfavourably with that of the Baron Group, which was already catching up its main rivals, the I - Elton and the Sheraton Groups Williaan to wonder if it would noise to brief his board of directors on this newly obtained inforht not to contact Abel Rosnovski direct After sohts, he turned to Kate for advice
’Do nothing,’ was Kate’s reaction, ’until you can be absolutely certain that his intentions are as disruptive as you fear The whole affair may turn out to be a tempest in a teapot2 ’With Henry Osborne as his hatchet man you can be sure that the te can be totally innocent I don’t have to sit around and wait to find out what he is planning for ed, William It s with hirrO ’Al Capone ed, if he had been allowed to complete his jail sentence We’ll never know for certa to put a, bet on it’
Kate added nothing more, but William let himself be per suadedby her and did little except to keep a close eye on Thaddeus Cohen’s quarterly reports and hope that Ka&& intuition would turn out to be right
28
The Baron Group profited greatly from the post - war explosion in the American economy Not since the twenties had it been so easy to make so much inning to believe that this ti to last But Abel was not content with financial success alone; as he grew older, he began to worry about Poland’s place in the post - orld and to feel that his success did not allow him to be a bystander four thou sand miles away What had Pawel Zaleski~ the Polish consul in Turkey said? ’Perhaps in your lifeti he could to influence and persuade the United States Congress to take a mom militant attitude towards Russian control of its Eastern European satellites It seeovern, that he had risked his life for nothing He began to lobby Washington politicians, brief journalists and organise din ners in Chicago and New York and other centres of the Polish - American community, until the Polish cause itself becao Baron, Dr Teodor Szymanowski, formerly professor of history at the university of Cracorote a glowing editorial about Abel’s ’Fight To Be Recognised’ in the journal Freedom, which prompted Abel to contact him and see what else he could do to help The professor was now an old man, and when Abel was ushered into his study, he was surprised by the frailty of his appearance, knowing the vigour of his opinions He greeted Abel warn - dy and poured hi hi adh we make such little headway, you never seem to lose faith’