Chapter Twenty-one
The delegation of executives from Athens was keeping Catherine busy. She set up meetings for them with other company executives and took them through the London operation. They marveled at her efficiency. She was knowledgeable about every phase of the business, and they were impressed.
Catherine’s days were full, and the distractions kept her mind off her own problems. She got to know each of the men a little better.
Jerry Haley was the black sheep of his family. His father had been a wealthy oil man, and his grandfather a respected judge. By the time Jerry Haley was twenty-one, he had served three years in juvenile detention centers for auto theft, breaking and entering, and rape. His family had finally sent him to Europe to get rid of him. “But I straightened myself out,” Haley told Catherine proudly. “Turned over a whole new leaf.”
Yves Renard was a bitter man. Catherine learned that his parents had given him up and he had been brought up by distant relatives who abused him. “They had a farm near Vichy, and they worked me like a dog from sun-up to sunset. I escaped from there when I was fifteen and went to work in Paris.”
The cheerful Italian, Dino Mattusi, was born in Sicily, to middle-class parents. “When I was sixteen, I caused a big scandal by running away with a married woman ten years older than me. Ah, she was bellissima.”
“What happened?” Catherine asked.
He sighed. “They brought me home and then sent me to Rome to escape the wrath of the woman’s husband.”
Catherine smiled. “I see. When did you go to work for Mr. Demiris’s company?”
He said evasively, “Later. I did many things first. You know—odd jobs. Anything to make a living.”
“And then you met your wife?”
He looked into Catherine’s eyes and said, “My wife is not here.”
He watched her, talked to her, listened to the sound of her voice, smelled her perfume. He wanted to know everything about her. He liked the way she moved and he wondered what her body was like under her dress. He would know soon. Very soon. He could hardly wait.
Jerry Haley walked into Catherine’s office. “Do you like the theater, Catherine?”
“Why, yes. I…”
“There’s a new musical that opened. Finian’s Rainbow. I’d like to see it tonight.”
“I’ll be happy to arrange a ticket for you.”
“It wouldn’t be much fun going alone, would it? Are you free?”
Catherine hesitated. “Yes.” She found herself staring at his enormous, restless hands.
“Great! Pick me up at my hotel at seven o’clock.” It was an order. He turned and walked out of the office.
It was strange, Catherine thought. He seemed so friendly and open and yet…
I straightened myself out. She could not get the image of those huge hands out of her mind.
Jerry Haley was waiting in the lobby of the Hotel Savoy for Catherine and they drove to the theater in a company limousine.
“London’s a great city,” Jerry Haley said. “I always enjoy coming back to it. Have you been here long?”
“A few months.”
“You from the States originally?”
“Yes. Chicago.”
“Now, there’s a great town. I’ve had some good times there.”
Raping women?
They arrived at the theater and joined the crowd. The show was wonderful and the cast was excellent, but Catherine was unable to concentrate. Jerry Haley kept drumming his fingers on the side of the chair, on his lap, on his knees. He was unable to keep his huge hands still.
When the play was over, Haley turned to Catherine and said, “It’s such a beautiful night. Why don’t we get rid of the car and go for a walk in Hyde Park?”
“I have to be at the office early in the morning,” Catherine said. “Perhaps some other time.”
Haley studied her, an enigmatic smile on his face. “Sure,” he said. “There’s plenty of time.”
Yves Renard was interested in museums. “Of course,” the Frenchman said to Catherine, “in Paris we have the greatest museum in the world. Have you been to the Louvre?”
“No,” Catherine said. “I’ve never been to Paris.”
“That’s a pity. You should go one day.” But, even as he said it, he thought to himself, I know she won’t. “I would like to see the museums in London. Perhaps on Saturday we could visit some of them.”