Black Tuesday by Prins Nomi

Author:Prins, Nomi [Prins, Nomi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Booksurge
Published: 2011-10-05T04:00:00+00:00

Later that night, Leila found no comfort in sleep. All she could do was toss and turn on her cot. Try as she might, she couldn’t exorcise the image of Roderick’s limp corpse bleeding onto Wall Street. Jack’s squinty eyes seemed to be watching. What had he wanted from Roderick’s library? Certainly it wasn’t a moment of peace and a quiet from the rest of the guests. And it wasn’t to gaze at Roderick’s mother’s portrait. She recalled how his eyes lingered on Roderick’s desk. Why?

She shivered in her nightgown. He gave her the creeps. What was he looking for? Did he find it? Her mind zoomed back to the night she had examined the Allegheny deal papers that Roderick left lying on his desk.

She recalled a document signed by Jack Morgan. It was a contract of some sort, marked “For Investors.” She hadn’t thought anything of it until she flipped to the next document. It was identical. Except it cited the value of the Allegheny Corporation as several million dollars lower than on the first. She thought about the two sets of books. Roderick said his fingerprints were all over them, not Jack’s. But what about the Allegheny documents? Could one of them be real and one fake – both with Jack’s signature?

Something stirred within her, slowly at first, then with alarming acceleration. Roderick had information that pointed to Jack . Why didn’t he use it? Why give up, rather than fight? Her mind raced. How long had Roderick been keeping both sets of books? Was everything about the Morgan bank suspect? Was that why Jack was so interested in Roderick’s library? Did he think Roderick was hiding anything else? Was he? Or was it just those Allegheny documents?

A terrifying question burst forth. Had Roderick left them for her to see that night? If so, why? In case something – happened to him?

She heard a loud knock at the front door. She leapt out of bed, her heart pounding.

“Leila? Leila Kahn? Are you in there? I need to speak with you!” a female voice cried from the hall. The sounds of neighbors shuffling followed.

Leila wrapped her robe around her. Rachel sat upright in her bed.

“Who is that, Leila?” she asked.

“Shhh,” Leila placed her index finger over her lips, “go back to sleep. I’ll go see.”

“Can I come with you?” asked Rachel, moving to a stand.

“No, you stay here with Tanta Rosa.”

She stepped gingerly to the door, trying to avoid the squeaky floorboards. She pressed her eye to the peephole. “Althea?” she said, almost to herself. She saw the widow’s streaked and messy face. Eye-powder caked below her sagging and watery eyes.

“Leila, I need to talk to you.” Her whisper was frantic. Had she found out?

“Is everything okay?” Joshua’s sleepy voice asked from the salon.

“Yes, Joshua, you can go back to sleep.”

“Wait a moment,” said Leila to Althea. She didn’t want everyone in the house hearing whatever she had come to say. She unlatched the lock, peering through a crack.

“I know you’ll think I’m crazy,” said Althea, her voice hushed but shrill.

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