In High Places Page 13

  Returning, he put on old flannel trousers and a faded college T shirt. Then he mixed instant coffee, made toast, and scraped on some honey from a jar. To eat, he sat on the bed which occupied most of the available space in the cramped bachelor apartment on Gilford Street near English Bay. Later the bed could be made to disappear into the wall like a retracted landing gear, but Alan seldom hurried this, preferring to meet the day gradually, as he always had since discovering long ago he could do most things best by easing into them slowly.

  He was wondering if he should bother frying some bacon when his phone rang. It was Tom Lewis.

  'Listen, you lunkhead,' Tom said. 'How come you never told me about your high society friends?'

  'A guy doesn't like to boast. The Vanderbilts and me ...' Alan swallowed a piece of half-chewed toast. 'What high society friends?'

  'Senator Deveraux, for one. The Richard Deveraux. He wants you up at his house - today; chop, chop.'

  'You're crazy!'

  'Crazy, my eye! I just had a call from G. K. Bryant - of Culliner, Bryant, Mortimer, Lane, and Roberts, otherwise known as "we the people". They do most of old Deveraux's legal work, it seems, but this time the Senator has asked for you specifically.'

  'How could he?' Alan was sceptical. 'Somebody's made a mistake; got a name wrong obviously.'

  'Listen, junior,' Tom said, 'if nature endowed you with above-average stupidity, try not to add to it. The man they want is Alan Maitland of the thriving young law firm - at least, it would be if we had a couple of clients - of Lewis and Maitland. That's you, isn't it?'

  'Sure, but...'

  'Now why a man like Senator Deveraux should want Maitland when he can get Lewis, who was a year ahead of Maitland in law school, and considerably smarter, as this conversation demonstrates, is beyond me, but...'

  'Wait a minute,' Alan interjected. 'You did say Deveraux.'

  'Not more than six times which, I admit, is not enough for penetration...'

  'There was a Sharon Deveraux in my last year of college. We met a few times, went on a date once, though I haven't seen her since. Maybe she...'

  'Maybe she did; maybe she didn't. All I know is that Senator Deveraux, on this clear and sunny Christmas morning, is waiting for one Alan Maitland.'

  'I'll go,' Alan said. 'Maybe there's a present for me under his tree.'

  'Here's the address,' Tom said, and, when Alan had written it down, 'I shall pray for you. I might even call our office landlord and get him to pray too; after all, his rent depends upon it.'

  'Tell him I'll do my best.'

  'There was never a doubt,' Tom said. 'Good luck.'

  Chapter 2

  Senator Deveraux - not surprisingly, Alan Maitland thought - lived on South West Marine Drive.

  Alan knew the Drive well, by reputation and through occasional contact during his days in college. High above downtown Vancouver, facing southwest across the North Arm of the widening Fraser River towards pastoral Lulu Island, the area was a social mecca and seat of much accumulated wealth. The view from most points along the Drive was remarkable, on clear days extending as far as the US border and the State of Washington. It was also, Alan knew, a symbolic view, since most who lived there had either attained social eminence or were born to it. A second symbolism was in the great, patterned log booms, moored in the river below or towed majestically by tugs to sawmills. Logging and lumber founded the fortune of the Province of British Columbia and even now sustained it largely.

  Alan Maitland caught a glimpse of the Fraser River at the same time that he located Senator Deveraux's house. The Senator, Alan decided, must possess one of the best views along the entire shore line.

  It was sunny, clear, and crisp as he drove towards the big Tudor-style mansion. The house was shielded from questing eyes of passers-by by a tall cedar hedge and set well back from the road, with a curving driveway presided over at its entrance by twin gargoyles on double wrought-iron gates. A shining Chrysler Imperial was in the driveway and Alan Maitland parked his elderly paint-faded Chev behind it. He walked to the massive, studded front door set in a baronial portico and rang the bell. Presently a butler opened it.

  'Good morning,' Alan said; 'my name is Maitland.' 'Please come in, sir.' The butler was a frail, white-haired man who moved as if his feet hurt. He preceded Alan through a short riled corridor into a large open entrance hall. At the entry to the hallway a slim, slight figure appeared.

  It was Sharon Deveraux and she was as he recalled her -not beautiful but petite, elfin almost, her face longish and with deep humorous eyes. Her hair was different, Alan noticed. It was raven black and she used to wear it long; now it was done in a pixie cut and becoming, he thought.

  'Hullo,' Alan said. 'I hear you could use a lawyer.'

  'At the moment,' Sharon said promptly, 'we'd prefer a plumber. The .toilet in Granddaddy's bathroom won't stop running.'

  There was something else he was reminded of - a dimple in her left cheek which came and went when she smiled, as she was doing now.

  'This particular lawyer,' Alan said, 'does plumbing on the side. Things haven't been too brisk around the law books lately.'

  Sharon laughed. 'Then I'm glad I remembered you.' The butler took his coat and Alan looked curiously around him.

  The house, inside and out, bespoke wealth and substance. They had stopped in a large open entrance hall, its walls of polished linen-fold panelling, its ceiling Renaissance, above a gleaming pegged-oak floor. In a massive Tudor fireplace, ranked by fluted pilasters, a log fire burned brightly, and near the fireplace an arrangement of red arid yellow roses graced an Elizabethan refectory table. On a colourful Kerman rug a dignified Yorkshire armchair faced a Knoll sofa, and opposite, on the far side of the hall, crewel embroidery hangings framed oriel windows.

  'Granddaddy got back from Ottawa last night,' Sharon said, rejoining him, 'and at breakfast was talking about wanting a young Abe Lincoln. So I said there was someone I used to know called Alan Maitland who was going to be a lawyer and had all sorts of ideals ... do you still have them, by the way?'

  'I guess so,' Alan said, a shade uncomfortably. He reflected that he must have sounded off to this girl more than he remembered. 'Anyway, thanks for thinking of me.' It was warm in the house and he wriggled his neck inside the starched white shirt he had put on under his one good charcoal-grey suit.

  'Let's go in the drawing-room,' Sharon said. 'Granddaddy will be here soon.' He followed her across the hall. She opened a door and sunlight streamed through.

  The room they came into was larger than the hallway, but brighter and less formidable, Alan thought. It was furnished in Chippendale and Sheraton, with light Persian rugs, the walls damask-covered and ornamented with gilt and crystal sconces. There were some original oils - Degas, Cezanne, and a more modern Lawren Harris. A large decorated Christmas tree occupied one corner of the room, next to a Steinway piano. Leaded casement windows, closed now, led to a flagstoned terrace.

  'Granddaddy, I take it, is Senator Deveraux,' Alan said.

  'Oh yes, I forgot you wouldn't know.' Sharon motioned him to a Chippendale settee and sat down opposite. 'My parents are divorced, you see. Nowadays Daddy lives in Europe -- Switzerland, most of the time - then Mummy got married again and went to Argentina, so I live here.' She said it unselfconsciously and with no trace of bitterness.

  'Well, well, well! So this is the young man.' A voice boomed from the doorway where Senator Deveraux stood, white hair brushed, his cutaway morning suit faultlessly pressed. There was a small red rose in his lapel and as he entered he was rubbing his hands together.

  Sharon performed the introductions.

  'I do apologize, Mr Maitland,' the Senator said courteously, 'for bringing you here on Christmas Day. I trust it was not inconvenient.'

  'No, sir,' Alan said.

  'Good. Then before our business, perhaps you'll join us in a glass of sherry.'

  "Thank you.'

  There were glasses and a crystal decanter on a mahogany
table. As Sharon poured sherry, Alan ventured, 'You have a beautiful home. Senator.'

  'I'm delighted you think so, my boy.' The old man seemed genuinely pleased. 'All my life I've taken a pleasure in surrounding myself with exquisite things.'

  'Granddaddy has quite a reputation as a collector,' Sharon said. She had brought the glasses to them. 'The only trouble is, sometimes it's like living in a museum.'

  'The young scoff at antiquity, or pretend to.' Senator Deveraux smiled indulgently at his granddaughter. 'But I have hopes for Sharon. She and I arranged this room together.'

  'It's an impressive result,' Alan said.

  'I will admit to believing that is true.' The Senator's eyes roved around him fondly. 'We have a few rather special things here. This, for instance - a splendid example from the T'ang Dynasty.' His fingers reached out, gently caressing a superb pottery horse and rider, delicately coloured. The piece stood alone on a marble-topped tabouret. 'Twenty-six hundred years ago this was designed by a master craftsman in a civilization more enlightened, perhaps, than our own today.'

  'It is beautiful,' Alan said. He thought: there must be a fortune in this single room. He reflected on the contrast between these surroundings and Tom Lewis's boxlike two-bed-roomed bungalow in which he had spent the evening before.

  'But now to business.' The Senator's tone had become brisk and businesslike. The three of them sat down. _ 'I apologize, my boy, as I said, for the suddenness of this call. There is, however, a matter which excites my concern and sympathy and, I think, brooks no delay.' His interest. Senator Deveraux explained, was in the ship's stowaway, Henri Duval - 'that unfortunate young man, homeless and without a country, who stands outside our gates pleading, in the name of humanity, to enter.'

  'Yes,' Alan said. 'I read about it last night. I remember thinking there wasn't much could be done.'

  Sharon, who had been listening carefully, asked, 'Why not?'

  'Mostly,' Alan answered, 'because the Canadian Immigration Act is quite definite about who can come in and who can't.'

  'But according to the newspaper,' Sharon protested, 'he won't even be given a public hearing.'

  'Yes, my boy, what about that, eh?' The Senator cocked an inquiring eyebrow. 'Where is our vaunted freedom when a man - any man - cannot have his day in court?'

  'Don't misunderstand me,' Alan said. 'I'm not defending the way things are. As a matter of fact, we studied the Immigration Act in law school and I think there's a lot wrong. But I'm talking about the law the way it stands. If it's a question of changing it, that's more in your line. Senator.'

  Senator Deveraux sighed. 'It's hard, hard, with a government as inflexible as the one in office. But tell me, do you really believe there is nothing that can be done for this unfortunate young man - in a legal sense, I mean?'

  Alan hesitated. 'It's an off-the-cuff opinion, of course.'

  'Naturally.'

  'Well, assuming the facts to be reasonably true as the newspaper had them, this man Duval has no rights at all. Before he could get a hearing in court - even if it would do any good, which I doubt - he would have to be officially landed in the country and, the way7 things are, that seems unlikely.' Alan glanced at Sharon. 'What I expect will happen is that the ship will sail and Duval with it - the way he came.'

  'Perhaps, perhaps.' The Senator mused, his eyes on a Cezanne landscape on the wall facing him. 'And yet occasionally there are loopholes in the law.'

  'Very often.' Alan nodded agreement. 'I said it was just an off-the-cuff opinion.'

  'So you did, my boy.' The Senator had withdrawn his eyes from the painting and was businesslike again. 'That's why I want you to probe into this whole affair more deeply to see what loophole, if any, exists. In short, it is my wish that you act as counsel for this unfortunate young man.'

  'But supposing he...'

  Senator Deveraux raised an admonitory hand. 'I entreat you: hear me out. It is my intention to pay legal fees and any expenses you may incur. In return I shall ask only that my own part in the affair be kept confidential.'

  Alan shifted uncertainly on the settee. This moment, he knew, could be important, to himself as well as others. The case itself might come to nothing, but if handled properly it could mean connections for the future, leading to other cases later on. When he had come here this morning he had not known what to expect; now that he did, he supposed he should be pleased. And yet, uneasily, there was a stirring of doubt. He suspected there was more below the surface than the older man had revealed. He was aware of Sharon's eyes upon him.

  Abruptly Alan asked, 'Why, Senator?'

  'Why what, my boy?'

  'Why do you want your part in this kept secret?'

  Momentarily the Senator seemed nonplussed, then brightened. 'There is a text in the good book. I believe it reads:

  "When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth".'

  It was dramatically done. But something had clicked in Alan Maitland's brain. He asked quietly, 'Alms, sir, or politics?'

  The Senator's brows came down. 'I'm afraid I don't follow you.'

  Well, Alan thought, here we go; here's where you blow the deal and lose the first big client you almost had. He said deliberately, 'Immigration right now is a top political issue. This particular case has already been in the papers and could stir up a lot of trouble for the Government. Isn't that what you had in mind. Senator - just using this man on the ship as a kind of pawn? Isn't that why you wanted me - someone young and green instead of your regular law firm, who'd be identified with you? I'm sorry, sir, but that's not the way I plan to practise law.'

  He had spoken more strongly than he intended at first, but indignation had got the better of him. He wondered how he would explain to his partner Tom Lewis and whether Tom would have done the same thing. He suspected not; Tom had more sense than to throw away a fee quixotically.

  He was conscious of a rumbling sound. Surprised, he became aware that Senator Deveraux was chuckling.

  'Young and green, I think you said, my boy.' The Senator paused, chuckling again, his waistline heaving quietly. 'Well, you may be young, but certainly not green. What's your opinion, Sharon?'

  'I'd say you got caught out, Granddaddy.' Alan was aware that Sharon was looking at him with respect.

  'And so I did, my dear; indeed I did. This is a smart young man you have found.'

  Somehow, Alan realized, the situation had changed, though he was not sure in which way. The only thing he was certain of was that Senator Deveraux was a man of many facets.

  'Very well; so all our cards are face up on the table.' The Senator's tone had changed softly; it was less ponderous, more as if directed to an equal. 'Let us suppose that everything you allege is true. Is this young man on the ship still not entitled to legal help? Is he to be denied an aiding hand because the motives of an individual, to wit, myself, happen to be mixed? If you were drowning, my boy, would you care if the one who swam to save you did so because he considered you might be of use to him alive?'

  'No,' Alan said. 'I don't suppose I would.'

  'What, then, is the difference? - if there is a difference.' Senator Deveraux leaned forward in his chair. 'Allow me to ask you something. You believe, I assume, in the correction of injustice.'

  'Of course.'

  'Of course.' The Senator nodded sagely. 'Let us consider, then, this young man on the ship. He has no legal rights, we are told. He is not a Canadian, or a bona fide immigrant, nor even a transient who has landed and will leave soon. In the law's eyes he is not even present. Therefore, even though he may wish to appeal to the law - to plead in court for admittance to this or any other country - he cannot do so. Is that correct?'

  'I wouldn't put it quite in those terms,' Alan said, 'but in substance that's correct.'

  'In other words, yes.'

  Alan smiled wryly. 'Yes.'

  'And yet supposing tonight, on the ship in Vancouver Harbour, this same man committed murder or arson. What would happen to him?'
/>
  Alan nodded. He could see the question's point. 'He'd be taken ashore and tried.'

  'Exactly, my boy. And if guilty he would be punished, and never mind his status or the lack of it. So that way, you see, the law can reach Henri Duval, even though he cannot reach the law.'

  It was a neatly packaged argument. Not surprisingly, Alan reflected, the old man had a smooth debater's skill.

  But skilful or not, the point he made was sound. Why should the law work only one way - against a man and not for him? And even though Senator Deveraux's motives were political, nothing changed the essential fact he had pointed out: that an individual, present in the community, was being denied a basic human right.

  Alan pondered. What could the law do for the man on the ship? Anything or nothing? And if nothing - why?

  Alan Maitland had no callow illusions about the law. New as he was in its service, he was aware that justice was neither automatic nor impartial, and that sometimes injustice triumphed over right. He knew that social status had a good deal to do with crime and punishment, and that the well-heeled who could afford to make use of all the law's processes were less likely to suffer direly for sinning than those, less wealthy, who could not. The law's slowness, he was sure, at times denied the innocent their rights, and some who deserved redress failed to seek it because of the high cost of a day in court. And at the other end of the scale were the case-loaded magistrates' courts, dispensing pressure-cooker justice, often without proper care for the rights of an accused.

  He had come to know these things in much the same way that all students and young lawyers gradually and inevitably become informed of them. At times they pained him deeply, as they pained many of his elder colleagues whose idealism had not rubbed off through their years at the bar.

  But with all the law's faults it had one great virtue. It was there.

  It existed. Its greatest merit was its availability.