Sidney Sheldon 3-Book Collection: If Tomorrow Comes, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Best Laid Plans

‘Thanks, Ernestine. I have other plans.’

Ernestine asked eagerly, ‘Who’s next?’

‘Lawrence. Judge Henry Lawrence.’

Henry Lawrence had begun his career as a small-town lawyer in Leesville, Louisiana. He had very little aptitude for the law, but he had two very important attributes: he was impressive looking, and he was morally flexible. His philosophy was that the law was a frail rod, meant to be bent to suit the needs of his clients. With that in mind, it was not surprising that shortly after he moved to New Orleans, Henry Lawrence’s law practice began to flourish with a special group of clients. He went from handling misdemeanours and traffic accidents to handling felonies and capital crimes, and by the time he reached the big leagues, he was an expert at suborning juries, discrediting witnesses, and bribing anyone who could help his case. In short, he was Anthony Orsatti’s kind of man, and it was inevitable that the paths of the two should cross. It was a marriage made in Mafia heaven. Lawrence became the mouthpiece for the Orsatti Family, and when the timing was right, Orsatti had him elevated to a judgeship.

‘I don’t know how you kin nail the judge,’ Ernestine said. ‘He’s rich an’ powerful an’ untouchable.’

‘He’s rich and powerful,’ Tracy corrected her, ‘but he’s not untouchable.’

Tracy had worked out her plan, but when she telephoned Judge Lawrence’s chambers, she knew, immediately, that she would have to change it.

‘I’d like to speak to Judge Lawrence, please.’

A secretary said, ‘I’m sorry, Judge Lawrence is not in.’

‘When do you expect him?’ Tracy asked.

‘I really couldn’t say.’

‘It’s very important. Will he be in tomorrow morning?’

‘No. Judge Lawrence is out of town.’

‘Oh. Perhaps I can reach him somewhere?’

‘I’m afraid that would be impossible. His Honour is out of the country.’

Tracy carefully kept the disappointment from her voice. ‘I see. May I ask where?’

‘His Honour is in Europe, attending an international judiciary symposium.’

‘What a shame,’ Tracy said.

‘Who’s calling, please?’

Tracy’s mind was racing. ‘This is Elizabeth Rowane Dastin, chairwoman of the southern division of the American Trial Lawyers’ Association. We’re having our annual awards dinner in New Orleans on the twentieth of this month, and we’ve chosen Judge Henry Lawrence to be our man of the year.’

‘That’s lovely,’ the judge’s secretary said, ‘but I’m afraid His Honour won’t be back by then.’

‘What a pity. We were all so looking forward to hearing one of his famous speeches. Judge Lawrence was the unanimous choice of our selection committee.’

‘He’ll be disappointed to miss it.’

‘Yes. I’m sure you know what a great honour this is. Some of our country’s most prominent judges have been chosen in the past. Wait a minute! I have an idea. Do you suppose the judge might tape a brief acceptance speech for us – a few words of thanks, perhaps?’

‘Well, I – I really can’t say. He has a very busy schedule –’

‘There’ll be a great deal of national television and newspaper coverage.’

There was a silence. Judge Lawrence’s secretary knew how much His Honour enjoyed media coverage. In fact, as far as she could see, the tour he was presently on seemed to be mainly for that purpose.

She said, ‘Perhaps he might find time to record a few words for you. I could ask him.’

‘Oh, that would be wonderful,’ Tracy enthused. ‘It would really make the whole evening.’

‘Would you like His Honour to address his remarks towards anything specific?’

‘Oh, definitely. We’d like him to talk about –’ She hesitated. ‘I’m afraid it’s a bit complicated. It would be better if I could explain to him directly.’

There was a momentary silence. The secretary faced a dilemma. She had orders not to reveal her boss’s itinerary. On the other hand, it would be just like him to blame her if he missed receiving an award as important as this.

She said, ‘I’m really not supposed to give out any information, but I’m sure he would want me to make an exception for something as prestigious as this. You can reach him in Moscow, at the Rossia Hotel. He’ll be there for the next five days, and after that –’

‘Wonderful. I’ll get in touch with him right away. Thank you so much.’

‘Thank you, Miss Dastin.’

The cables were addressed to Judge Henry Lawrence, Rossia Hotel, Moscow. The first cable read:

NEXT JUDICIARY COUNCIL MEETING CAN NOW BE ARRANGED. CONFIRM CONVENIENT DATE AS SPACE MUST BE REQUESTED.

BORIS

The second cable, which arrived the next day, read:

ADVISE PROBLEM TRAVEL PLANS. YOUR SISTER’S PLANE ARRIVED LATE BUT LANDED SAFELY. LOST PASSPORT AND MONEY. SHE WILL BE PLACED IN FIRST-CLASS SWISS HOTEL. WILL SETTLE ACCOUNT LATER.

BORIS

The last cable read:

YOUR SISTER WILL TRY AMERICAN EMBASSY TO OBTAIN TEMPORARY PASSPORT. NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE YET ON NEW VISA. SWISS MAKE RUSSIANS SEEM SAINTS. WILL SHIP SISTER TO YOU SOONEST.

BORIS

The NKVD sat back and waited to see if there were any further cables. When no more were forthcoming, they arrested Judge Lawrence.

The interrogation lasted for ten days and nights.

‘To whom did you send the information?’

‘What information? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘We’re talking about plans. Who gave you the plans?’

‘What plans?’