Chapter 52

The visitor turned out to be the telephone installation man. I showed him the multi-line phone in Charles’ study, telling him that my line should be on the third button, then took him upstairs and indicated where the telephone jack should be by my desk. Being a typical union employee, he grumbled a bit at the trouble this would take, but he brightened when I told him that the house was already pre-wired with enough cable pairs to accommodate several more telephone lines—all he had to do was tap into the correct pair. The job was a great deal easier than he’d feared, and he was gone forty-five minutes later. I sat back down at my computer and placed my first call.

“Chandler, Todd, Woodward, & Barnett,” a female voice said.

“Charles Barnett, please.”

“One moment, I’ll connect you.”

“Mr. Barnett’s office,” a voice I recognized as Rosemary’s said.

“This is Philip d’Autremont calling.”

“Oh, Mr. d’Autremont, I’m sorry, but Mr. Barnett is in a meeting. Do you have his private number?”