A beggar, a thief
Irwin Shaw The
Beggar, The Thief
The events of the novel take place in 1968 – 1972. Through the whole novel, excerpts from the diary of Billy Abbott pass by a refrain. He watches from outside the family Djordakhov. His reasoning, as a rule, is extremely cynical.
Part one
Journalist Alexander Hubbel and his wife came to rest in Antibes. For several days, he was haunted by an article from a magazine that mentioned Jorda, the owner of the Klotilde yacht, who was killed on the sixth day after his marriage. Hubbel remembered the Mayor of Whitby, whose surname was also Jorda. Hoping for a piquant story, Hubbel began an investigation. At first he visited the police department of Antibes and learned that in this story the daughter-in-law of Thomas Jordah was involved. Upon learning from the policeman that Gene Jordan was staying at the Du Cape Hotel, the journalist went to her.
On board the “Clotilde” all hard survived the death of Tom. Kate
After a while Rudolph assembled Dwyer (Rabbit), Kate and Wesley aboard the Clotilde, to talk about the inheritance. Everything was complicated by the fact that Tom did not leave a will. Rudolph surprised how indifferent these people reacted to money. He realized that he would have to decide all the problems relating to the inheritance himself. Visiting the consul in Nice, Rudolph realized that the transfer of the state of Thomas Jordah to his heirs would not be easy, since Tom was a citizen of America, who died in a foreign country. Rudolph felt that he was in a thick web of legal provisions, and the more he tried to free himself, the more he became entangled.
Rudolph did not want to return to Antibes. He crossed the English Boulevard, entered
When Rudolph returned to Antibes, Gretchen informed him that Wesley had ended up in prison in Cannes. He hit a man with a beer bottle, and then got into a fight with a policeman. When Rudolph pulled up to the building of the Cannes Prefecture, Dwyer was already waiting for him. He told Rudolph that Wesley was searching in this bar for Yugoslavian Danovich, the murderer of his father. See with Wesley until the morning they did not work. In the morning Rudolph called the anti-bureau lawyer, whom the consul recommended him.
Wesley lay on folding bunks in the cell and recalled long conversations with his father during night watches. He wanted to know as much as possible about his father’s past, and Tom did not hide anything from his son, in the hope that his son would learn a lesson from his stories.
Rudolph again went to the consulate, twice visited the prison in Grasse, where Wesley was transferred, went to see a lawyer three times and repeatedly called his attorney Johnny Heath in New York. In the end, the court ordered the deportation of Wesley outside the country.
After a while, Rudolph had a serious conversation with Jean. That day she was sober. Jean told Rudolph that she decided to divorce him for Enid’s sake. She knew that she would never recover from alcoholism, and she did not want to spoil her husband and daughter anymore. Gene planned to transfer her capital to the name of Enid, hire a reliable companion, settle somewhere in a quiet place and from time to time visit her daughter who will live with her father. Rudolf had no choice but to agree. It was the last night they spent together.
The Jordahs were about to leave. The luggage was already loaded into the limousine when a car drove up to the door of the hotel. Two of them came out of her: a small, fat and slovenly woman and just as small and full as a man. The woman was Teresa, Wesley’s mother. She saw a note in Time magazine, written by Alexander Hubbel, and rushed to Antibes, sensing her life. After the divorce, she married Edward Krejlera. He was a Mormon, and Theresa intended to bring her son into the bosom of the church, and at the same time to appropriate his share of the inheritance. She tried to forget that during the divorce with Tom signed a document that deprived her of the rights to her son. Rudolph told her that by decree, the legacy would be administered by Tom’s widow, and left. He was shaking with anger, which was mixed with a feeling of utter despair and anxiety for Wesley.
After leaving the family, Rudolph moved to another hotel to be closer to Jeanne. By this time Kate had already left for England, and Dwyer still lived on a yacht, preparing it for sale. Wesley was not so bad in prison. One of the guards managed even to steal from the police archives a photograph of Danovich. Now, if Wesley meets this bastard, he will surely find out. A week later the policeman brought Wesley to the airport, where he was already waiting for Dwyer, Rudolph and the Kreyler. Dwyer brought Wesley his things, including photos of his father. Seeing the mother with stepfather, Wesley regretted that he had not fled along the road. When the plane took off, Wesley took photographs from the envelope and began to examine them. Seeing this, Teresa snatched photos from her son’s hands and tore it. Wesley did not want to quarrel with her, and only watched the shreds fall to the floor.
Part two
Billy Abbott came arm in arm with Monica from a restaurant in the center of Brussels. In NATO, he served well. Colonel adored tennis, and he needed just such a partner as Billy, so now Billy was no longer a corporal, and a senior sergeant and in charge of the garage, which gave him a considerable increase in sergeant’s salaries. The colonel often invited Billy to supper, and the Colonel’s wife considered him charming. Billy knew that it was Rudolph who had saved him from the war, and was about to show him his gratitude someday. Now in his pocket, Billy had a letter from his uncle with a check for a thousand dollars. It was Monica who forced him to ask for money from a rich uncle.
About Monica’s family, Billy did not know anything. She often went to some mysterious meetings, but all the rest of the time she was comfortable and complaisant. Monica was dark-haired, always disheveled, as if purposely trying to look worse, but when she smiled, her big blue eyes lit up her whole face. For Billy, her small growth was of great importance, because with his height of 168 centimeters and a fragile physique, tall women caused him an inferiority complex.
Today Monica was facing one of her mysterious encounters. She sat in a taxi and left, Billy again unable to hear what address she called the chauffeur. Shrugging, he went to a cafe, ordered a beer and read Rudolph’s letter. It was felt that he was very lonely and did not know what to do. Gretchen’s letters were harsh and instructive. She never forgave her son that he was in the army, Billy could not forgive her mother for her love affairs.
In the morning, Billy found out why Monica had money. Returning home at dawn, she woke Billy and explained that the money would go to the sergeant from the ammunition depot, so that he would let the people with whom she was connected go on the army truck that would give Billy out of her garage. Billy himself will not participate in this case. He just needs to take the truck out of the garage and give it to a man in the uniform of a lieutenant in US military police. In the same even tone, Monika informed Billy that she had chosen him as a lover because of the position of the head of the garage, although he had become very attached to him ever since. Billy realized that Monica is a terrorist organization. He did not pretend that he was frightened. It began to shiver, but, even trembling, he felt an extraordinary rise. For the first time he did not back down, although it was about his life. Until now, he did not at all want to remake the world, and was pleased with the fact, that he took a warm place in it. Now he was involved in something, and he will have to react to it. Billy realized that his life had changed radically.
The first half of the day passed like in a fog. Billy wanted to call the colonel and tell him everything, fly by night to New York, go to the CIA and put Monica behind bars, but he did not do anything. He did not want to part with Monica, because he loved her. When Billy met with Monica during lunch, she said that she was not going to leave him, because she did not mix politics and sex. Billy could not resist.
Wesley came to the office of the editor-in-chief of Time magazine to talk with a journalist who wrote an article about the murder of Tom. The editor sent Wesley to Miss Larkin, who was collecting material for the article. It was a short young woman with glasses, unfashionably dressed, but pretty. She was romantic, fond of poetry. Billy she found very beautiful. She gave Wesley a folder with archival materials, and even allowed her to take as a souvenir a photograph of her father. Then she invited Wesley to the bar and was terribly embarrassed to learn that he was not yet eighteen. Miss Larkin wrote a novel, but now she thought about her work with contempt. She wanted to write a novel about Wesley. Returning home, Miss Larkin threw sixty pages of her novel written into the fire.
After a visit to the publishing house Wesley went to Rudolph. Rudolph divorced his wife and now lived with his daughter and nanny. He was very happy to see Wesley on the threshold. Rudolph often wrote to his nephew, but now it turned out that he did not receive any letters: Teresa intercepted them. They agreed that Rudolph would write to his nephew on demand. Wesley came to New York in order to learn as much as possible about his father’s past. He wanted to know the truth and decided to start with the closest relatives. In the evening Rudolph, Gretchen and Wesley went to dinner in the restaurant. It was an evening of memories. Rudolph and Gretchen told the nephew the whole truth about his difficult childhood. Rudolph promised to supply Wesley with a list of people who knew Thomas Jordan. Stay with Uncle at night Wesley refused.
The next day, Rudolph and his Heath family went on a visit to Jean. After the divorce, Jean bought herself a house on Cape Montauk, lived there with her companion, a burly masseuse, and again took up photography. Rudolph was alone. He had long since broken up with Jeanne, and now he was afraid to be alone with Jean. He was afraid that the evening spent with her would cause him to return to the family hearth. That’s why he took Hits with him. On the way, Johnny Heat persuaded Rudolph to go with him to Nevada and buy a ranch for sale.
Usually Gretchen liked to work in the editing room on Saturdays, when only she and her assistant Ida Cohen remained in a deserted building. But today it did not work. Evans Kinsella again shot as horrible, and mounted the film was hard. But Gretchen bothered not only this. A few days ago Kinsella gave her a chance to read the script of a young, unknown author. Gretchen came full rapture from him, but Kinsella refused to shoot a film on it. Gretchen decided to tell Kinsella all that she thinks about him and break with him. Ida persuaded her to finish editing the film by Kinsella, and then she herself took up the production of this script. Gretchen decided to ask for money from Rudolph.
Rudolph had a great weekend. Gene had a healthy and vigorous look. She again looked like the woman he loved so much. Rudolph began to lean towards the idea that Enid was better off living with her mother. They returned to New York late at night. With a suitcase in his hands Rudolph climbed the stairs to the front door. She was again unlocked. In a dimly lit vestibule, a male voice ordered him to remain silent and not to twitch. Two well-dressed strangers, threatening with a pistol, forced Rudolph to climb into his apartment. Rudolph did not have any cash, and this very much angered them. They beat Rudolph and crushed the apartment. Coming for a while in himself, Rudolph managed to crawl up to the phone and call for help Gretchen. Then he lost consciousness again. Rudolph spent two weeks in the hospital and never went to Nevada with Johnny Heath.
Part Three
Wesley brought Mrs. Warefam the food ordered by her in the supermarket, and she invited him to a cup of coffee. Then she invited him to bed. In the house of the Crawlers, not only coffee was banned, so Wesley accepted both invitations. It was the tenth order he took Mrs. Wareham. Wesley felt that the moment had come when everything should go differently. Somewhere outside of Indianapolis there must be a girl who can be loved. In the meantime, he will just wait.
At the post office, Wesley was waiting for two letters – from Rudolph and from Rabbit. Now he regularly received letters. Rabbit reported that “Clotilde” was sold for one hundred and ten thousand dollars. Before that, the owner of the yacht was Rudolph. No one gave a good price for the yacht, and so Rudolph bought it himself. Now he resold the “Clotilde” to a German family. Rabbit did not stay on the Clotilde, although he was persuaded, and settled on the yacht “Dolores”. Kate worked as a barmaid in her home town. She had a son, whom she called Tom, in honor of her father. Wesley had already asked Rabbit twice if he had heard anything about Danovich, but Rabbit had never written about him.
Rudolph’s letter contained two twenty-dollar pieces of paper. Wesley never asked for money, but was glad when they came. Rudolph wrote that he moved to live in a new place, away from New York. He has fully recovered after two plastic surgeries. Doing a third operation to fix a broken nose, he did not want. Gretchen acquired the rights to the script and is going to put the film. She believes that Wesley can play one of the roles in her picture. In this letter, Rudolph sent Wesley a list of people who had ever known Tom.
Both letters Wesley gave Jimmy, a black guy who worked with him on the delivery of food. Jimmy was Wesley’s only friend. Wesley could not keep letters at home: his mother searched his room twice a week. She did not give up trying to draw Wesley into the bosom of the church, and the violent manifestations of her mother’s love made Wesley feel uncomfortable. After dinner, Wesley asked Jimmy to deliver Mrs. Werfem’s purchases from tomorrow.
Wesley did not want to go home. The situation there was oppressive, because the son of Mr. Crailer Max died in Vietnam. The zinc coffin was to be brought from day to day. Wesley was increasingly thinking about escaping, but he wanted to give his mother another chance.
Max’s body was accompanied by corporal Healy. Wesley had to sleep with him on the same bed, because Mr. Kreyler’s married daughter, Doris, stayed in the guest room. In the evening Doris came to their room. She was wearing a nightgown through which the body shone through. In the afternoon, Doris winked at Healey, and now Wesley was about to leave them alone. Suddenly the door flew open. On the threshold with a stony face stood his mother. Theresa threatened Wesley that he would tell Mr. Crueiler everything, and he would steal it. Wesley said he would kill Mr. Kreyler if he touched him. Then Therese drove Wesley out of the house, shouting at the same time that he would not receive his share of the inheritance – she was not going to give the whole fortune to the hands of the murdered killer. Wesley collected his things and left the house of Mr. Kreyler that evening.
In Chicago, Wesley planted a truck driver. Looking at his list, Wesley saw the address of William Abbott and decided to start his investigation with him. Abbot did not make a favorable impression on Wesley, and he tried to leave as quickly as possible. From Chicago, Wesley called Rudolph. He informed his nephew that an arrest warrant had been issued in Indianapolis. Teresa said that when Wesley left the house, he stole $ 150 from a jug above the stove, and Wesley could not come to Rudolf now. Wesley immediately realized that the money took Healy. He remembered the girl from the editorial staff of Time magazine, who had helped him so much, and decided to go to New York.
After a phone call from Chicago, Wesley did not talk to his uncle for about two months. Arriving in New York, he immediately went to Alice Larkin. She was clearly delighted with him. Wesley told her about his goal: to understand how Tom saw people he knew. Alice wanted to help him. She settled Wesley in her small apartment and bought him new clothes. Alice confessed to Wesley that she wanted to write a novel about him. Wesley wrote down the sums spent on him in a notebook, planning to repay the debt after his majority.
Wesley decided to start with Fort-Philip, where the history of the Jordahs began. Through her journal, Alice found out that Theodore Boylan is still alive and still lives in his estate. The wort in the possession of Boylan was broken, the road in the potholes, lawns overgrown with tall grass. The house of Boylan seemed Wesley like a prison. Theodore Boylan himself turned out to be an old man with a sharp nose and dull eyes. He contemptuously responded to Tom as a murderer and arsonist. Leaving the room, Wesley thought that his father should have burned not only the cross, but the whole damned place.
The next was Dominique Joseph Agostino, the former coach of the sports club in which Tom worked. Ellis found out that he still works in the same club as a doorman. Looking at him, Wesley could not imagine that this man was once young. Agostino was still grateful to Tom for the fact that he once avenged him for the offspring of an old Boston family. At parting, he said to Wesley: “Many had to be killed before the turn came to your father.” Wesley returned to New York in a completely different mood than after the Fort-Philip.
While Wesley was away, Ellis found Clotilde. A few years ago in Elysium was a loud divorce case of Harold Jordan. His wife found him in bed with a servant and took away half his fortune from him. The servant was Clotilde. Now she owned a laundry in Elysium.
At first Wesley planned to see Harold Jordan, but he did not want to deal with the son of Tom. Then Wesley went to the laundry to meet the woman his father loved so much. Clotilde was a short, stocky, aging woman. She was glad to see Wesley. Hota at Clotilde was another man, she still lived memories of Tom. “Your father was the most gentle man, such a woman can only dream of in her wanderings through this land,” she said to Wesley in good-bye.
Old Schultz, Tom’s former manager, lived in an old people’s home in the Bronx. He still could not forgive Tom for the fact that he ruined his only chance to get the champion. Schulz believed that Tom ruined the women. Wesley was tired of the fact that his father was constantly being muddied, and he was thinking about quitting this venture. Ellis began to dissuade Wesley, and he yelled at her. Alice burst into tears, Wesley hugged her to console her, and kissed her.
Calvin Renway was different from Rabbit Dwyer only in skin color. He accepted Wesley as a prince, and was very upset to learn that Tom was dead. He was the only person who could protect a black sailor from Falconetti. It was the happiest moment in Renway’s life. “If you are at least half what your father was, you will have to thank God every day,” he told Wesley. At parting, Renway gave him a small, leather-wrapped box with gold embossing – the most expensive thing he had, and treated the best in Harlem to dinner. Going down to the subway, Wesley dropped his list. After such words about the father, it makes no sense to meet with someone else, he thought, and felt relieved, as if a stone had fallen from his soul.
Rudolph rented a house on the Atlantic coast. Several days a week he was accompanied by Helen Morison. She was divorced and once at a party with her neighbors she approached Rudolph. Helen was a tall slim woman with a well-defined face and dark reddish-brown hair. She was actively involved in the affairs of the Democratic Party and belonged to those women who can be relied upon more than men.
Now Rudolph’s thoughts occupied the film, which Gretchen was going to put. He was not sure that his sister had the ability to make a picture. And yet Rudolph agreed to take a third of the costs, he enjoyed it. The film was decided to be shot in Port Filipe, the hometown of Jordahov. Rudolph and Helen had dinner when a doorbell rang. Wesley was standing on the threshold, neatly dressed and combed.
Billy became a member of the terrorist organization, which consisted of Monica. From some words in the conversation, Billy concluded that similar groups exist in other European cities, but he did not know the details. Billy was indignant that he was treated like an outsider, although he had already twice participated in their affairs. Now Billy ironically treated the contempt of comrades in arms who considered him a Colonel’s favorite. He knew that eventually he would be given weapons and ordered to be killed, and he would kill. Billy felt like fate, a man who means something. He was going to stay in the army for a second term, which greatly upset Gretchen.
Returning late at night home, Billy met a man at the entrance of his house, in which he recognized his father. Abbot Sr. learned that his son intends to remain in the army, and came to dissuade him. He suggested that Billy move to Chicago and start advertising business. Efforts of Abbot did not succeed.
In the morning Monica appeared and brought a package that Billy had to deliver to Gro-Cayu Street in the Seventh District of Paris. In the package there were ten thousand French francs and an American automatic pistol with a silencer. He arrived too early. When there was about thirty meters to the right street, a police car swept past him in a howl and stopped, blocking the entrance to Gro-Kaya. Five policemen jumped out of her with pistols in their hands. Billy heard screams, shots rang out. He turned back, forcing himself to walk slowly. At the corner of the street, Billy saw the bank and went into it. There he rented a safe in which he put money and a gun. The rest of the day Billy spent in the hotel room, trying to call Monica. Nobody answered in Brussels. In the morning papers, Billy read that in the Seventh District an unknown person was killed, a suspect in the drug trade. Returning to Brussels in two days, Billy discovered that the apartment was empty. Everything that belonged to Monica, disappeared, no note was left. After these events, Billy decided not to stay in the army.
Helen liked Wesley – she was not at all like Jean. Bathed in the ocean after dinner, Wesley imagined Ellis next to him. After that single kiss, some tension that arose between them changed their relationship for the better. Now Wesley was thinking about Alice with a desire in which he would not dare admit anyone.
Rudolph told his nephew about Gretchen’s intention to film him in his film and said that he had settled the conflict with Teresa. Wesley said he wants to go back to Europe, visit Kate and Rabbit, meet Billy Abbott. Rudolph suggested that Wesley stay with him, finish the school and enter the Merchant Navy school – so he can avoid sending to the war with Vietnam. Wesley agreed.
After leaving the army, Billy went to a place called El Faro near Marbella in Spain. He was offered to work there a year as a tennis coach. Before leaving, Billy received a letter from Monica – she did not want to lose sight of him. Billy tore the letter into small pieces and flushed it down the toilet. He did not leave a new address. In France, Billy bought himself a new car. He could afford it-a small inheritance was waiting for him in a bank in Paris.
Wesley agreed to star in the film Gretchen. He was captured by the process of shooting the picture, every morning he joyfully rushed to the set. His partner was Francis Miller. She had a peculiar beauty, liked to drink, but even more loved to sleep with Wesley. Frances was married to a young actor and lived permanently in California. At the beginning of the novel Wesley was a little uneasy, he thought he was in love with Ellis, although there was still nothing between them. Gretchen warned his nephew that he did not take this novel seriously. Nobody knew that Gretchen was Aunt Wesley, and his uncle financed the painting. Wesley took the pseudonym under which Tom appeared in the ring. Everyone knew him as Wesley Jordan.
On set, Rudolph met David Donnelly. He was an architect, but now he began to work as an artist-decorator. Donnelly shared with Rudolf his plan – to build a residential complex for the elderly, where they could live an active and fulfilling life. Donnelly was already in the spotlight of a suitable piece of land near New York. Rudolf liked this idea, and he wanted to invest money in it. Late at night Drunk and happy Donnelly appeared to Gretchen and confessed her love.
Billy liked this quiet Spanish town. He seemed to come home after a long journey. Billy lived quietly, trying not to make novels with his clients, and even began to write again in his diary. But the quiet life did not last long: soon Monica appeared in the town accompanied by an elderly German businessman. She pretended not to know Billy.
The traditional party in honor of the end of filming came the husband of Francis. Wesley witnessed an unpleasant scene between them. Alice was also present at this party and kept off. Rudolph was late to the beginning, he settled the problems that arose in connection with the Donnelly project. Wesley was disappointed in Francis. Returning home, he reconciled with Alice. They spent the night together.
Monica still did not give the appearance that she knew Billy. At the hotel she was registered under the name of Monica Hitzman. Every day Billy felt more and more uncomfortable. In addition, for Billy began to whip Spaniard named Carmen, the daughter of an influential and wealthy father.
After the shooting, Wesley went to Bath to visit Kate and his younger brother Tom. Then he went to Billy. Abbot liked the cousin, he arranged for Wesley to work in the hotel, clean the pools. Billy told Wesley that Gretchen wants to send the painting to the festival in Cannes. He decided to make himself a small vacation, and go there by car. Wesley agreed to join him. In the end, Monica broke the silence. She became interested in Wesley, but Billy did not want him to contact Monica.
Two weeks later, Billy accidentally landed a tennis ball in Carmen’s eye. The wound was serious. The next day Billy was fired. Now nothing prevented the brothers from going to Cannes. On the way Wesley confessed to Billy that he intended to find and kill Yugoslavia Danovich. Billy could not let him do it. To stretch time, he promised Wesley to get a pistol with a silencer. Arriving in Paris, Billy called Rudolf and told about a new problem. Rudolph flew to France urgently. Wesley, meanwhile, was eagerly waiting for Billy in Saint-Tropez.
Rudolf went to Antibes to the same lawyer who helped him a few years ago. He decided to get ahead of Wesley and with the help of a lawyer to order the murder of Danovich. Billy had to go to Wesley and hold him back for two weeks, but Wesley was too impatient.
In Cannes, Billy met with his mother and discovered that she had a new lover – Donnelly. Everyone was looking for Wesley, but he was nowhere to be found. One evening, Monica appeared in Billy’s room. Between them again there was a love affair. Some time later, Monica gave Billy the job: he had to carry a bomb disguised as a movie camera, for the evening screening of the film Gretchen. The day’s display of the film was an incredible success. Billy met Wesley near the cinema – he also came to see the film. Billy had to confess to his cousin that Rudolph was aware of his plans. Billy decided that he could not do this to his mother, and reported the bomb to the police. The next morning Billy read in the newspaper that a man was arrested who was supposed to hand him a bomb. The next day someone blew up Billy’s car.
Part Four
1972 year. Billy moved to Chicago and worked in the newspaper, in the department of urban news. He led a closed life, because he was afraid that the terrorist group of Monica would find him. Billy’s colleague, Rod Flynn, often invited him to parties, but he always refused. Despite this, Billy was aware of all family events.
Rudolph, along with Helen Morison, began to engage in the affairs of the Democratic Party and now plied between America and Europe. Wesley worked as a sailor on some yacht in the Mediterranean. He never abandoned his intention to avenge his father, and was still looking for Danovich. Alice moved to the Paris office of the “Times” to see Wesley more often. Soon, in one of Rudolf Billy’s letters, he found a note cut from the Marseilles newspaper. It said that the body of the citizen of Yugoslavia Janos Danovich was found in the port. On the top of the sheet was the date: Saturday, October 24, 1970. When Wesley went to Europe, Danovich was already dead for six months.
This news stunned Billy. He realized that he was tired of being afraid. Billy called Rod, got into a taxi and went to a party.
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