Chapter 22: The Vote

On Friday morning a Cook County judge froze the Lakefront account.

The notes sat unpaid and unclaimable, and Elias's lenders sent a polite email asking everyone to wait.

On Thursday the twenty-sixth, at ten, Margot stood in the corridor on the twenty-second floor and looked at the oak doors.

Reporters lined the wall, six deep.

Bridget was among them in a good coat, holding a casserole dish, for reasons nobody had been brave enough to ask.

Behind Margot, Thaddeus leaned on his cane in a navy suit.

"Ready?" he said.

"No."

"Good. I never was."

Elias stood on her other side with Claire, who wore grey and carried nothing.

Two plain-clothes detectives had come up in the elevator with them and stopped at the end of the hall.

Margot put her hand on the door.

"Together?" she said.

"Together," said Thaddeus.

They went in.

The board was seated.

Otto sat at the foot of the table, where the least important people sat.

A security man stood at his shoulder, and his smile was on.

He rose when he saw Thaddeus, and the smile went wide.

"Thaddeus," he said. "Thank God. We've all been so worried."

"Sit down, Otto."

"You're not well. The doctors have said as much."

Otto turned to the table.

"Gentlemen, I'm so sorry. This is exactly what I told you. He should not be here."

"I told you to sit," Thaddeus said.

He did not raise his voice.

He walked the length of the table with his cane ticking on the carpet, and every director followed him with their eyes.

He took the chair at the head, which had stood empty since August.

Then he set the cane across his knees and said, "I will call this meeting to order in a moment."

"One moment," said the vice chair.

"Yes?"

"Before the call." He cleared his throat. "Ms. Ellery has a motion."

Margot stepped up to the table.

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