Death on Deadline - Robert Goldsborough Page 0,36

strongly opposed to a MacLaren takeover as you are?”

“Hell, yes. Elliot was a tiger where Harriet’s interests were concerned. He would have walked on hot coals for her.”

“The family’s younger members obviously lack the same degree of fealty,” Wolfe remarked dryly.

“Hah, that’s for sure,” Bishop agreed. “I know I can be candid with you; together, I wouldn’t give a subway token for those three—wait, let me modify that. I really can’t say that I know Donna all that well. She actually seems to be bright and at least reasonably honest. But as for those two clowns ... I’d almost rather see MacLaren get the paper than have either of them running things.”

“My impression is that Mrs. Haverhill held the same opinion of them, particularly the stepson.”

“Absolutely. If MacLaren had been just about anybody else, instead of the unprincipled slime that he is, I think she might have sold out without a fight.”

“You had great admiration for her.”

Bishop smiled ruefully. “A fine newspaperwoman. She ran the paper the way Wilkins would have wanted. Her first concern was always editorial excellence. I don’t mean to say she wasn’t interested in making a buck—the Gazette turned a nice profit every year. But she plowed a lot of money back into the product. I’ll give you an example of her priorities: I spent thirty years on the news side—as a reporter, a copy editor, city editor, managing editor, and then eleven years as editor-in-chief. She was publisher at that time, and one day she comes to me and says, ‘Carl, I want you to take over as publisher.’ I told her I didn’t know a damn thing about how to do it, and she answered by saying the publisher ought to come from the editorial side of a paper, to ensure that it never loses sight of its primary mission.”

Bishop waved away my offer of a refill. “Do you know that I’m just about the only publisher of a major U.S. daily that didn’t come up through the business or advertising ranks? I’m not going to speculate on how good I’ve been at the job—others will have to make that judgment—but I’ve always tried to keep in mind that we’re a news organ first and an advertising vehicle second. I must say, however, that I’ve learned to be diplomatic in dealing with our big advertisers, as hard as that sometimes is.”

“Would you have been willing to serve as Mr. MacLaren’s publisher?”

Bishop made a face. “Definitely not, although it’s moot, because he wouldn’t want me. He has a history of bringing in his own team at the top whenever he buys a newspaper.”

“Then what? Were you prepared to retire?”

“I’m sixty-three, and financially I’m well enough off. I still feel good and I love to work, but yeah, I would have said to hell with it. Our kids are grown and my wife and I bought a great place in the Bahamas where we’d like to spend more time.”

Wolfe poured the second bottle of beer into his glass. “You were at the Gazette when Mrs. Haverhill’s body was found?”

“Yes. I knew she’d been meeting with MacLaren, and I was mainly waiting around to see how it had gone—my office is just down the hall from hers on the twentieth floor. Earlier she said that she’d call me when they were done. The first I knew there was trouble was when Sal Milletti—he’s captain of our security force— barged in on me. One of his men, Eddie Reimer, had found her when he was checking the floor on his rounds and called Sal on the radio. They were the only ones who’d been in her suite before I got there.”

“Were the others still in the building—the stepchildren and the nephew?”

“Donna was in with David—and David’s wife, Carolyn. The three of them were talking in the conference room on the twelfth floor. Scott was alone in his office just a few doors away.”

“Why was Carolyn Haverhill there?”

“I guess I should have mentioned her before,” Bishop said. “She’s a powerhouse. I frankly don’t know what the hell she ever saw in David, other than his dough, of course. Although I think she comes from money herself. I could live with her running the Gazette, I think—she’s bright enough, and knows how to make decisions. The big negative about her is the joker she’s married to, though. Anyway, you asked why she was there: she usually is, when there are big corporate decisions to be made.”

“Did she come by invitation?”

Bishop