Carrie put the phone down slowly. She stood looking at the opposite wall with blank eyes. So Raven had got there at last. She had watched him closely ever since Mendetta had turned him down. She knew that Raven would be a very different boss from Mendetta. Maybe he wouldn’t be so mean, but he was going to be a lot more ruthless. Carrie suddenly found herself anxious for her girls. She didn’t mind how she treated them herself, but it made her feel dismayed to think that Raven was going to control them all in the future.
She went back into the reception−room and sat down to wait for Lu.
14
June 6th, 9.30 a.m.
JACK CASTON, under−manager for the local branch office of Preston Motors, walked into the Preston building with a light springy step.
The commissionaire saluted smartly and escorted him to the elevator.
Caston was the kind of guy who got up early in the morning and did breathing exercises in front of an open window. He was bouncing with good health and his big pink face was torture to anyone with a morning hang−over.
He walked into his office, rang the buzzer on his desk, and then hung up his hat. He walked over to the mirror and adjusted his tie and smoothed down his hair. He was very satisfied with what he saw in the mirror.
The door opened and his secretary walked in. She was a ritzy−looking dame, with corn−coloured hair, blue eyes, and a neat little figure.
Caston smiled at her and sat down at his desk. She thought he looked like a very nice good−humoured pig.