Parlor Games A Novel

THE TRIAL

THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR



MENOMINEE—JANUARY 24, 1917



When Alvah Sawyer called Frank back to the stand on day three of the trial, I prepared myself for more shilly-shallying.

“Miss Shaver, we haven’t talked much about you.”

Frank folded her hands in her lap, pretending at a humility we both knew was altogether alien to her. “No, sir.”

“Can you tell us about your parents and your upbringing?”

“I was born in Pittsburgh and am an only child. My father was in property development, and my mother’s father was a banker. They ran in circles that hosted dinners for well-off families and served lovely feasts and French wines. You could say I grew up surrounded by generous and wealthy families.”

I noticed Frank was taking pains to put on the proper parlance of her upbringing, which she rarely used in the parlors or dining halls, to say nothing of the streets, of Menominee.

“And did you have to worry about money when you were growing up?”

“Oh, no, I had everything I could want. My parents didn’t show off their wealth, but I knew there was plenty of money and that someday I’d inherit it.”

“So you believed money would never be a problem for you?”

“That’s correct.”

“You thought it was a bottomless pit, right?”

“Yes, I always thought there’d be money whenever I needed it.”

“Did your family pay for your education?”

“Yes, after I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania they paid for my law schooling at the University of Michigan.”

“And they helped you set up your practice in the Chicago area?”

“They helped me buy a home in Highland Park and sent me a three-thousand-dollar allowance until I started making a respectable income from my practice.”

Where, I wondered, was she going with this—besides showing she could play Little Miss Proper and Innocent? Perhaps Sawyer had encouraged her to strike a virtuous demeanor.

“So there was never any question that money was there for you if you needed it?”

“No question whatsoever.”

“Would it be correct to say that until the events of the last few years you didn’t understand the value of a dollar and thought there was no limit to your family’s resources?”

“Yes, that would be accurate.”

I couldn’t keep my jaw from dropping. This was her strategy? To claim that she didn’t know the value of a dollar? That she believed her supply of money was unlimited? I stared at Frank; when she glanced my way, I rolled my eyes.



At the judge’s urging, the pace picked up in the afternoon. Still, Frank’s attorney explained that he was unlikely to complete his direct examination of her by the end of the day.

“Miss Shaver,” began Sawyer, “you traveled with the Baroness to Hot Springs, Arkansas, early in 1913, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And this was soon after your reconciliation with her?”

“Yes.”

“And how did the Baroness impress you on this trip?”

“She was decked out in jewelry and a dress fit for a queen.”

“Can you describe all this for us?”

“She wore a yellow-diamond necklace that she said was worth a hundred thousand dollars and a ring with two pear-shaped diamonds worth eight thousand. Her dress was royal blue with fancy gold filament woven into the front piece. And Tokyo’s collar was made of platinum and lined with an ungodly number of diamonds.”

“Who’s Tokyo?”

“Her French bulldog.”

The onlookers chuckled in amusement at Tokyo’s introduction into the proceedings. Even I was grateful for the touch of levity.

“How many diamonds were in the collar?”

“More than I could count—six hundred and eighty-eight, according to May. She said she’d been offered twelve thousand dollars for the largest one.”

“Did she make a point of telling you the value of these things?”

“She played coy at first, but, once I commented, she rattled off a string of high numbers that would’ve made anybody’s head spin.”

“And what conclusions did you draw about the Baroness’s financial status at the time?”

“What she probably wanted me to conclude—that she was as wealthy as King Midas.”

“And did this impression have any bearing on how you conducted your financial affairs with the Baroness?”

“It sure did. I assumed she didn’t need my money, except for short-term use, and that she’d return everything she borrowed and be as generous with me as I’d been with her.”

“She led you to believe your friendship was a permanent and secure one, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t see what in the world Frank’s wishes for a permanent friendship had to do with her financial claims, but since the judge called for a brief recess at that point, Sawyer had little opportunity to pursue the matter.