The Stars Shine Down

On her father's birthday Lara said to Keller, "Howard, I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure."

"I want you to go to Scotland for me."

"Are we going to build something in Scotland?"

"We're going to buy a castle."

He stood there, listening.

"There's a place in the Highlands called Loch Morlich. It's on the road to Glenmore near Aviemore. There are castles all around there. Buy one."

"Kind of a summer home?"

"I don't plan to live in it. I want to bury my father in the grounds."

Keller said, slowly, "You want me to buy a castle in Scotland to bury your father in?"

"That's right. I haven't time to go over myself. You're the only one I can trust to do it. My father is in the Greenwood Cemetery at Glace Bay."

It was the first real insight Keller ever had into Lara's feelings about her family.

"You must have loved your father very much."

"Will you do it for me?"

"Certainly."

"After he's buried, arrange for a caretaker to tend the grave."

Three weeks later Keller returned from Scotland and said, "It's all taken care of. You own a castle. Your father's resting in the grounds. It's a beautiful place near the hills and with a small lake close by. You'll love it. When are you going over?"

Lara looked up in surprise. "Me? I'm not," she said.

BOOK TWO

Chapter Eleven

In 1984 Lara Cameron decided that the time had come to conquer New York. When she told Keller her plan, he was appalled.

"I don't like the idea," he said flatly. "You don't know New York. Neither do I. It's a different city, Lara. We..."

"That's what they told me when I came from Glace Bay to Chicago," Lara pointed out. "Buildings are the same whether you put them up in Glace Bay, Chicago, New York, or Tokyo. We all play by the same rules."

"But you're doing so great here," Keller protested. "What is it you want?"

"I told you. More. I want my name up on the New York skyline. I'm going to build a Cameron Plaza there, and a Cameron Center. And one day, Howard, I'm going to build the tallest skyscraper in the world. That's what I want. Cameron Enterprises is moving to New York."

New York was in the middle of a building boom, and it was peopled by real estate giants - the Zeckendorfs, Harry Helmsley, Donald Trump, the Urises, and the Rudins.

"We're going to join the club," Lara told Keller.

They checked into the Regency and began to explore the city. Lara could not get over the size and dynamics of the bustling metropolis. It was a canyon of skyscrapers, with rivers of cars running through it.

"It makes Chicago look like Glace Bay!" Lara said. She could not wait to get started.

"The first thing we're going to do is assemble a team. We'll find the best real estate lawyer in New York. Then a great management team. Find out who Rudin uses. See if you can lure them away."

"Right."

Lara said, "Here's a list of buildings I like the looks of. Find out who the architects are. I want to meet with them."

Keller was beginning to feel Lara's excitement. "I'll open up a line of credit with the banks. With the assets we have in Chicago, that won't be any problem. I'll make contacts with some savings and loan companies and some real estate brokers."

"Fine."

"Lara, before we start to get involved in all this, don't you think you should decide what your next project is going to be?"

Lara looked up and asked innocently, "Didn't I tell you? We're going to buy Manhattan Central Hospital."

Several days earlier Lara had gone to a hairdresser on Madison Avenue. While she was having her hair done, she had overheard a conversation in the next booth.

"We're going to miss you, Mrs. Walker."

"Same here, Darlene. How long have I been coming here?"

"Almost fifteen years."

"Time certainly flies, doesn't it? I'm going to miss New York."

"When will you be leaving?"

"Right away. We just got the closing notice this morning. Imagine - a hospital like Manhattan Central closing down because they've run out of cash. I've been supervisor there for almost twenty years, and they send me a memo telling me I'm through! You'd think they'd have the decency to do it in person, wouldn't you? What's the world coming to?"

Lara was now listening intently.

"I haven't seen anything about the closing in the papers."

"No. They're keeping it quiet. They want to break the news to the employees first."

Her beautician was in the middle of blow-drying Lara's hair. Lara started to get up.

"I'm not through yet, Miss Cameron."

"Never mind," Lara said, "I'm in a hurry."

Manhattan Central Hospital was a dilapidated, ugly-looking building located on the East Side, and it took up an entire block. Lara stared at it for a long time, and what she was seeing in her mind was a majestic new skyscraper with chic retail stores on the ground floor and luxury condominiums on the upper floors.

Lara walked into the hospital and asked the name of the corporation that owned it. She was sent to the offices of a Roger Burnham on Wall Street.

"What can I do for you, Miss Cameron?"

"I hear that Manhattan Central Hospital is for sale."

He looked at her in surprise. "Where did you hear that?"

"Is it true?"

He hedged. "It might be."

"I might be interested in buying it," Lara said. "What's your price?"

"Look, lady...I don't know you from Adam. You can't walk in off the street and expect me to discuss a ninety-million-dollar deal with you. I..."