me off, and I swear I’ll make you regret it.”
“See you in court.” I hung up.
I sat on the bed and contemplated our conversation. Clearly Jessica was in on it. But connected to the killer? Or was she just part of the scam?
Before I could finish that thought, the phone rang again. It was Cy and he said, “Sean, you and I need to talk.”
“We already talked.”
“The firm is willing to drop all charges against you and Miss Morrow.”
“Should’ve done that yesterday, Cy. Actually, never should’ve brought charges in the first place.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Cy obviously had better bargaining skills than Jessica, but a career on the Hill does tend to round out one’s heels. He said, “I’m confused, Sean. What is this case of fraud you referred to?”
“Nice try.”
“You mentioned the partnership with Grand Vistas. Barry handled that.”
“Because you told him to.”
“Yes. Because Jason asked me to send him. What’s happening here?”
Cy sounded his usually sincere, earnest, and above-it-all self. He had a real gift for silky bullshit and was probing to find out exactly what I knew-how little or how much-so they could assess the potential damage.
In truth, I knew very little. As I explained earlier, the idea was to push and see who pushed back, how hard they pushed back, and from there, maybe to understand why.
For instance, the firm was now willing to drop all charges. That wasn’t the mood when Janet and I left the conference room-so A must’ve called B, and B must have told A to make this thing go away. But who was A? And who was B?
Also, I now knew Morris Networks would pay me three million a year to keep my yap shut-more, probably, if I dealt with someone less peppery than Jessica Moner.
Anyway, I said, “What’s happening, Cy, is corporate graft. Without Grand Vistas, Morris Networks would be vulture bait. Come to court and you’ll hear about it.”
“Hear me out, Sean. Morris is a very profitable and honest company.”
Yes, and Cy was working overtime to establish his ignorance, and, along the way, his innocence.
“Prove that in court.”
“Look… don’t do anything till we get a chance to talk.”
I replied, “Tomorrow, 10:00 A.M.,” and hung up.
For some reason, I recalled the old joke: What do you call a lawyer who’s gone bad?-Senator.
I went into the kitchen and fixed a pot of coffee. Charlie was stringing electronic security systems around the windows. My door had acquired two new deadbolts and my bedroom dresser was shoved against it. Spinelli and Bill were seated in front of the big screen, watching a rerun of NYPD Blue, Spinelli scratching his nose with one hand and cradling a pistol with the other. Just another hum-drum day at the Drummond homestead.
I had just poured a cup of coffee when the phone rang again. I rushed back to the bedroom and caught it on the fourth ring.
“Sean, it’s Jason.”
“Oh. Well, I hope I’m not keeping you from something important.”
“Not at all. What the hell’s going on here?”
“What’s going on is, I was brutally assaulted in your office building, by an attorney representing your firm, who was being pressured by Jessica Moner.”
“That’s outrageous. I’ll fire him.”
“That won’t cure my nightmares.”
“Oh, come on.” He chuckled. I remained silent.
He stopped chuckling and said, “Sean, you’re a businessman. Think like one.”
“No, I’m an Army officer.”
“Then… try to think like one.”
“Gee, I’m a fish out of water here, Jason. How do you businessmen think at moments like this?”
“You ask yourself one question-what’s the most advantageous thing for you right at this moment?”
“Oh… Well, help me out here. What would that be?”
“A settlement. That’s how you lawyers handle these things, isn’t it?”
“When the offer’s sweet enough, yeah.”
“Okay. Let’s see what that takes.” You could hear the confidence and thrill in his voice. This guy made his living off deals; I was a fattened calf of the public dole. He was just tickled pink that some novice thought he could joust with him over money. Was this going to be fun, or what?
To get the ball rolling, I asked him, “What terms are you proposing, Jason?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Well… suggest something.”
“How about ten million?”
“How about thirty?”
“Get serious.”
“Serious? Fifty million.”
“I… look, that’s a lot of money.”
“Ooops… seventy million. Keep flapping your gums, Jason, and it’ll hit a hundred. In fact, that’s the number in our civil suit. It could be that’s an unrealistic figure, but compounded by the sweet satisfaction that you personally will lose a few billion in stock value, it works out okay for me.” I couldn’t resist adding, “ You think like a businessman, Jason.”
There was another long pause. I mean, this guy experienced no qualms about throwing away a few hundred grand for a fine piece of ass. Blow this deal, and thousands of lawyers and stockholders would scramble to get a piece of his ass. Also, he had to be thinking about all those recent corporate chieftains being led away in Fed bracelets.
He suggested, finally, “Seventy million is possible. I’d have to find a way to structure it, though. I can’t just hand over a check.. . taxes, SEC filings, notification to my board… I have to consider these things. The money, I need a way to explain it. Maybe if… well, maybe if we worked it as a stock transfer…”
While Jason rambled on, I contemplated the stakes and sums here. I mean, seventy million big ones.
This was a dangerous number, an intoxicating number, and I knew if I thought about it, I mean really took a moment and thought about it, everything it could buy… I slapped myself and interrupted him. “Jason, I’ve reconsidered.”
“Good, Sean. I don’t like this, I really don’t, but I’ve got eight thousand hardworking employees to consider. Wall Street is a treacherous place these days. I’ve done nothing wrong, but these days, a rumor of impropriety… Christ, stockholders pull the trigger over a whisper.”
I was tired of this guy, and I was really tired of this game, and I said, “I mean I changed my mind about the money. See you in court, pal.”
I hung up on him.
I called Janet on her cell. When she answered, I said, “How’s it going?”
“Lousy. I feel left out.”
“Don’t. You did your part, and it’s working.”
“Tell me about that.”
“Jessica Moner called, then Cy, then Jason. We’re up to seventy million to drop the suit.”
Janet was a cool cookie, but I heard a sharp intake of breath.
I added, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but as my attorney, I was going to cut you in for half.”
“Well… That’s very generous.”
“I have a soft spot for lawyers. Of course, we never would’ve lived long enough to spend a dime.”
“That’s a consolation.” She paused a moment, then asked, “Sean, what’s going on here?”
“I still don’t know. More than just bookkeeping sleight of hand, though.”
“You’re right. That much to hide a simple financial impropriety?”
I suggested, “So, let’s start back at the beginning.”
