'So for the sake both of helping a fellow human in peril and of advancing the cause of justice, you were willing to inconvenience if not endanger yourself without pay? This is a degree of virtue I rarely encounter in my profession.'
'Maybe you should spend some time down Bullpat Square then,' said Joe.
'Oh yes. The redoubtable Ms Butcher. Who was responsible for getting you involved in this business in the first place, so the police inform me.'
That's right. And if she'd checked her facts, I wouldn't have got involved. And I still think it was pretty irresponsible once Potter realized I was talking about Penthouse
It occurred to Joe that maybe complaining about the professional standards of the murdered lawyer to his partner and probably friend was not the seemliest thing he'd ever done.
'You mean that when you explained your problem to Peter, he did not at once say there was a conflict of interest?' completed Pollinger. 'I regret that, Mr. Sixsmith. What did he say?'
'Said I was wasting my time, I had no case.'
'Perhaps, in fact almost certainly, that was his honest opinion and he merely wanted to save you from further inner turmoil and external expense. Let us hope so anyway. De mortuis
This was one very cool guy, or very cold, Joe wasn't certain which.
He said, 'So I'm right, you do represent Penthouse?'
Pollinger said, 'Yes. Normally a company of their size would have developed their own legal department by now, but Harold Duhig and I have seen our businesses grow side by side over the years and know each other too well to separate. Until now.'
'You got problems with him?' said Joe, ready to sympathize with anyone who was suffering at the hands of Penthouse.
'I think rather he has problems with us, Mr. Sixsmith.'
Pollinger closed his eyes and seemed to enter into a kind of trancelike state which would have had his family sending for the doctor and his doctor sending for the drug squad.
Joe, being in neither state of relationship, waited for him either to recover or pitch forward on the steering wheel, but was glad when he opted for the first.
'To recap then, Mr. Sixsmith, you are not in a client relationship with anyone connected with this case?'
'You mean, am I getting paid? I told you already. No.'
'In that case perhaps I could retain your services?'
'To do what?'
'Why, to help a fellow human being who may be in peril, and to advance the cause of justice, of course,' said Pollinger, smiling. 'I realize you do both of these for free, but the extra I would require for my money would be total confidentiality.'
That's what all my clients get, this side of the law.'
'Excellent. Then put this under your hat and keep it there. I regret to say that there may be some discrepancies in some of our client accounts.'
'You mean, someone's been on the fiddle and that's what these killings are about?' said Joe, delighted at this confirmation of his own theory. 'You spoke to Nay smith, did you?'
'Naturally. I was at the chambers when he arrived for his appointment with Peter. Poor chap. He was really shocked. They were very close, you know.'
'Yes, second row,' said Joe impatiently. 'What did he say Potter said to him on the phone?'
'Not a lot, unfortunately. It seems that just before Christmas Peter had stumbled across an inconsistency in the movement of certain client funds. He'd mentioned it to Felix but had decided not to bother me with it till he had more information. Presumably he'd found something more and wanted Felix to double check.'
'So no names?'
'Evidently not.'
'Suspicions?'
Those I will keep to myself for the moment. You see, Mr. Sixsmith, if it turns out the killings and the embezzlements are connected'
'If?' interrupted Joe. 'You got reason to think different?'
'When you've worked in the Law as long as I have, you don't jump to conclusions, Mr. Sixsmith. Post hoc and propter hoc are two very different things.'
Joe took his word for it and said, 'So someone with a grudge, maybe?'
'A possibility. But as I was saying, my accountant's investigations which have already thrown up some irregularities, will certainly lead us to the perpetrator of the financial crime. I would prefer to discover this person had nothing to do with the killings.'
Yeah, you can hush up thieving but not murder, thought Joe.
'So who's lost money apart from Penthouse?' he said.
'I never said Penthouse had lost money,' reproved Pollinger. In fact, until the full audit is complete, it's difficult to locate any losses precisely. The skein is tangled and the situation fluid, if you'll forgive my mix of metaphors. If as seems likely funds have been moved around so that no particular depredation could be spotted at one time, then the question of the precise locating of losses becomes complicated.'
