Now and Then

“Are you an agent of the United States government?” he said.

“No.”

“Of any government?”

“No.”

“Are you taping, or in any way recording, this conversation?” he said.

“No.”

“What is the purpose of this meeting?” he said.

“I’m hoping to blackmail you,” I said.

He tipped his head back, as if stretching the front of his neck, and held it that way for a moment. Then he lowered his head and allowed me to see that his face had no expression.

“That’s rather bold,” he said.

I smiled modestly. He waited. I sat. A silence ensued. After a time, Alderson said, “Upon what basis are you planning to blackmail me?”

“I have an audiotape of you,” I said. “Before, during, and after sexual congress with the recently deceased wife of a recently deceased FBI agent.”

“Sexual congress is neither illegal nor rare,” Alderson said. 109

“But the postcoital chitchat suggests that you may be involved in, ah, antigovernment activity.”

“Who wouldn’t oppose this government?” Alderson said.

“Matter of degree and method,” I said.

Alderson gave me his blank dignified stare again, while he thought about things.

“Posit, as an hypothesis,” Alderson said after a time, “that such a tape existed, how would I know you had it?”

With my left hand, I pushed the play button on the tape recorder.

“Shall we have a drink while we talk about what you know?”

Alderson’s voice said.

“Let me get my body covered,” Jordan’s voice said.

“I like your body the way it is,” Perry said. “Stay here. I’ll get us a drink and we can talk in bed.”

“Perfect,” Jordan said. “I’ll tell you what I’ve learned from Dennis.”

I shut off the recorder. Alderson pursed his lips slightly.

“Posit a second hypothesis,” he said after a while. “That it was actually my voice on that tape, and that I wanted to acquire it, how much would it cost me?”

“Fifty thousand dollars,” I said.

“What is to prevent someone from simply taking the tape from you?” Alderson said.

“Me,” I said.

“You fancy yourself a tough guy?” Alderson said.

“Known fact,” I said.

“And should one pay your price, how would one know one wasn’t getting one copy of many?”

“One would not know,” I said.

Alderson pursed his lips some more.

“You are arrogant,” he said.

“Confi dent,” I said.

Alderson mulled for a time.

“May I have time to consider this?” he said.

“Sure,” I said. “Week from today, in the afternoon, I turn everything I got over to the special agent in charge, Boston offi ce, FBI.”

Alderson stood and looked down at me for a while with his eyes empty. Then he turned and left without speaking again.

27.

An hour after Alderson left, Epstein arrived.

“Alderson came to visit you,” he said.

“He did.”