how to spot card-counters, how to use databases to analyse high-rollers' personality profiles, and which promotional spend worked best. We were captivated. And I think most of us were sold.
They took us on a tour of the complex. Seen through Buxxy's eyes, the tackiness and the loneliness of a big casino disappeared. We saw the glamour, the glitter, the amazing technological effects. He took us to see the private rooms where the high-rollers played, wallowing in sophistication, power and money. By the time we had returned to the conference room where he had started his pitch, I could feel that the majority of the audience would write out a cheque there and then.
'Any questions?'
Silence. No difficult questions about Piper's background. No tedious questions about percentage drop of slots against tables, high-roller comps, or blue-collar busing costs. Even the most cynical investor was under the spell of the greatest casino on earth. At least temporarily.
I had thought through this moment carefully.
I stood up.
Piper's eyebrows pulled together slightly, in the barest trace of a frown. 'Yes?'
'I have two questions for Mr Piper.' The audience were looking at me with mild interest. My English accent jarred in the glitzy Las Vegas surroundings. Piper was staring at me hard. 'First -has the Nevada Gaming Commission scrutinised your previous investments?' The audience stirred a little, but not much. Piper stiffened. 'Second-can you comment on an investment you made in a clinic for executive stress in Britain?'
I sat down. The audience reaction was mixed. Some faces bore disapproval; I was a spoil-sport to try and take cheap shots at these great guys and their great casino. A few, including Madeleine Jansen, sat up and took notice.
Piper rose to his feet. He was as unruffled and urbane as ever. 'I would be happy to answer those questions. First, the Commission checks out all applicants for gaming licences very thoroughly. Second, I have a large portfolio of investments. I believe a few years ago these included some properties in England, but I don't have the details of them at my fingertips. Any other questions?' He looked around the audience quickly.
This was a dangerous moment for Piper. Until now he had had his listeners eating out of his hand. But he hadn't answered my questions properly. If anyone pursued him on this, then doubts might creep in. But I wasn't going to push it any further. I had achieved my objective. He knew I knew, and he knew I would tell. I looked over at Madeleine. She opened her mouth as if to ask a question, but she was too slow. Piper was already wrapping up the meeting. She gathered her papers together thoughtfully and looked over towards me, trying to catch my eye. I avoided her glance.
Half an hour later, I was having a cup of coffee in the atrium, when a bellboy came over to me. 'Excuse me sir, Mr Piper would like you to join him in his suite.' That didn't take him long, I thought, as I put down my cup and followed the bellboy to the elevators.
Piper's suite was on the top floor of the hotel. It was completely out of character with the rest of the Tahiti. There were no lurid scarlet furnishings, no mirrors or gilded fittings. There were a number of pieces of English antique furniture: a delicate sofa, six straight-backed chairs with embroidered covers, a small writing-desk and two or three deeply polished small tables. These rested on a large predominantly light blue silk carpet criss-crossed with intricate ancient Persian or Indian motifs. All this looked out of place against a large floor-to-ceiling window which overlooked the tall white structure of the next casino along, and beyond that the dusty greys and browns, interspersed with neon, of the city of Las Vegas. The desert could be seen stretching away in the distance.
Piper was alone in the room. He beckoned me to a seat. I perched on the flimsy-looking Georgian sofa, whilst he sat in one of the high-backed mahogany armchairs. Gone was all the civilised politeness. Piper was angry.
'What the hell do you think you were doing out there?' he said. 'I am not some two-bit bond salesman you can play games with. I am a powerful man in this town. I've got money, and I've got lawyers. And if you mention Bladenham Hall one more time, or even allude to it, I will sue. I will sue you for so much that your great- grandchildren will still be paying off your debts a hundred years from now.'
Piper, angry, was impressive. For a moment he had me on the defensive. If I had upset such a powerful man, I had surely made a mistake. The moment passed.
'I thought you would be interested in this,' I said, untucking the newspaper I had been carrying under my arm. It was a copy of the
Piper went purple. 'If you dare show that to anyone, I'll have my lawyers right on to you immediately. That is if I don't tear you apart myself.'
Paradoxically, Piper losing control helped me stay calm. He didn't seem quite so powerful. 'By 'your lawyers', you presumably include Debbie Chater?'
'Hah! She's the one who told you is she? I'll sue that toad Denny as well.'
'She no longer works for Denny Clark,' I said.
'I don't care where she works. If she breaches lawyer-client confidences, she is in deep trouble.'
'She's dead,' I said. 'Murdered.'
This did cause Piper to pause for a moment. 'She probably deserved it,' he said. 'I'm not surprised someone wanted to kill her.'
'Was it you?' I asked.
'Don't be ridiculous. And don't repeat that allegation either.'
'Do you know who killed her?'
'Of course not. I can scarcely remember the woman. I haven't seen her for years.'
I believed him. He was scared about what I might say about Bladenham Hall, but he didn't care what I said about Debbie, despite his bluster.
'You know the Phoenix Prosperity Savings and Loan?' I asked.
'I've heard of it,' said Piper, thrown off balance again.
'Is it true that that institution has an investment in the Tahiti?'
'That information is not available to the public.'
'Did you know that Phoenix Prosperity obtained the money it has invested in the Tahiti by fraud?'
Piper clearly did not know this. He frowned, not sure what to say next. With an effort he collected himself. In a much calmer voice he said, 'I don't respond to blackmail or lies, Mr Murray. Kindly leave, and if I hear any of this repeated you know what I will do.'
I didn't leave. I stood up from the delicate sofa, and walked over towards the giant window. We were a long way up. The darkened windows took away the noise, the glare and the heat of Las Vegas. The city floated away harmlessly below.
I turned to Piper. 'I don't intend to blackmail you. I am just concerned. Concerned that a colleague of mine was killed last month. Concerned that my firm has been defrauded of millions of dollars, which are now invested in your casino. This, I am sure, will concern an honest businessman such as yourself as well. After all, these things can be dangerous for one's reputation. It may be that I will need your help in future to find who is behind this. I am sure you will be delighted to give it. In the meantime, I will certainly not mention Bladenham Hall to anyone.' I smiled and made for the door. Just before I left, I turned and offered Piper my hand. He didn't take. I shrugged, and walked out of the room.
Piper had his own express lift that took me to the ground floor. I felt elated after my encounter with him. I had got him just where I wanted him. I crossed over into another lift and went up to my room to think.
After ten minutes or so, the phone rang. It was Tommy.
'I have found out some things that might interest you,' he began. I wrenched my mind back to the Tremont Capital problem.
'Shoot.'
'Well, first of all you asked me to find out about the acquisition of Phoenix Prosperity. I guessed that Waigel must have had something to do with it, so I got Jean to raid his files. Do you want the details?'
'Yes please.'
'It starts off with some correspondence from Howard Farber, the owner and chief executive officer of Phoenix Prosperity. It says that he is facing a bad year ahead, and that he probably has only two choices, either file for
