jg.thepartner-第38部分

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here　at　nine。
　Cutter　was　not　abrupt；　but　certainly　not　hospitable。　Chats　with　pushy　lawyers　ranked　low　on　his　list　of　favorite　chores。　He　fixed　scalding　coffee　in　Styrofoam　cups；　and　cleared　some　of　the　debris　from　his　tiny　desk。
　Sandy　thanked　him　nicely　for　agreeing　to　see　him；　and　Cutter　softened　a　bit。　〃You　remember　that　phone　call　you　received　thirteen　days　ago？〃　Sandy　asked。　〃The　lady　from　Brazil？〃
　〃Sure。〃
　〃I've　met　with　her　a　few　times。　She's　a　lawyer　for　Patrick。〃
　〃Is　she　here？〃
　〃She's　around。〃　Sandy　blew　hard　into　his　cup；　then　ventured　a　sip。　He　quickly　explained　most　of　what　he　knew　about　Leah；　though　he　never　called　her　by　name。　Then　he　asked　how　the　Stephano　investigation　was　proceeding。
　Cutter　grew　cautious。　He　scribbled　some　notes　with　a　cheap　pen；　and　tried　to　arrange　the　players。　〃How　do　you　know　about　Stephano？〃
　〃My　co…counsel；　the　lady　from　Brazil；　knows　all　about　Stephano。　Remember；　she　gave　you　his　name。〃
　〃How　did　she　know　about　him？〃
　〃It's　a　very　long；　plicated　story；　and　I　don't　know　most　of　it。〃
　〃Then　why　bring　it　up？〃
　〃Because　Stephano　is　still　after　my　client；　and　I'd　like　to　stop　him。〃
　More　scribbling　by　Cutter；　another　sip　of　steaming　coffee。　A　rough　flow　chart　evolved　as　he　tried　to　arrange　who　had　said　what　to　whom。　He　knew　most　of　what　was　happening　in　Washington　with　the　Stephano　tell…all；　but　there　were　gaps。　It　had　certainly　been　established　that　Stephano　would　stop　his　chase。　〃And　how　do　you　know　this？〃
　〃Because　his　men　in　Brazil　have　kidnapped　the　father　of　my　co…counsel。〃
　Cutter　couldn't　keep　his　lips　together；　nor　his　head　exactly　straight。　His　eyes　wandered　to　the　ceiling　as　this　rattled　around　his　brain。　Then　it　made　some　sense。　〃Could　it　be　that　this　Brazilian　lawyer　might　possibly　know　where　the　money　is？〃
　〃That's　a　possibility。〃
　Perfect　sense　now。
　Sandy　continued；　〃The　kidnapping　is　an　effort　to　lure　her　back　to　Brazil；　where　they'd　like　to　snatch　her　and　give　her　some　of　the　same　medicine　they　gave　；　Patrick。　It's　all　about　money。〃
　Cutter's　words　were　ponderous；　but　not　by　choice。　〃When　did　the　kidnapping　occur？〃
　〃Yesterday。〃　A　paralegal　in　Sandy's　office　had　pulled　a　story　off　the　Internet　two　hours　earlier。　It　was　a　short　report　on　page　six　of　O　Globo；　a　popular　Rio　daily。　It　gave　the　victim's　name　as　Paulo　Miranda。　Sandy　still　had　no　idea　of　Leah's　real　name；　and　it　was　safe　to　assume　the　FBI　could　identify　her　if　and　when　it　got　the　story。　Frankly；　he　saw　no　harm　in　telling　the　FBI　her　name。　Trouble　was；　he　didn't　know　it。
　〃There's　not　much　we　can　do　about　it。〃
　〃The　hell　there　isn't。　Stephano's　behind　it。　Put　pressure　on　him。　Tell　him　my　co…counsel　is　not　about　to　be　sucked　into　his　trap；　and　that　she's　preparing　to　go　to　the　Brazilian　authorities　with　the　name　of　Jack　Stephano。〃
　〃I'll　see　what　I　can　do。〃　Cutter　had　not　forgotten　the　fact　that　Sandy　McDermott　had　filed　a　multi…million…dollar　lawsuit　against　the　Bureau　for　crimes　it　did　not　mit。　Nothing　would　be　gained　by　discussing　the　lawsuit　at　this　point。　Maybe　later。
　〃Stephano　cares　about　nothing　but　the　money；〃　Sandy　said。　〃If　the　old　man　gets　hurt；　he'll　never　see　a　dime。〃
　〃Are　you　implying　there's　room　for　negotiation　here？〃
　〃What　do　you　think？　You're　facing　death　row　or　life　in　prison；　wouldn't　you　be　willing　to　negotiate？〃
　〃So　what　do　we　tell　Stephano？〃
　〃Tell　him　to　release　the　old　man；　and　then　we　might　talk　about　the　money。〃
　STEPHANO'S　DAY　began　early。　The　meeting；　his　fourth；　was　scheduled　to　last　all　day　and　bring　to　an　end　his　tales　of　adventure　in　the　search　for　Patrick。　His　lawyer　was　absent；　away　in　court　with　an　unavoidable　conflict。　Stephano　didn't　need　a　lawyer　to　hold　his　hand；　and；　frankly；　he　was　tired　of　paying　450　an　hour。　The　interrogator　was　a　new　one。　Oliver　something　or　other。　It　didn't　matter。　They　were　all　from　the　same　school。
　〃You　were　talking　about　the　plastic　surgeon；〃　Oliver　said；　as　if　the　two　men　had　simply　been　interrupted　by　a　phone　call。　The　two　men　had　never　met；　and　it　had　been　thirteen　hours　since　Jack　had　spoken　to　anyone　about　Patrick。
　〃Yes。〃
　〃And　that　was　April　of　'94？〃
　〃Correct。〃
　〃Continue；　then。〃
　Stephano　settled　into　his　chair　and　got　himself　fortable。　〃The　trail　ran　cold　for　a　while。　For　a　long　time；　actually。　We　worked　hard；　but　months　passed　with　nothing；　absolutely　nothing。　Not　a　clue。　Then；　late　in　'94；　we　were　contacted　by　an　investigative　firm　in　Atlanta；　the　Pluto　Group。〃
　〃Pluto？〃
　〃Yes；　the　Pluto　Group。　We　referred　to　them　as　the　boys　from　Pluto。　Good　boys。　Some　of　your　ex…agents。　They　asked　questions　about　the　search　for　Patrick　Lanigan；　said　they　might　have　some　information。　I　met　with　them　a　couple　of　times　here　in　Washington。　They　had　a　mysterious　client　who　claimed　to　know　something　about　Lanigan。　Obviously；　I　was　interested。　They　were　in　no　hurry　because　their　client　seemed　quite　patient。　The　client；　not　surprisingly；　wanted　lots　of　money。　Oddly　enough；　this　was　encouraging。〃
　〃How　so？〃
　〃If　their　client　knew　enough　to　expect　a　fat　reward；　then　the　client　had　to　know　that　Lanigan　still　had　plenty　of　money。　In　July　of　'95；　the　boys　from　Pluto　approached　me　with　a　scheme。　What　if；　they　said；　their　client　could　lead　us　to　a　place　in　Brazil　where　Lanigan　had　recently　lived？　I　said　sure。　They　said；　how　much？　And　we　agreed　on　the　sum　of　fifty　thousand　dollars。　I　was　desperate。　The　money　changed　hands　by　way　of　a　wire　transfer　to　a　bank　in　Panama。　I　was　then　told　to　go　to　the　small　city　of　Itajai　in　the　state　of　Santa　Catarina；　in　die　deep　south　of　Brazil。　The　address　they　gave　us　led　to　a　small　apartment　building　in　a　nice　part　of　town。　The　manager　was　cordial；　especially　after　we　greased　his　palm。　We　showed　him　our　pictures　of　Lanigan　post…op；　and　he　said　maybe。　More　grease　in　the　palm；　and　he　made　a　definite　I。D。　Jan　Horst　was　the　man's　name；　a　German；　he　thought；　with　good　Portuguese。　He　had　rented　a　three…room　apartment　for　two　months；　paid　in　cash；　kept　to　himself；　and　spent　little　time　there。　He　was　friendly；　and　liked　to　drink　coffee　with　the　manager　and　his　wife。　She　also　made　a　positive　I。D。　Horst　said　he　was　a　travel　writer　who　was　working　on　a　book　about　the　immigration　of　Germans　and　Italians　to　Brazil。　When　he　left；　he　said　he　was　going　to　the　city　of　Blumenau　to　study　the　Bavarian　architecture　there。〃
　〃Did　you　go　to　Blumenau？〃
　〃Of　course　we　did。　And　quickly。　We　covered　the　town；　but　after　two　months　gave　it　up。　After　the　initial　excitement；　we　settled　back　into　the　tedium　of　hanging　around　hotels　and　markets；　showing　the　photos　and　offering　small　bribes。〃
　〃What　about　the　boys　from　Pluto；　as　you　called　them？〃
　〃They　cooled　off　considerably。　I　was　anxious　to　talk　to　them；　but　they　had　little　to　say。　I　think　their　client　got　scared；　or　maybe　was　happy　just　to　get　the　fifty　grand。　Anyway；　six　months　passed　with　little　word　from　Pluto。　Then；　in　late　January　of　this　year；　they　came　back　in　a　rush。　Their　client　needed　money；　and　was　finally　ready　to　sell　out。　We　shadowboxed　for　a　few　days；　then　they　dropped　the　bomb　that　for　a　million　dollars　we　could　learn　the　exact　location　of　our　man。　I　said　no。　It　wasn't　that　I　didn't　have　the　money；　it　was　just　too　risky。　Their　client　was　not　willing　to　talk　until　the　money　was　paid；　and　I　was　not　willing　to　pay　until　their　client　talked。　There　was　no　way　whatsoever　to　ascertain　whether　their　client　knew　anything。　In　fact；　for　all　I　knew　there　wasn't　a　client　anymore。　Tempers　flared　and　talks　broke　down。〃
　〃But　you　kept　talking？〃
　〃Yes；　eventually。　We　had　to。　Their　client　had　to　have　the　money。　We　had　to　have　Lanigan。　Another　deal　was　proposed　whereby　we　would；　for　another　fifty　thousand　bucks；　get　the　name　and　location　of　a　place　Lanigan　had　lived　after　he　left　Itajai。　We　agreed；　because　from　our　point　of　view　the　fifty　thousand　was　cheap　and　there　was　always　the　chance　of　getting　lucky　and　stumbling　over　another　tip。　From　their　point　of　view；　it　was　smart　because　it　strengthened　their　client's　credibility。　And；　of　course；　it　was　another　step　toward　the　million　bucks。　There　was　a　brain　at　work　behind　Pluto；　and　I　was　desperate　to　play　ball。　I　would　gladly　pay　the　million　bucks。　I　just　needed　some　reassurance。〃
　〃Where　was　the　second　town？〃
　〃Sao　Mateus；　in　the　state　of　Espirito　Santo；　north　of　Rio　on　the　coast。　It's　a　small　town　of　sixty　thousand；　a　pretty　place　with　friendly　people；　and　we　spent　a　month　there　mingling　and　showing　our　photos。　The　apartment　arrangement　was　similar　to　the　one　in　Itajai　…two　months'　cash　paid　by　a　man　named　Derrick　Boone；　a　Brit。　Without　being　bribed；　the　owner　positively　identified　Boone　as　our　man。　Seems　as　if　Boone　stayed　over　for　a　week　without　paying；　so　there　was　a　bit　of　a　grudge。　Unlike　Itajai；　though；　Boone　kept　to　himself　and　the　owner　knew　nothing　about　his　doings。　Nothing　else　turned　up；　and　we　left　Sao　Mateus　in　early　March　of　this　year。　We　regrouped　in　Sao　Paulo　and　Rio；　and　made　new　plans。〃
　〃What　were　the　new　plans？〃
　〃We　withdrew　from　the　north　and　concentrated　on　the　smaller　towns　in　the　states　near　Rio　and　Sao　Paulo。　Here　in　Washington；　I　got　more　aggressive　with　the　boys　from　Pluto。　Their　client　was　stuck　on　a　million。　My　client　was　unwilling　to　pay　without　verification。　It　was　a　logjam；　with　both　sides　playing　hardball　but　willing　to　keep　talking。〃
　〃Did　you　ever　learn　how　their　client　knew　so　much　about　Lanigan's　movements？〃
　〃No。　We　speculated　for　hours。　One　theory　was　that　their　client　was　also　chasing　Lanigan；　for　some　unknown　reason。　It　could've　been　someone　in　the　FBI　who　needed　cash。　That；　of　course；　was　a　longshot；　but　we　thought　of　everything。　The　second　theory；　and　the　most　likely；　was　that　their　client　was　someone　Lanigan　knew　and　trusted；　who　was　willing　to　sell　him　out。　Regardless；　my　client　and　I　decided　we　could　not　allow　the　opportunity　to　escape。　The　search　was　now　almost　four　years　old；　and　going　nowhere。　As　we　had　learned；　there　are　a　million　wonderful　places　to　hide　in　Brazil；　and　Lanigan　seemed　to　know　what　he　was　do…ing。〃
　〃Did　you　break　the　logjam？〃
　〃They　did。　In　August　of　this　year；　they　ambushed　us　with　another　offer：　current　photos　of　Lanigan；　in　exchange　for　another　fifty　grand。　We　said　yes。　The　money　was　wired　offshore。