Now alone, he picked up the receiver and dialed the number.
‘Good morning Dr. Parker. I hope your schedule has not been too badly impacted by my call last evening. Firstly, may I ask when you will be returning to London?’
‘This evening I’m flying via JFK. I should be in London by midday tomorrow.’
‘Ok, as I explained last evening, I’m a personal friend of Nicole Lehman. We were close neighbors in Paris during our childhood and ended up in school together. So, I’m not, how you might say, working professionally for Nicole. I’m a close friend. D’accord?’
‘Yes! I understand.’
‘Well, getting straight to the point about the fatal car accident, Nicole does not believe for one moment it was an accident.’
‘Really!’ exclaimed Parker, his bottom lip protruding momentarily.
‘Preliminary police reports indicate Karl died as a result of falling asleep at the wheel of his car. Although toxicology tests cleared him of any alcohol or drug substances, he had elevated levels of carbon monoxide in his blood.’
‘That’s surprising!’
‘They put it down to the level of carbon monoxide in the tunnel at the time of the crash, normally well above ambient levels outside.’
‘Did they look for any other source for this?’
‘Yes! They found an open packet of cigarettes on the passenger seat. Cigarettes can significantly raise the carbon monoxide levels in the blood.’
‘I knew Karl Lehman extremely well. I never saw him smoking and I don’t believe he would ever be tempted to smoke. It would be a complete anathema for him to do so.’
‘Correct! Nicole also said Karl would never have contemplated smoking a cigarette.’
‘I hope they checked for Nicotine in his lungs?’
Durand looked puzzled. ‘I’m not sure about that. I’ll check this out.’
‘So why does Nicole believe it wasn’t an accident?’
‘There is a history associated with all of this Dr. Parker, which I need to inform you about.’
‘Go on.’
‘The Swiss police are highly suspicious of Karl’s accident. No other vehicle was involved. The police forensically examined all evidence from the crash site and treated it right from the start as a crime scene. This fact has been kept quiet and has not been revealed to the Media.’
‘What raised their suspicions this was anything other than a road traffic accident?’
‘Well for starters, Karl was working on leading edge medical research, largely Swiss Government funded, the details of which are top-secret. He would undoubtedly have made enemies in certain quarters because of his research.’
‘What the hell was he studying?’
‘I don’t know. Nicole has not discussed any of the details with me.’
‘So, what did she tell you?’
‘She said Karl started receiving anonymous correspondence from unknown sources a number of months before his death. She showed me copies of the letters. The first two, I understand there were three, indicated his research was a direct threat to ‘certain business interests’ and he would be well advised to stop any further work in the area he was researching.’
‘Extraordinary!’ exclaimed Parker.
‘A third letter threatened Nicole would be kidnapped if he persisted. They intimated he was being watched twenty-four seven.’
‘Did anyone contact Swiss police?’
‘Yes! Karl thought initially the first two correspondences were just some sort of crack-pot sending silly malicious letters. However, when the kidnap threat was posted to their house, the police were contacted. They treated this development very seriously and put an investigation team on the case right away.’
‘How did poor Karl react to all this?’
‘He, understandably, was shaken. He stopped work at the research company for a couple of weeks. Then things went quiet. No further threatening letters were received and things appeared to return to normal.’
‘Any follow up?’
‘Yes! Swiss police kept monitoring the situation throughout, providing 24-hour security surveillance at the house.’
‘How long for?’
‘About a month. Then Karl decided to return to his work believing the issue had gone away. Unfortunately for him, it looks like he was wrong.’
‘Unfortunately, so,’ added Parker in a somber tone.
‘Preliminary forensic results are due out within the next couple of days which will hopefully throw some light on what actually happened in the tunnel, one way or another.’
‘This is extremely tragic for Nicole. I had the pleasure of meeting her with Karl on a couple of occasions.’
‘Yes. She told me you spent a weekend with them a few years back.’
‘Where is she now? ‘
‘Nobody knows. My guess is she’s gone to ground, worrying she might be a target.’
‘Has Nicole got any family members that can support her?’
‘She has nobody to turn to. Both her parents are dead, killed in a small plane crash about five years ago. She is an only child.’
‘How unfortunate! Have you had any recent contact with her?’
‘Yes. Nicole contacted me two days ago from a street pay phone asking me to help her out. She seemed quite jittery and explained she wouldn’t use her mobile device in case it could be traced. I’m the only person she can trust; trust with her life!’
‘I understand.’
‘Karl had a business associate, Doctor Martin Philips who is originally English but worked in the States after he graduated in London. He’s a junior partner in Karl’s firm. He can’t be contacted either since the accident. It seems he’s gone to ground as well.’
‘Is he under any suspicion by the police?’
‘Not anymore. The Swiss police and FBI have carried out a full background check on him and ruled him out. He’s clean.’
‘Ok, fine Raoul. Now where do I fit-in with all of this?’
‘Nicole learned much about you from Karl who obviously thought very highly of you. He told her to contact Dr. Harry Parker if she ever got in trouble, if for any reason he wasn’t around. Nicole thought this was quite a strange thing to say at the time.’
‘Where did she get my phone number?’
‘She found your business card amongst Karl’s papers sometime last week. She passed it straight on to me. That’s how I was able to find you.’
‘Why choose me?’
‘Well! For one, you are a Doctor. Two, Nicole trusts you. Most of all she needs somebody with a medical background to pull together Karl’s research data into a finished document to close the deal with a medical device company that Karl has already committed to selling the technology to. Nicole firmly believes herself and Dr. Philips will no longer be a target once the deal goes through and news of the medical breakthrough is made public. She asked me to contact you and explain the situation.’
‘How do you propose we move forward, Raoul?’
‘Nicole requested you meet up with me first in Paris and afterwards with her at a secret location. If you are agreeable and want to help her, she will then send details of where you can rendezvous with her.’
‘Hey fella! It’s one thing to help out an old friend, but this all sounds a little far-fetched Monsieur Durand.’
The French Private Investigator, his voice intensifying with a heightened level of emotion continued, ‘Yes of course Doctor Parker. I fully understand your reluctance to get involved. However, I do not know any of the scientific details of what is going on here relating to this research and precisely what diseases it targets. However, I have been assured by Nicole, a highly accomplished scientist in her own right that Karl was working on something damned important. It will have global implications on a grand scale in the medical field. It also has the potential to cause turmoil in stock markets around the world when news of this development breaks. Nicole stressed Karl’s research addresses infectious diseases, which long term have the po
tential to kill millions of people every year if left unchecked.
‘Well! What can I say Raoul? How can I resist another opportunity to put my neck on the line to save the world and help a damsel in distress at the same time?’
‘And the added bonus this damsel is Madame Nicole Lehman, a most beautiful French woman with film star looks, n’est pas? ‘
‘I certainly can concur with those sentiments!’
‘So, you will at least meet with her Dr. Parker?’
‘Yes. I will meet her. I repeat. That’s all I can commit to at this stage.’
‘Fantastique! I will inform her of this good news when she calls me back later today. Rest assured you have made the right decision Dr. Parker. You will discover how wonderful a person she is. Malheureusement, my platonic relation-ship with her could never have developed beyond being just good friends. I was always going to be just the boy next door. Nicole being an only child, she treats me like an older brother. Quelle domage!’
‘Well, I’m certainly intrigued by what you’ve told me Raoul. I’m already looking forward to my rendezvous with Nicole. What’s the next move?’
‘You mentioned you were flying back to London in the early afternoon. Could you change your flight plans and fly to Paris instead and meet with me there in two days’ time?’
‘I will need to check my schedule. I’ll get back to you in an hour.’
‘Fine. Remember we must be extremely circumspect when using mobile phones. We don’t want to give anybody who could be listening in, any information on Nicole’s whereabouts.’
‘Understood. Do you have any idea where she might be?’
‘My guess is she could be somewhere in France. I really don’t know.’
‘OK. Where and when can we meet up?’
‘Assuming you can be in Paris the day after tomorrow we can meet at 9.30am at the front of the Musee D’Orsay. We can then discuss our action plan in more detail.’
‘Perfect.’
‘Have you any further queries?’
‘No, nothing more.’
‘Très bien. I will await your communication, Au revoir.’
When Durand hung-up, Parker dialed extension 944 and got hold of agent Mahoney.
‘Please stay where you are. I will join you immediately.’
Agent Mahoney appeared moments later and sat down in front of Parker.
‘I understand you have a plane to catch so I won’t detain you for very long. I trust you have a better understanding now of what’s going on with the late Professor Lehman and his mysterious death.’
‘It’s getting clearer.’
‘Just to put the record straight, Raoul Durand, with the full authorization of Mrs. Lehman, gave our department a full rundown on this case. It’s quite possible we may be able to help again at some stage in the future. That of course depends on how things develop.’
‘I understand you have already run a check on Dr. Philips.’
‘Yes, among other things we have run a personal security screening on Dr. Philips, a citizen of the United Kingdom, originally from London, England. Dr. Philips has a PhD in molecular biology. He worked here in the United States in New Jersey in a large drug company in his very early career before moving into academia. He was more recently a University Professor of molecular biology serving on the academic staff of the college for about twelve years. He was married to an American lady, but she died from cancer many years ago. He has an estranged son; his whereabouts are unknown.’
‘How did he end up back in Europe?’
‘He took an extended sabbatical about three years ago to work in a European University in Germany and to pursue his interests in clinical microbiology.’
‘How did he meet up with Lehman?’
‘We’re not sure how that happened. Mrs. Lehman can fill you in on that. Depending on the final autopsy results and the Swiss police incident report, we do not believe we have any reason to investigate Dr. Philips any further currently. The Swiss police will make the call on this in any event.’
‘Why did Durand contact the FBI in the first place?’
‘Well, after he was contacted by Mrs. Lehman, he felt he needed help on running a check on Dr. Philips in the first instance and secondly he had some gut feeling the people behind the kidnapping threat could have State side connections. I stress this was only a hunch by Durand and we have certainly not spent any significant agency resources on any investigations up to now.’
‘Are you actively investigating any person or organization here in the States?’
‘Quite honestly Dr. Parker, the FBI is not following up on this case at this time. We made our position quite clear to Swiss police who in turn, informed Mrs. Lehman of our position. Often in cases like this, there are frequently far less dramatic explanations behind what has been reported. We don’t know what Professor Lehman was working on or how strategically important it was. Until we have more evidence, we must accept Lehman’s death in an automobile accident was exactly that, an accident and the kidnapping threats were nothing more than some crank or crackpot that had some academic grudge against the Professor. Things like this happen all the time.’
Parker thanked agent Mahoney for his time and the use of the facilities and left shortly afterwards for the airport.
8
Sitting in his office overlooking Stone Street in the financial district of Manhattan, Lazare picked up the phone and called his close friend.
‘Peter, let’s meet for lunch today, 12:30 in the usual spot.’
Larchet shrugged his shoulders. ‘Sure, no problem.’
Peter Larchet was a younger distant cousin of Lazare and was his closest friend. They knew each other away back from the same tough neighborhood on the Lower East Side. Lazare ascended out of the gutter earlier in life and escaped the social deprivations that abound in such neighborhoods. He got a scholarship to go to college while Larchet was not so lucky. He got locked into a poverty trap early on in life. By his early twenties, Larchet was a hardened criminal with multiple organized crime contacts including wise guys in the Italian Mafia. Anything that was illegal, Larchet had a stake in it, narcotics, prostitution, gambling and scams of every kind. He managed to stay lucky up to now, never serving a prison term. Peter’s ‘old’ country France, where his father’s ancestors hailed from, was a place he had visited many times during his formative years. These visits were very much part of his journey into criminality. He was closely related to the infamous Bonnet Corsican crime family based in Marseilles. The family had criminal networks all over France, Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Jacques Bonnet was ‘the Don’, head of the crime family and ruled his business with an iron fist. Larchet was highly thought of by Bonnet and considered him a very useful resource to have, based in New York City with close connections to major underworld crime bosses. Bonnet styled himself on the Italian Mafia Godfathers and was every bit as ruthless as his Sicilian counterparts.
Lazare left his office at 12:20pm and took a cab to the Italian Food Center restaurant on a narrow back street off Mulberry Street near the old center of Little Italy. Larchet was already sitting at a table.
‘Peter! Things are hotting-up,’ declared Lazare as he sat down beside him. ‘It’s going to take about two to three fuckin’ months to off-load large blocks of stock held by Corvalis. Any quicker and the market could get suspicious and go pear shaped. I also must ensure Martinetti’s portfolio holds up. So, I need your ‘600-pound Gorillas’ in France to contain the situation in Switzerland over the next few weeks.’
‘Ok Henri! What do you want me to do?’
‘Talk to your cousins in Marseille as soon as possible and have them on standby ready for some more work.’
‘Yeah Boss. No doubt you’re happy with our first job in Switzerland?’
Lazare always tried to distance himself from knowing too much about the details of Larchet’s work replied, ‘Yes. But keep on top of it and don’t fuck up! By the way, I‘ve been keeping our friend Colgo informed abou
t developments in Europe.’
‘Fine with me Boss. In fact, I involved him in the deal with Bonnet on the Lehman job.’
‘That’s good!’
Colgo was a thug Larchet had used part time over many years to deal with enemies and anybody else who got in his way. Half oriental-half Irish, Colgo was a six foot four, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound muscleman, shit hot martial arts expert with a black belt in Kyokushin Karate and Kung Fu. Larchet introduced Colgo to Lazare twelve months earlier. Soon after that he started to work part time for both men as circumstances demanded.
‘Changing the subject Henri, our family members in Paris have uncovered a private Dick named Raoul Durand, a close friend of Nicole Lehman. We have put a twenty-four-hour tail on him.’
‘Good fuckin’ move Peter.’
‘As you know Lehman’s bitch and that schmuck Philips have gone to ground.’
‘Both must be found yesterday,’ insisted Lazare.
‘Yes Henri. We think the Lehman broad presents more of a fuckin’ danger right now so we have doubled our resources to track her down.’
‘Any ideas where she might be?’
‘We have a hunch she may be in Paris somewhere. She has family roots there. We’re hoping her ‘private dick’ friend might lead us to her.’
Lazare gestured to the waiter across the room to take their order. ‘Excellent! Do what you must do. But remember, keep me well out of the frame; no fuck-ups Peter. You know the score.’
9
The grimy walls of the workshop were adorned with ‘page three’ type images of topless, semi-naked women. A radio in the background played pop music. The twins were working on a motorcycle engine that was clamped into a large vice mounted on a workbench. One twin stood smoking a cigarette, the other twin focused on removing a cover plate from the engine. The phone buzzed. The twin with the cigarette grabbed the receiver.
‘Bonjour,’ rasped the voice at the other end. ‘I have some more work for you two. I need you to prepare some incendiary devices.’
The twin dragged deeply on his cigarette, replied, ‘No problem. When do you want them delivered?’
The Karl Lehman Affair Page 3