by Morris West
‘Again to the best of your knowledge.’
‘Yes… Then, I was asked whether I had ever contemplated a change. I said I was very happy with Harlequin et Cie, and especially happy in my relations with our President. We have much in common, as you know – an interest in pictures, a respect for sound precedent and, if I may say so, a good family background.’
‘I’m glad to hear that, Larry. Harlequin is counting on your support at this time.’
‘Please assure him he has it. But I should be less than honest if I did not say that any shadow on the bank’s reputation or my own, would force me to rethink my position.’
‘I appreciate that. I know Harlequin will want to see you as soon as he gets to New York. Until he does, I’ll be in daily contact. And, Larry…?’
‘Yes, Paul?’
‘Now is the time for all good men… You know?’
‘I do, Paul. I do indeed. Thanks for your confidence. Now, I’d better get back and mind the store.’
He marched out, head high, cheeks glowing with godliness, a good Boston man, in whom, as old Tom Appleton proclaimed, the east wind was made flesh. The intelligence he had offered me was bleak. The word of our trouble was out. There would be new rumours every day. The tap-room gossips would blow them about the town; and soon, very soon, an offer of a hundred dollars a share would look like manna in the desert. I needed a long, stiff brandy. I decided against it because Valerie Hallstrom was due at three-thirty and I would need all my wits when we sat down to discuss her report.
Valerie Adele Hallstrom – I quote from her visiting card – was a phenomenon. She was tall and blonde. She had one of those open, healthy Scandinavian faces that the travel agents use to seduce you into a Baltic cruise in mid-winter, and a figure that was an incitement to riot. Not that she flaunted it – dear me, no! Her suit was a miracle of discreet tailoring. Her gestures were restrained. Her voice a smooth contralto. She knew her own mind and had all the words to express it. At first, I found her distracting. As we worked, line by line, through the document, I found her a very daunting lady indeed.
‘You see, Mr Desmond, if you choose, as you well may, to institute legal proceedings, this report has to stand up in court. The moment I signed it, my reputation and that of our corporation was on the line.’
‘So you conclude – and your report states flatly – that the frauds originated inside our own organisation.’
‘We have no doubt of it.’
‘Read me the procedure as you see it.’
‘Let’s take your head office in Geneva by way of example. The computer installation is located in Zurich. You rent usage time, four hours a day, five days a week. You have two direct lines to the central computer and you key in by the use of an exclusive code. Anyone who knows that code can use your lines, or someone else’s, to feed information and instruction into the computer or to withdraw information from it.’
‘That’s all clear. But it opens loopholes. Either our operators committed the fraud or someone outside tapped in by using our code word.’
‘Which they would have to get from inside, right?’
‘Possibly… Now, as I understand it, once an instruction is fed to the computer, it is stored in the memory bank and executed automatically.’
‘That’s correct.’
‘And no one knows the instruction exists except the person who fed it to the memory bank.’
‘Exactly. And that’s the basis of all the classic frauds. For example, if you have an overdraft limit of two thousand dollars, you can increase it to two hundred thousand just by adding two zeros to the programme. After that, it’s in the record and you can operate to the false limit without question – unless and until someone checks back to find the original instruction. Another example. You can order the computer to pay a hundred thousand dollars into your account on a given day and erase the transaction from its memory the day after. You withdraw the money from your account by a cheque marked “balance of account” and skip the country. Unless it can be proved that you instructed the computer to commit the fraud, it’s very hard to prove you’re guilty of a crime. You have not stated an amount to which you have no entitlement. The mistake was made by the computer acting and operating for the bank.’
‘So, Miss Hallstrom, let’s see exactly what happened in our Geneva office. Here on page 73 of the report. Someone, reputed to be George Harlequin himself, opened a coded account with the Union Bank. The account was opened by post, using documents signed, or apparently signed, by George Harlequin. The signatures match. Harlequin disclaims all knowledge. Therefore, we conclude the signatures are forgeries. Next, someone using our code-word, taps into the computer and orders it to charge one per cent on every third transaction and pay the proceeds weekly into the Harlequin account at the Union Bank. Since bank charges are getting more and more complicated, because bankers are getting greedier and greedier, this charge could slip by until audit time. Right?’
‘Yes. But at audit time it would have to be justified against an original instruction.’
‘So, if Harlequin were the originator, he would be immediately open to criminal prosecution.’
‘Agreed.’
‘But he’s not stupid and he doesn’t need money. So what would you conclude, Miss Hallstrom?’
‘That it would be improper for me to comment, Mr Desmond. Our contract with you is to discover anomalies and bad practices. This we have done. It is for you to draw conclusions and institute appropriate action.’
‘Very good. Very sound. Let me put it another way. We’re a man and a woman alone in a hotel suite. There are no witnesses. I hope there are no bugs, unless you’re wearing one. Would you be prepared to offer, without prejudice, a private opinion?’
‘No, Mr Desmond, I would not.’
‘But you have one?’
‘Yes. That I am bound to rest only on the report I have signed.’
‘But this is matter arising out of the report.’
‘A matter of opinion, not fact. If you feel you have a claim to discuss it with Creative Systems Incorporated, then you should refer to Mr Yanko, under whose direction I work… Now, do you want to discuss what happened in the other branches?’
‘No. The transactions vary. The method is much the same. The result is identical. George Harlequin is framed with grand fraud.’
‘May I ask what action you’ve taken to prevent continuance?’
‘We’ve annulled all computer instructions so far identified in your report.’
‘Good.’
‘And we’re setting out to trace the originator of the fraud. Your report states that this has to be someone inside or connected with Harlequin et Cie. I note that you make no mention of people in Creative Systems Incorporated.’
‘On the contrary, Mr Desmond. We make specific mention on page 84, para. 3, and I quote: “All Creative Systems personnel connected with these operations have been screened and rescreened and we are satisfied that none of them is in any way involved in the fraudulent operations.”’
‘And you expect us to accept that?’
‘In default of contrary evidence, yes.’
‘Miss Hallstrom, I’d like to pay you a compliment.’
‘Please do, Mr Desmond.’
‘You’re a very beautiful woman.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I wish you were working for us.’
‘But I am, Mr Desmond. Wait till you get the bill. My services come very high.’
‘Are you ever off-duty?’
‘Often.’
‘How would you like to pay me a compliment and come to dinner one evening – if I promise not to talk business?’
‘I think I’d like that.’
‘Where can I call you?’
‘I’ll give you my card. Telephone me round seven any evening.’
‘Thank you.’
‘By the way, Mr Yanko asked me to say he’ll be at your disposal between ten and midday tomorrow.’
‘Tel
l him to expect me at eleven.’
‘Au revoir, Mr Desmond. It’s been a pleasure to meet you.’
‘The pleasure was mine, Miss Hallstrom.’
The hell it was! I thought she was a gold-plated bitch; but at least I had her address and telephone number and half an invitation into her private life.
It was a small victory, but not necessarily a frivolous one. When you deal with massive corporations, you need friends inside the network. Some companies are more affluent than the nations in which they trade. They straddle frontiers and override local jurisdictions. They bargain with the best brains, they buy the best legal counsel in every country. Their personnel command the care of diplomats and politicians… But, if you want a straight answer to a straight question, it may take you two years to get it, and you’ll need a library to house the interim correspondence. So dinner with Valerie Hallstrom might be a dead loss. It might, on the other hand, be a key to secrets, because the larger the corporation, the more the loyalties were diluted and the more bitter were the faction fights in the upper echelons.
It was six o’clock. Suddenly, I felt tired, scrubby and old. I walked out of the Salvador, strolled ten blocks back to my own apartment and slept until Takeshi called me at eleven.
At eleven-thirty, punctual as doomsday, Aaron Bogdanovich presented himself, He was a tall man, lean, bronzed and muscular. He looked forty. He could have been fifty. There was no way to tell without a birth certificate. His dress was casual but immaculate. He smiled readily. His handshake was firm. After a swift appraising glance at the apartment, he said:
‘I have one man watching the street entrance. There’s another outside the door. I’d like to bring him in to test the apartment for bugs. I trust you have no objection?’
‘None at all.’
His man came in, a youthful ghost who prowled the rooms with a detector, nodded satisfaction and then left without uttering a word.
Bogdanovich relaxed. ‘Now we can talk.’
‘A drink?’
‘Fruit juice, please.’
Takeshi served the drinks and left us.
Aaron Bogdanovich smiled at me over his glass. ‘Well, Mr Desmond, what have you decided?’
‘We’re under siege. We have to fight. We accept that there may be drastic consequences.’
‘And your principal concurs?’
‘He has given me an open brief.’
‘The charges are as follows. You will make available immediately two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash. You will hold a like amount on call in any required currency in any named capital. Total, half a million with a maximum overcall of ten per cent.’
‘Win or lose?’
‘That’s the deal. It’s an act of faith. The other side of the bargain is that we accept all our own risks and never, in any circumstances, pass them back to the client. If there’s blood on the carpet, we clean it up ourselves. Can you commit for the required amount?’
‘Yes.’
‘Lacheim, Mr Desmond!’
‘Good health.’
We drank the toast and sealed the bargain. We sat down to supper and Bogdanovich talked me through the campaign like a general instructing his staff officer.
‘I’ve read the document. I agree with your conclusions. The fraud is related to the take-over bid. Yanko is the probable instigator. To prove it, we have to work inside his organisation and yours.’
‘Can you do that?’
‘We can. However, we have to mount a cover operation to divert attention from our activities.’
‘How do we do that?’
‘You apply to a regular security organisation for assistance. We suggest you use Lichtman Wells, who are an international outfit. You will request that the operation be directed personally by Mr Saul Wells. He will accept the assignment.’
‘Why?’
‘Be assured he will accept and will appoint suitable operatives.’
‘Your operatives, in fact.’
‘I did not say that. Nor should you ask… You see, Mr Desmond, it is not at all impossible that you may, one day, find yourself under pressure to reveal what you know about this operation. Considering the sanction we have discussed, better you should have nothing to tell, eh?… Are you married?’
‘No.’
‘Do you have any relationships or attachments through which you might be blackmailed? A mistress, perhaps? A child?’
‘No. But Harlequin has a wife and a child.’
‘Then, he, too, should know the risks.’
‘I’ll see that he does.’
‘I wish to meet him, personally.’
‘He was discharged from hospital this morning. He intended to fly to Acapulco for a holiday with his wife. In fact, they will come to New York. They will use the bank apartment at the Salvador, where we have arranged medical supervision during his convalescence.’
‘That’s wise. You may both have to travel extensively in the near future.’
‘Again, please?’
‘Your bank is in crisis. You will obviously need to visit all branches. Also we may need, for your own safety and the security of our operations, to keep you both on the move.’
‘That’s a scary thought.’
‘Yes, it is. But consider, Mr Desmond. Your company is a rich prize and great corporations have no morals. Accidents are easy to arrange. Executives and diplomats are kidnapped and held to ransom. Torture is now a science. Read any daily newspaper and you will see that I do not exaggerate… What you do not read is even more sinister. At this moment, there is a body floating in the East River. It is the body of a gunman who was hired to assassinate an Arab delegate to the United Nations. Tonight, Mr Desmond, at eight-thirty, as the delegate stepped out of a limousine to attend a dinner-party. My people would have been blamed for his death… I hope I make myself clear.’
‘Too clear for comfort.’
‘Money is power, Mr Desmond. There is no comfort in either.’
‘So… Harlequin and I may have to travel. What else?’
‘Act as normally as you can. Yanko expects you to negotiate with him over the shares. Negotiate. He expects an investigation. You give him one. Your managers and executives remain in ignorance of my activities and carry on normal business. Any information you glean, will be passed on to us.’
‘How?’
‘Here in New York, by telephone, from a public phone booth. I will give you two numbers which you will memorise. You will identify yourself by the name of Weizman. When you leave New York, you will make your travel arrangements through an agency which I will recommend. Your contacts in other cities will be communicated when you pick up the tickets.’
‘I’ve got one piece of news now. I talked this afternoon with a woman, Valerie Hallstrom. She works for Yanko and it was she who prepared the report.’
‘Did she tell you anything useful?’
‘On the contrary. She refused to go one step beyond the brief. However, I did ask her for a dinner date. She wasn’t unwilling and she gave me her card.’
‘May I see it, please?’
He scanned it for a moment and then handed it back.
I couldn’t resist the question. ‘Do you really have total recall?’
‘I do.’
‘Should I make a date with this woman?’
‘Is she attractive?’
‘Very.’
‘Amenable?’
‘I’d like to find out.’
‘Just let me know any arrangements you make.’
‘Which raises another question. How do you get in touch with me? I’ll be moving about a good deal.’
‘Wherever you are, Mr Desmond, I shall know. Our fees are high; but we give service round the clock… By the way, how long has your servant been with you?’
‘Six years now.’
‘Obviously you trust him. But what do you know about his background?’
‘Almost nothing. He was with a friend of mine for five years. When he left New York, I too
k over the apartment and Takeshi with it. There’s a lot of valuable stuff here. Takeshi keeps the household accounts. So far, no complaints.’
‘It’s a good record; but we’ll check him out just the same. Do you have any vices, Mr Desmond?’
‘That’s a hard one to answer!’
‘I have to know.’
‘Well, let’s put it in the negative. I don’t gamble. I like a drink, but I haven’t been drunk in twenty years. I don’t buy sex. My taste is for women only and I never talk their names in the club.’
‘Any guilty secrets?’
‘An unsuccessful marriage.’
‘Debts?’
‘None.’
‘Thank you, Mr Desmond. That’s all I need for the moment.’
‘More coffee?’
‘No, thank you.’
‘A question for you, Mr Bogdanovich.’
‘Yes?’
‘Why have you agreed to take this assignment?’
‘What you really mean, Mr Desmond, is why I wouldn’t look for a double fee somewhere else?’
‘No. I mean exactly what I asked.’
‘There are two answers, Mr Desmond. The first is simple. You were recommended by a good friend, Karl Kruger, and you can afford the service. The second is a little more complicated. I have small faith in the rectitude of human beings. I know that every man has a price and that he will die righteous only if no one offers it. I know that every man has one fear by which he can be destroyed. I have ceased to believe in God because I see a creation founded on a destructive struggle for existence. However, I know that order is necessary if life is to remain half-way tolerable. If a passably just man is invaded by a bully, we are all invaded. The only way to stop a bully is to smack him in the teeth. If you’re too small to hit him, you hire me…’ He gave me that limpid, ready smile and shrugged. ‘It’s a specious argument, of course. You’d be a fool to swallow it whole. But even in our jungle, we need a vestige of reason to justify what we do. Now, let me give you the telephone numbers and the name of our travel agents.’
When he had gone, Takeshi summed him up in a single, haunting phrase:
‘That man, sir, I think he sleeps in a grave.’