jg.thepartner-第42部分

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　〃Not　really。　Rapley　once　made　the　remark　to　Vitrano　that　my　timing　was　incredible；　since　I　had　purchased　the　two…million…dollar　policy　only　eight　months　before　my　death。　And　there　was　a　ment　or　two　about　how　strange　I　had　been　acting；　but　it　was　harmless。　They　were　so　thrilled　that　I　was　gone　and　out　of　the　way。〃
　〃Did　you　tap　Trudy's　phones？〃
　〃I　thought　about　it；　but　then　why　bother？　Her　behavior　was　predictable。　She　couldn't　help　me。〃
　〃But　Aricia　could。〃
　〃Certainly。　I　knew　every　move　they　made　for　Aricia。　I　knew　the　money　was　going　offshore。　I　knew　which　bank；　and　when　it　would　get　there。〃
　〃So　how'd　you　steal　it？〃
　〃Again；　lots　of　luck。　Though　Bogan　was　calling　the　shots；　Vitrano　was　doing　most　of　the　talking　with　the　bankers。　I　flew　to　Miami　。with　a　fresh　set　of　papers　declaring　me　to　be　Doug　Vitrano。　I　had　his　Social　Security　number　and　other　vitals。　This　guy　in　Miami　has　a　puter　catalog　with　a　million　faces　in　it；　and　you　simply　point　to　the　one　you　want；　and　presto；　that　face　is　on　your　driver's　license。　I　picked　a　face　that　was　somewhere　between　mine　and　Vitrano's。　From　Miami　I　flew　to　Nassau；　and　that's　where　it　got　sticky。　I　presented　myself　to　the　bank；　the　United　Bank　of　Wales。　The　main　guy　Vitrano　had　been　talking　to　was　a　chap　named　Graham　Dunlap。　I　presented　all　my　fake　papers；　including　a　forged　partnership　resolution；　on　firm　stationery　of　course；　which　directed　me　to　wire　the　money　out　as　fast　as　it　came　in。　Dunlap　had　not　expected　Mr。　Vitrano；　and　he　was　quite　surprised；　even　flattered；　that　someone　from　the　firm　would　make　the　journey　for　such　a　routine　matter。　He　fixed　me　coffee　and　sent　a　secretary　out　for　croissants。　I　was　eating　one　in　his　office　when　the　wire　came　in。〃
　〃He　never　thought　about　calling　the　firm？〃
　〃No。　And　listen；　Karl；　I　was　prepared　to　bolt。　If　Dunlap　had　been　the　least　bit　suspicious；　I　would　have　slugged　him；　run　from　the　building；　grabbed　a　cab；　and　raced　to　the　airport。　I　had　three　different　tickets　for　three　different　flights。〃
　〃Where　would　you　have　gone？〃
　〃Well；　I　was　still　dead；　remember。　Probably　to　Brazil。　I　would've；　found　a　job　as　a　bartender　and　spent　the　rest　of　my　days　on　the　beach。　In　retrospect；　I　might　have　been　better　off　without　the　money。　I　had　it；　and　they　had　to　e　after　it。　That's　why　I'm　here　now。
　Anyway；　Dunlap　asked　the　right　questions　and　my　answers　came　out　beautifully。　He　confirmed　the　wire　was　in；　and　I　immediately　authorized　the　wire　out；　to　a　bank　in　Malta。〃
　〃All　of　it？〃
　〃Almost　all　of　it。　Dunlap　hesitated　for　a　moment　when　he　realized　all　the　money　was　leaving　his　bank。　I　almost　swallowed　my　tongue。　He　mentioned　something　about　an　administrative　fee　for　his　services；　and　I　asked　him　what　was　customary。　He　turned　into　a　slimy　little　twerp；　said　fifty　thousand　would　be　appropriate；　and　I　said　fine。　Fifty　thousand　stayed　in　the　account　and　was　later　transferred　to　Dunlap。　The　bank　is　in　downtown　Nassau…〃
　〃Was　in　downtown　Nassau。　It　folded　six　months　after　you　robbed　it。〃
　〃Yeah；　so　I　heard。　Too　bad。　When　I　left　through　the　front　door；　my　feet　hit　the　sidewalk；　and　it　was　difficult　to　keep　from　sprinting　like　a　madman　through　the　traffic。　I　wanted　to　scream　and　leap　from　street　to　street；　but　I　controlled　myself。　I　jumped　into　the　first　empty　cab；　told　the　driver　I　was　late　for　a　flight；　and　off　we　went。　The　plane　to　Atlanta　left　in　an　hour。　The　one　to　Miami　was　an　hour　and　a　half。　The　one　to　La　Guardia　was　boarding；　so　I　flew　to　New　York。〃
　〃With　ninety　million　bucks。〃
　〃Minus　fifty　thousand　for　old　Dunlap。　It　was　the　longest　flight　of　my　life；　Karl。　I　knocked　down　three　martinis　and　was　still　nothing　but　nerves。　I　would　close　my　eyes　and　see　customs　agents　with　machine　guns　waiting　on　me　at　the　gate。　I　just　knew　Dunlap　had　gotten　suspicious　and　called　the　firm；　and　that　somehow　they　had　tracked　me　to　the　airport　and　onto　the　flight。　I　have　never　wanted　to　get　off　a　plane　so　badly　in　my　life。　We　landed；　taxied　to　the　terminal；　got　off　the　plane。　A　camera　flashed　as　we　stepped　into　the　gate　area；　and　I　thought；　This　is　it！　They've　got　me！　It　was　some　kid　with　a　Kodak。　I　practically　ran　to　the　men's　room；　where　I　sat　on　the　toilet　for　twenty　minutes。　Next　to　my　feet　was　a　canvas　overnight　bag　with　all　my　worldly　possessions。〃
　〃Don't　forget　the　ninety　million。〃
　〃Oh　yeah。〃
　〃How'd　the　money　get　to　Panama？〃
　〃How　do　you　know　it　went　to　Panama？〃
　〃I'm　the　Judge；　Patrick。　The　cops　talk　to　me。　It's　a　small　town。〃
　〃It　was　in　the　wiring　instructions　from　Nassau。　The　money　went　into　a　new　account　in　Malta；　then　quickly　on　to　Panama。〃
　〃How'd　you　bee　such　a　wizard　at　wiring　money？〃
　〃Just　took　a　little　research。　I　worked　on　it　for　a　year。　Tell　me；　Karl；　when　did　you　hear　that　the　money　was　missing？〃
　Karl　laughed　and　reclined　even　farther。　He　clasped　his　hands　behind　his　head。　〃Well；　your　pals　at　the　firm　did　a　poor　job　of　keeping　their　little　settlement　quiet。〃
　〃I'm　shocked。〃
　〃In　fact；　the　whole　town　knew　they　were　about　to　be　filthy　rich。　They　acted　so　serious　about　the　secrecy；　yet　they　were　spending　money　like　crazy。　Havarac　bought　the　biggest；　blackest　Mercedes　ever　made。　Vitrano's　architect　was　in　the　final　stage　of　designing　their　new　home…eleven　thousand　square　feet。　Rapley　signed　a　contract　to　buy　an　eighty…foot　sailboat；　said　he　was　contemplating　retirement。　I　heard　the　private　jet　talk　a　few　times。　Thirty　million　in　legal　fees　would　be　hard　to　hide　around　here；　but　they　didn't　really　try。　They　wanted　people　to　know。〃
　〃Sounds　like　a　bunch　of　lawyers。〃
　〃You　struck　on　a　Thursday；　right？〃
　〃Right。　March　twenty…sixth。〃
　〃The　next　day；　I　was　preparing　to　proceed　with　a　civil　trial　when　one　of　the　lawyers　got　a　call　from　the　office。　The　news　was　that　there　were　problems　with　the　big　settlement　over　at　Bogan；　Rapley；　Vitrano；　Havarac；　and　Lanigan。　The　money　vanished。　All　of　it。　Stolen　by　someone　offshore。〃
　〃Was　my　name　mentioned？〃
　〃Not　the　first　day。　It　didn't　take　long；　though。　Word　got　out　that　the　bank's　security　cameras　had　captured　someone　vaguely　resembling　you。　Other　pieces　fell　into　place；　and　the　gossip　roared　around　town。〃
　〃Did　you　believe　I　did　it？〃
　〃At　first；　I　was　too　shocked　to　believe　anything。　All　of　us　were。　We　had　buried　you；　put　you　to　rest；　said　our　prayers。　It　was　impossible　to　believe。　But；　as　the　days　passed；　the　shock　wore　off　and　the　puzzle　came　together。　The　new　will；　the　life　insurance；　the　cremated　corpse…we　started　getting　suspicious。　Then　they　found　the　office　crawling　with　bugs。　The　FBI　was　questioning　everyone　around　here。　A　week　after　it　happened；　it　was　pretty　well　accepted　that　you　had　pulled　it　off。〃
　〃Were　you　proud　of　me？〃
　〃I　wouldn't　say　I　was　proud。　Astonished　maybe。
　Perhaps　stunned。　There　was；　after　all；　a　dead　body。　Then；　I　was　intrigued。〃
　〃Not　the　slightest　hint　of　admiration？〃
　〃I　don't　remember　it　that　way；　Patrick。　No；　an　innocent　person　had　been　murdered　so　you　could　steal　the　money。　Plus；　you　left　behind　a　wife　and　daughter。〃
　〃The　wife　got　a　bundle。　The　child　isn't　mine。〃
　〃I　didn't　know　that　at　the　time。　No　one　did。　No；　I　don't　think　you　were　admired　around　here。〃
　〃What　about　my　pals　at　the　firm？〃
　〃No　one　saw　them　for　months。　They　got　sued　by　Aricia。　Other　litigation　followed。　They　had　grossly　overspent；　so　bankruptcy　got　them。　Divorces；　booze；　it　was　awful。　They　self…destructed　in　textbook　fashion。〃
　Patrick　crawled　onto　his　bed　and　gently　folded　his　legs。　He　savored　this　with　a　nasty　smile。　Huskey　stood　and　walked　to　the　window。　〃How　long　did　you　stay　in　New　York？〃　he　asked；　peeking　through　the　shades。
　〃About　a　week。　I　didn't　want　any　of　the　money　ing　back　into　the　States；　so　I　arranged　to　have　it　wired　to　a　bank　in　Toronto。　The　bank　hi　Panama　was　a　branch　of　the　Bank　of　Ontario；　so　it　was　easy　to　wire　in　as　much　as　I　needed。〃
　〃You　started　spending？〃
　〃Not　much。　I　was　a　Canadian　now；　with　good　papers；　a　transplant　from　Vancouver；　and　the　money　allowed　me　to　purchase　a　small　apartment　and　obtain　credit　cards。　I　found　a　Portuguese　instructor　and　studied　the　language　six　hours　a　day。　I　went　to　Europe　several　times　so　my　passport　would　get　used　and　scrutinized。　Everything　worked　perfectly。　After　three　months；　I　put　the　apartment　on　the　market　and　went　to　Lisbon；　where　I　studied　the　language　for　a　couple　of　months。　Then；　on　August　5；　1992；　I　flew　to　Sao　Paulo。〃
　〃Your　independence　day。〃
　〃Absolute　freedom；　Karl。　I　landed　in　that　city　with　two　small　bags。　I　got　in　a　cab　and　I　was　soon　lost　in　a　sea　of　twenty　million　people。　It　was　dark　and　raining；　traffic　was　standing　still；　and　I　was　in　the　back　of　a　cab　thinking　to　myself　that　no　one　in　the　world　knew　where　I　was。　And　no　one　would　ever　find　me。　I　almost　cried；　Karl。　It　was　sheer；　unbridled　freedom。　I　looked　at　the　faces　of　the　people　racing　down　the　sidewalks；　and　I　thought　to　myself；　I'm　now　one　of　them。　I'm　a　Brazilian　named　Danilo；　and　I'll　never　be　anybody　else。〃
　Twenty…nine
　SANDY　SLEPT　THREE　HOURS　on　a　hard　mattress　in　a　loft　somewhere　above　the　den；　far　away　from　her；　and　awoke　with　the　early　sun　beaming　through　slits　beneath　the　blinds。　It　was　six…thirty。　They　had　said　good　night　at　three；　after　seven　hours　of　intensely　scouring　documents　and　listening　to　dozens　of　surreptitious　talks　Patrick　had　amazingly　captured。
　He　showered　and　dressed；　and　found　his　way　down　to　the　kitchen；　where　Leah　sat　in　the　breakfast　nook　with　fresh　coffee　and　a　surprisingly　alert　face。　She　fixed　him　wheat　toast　with　jam　as　he　glanced　at　the　newspapers。　Sandy　was　ready　to　leave；　to　return　to　his　office　with　the　Aricia　mess　and　sort　it　out　on　his　own　turf。
　〃Any　word　from　your　father？〃　he　asked。　The　early　voices　were　quiet；　the　words　scarce。
　〃No。　But　I　can't　call　from　here。　I'll　go　to　the　market　later　and　use　a　pay　phone。〃
　〃I'll　say　a　prayer　for　him。〃
　〃Thanks。〃
　They　loaded　the　entire　Aricia　file　into　the　trunk　of　his　car；　and　said　good…bye。　She　promised　to　call　him　within　twenty…four　hours。　She　would　not　be　leaving　anytime　soon。　Their　client's　problems　had　gone　from　serious　to　urgent。
　The　early　air　was　cool。　It　was　October　after　all；　and　even　the　Coast　felt　a　hint　of　autumn。　She　put　on　a　parka　and　went　for　a　walk　on　the　beach；　barefoot　and　bare…l