“What was that, Chad? Did y’all have a question for Mister Murphy?”
“No. For God’s sakes, don’t stop him. I was just adding commentary. Now tell him to keep talking.”
“No, he didn’t have a question, pardon me for interruptin’. Continue, Mister Murphy.”
“That’s quite all right, Gwyneth.” He paused and gave her a soft smile. “Back in the fifties these men were Swiss bankers.”
“Swiss bankers? I was murdered by Swiss bankers? What the fuck?”
“Now, Chad. Don’t be rude.”
“What’s he saying?” Jason asked.
“Oh, nuthin’. He just uses some crude language sometimes.”
“Well, so do you, sweet cheeks.”
Gwyneth rolled her eyes. “Please go on, Mister Murphy. I’ll just ignore him.”
“All right. Well, this may take a little explanation.”
“Ya think?”
“These men became involved in the IMF.”
“Is that like the FBI or the KBG?” Gwyneth asked.
“No. It’s the International Monetary Fund. Basically, it’s like a world bank. It was originally set up to stabilize exchange rates and facilitate a way to improve the world by making loans to participating countries when they most needed it. Most of the countries belonging to the United Nations are part of it.”
“Really? I wonder why I never heard of it. Chad, you shut your mouth.”
“I wasn’t going to say a word.”
Joe cleared his throat. “Okay, well back in the sixties, there was some talk of President Kennedy shifting our debt from the world bank to our national bank.”
“I see.” Gwyneth nodded slowly then switched to a head shake. “No, I don’t see. What’s that got to do with Chad’s murder?”
“Well, the world bank stood to lose a lot of money in interestfrom us. There were other things being discussed at the time. Some very unpopular decisions were made—like lending money to dictatorships as long as the regime was friendly to U.S. interests. In 1964, the world bank financed Brazil’s overthrow and the new dictator.”
“I do declare! Isn’t that right around the time President Kennedy was shot?”
“Yes. So, you understand the timeline. That’s important. With the IMF’s headquarters in the USA and America having the only veto, our country wielded quite a bit of power.”
Morgaine nodded. “So, the rest of the governments blamed us for lending money to violent men to overthrow their own countries’ governments.”
Joe nodded. “It’s created quite a negative image ever since. Historically, the president of the IMF is from the United States, whereas the managing director is European. That policy has been in question for years and may change, but since 1944, that’s the way it’s been.”
“So, what are you saying?” Jason interjected. “That Chad knew something about this and was about to expose the plot to assassinate our president by the peaceful, neutral Swiss? Or at least someone thought he did?”
“I’m glad he asked the dumbass question, so I didn’t have to.”
“I don’t know what he knew. He never gave us specific information from his article. All I know is that some of the prints from Chad’s apartment belonged to these two guys. Tell him he can rest easy now, though. They spent several years in jail for embezzlement later on.”
Jason took a deep breath. “Did you hear that, Chad? All is well. Justice has been done.”
“Justice? You call a few years in a white collar prison justice for murder? I want more. I want them hung. I want themdrawn and quartered. I want a firing squad. Where are they now?”
Morgaine sighed. “He’s not happy. He wants to know where they are now.”
