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“What, like a finder’s fee, no pun intended.”
“A multimillion-dollar one to be exact. And since I brought in the account, under the firm’s policy of getting to eat what you kill, I personally get sixty percent.”
“How exactly did you manage that?”
“Well, as you know I had a pretty good career at the Service. And in the time I’ve been here I’ve brought several very high-profile cases to a successful conclusion, including the return of a Fortune 500 executive who was kidnapped.”
“Congratulations. Funny I never heard about it.”
“Well, we like to keep a low profile to the public. To those who are in the know, however, we’re a major player.”
“Millions, huh? I didn’t think third-party candidates had that kin
d of war chest.”
“A large part of it is special liability insurance, and Bruno’s wife has family money. His campaign was also very well funded. And since they have no candidate to expend money on, they want to pay me, and I have no problem with that.”
“But Bruno’s case is an ongoing federal investigation.”
“So what? The FBI doesn’t have a monopoly on solving crimes. And Bruno’s people flatly don’t trust the government. In case you haven’t been reading your newspaper, some of them think their candidate was set up by the Service.”
“They said the same thing about me and Ritter, and it’s as crazy now as it was then,” said King.
“But it presents a wonderful opportunity for us.”
“Us? And what exactly is my part in all this?”
“If you help me find Bruno, I’ll pay you forty percent of what I get; it’ll be seven figures to you.”
“I’m not rich, but I really don’t need the money, Joan.”
“But I do. I left the Service before I did my twenty-five years, so I’m sort of screwed on the pension. I’ve been here a year, making a lot more money, and I’ve socked most of it away, but I’m not enjoying myself. In my years at the Service I worked the equivalent of a forty-year career. I see in my future white beaches, a catamaran and exotic cocktails, and this score will allow me to do that. And maybe you don’t need the money, but what you do need is something good to happen to you. Where the newspapers tout you as a hero instead of the fall guy.”
“So you’re now my P.R. person?”
“I think you need one, Sean.”
“Why me? You’ve got all the resources of this place.”
“Most of the experienced people are pissed that I landed the deal, and they won’t work on it with me. The ones who are left are young, overeducated and street-stupid. Your fourth year in the Service you broke the largest counterfeit ring in the Northern Hemisphere working solo from the field office in Louisville, Kentucky, of all places. That’s the sort of investigative talent I need. And it also helps matters that you live two hours from where Bruno was snatched.”
He looked around. “I don’t even work at this place.”
“I can use anyone I want in the investigation.”
He shook his head. “I haven’t done this stuff in years.”
“Like riding a bike.” She sat forward and stared at him intently. “Like riding a bike, Sean. And I don’t think I’d be making this proposition to you if I’d set you up to take a murder rap. I need you with me if I want the payoff. And I want the payoff.”
“I have my law practice.”
“Take a sabbatical. If we’re going to find Bruno, it’ll be sooner rather than later. Look at it this way. It’s exciting. It’s different. It might not be like old times. But maybe it’ll be like new times.” Her hand lightly touched his. Somehow it was a far more seductive gesture than the tacky stunt she’d pulled on his kitchen table.
“And maybe you can show me how to sail the catamaran, because I don’t have a clue,” said Joan quietly.
CHAPTER
21
