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Jack considered what she was saying. “Unless Kava’s men found the driver who betrayed him, and he gave up Amongus’s name before they put a bullet in his head.”
“That’s possible,” she said. “But we don’t know for certain that Kava’s men ever caught up with the driver, let alone killed him.”
“You let me know when to add him to my list of trusted employees who betrayed an oligarch’s family and lived to tell about it.”
“Fair point,” she said. “But consider another possibility.”
“Meaning what?”
“You said it yourself the last time we spoke. The threat against Theo was conditional:ifKava is extradited, Theo is a dead man.”
Jack saw exactly where she was heading. “Hold on. Are you suggesting that Theo shared details about the kidnapping with Kava’s lawyers in order to derail the extradition proceeding?”
“No. I’m saying he did it to save his own skin.”
Jack had to check his anger at the suggestion. “That’s not who Theo is.”
“Says you. But we never really know what people might do when faced with a death threat.”
“I represented Theo for four years when he was under constant threat of death. I know what he would and wouldn’t do. He would never rat out anyone by name to a Russian oligarch and his henchmen. Not even Amongus Sicario, who fucked him over and made him an unwitting accomplice in the extraction kidnapping. It’s not in Theo’s DNA.”
“But if you’re wrong, it could very well have been Theo who got Amongus Sicario killed.”
“That’s not possible. Theo was still in jail in Covent Garden when I was on the phone with Amongus and heard him get shot.”
Coffey seemed to accept his point on the timing, but she wasn’t budging on the bigger issue.
“Even if I believed you, there are decision makers here—people much higher up than me—who believe it was Theo Knight who worked behind the scenes and filled in the blanks for Kava’s lawyers.”
“So, you’re saying Theo is completely on his own.”
“On his own,” said Coffey. “Unless...”
Jack waited. It was almost as if her image had frozen on the screen due to technical difficulties, but she was simply waiting for Jack to acknowledge that he was ready to negotiate.
“I’m listening,” said Jack.
“The extradition of Sergei Kava would have eliminated the need forImani’s cooperation in the piracy investigation in New York. Now it seems we need her again.”
“You mean the idea that she do a private performance for Sergei Kava’s daughter?”
“More specifically, that she tell the Kava family that she will perform only if she can have a private conversation with the grandfather, Vladimir Kava.”
“How is she supposed to sell that condition?”
“The FBI will figure that out. We’ll coach her on the questions to ask Kava. And, of course, she’ll be wearing a wire for us to listen.”
“That’s a big ask.”
“She’s in big trouble.”
Jack couldn’t argue with that. “If she agrees to cooperate, what does she get in return?”
“All federal charges against her in New York are dropped. And her friend Theo gets whatever protection he needs or wants.”
“What about her indictment here in Florida?”
“The FBI can’t help you with that. But I’m solving two big problems for you, which lets your client focus her energy where it needs to be focused.”
