Part 39 (1/2)
”What's that supposed to mean?”
”Quentin gave your aide the photographs last night,” Gillette answered. There was no need to be evasive. It was time to hit Stockman between the eyes. ”I'm sure you've seen them by now.” He watched Stockman clench his teeth, then take a deep breath. Trying to stay in control. The senator had a nasty temper, and Gillette could tell he was close to erupting. ”Right?”
”Yes,” Stockman admitted curtly.
”You've been seeing the Jones woman for a while, haven't you? In fact, you've brought her to Was.h.i.+ngton a few times.”
”Well, haven't we been busy?” Stockman asked.
”All things done in the dark eventually come to light.”
”Your father should have listened to that advice, son,” Stockman said, and sneered. ”If he had, he might still be alive. Or maybe you don't know why your mother drank so much.”
Gillette's eyes flashed to Stockman's. It wasn't the first time someone had implied that his father's plane might have been sabotaged, and, for a moment, it threw him. Which he knew was exactly what Stockman wanted. To distract him. Maybe tempt him to trade pictures for information about the crash instead of the conspiracy.
”You should be glad I'm a rational man, Senator,” Gillette finally said, his voice devoid of emotion, forcing himself to focus. ”Glad this is only about you and me reaching an understanding that benefits me in business. Glad I don't have time for revenge.”
”If all you wanted was to destroy my chance of being president, these d.a.m.n things would already be at The New York Times, The New York Times,” Stockman said, reaching into a drawer and dropping the envelope full of photographs on the desktop. ”I know that.” He hesitated. ”So, what do do you want?” you want?”
”Answers.”
”Answers to what?”
”Are you and Paul Strazzi working together to force me out of Everest Capital?”
Stockman hesitated.
”If you answer my questions,” Gillette continued forcefully, ”I burn the duplicate set of those photographs. If you don't, The Times The Times will have them within the hour.” will have them within the hour.”
”Yes,” Stockman answered quietly. ”We've been working together.”
”Why?”
”I want votes and Strazzi wants Everest. It's as simple as that. Plus, Paul hated Donovan,” Stockman added. ”There was that, too.”
”What about Dominion Savings & Loan?”
”What about it?” Stockman hissed.
”There aren't really billions of bad loans at Dominion, are there?”
”It's your investment,” Stockman retorted snidely. ”You tell me.”
”G.o.dd.a.m.n it, answer me.”
Stockman clenched his teeth again.
”Senator.”
”No, there aren't. No more than there are at any other savings and loan that size.”
”Why does Congressman Allen think there are?”
”What do you mean?” Stockman asked, grimacing as he glanced at one of the photographs.
”I saw the press conference yesterday afternoon. Allen claimed he had evidence that there were billions.”
”Allen owes me.”
”Still, I don't think a prominent congressman calls a press conference and accuses the partners at Everest Capital of fraud without doc.u.mentation-no matter how much he owes you. He could be writing his own ticket out of Was.h.i.+ngton.”
Stockman mulled over the question. ”Okay, we had help.”
”Where?”
”Inside Dominion.”
”What kind of help?”
”Earlier this week, somebody ran a few official-looking reports indicating that the loan portfolio was in terrible shape. Grossly inflating bad loans. I gave Allen that report.”
”Who was the person inside Dominion who ran the false reports?”
”I don't know,” Stockman snapped. ”I wasn't involved in that. That was Strazzi's responsibility.”
”Who's Strazzi using inside Everest?” Gillette demanded.
Stockman's eyes flashed to Gillette's.
”Come on, Senator. You must have someone inside Everest, too. That's the only way Strazzi would have been able to convince a senior person inside Dominion to cooperate, to run those reports for Allen.”
Stockman looked around the office like a caged animal. ”Marcie Reed.”
Gillette made certain not to react, despite being elated to have nailed the rat. He'd deal with her later. ”A few more-” His cell phone rang and he pulled it out quickly. Isabelle. He'd bought her a cell phone yesterday and, like a child, she couldn't stop using it. He shut off the ring and shoved the phone back in his pocket. He was going to see her in a few hours anyway. ”Is this Dominion scam something Strazzi's been planning for a long time?” he asked.
Stockman drew a measured breath. ”No. Strazzi was just being opportunistic,” he answered deliberately. ”I know he's been trying to figure out a way to take Bill Donovan down for a long time. But, like I said, in terms of Dominion, he just took advantage of the situation.”
”You mean you don't think he had Donovan killed,” Gillette said bluntly.
”That thought never crossed my mind.”
”Bulls.h.i.+t, Senator. That's exactly what you were thinking. Because it makes so much sense. Without Donovan around, Marcie Reed can pin the bad loans on him, claim he was the one who knew and didn't tell anyone. Am I right?”
Stockman stared at Gillette, a blank expression on his face.
”You really only have to convince one person there are problems at Dominion,” Gillette pointed out. ”And that's Ann Donovan. So she'll sell her Everest stake to Strazzi for a rock-bottom price. Then he can throw me out with that huge voting bloc of hers. Right?” he asked again, boring in on the truth. ”Once Strazzi has her stake, you don't care if the world finds out that the story about the bad loans isn't true. It doesn't matter then. I mean, Allen will be hot as h.e.l.l, but what do you care? You've probably got something on him that's ten times worse than the fraudulent report you provided him. So, what's he going to say? Nothing,” Gillette answered his own question. ”I would have come after him with everything I had for s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g our reputation. But if the plan had worked, I wouldn't have been around to do that. Strazzi would have been chairman. After Strazzi takes over, you tell Allen he has nothing to worry about, that you'll protect him. He's p.i.s.sed, and he loses a little credibility, but the public has a short memory.” Gillette stared hard at Stockman. ”That's how it was supposed to go down, right?”
”Yes,” Stockman agreed.
”You provided access to Allen. In return, you got Strazzi's support, including his multibillion-dollar money bag, I'm a.s.suming. That's why you weren't concerned about being able to raise campaign money when we had lunch. You knew you had whatever you needed.”