Part 31 (1/2)

'You know, Howard, I've never smoked in my life. I don't know why people do it.'

'You think it should be illegal, Mr Lovato?'

'That's not for me to say. I'm interested in people who break the laws, not make them. Howard, I gather you knew this was coming, and obviously that's something I'm annoyed about.'

I presumed he was referring to Sunde and Carl.

'I want to establish a relations.h.i.+p with you. Call me Craig. I want you to voluntarily extradite yourself.'

'Give me a cigarette, Craig, and I'll think about it.'

Lovato pulled open a desk drawer, fished out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, and motioned me to help myself. I took several deep drags.

'What about my wife? Let her go, and you can take me to America today.'

'Bob O'Neill, the a.s.sistant United States Attorney from Miami, Florida, who is in charge of your prosecution, will have to make that decision once you are on United States territory.'

'What's the charge against her?'

'I'm not sure. That's articulated by the Office of the United States Attorney, Miami, Florida. I think it's conspiracy to import a Schedule A controlled substance.'

'She never told me she was doing anything like that. Are you sure about this?'

'A Presidential Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force instructed law enforcement agencies of several countries to investigate certain matters relating to your criminal conduct, and on the basis of the findings, the a.s.sistant United States Attorney, Bob O'Neill, deemed there was sufficient evidence against Judy to go before a Grand Jury in Miami, Florida. The Grand Jury returned an indictment against her.'

'So, what is she actually accused of doing?'

'Using her telephone to further your illegal activities.'

'You mean she might have taken a message for me on our home phone here in Palma? That's illegal?'

'It would be something of that nature, Howard. Yes, it is certainly against United States law. I forget the actual statute.'

'My wife is locked up in this jail for answering her own phone. And you want to extradite her from here to lock her up in America. I'd heard the DEA was over the top. What do you call it? Zero tolerance, isn't it? Going around confiscating people's pleasure yachts if there's the remnants of a marijuana roach on board. You really are completely f.u.c.king nuts. Why don't you extradite my one-year-old son? I think he answered the phone on occasion.'

'Howard, I merely enforce the law.'

'Whatever it is, Craig?'

'Whatever it is, Howard.'

'You don't even have to think. It must make life a lot easier.'

'Of course it does, Howard.'

'What are the charges against me?'

'Again, they are articulated by the Office of the United States Attorney, but I'm given to understand that there are fourteen charges against you, of conspiracy, money laundering, and RICO.'

'What's RICO?'

'In the United States you will be a.s.signed a lawyer who will explain this to you.'

'I'm obviously going to fight extradition, unless you let my wife go.'

'You might just beat extradition on a technicality. But I'm a betting man. I'm from Las Vegas. I bet I'll get you. What's the code for these databanks of yours?'

'I can't remember.'

'Howard, we can always get Was.h.i.+ngton to do it.'

'Yeah, they should find it pretty easy, though they might f.u.c.k it up. How's Lord Moynihan?'

The question threw him a little, but he quickly recovered. 'I think, Howard, he'll come out of this smelling like a rose. By the way, he thinks you have a contract out on him. He's under our protection. I think I'm also authorised to inform you that Patrick Lane has just been arrested by my DEA colleagues in Miami. He is now in MCC, Miami Metropolitan Correctional Center. Chi Chuen Lo, or Balendo Lo, as you know him, was this morning arrested by my Scotland Yard colleagues. Hong Kong International is going down the tubes, Howard. Still, I'm sure you have plenty of money buried somewhere.'

'I've never had any money in my life. Why has Balendo been arrested? What is he meant to have done?'

'He was part of what we refer to as the ”Marks Cartel”. He worked for you, Howard. We know that.'

'He's a b.l.o.o.d.y travel agent. Nothing else. What's the ”Marks Cartel”?'

'The Office of the United States Attorney has reason to believe that Balendo Lo, or Chi Chuen Lo, which is his real name, knowingly facilitated the international travel arrangements of cartel members. The ”Marks Cartel” is your organisation, Howard. You've not heard of the Colombian ”Medellin Cartel”? Come on.'

'I thought a cartel was a group of people who agreed on things like commodity prices. With whom am I meant to be agreeing in the ”Marks Cartel”? Myself?'

'It's a bit like General Motors, Howard. It's all connected.'

I was losing his drift. Either he or I was insane.

'You might like to know, Howard, that Malik, too, is about to be arrested in Karachi.'

'You think Pakistan are going to give him up to you guys?'

'He'll be the most difficult, especially given his close relations.h.i.+p with President Zia, which we know all about. But we'll get him, somehow. He's part of the ”Marks Cartel”.'

'Why have you arrested David Embley? Is he another extraditable ”Marks Cartel” member?'

'It was the Spanish authorities' decision to arrest David, and it's their decision when to let him go. However, I shall say to them that, in my opinion, he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time: your house when we arrested you. I must say you have beautiful children.'

'Can you talk to Judy, please, and let her know that there's some chance of her being released if I voluntarily extradite myself?'

'I don't like talking to distraught persons. Judith is very distraught.'

'That must limit your conversations quite a bit.'

'I'll see you in prison tomorrow, Howard. I must let my Spanish colleagues return to their families. They must be missing them.'

Back in my holding cell, the drunkard had finally woken up. He was screaming protests in Catalan. The Peruvian terrorist had buried his face in his hands in a gesture of 'Do Not Disturb'. I lay on the floor and began to feel very sad. Things looked bad, and there seemed little I could do other than collect my thoughts together, summon up whatever inner strength I might have, and let the worst day of my life slip away.

At dawn the next morning, I was fingerprinted, photographed, and asked questions about my particulars. Invariably, jailers and prison employees engaged in processing new arrivals have a propensity for misspelling names and addresses. They are most reluctant to make corrections. These mistakes often cause no end of problems further down the line. Is it deliberate? From the processing room I was taken to a reception area where Judy and Geoffrey had already arrived. David Embley was nowhere to be seen. Lovato must have let him go. Judy was in a terrible state, weeping uncontrollably and being fed tranquillisers. A jailer began to put handcuffs on her.