THE TAINTED TRUST (Volume 2 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 97

         Toronto. Thursday, September 27. 9:00 A.M.

"Give me your take on the confrontation in Monte Carlo last week," John Hill said to his friend, Alex McDowell. Both had spent the night at Toronto's King Edward Hotel and, by mutual agreement, had arrived for breakfast in the hotel's breakfast nook, just off the main lobby.

"Too early to break open the champagne. We still haven't found a dime."

"True, but you've got to believe Mike King knows exactly where it is."

"You bet your ass we do, and we're going to put pressure on the courts to throw the book at him."

"You have enough to convict him?"

"Yup. We found him hiding out on an island north of Toronto. He left his car at Pearson, an obvious attempt to mislead us. We've also got his stepson's statement on tape. More than enough."

"You'll be happy to know we're pressuring the Monaco authorities to detain Visconti's girlfriend as long as possible. Did you know she's King's daughter?"

"Not until recently. Hell of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"It all fits, Alex. We think King and his daughter were wrapped up in some kind of deal with Visconti and Schnieder."

"How do you explain the fact that all hell broke loose after ten years of silence?"

"I won't even try. King and his daughter have the answer, and the more pressure we put on them, the sooner they're going to talk."

"How long can you keep King's daughter in Monaco?"

"I'll let you know. We're working through the back door on this one. Of course if they manage to convict her of murder, it'll be academic."

"Do they think she's guilty?"

"They don't know what to think. She really must have wanted him dead. She put an electric drill bit through Visconti's brain. Maybe Schnieder wanted him dead also. It was his gun the police found at the scene."

"It's absolutely amazing what people will do for money."

"Maybe both of us should take a good look at the mirror," Hill replied.

An hour later, Dan Turner ushered both Hill and McDowell into the ornate boardroom of Turner, Peterson, Greenwell and Worthy on the 65th floor of Toronto's North American Bank Building. Coffee was served and the pleasantries were hurried.

"Would you mind if I taped this meeting, gentlemen?" Turner asked.

"We would," McDowell replied. "This meeting is exploratory, and we want it off the record. We're here to negotiate, Mr. Turner. As you know, we have your client behind bars, and we have every intention of keeping him there for a very long time. He's clearly demonstrated that he's a flight risk, so bail is out of the question."

"So what's to negotiate?" Turner asked, aware that his guests held all of the cards, and that he held virtually none.

"The money Jim Servito stole from our respective governments," Hill said. "We suspect your client knows where it is, and that he has access to it. His recent actions have made that quite clear. Furthermore, his step son's statements have strongly supported our suspicion."

Turner decided to plunge with the use of a high risk tactic. He had nothing to lose. His weak bargaining position gave him no choice. "I'm not prepared to confirm nor deny that my client has, or has ever been aware of the location of the money Servito stole, but for the sake of negotiation, suppose he was able to find it. How much would it take to free him and for all the charges to be dropped?" he said.

Hill and McDowell exchanged barely perceptible glances, then Hill glared at Turner. "Our calculations indicate that Servito stole over three hundred million. Conservatively, that amount would have doubled over the past ten years, so six hundred million gets our attention," he said.

Turner, the consummate professional, struggled to postpone a blink. "That amount closes your files, and all charges dropped?" he asked, aware that his client had no chance of getting his hands on anywhere close to that amount.

Both Hill and McDowell nodded.

"Why not give my client a break and round it out to five hundred million? Do I still have your attention?"

"Show us the money. We'll talk again," Hill replied.