Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46)(47)
“Stone, what is your point?”
“Lance, if Selwyn Owaki is not a wealthy enough man to cover such indulgences as Kensington House or an eight-thousand-foot runway, then he’s using the money of others as wealthy as he—or more so. The only conclusion to be drawn is that Mr. Owaki is a part of a conspiracy.”
37
IT HAD BEGUN to rain heavily, and for a long moment, the only sound to be heard in the car was the pounding on the roof.
“Stone,” Lance said, “I do not take easily to conspiracy theories, but rarely have I heard such persuasive logic in support of one. Who do you postulate are his conspirators?”
“Well, who are the groups of people with multibillion-dollar fortunes?”
“Arab princes and sheiks,” Lance said, counting on his fingers. “Russian and/or Chinese oligarchs; Americans in the oil or technology businesses. There are other individuals, but you asked about groups.”
“And among those groups, which would desire secrecy, even of their existence, most?”
“Well, not the Saudis. They enjoy being thought of as super, super rich—witness the giant yachts and airplanes; not the Chinese, since their government already knows the details of their fortunes; not the American oil people, they’re too chauvinistic and xenophobic to be involved with an international group; not the new tech billionaires, who are too new at being super rich to have become paranoid, yet.”
“I’m entirely in agreement with you,” Stone said.
“So, it’s the Russians,” Lance said. “God knows, they have the money: President Alexei Petrov, we have reason to believe, has a net worth of something over two hundred billion dollars and may be the richest man in the world, and he made the others rich, so none of them could operate without his sanction.”
“Again, I agree. And don’t the Russians own the bulk of the money deposited in Cypriot banks?”
“Very possibly,” Lance said. “Cyprus and the Cayman Islands are the new Switzerlands, and no American administration has gotten around to cracking them open to scrutiny, as they did with the Swiss and, more recently, the Bermudans.”
“So,” Stone asked, “why Owaki? Why would they choose him to operate this enterprise?”
“Well, let’s see,” Lance said. “He’s rich enough to be able to pretend to be even richer, without too many questions being asked. He has a certain flair when it comes to choosing his acquisitions—that would appeal to the Russians. He moves about the world easily. And he has managed to avoid a great deal of personal scrutiny—at least until you came along and became the fly in his soup.”
“I suppose that’s what I am,” Stone said.
“So,” Lance said, “one of two things seems likely to happen.”
“What are they?”
“Either he will remove the fly, or he will drink the soup. Perhaps both.”
Stone stared out the window at the Londoners leaning into the rain with their umbrellas. “Any advice?”
“I should keep moving, if I were you,” Lance said. “Don’t spend too long in any of your houses. Perhaps talk with Mike Freeman about more support from Strategic Services.”
“It sounds like a lonely life,” Stone said.
“Well then, I’ll lend you Kelly Smith for a time. She’s long overdue for a break, and I’m sure she appreciates your lifestyle. Is she where the ten million pounds went?”
“What ten million pounds?” Stone asked, appearing baffled.
“The check that was to have gone to Owaki for the artillery warhead.”
“Oh, the check that I was supposed to keep after our operation?”
“After our successful operation,” Lance said.
“I don’t recall success as a term of our arrangement.”
“It was certainly implied—tacit, you might say.”
“Implication is in your imagination, Lance.”
“Well, it’s not our ten million pounds, so I’ll let that go.”
“That would be princely of you, if I had it,” Stone replied.
“I think Owaki believes you have it, too. Perhaps that’s another reason for him to be interested in your demise.”
“He can think what he likes.”
“He may come to think that you gave the check to Kelly, so he might turn his attention to her.”
“I don’t see how I could stop him from thinking that.”
“Perhaps not. You may be interested to know that the check cleared the Cyprus bank; it would have been injurious to their reputation if they had declined to pay it.”
“Well then,” Stone said. “Someone somewhere is very happy.”
“Kelly is smart enough to know how to hide it,” Lance said. “You might mention to her that it would be even smarter of her not to spend it anytime soon.”
“Why don’t you tell her that when you tell her she can have time off to spend with me?”
“I’ll mention it. Is she at home now?”
“Either there or at Harvey Nichols, which is her destination of choice.”
* * *
—
THEY DROVE TO STONE’S HOUSE and ran inside from the rain. Henry opened the door and held up two car keys. “There’s a Bentley Flying Spur in the garage, sir,” he said. “Very nice.”