THE VIRON CONSPIRACY (JAKE SCARNE THRILLERS #4) (18 page)

CHAPTER 30 - MEMBER OF THE BOARD

“So, you sucked camel virus from her
tits.”

“Just the left one.”

“Were they nice?”

“Were what nice?”

“Her tatas.”

“Kate! I had other things on my mind at the time.”

“Jake.”

“Oh, all right. They were very nice. Not large, put perky.”

“Perky?”

“You asked.” Scarne and Kate were lying in bed, having just made love. “But not as nice as these.” He gently fondled hers.

“That’s ‘a bird in the hand’ cop-out.”

Scarne laughed.

“I wouldn’t finish that saying, if I were you.”

“What happens now?”

“Well, I’m not as young as I used to be, so give me some time.”

Kate sat up and drew her knees to her chest.

“Not that, you idiot. I mean what happens to Lenzer’s operation and his staff. I’m worried about BVM. Bryan devoted his life to that company.”

Scarne propped himself up on an elbow.

“I think BVM will be OK. The Government is putting a lid on everything that Lenzer was developing in the Black Hole. He was really a genius, you know. Some of the stuff he was working on may come in very handy for our military. Who knows? There may even be peaceful uses. Tweak a gene here, tweak a gene there, and a deadly disease becomes a vaccine. I was debriefed by some scientists working for the D.C.S. who were actually excited by the possibility of working on what they found in Lenzer’s files. Imagine if they could eradicate some Third World scourges like cholera by altering the genetic makeup of, say, rice, to deliver a vaccine? And if the Feds have to keep things secret, BVM should be in the clear. Lenzer’s crew will be purged, of course. Anne Rasmussen said that faced with the Patriot Act and the prospect of an open-ended vacation in Guantanamo they will cooperate. They’ll probably wind up working for us, just like the Nazi rocket scientists after World War II.”

“But they’ve killed so many people!”

“When Werner von Braun wrote his autobiography “I Aim at the Stars” some wags said he should have subtitled it “But Sometimes I Hit London’.” Lenzer’s men will probably wind up living in Bethesda coaching Little League after work.” 

“It’s all so sordid. What about the Russians? Are we going to let them off the hook, too?”

“They’ll deny any knowledge of what was going on. When the cops went to Lenzer’s house, Turchin was gone. He scooted back to Russia, claiming he didn’t know what was going on. No one believes him, but he has diplomatic immunity. The Feds believe he was a rogue, an unreformed Communist.  If he was doing something on his own, I imagine he will have a lot of explaining to do to his bosses in the Kremlin. And even if they knew what he was up to, or supported him, they now realize we have the Black Hole research. It will give them fits. They still get a lot of grain and produce from the United States. It will drive them crazy wondering what’s in it.”

“We wouldn’t actually poison innocent Russians, would we
?”

“No. But the threat that we could might make the Russian Government behave better than it has lately.”

“What about you? Are you in legal trouble?”

Kate reached across Scarne to get a cigarette and an ash tray off the night table. Her breasts brushed his face.

“Ouch!” she said. “Stop that. They’re not full of camel virus.”

She propped herself up against the headboard and lit up, with the ashtray on her pubic mound.

“Smoking in bed is dangerous. Aren’t you worried about a forest fire?”

Kate giggled.

“It’s why I wax. Now, get back on topic, will you?”

“Everything will be swept under the rug in the interests of national security,” Scarne said. “The Feds are going with the transformer explosion story and an imaginary subsequent fire, both supposedly orchestrated by Lenzer to destroy evidence of his involvement in Bryan’s murder as the F.B.I. closed in. It’s being sold as typical corporate greed run amok. The bureau is going to take credit for killing Lenzer and his manservant. It’s
all part of the deal they worked out with D.C.S. to share the glory.”

“Why would Lenzer have such evidence in his lab? It makes no sense.”

“Have you seen any cop shows on TV lately? The people who watch them will believe anything. The more ridiculous the better. Somebody will make a miniseries out of this.”

“I want to throw up.”

The phone next to Kate’s side of the bed rang. She stubbed out her cigarette, handed Scarne the ashtray and looked at the caller I.D. She looked at Scarne and put her finger to her lips.

“Oh, hello Warren, how are you?’

Scarne reached between her legs. She slapped his hand.

“Stop that! No, not you, Warren. My dog is chewing a pillow.”

Scarne barked and began to stroke her gently.

“Why, Warren, how thoughtful. That’s such a nice gesture and a wonderful honor. I’d be delighted to accept.”

She listened for a moment.

“Next Monday. That’s fine. I’ll be there. Just send me the details.”

Kate spread her legs a bit and moved Scarne’s hand to where she wanted it. She covered the phone for a moment and bit her lip.

“And thank the board for me. Yes. Yes. He certainly would be. Goodbye.”

She threw the phone down and rolled on top of Scarne..

“
Well, how about that?”

“What?”

“That was Warren Conover. He’s the acting chairman of the board at BVM.”

“The guy who owns all those shipyards?”

“Yes. He said the directors want me to join the board. Said Bryan used to brag about how much I knew about the company. Said it would be a way of continuing his legacy.”

“What do you think?”

“I take him at his word.” She smiled. “But it’s also a way to deflect any criticism if bad stuff comes out.”

“I heard you say you’d do it.”

“Damn right. I’ll be the only woman on the board.”

“Why do I think you won’t stop there?”

“Because you know me.”

She reached down.

“I thought you needed some time to recover.”

“Boardroom talk turns me on.”

Kate laughed and positioned herself over Scarne. She began to move her hips and leaned forward.

“Now would be a good time,” she said with a moan, “to check for camel virus.”

***

Two days later, Kate saw Scarne off at the airport.

“You know, Jake, you don’t have to go. You could stay as long as you want.”

They were sitting in her car at the departure gate.

“We’ve been through this, Kate. Neither of us wants to pick up where we left off years ago. We’re different people. That doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. Because I think we do. But not like we used to.”

“And it’s not enough?”

“What do you think?”

Her eyes glistened.

“No.”

She dug through her bag for a tissue.

“Look, honey,” Scarne said as she dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. “It’s like two people who love each other but still have to get divorced. Look on the bright side. We avoided the whole marriage part.”

“You’re such an ass,” she said, smiling. “When will I see you again?”

“I’m sure I’ll be coming through Chicago again.”

“So, I’ve been reduced to one of your girls in every port?”

But she was still smiling.

“You have an exalted opinion of me. I
’m working on a girl on every continent, and it’s not going too well.”

“And what happens if I’m not here
? I’ll probably be spending more time in Boone City, God help me.”

“Well, that might be a problem. I think my picture is in the Boone City Post Office. I said everything was swept under the rug. I didn’t say the local cops ever want to see me again.”

“You could wear a disguise. Buy another pair of glasses.”

An airport cop walked over and tapped on the car’s hood.

“You’ll have to move the car, lady.”

“Can I have one more moment, officer
?”

The cop, obviously taken by her beauty, smiled.

“Sure, miss.”

A horn behind them beeped.

“Hey, buddy,” the cop said. “Hold your water! Just drive around.”

“I feel sorry for the other BVM board members,” Scarne said.  

Kate leaned over and kissed Scarne.

“Please take care of yourself, Jake.”

He smiled.

“My chances of survival have improved dramatically now that I’m no longer working for you.” He turned serious. “Good luck, Kate. I’ll always be there for you.”

“I know.”

***

Scarne sipped his scotch as his jet banked over Lake Michigan and then leveled off. As Chicago receded in the window, he reflected that he wasn’t feeling any particular sense of loss or sadness at leaving Kate. That realization, of course, did make him sad. But only because he’d liked his younger self, the one who felt things more deeply. The one who was more easily damaged. Instinctively, he knew that the older, wiser Jake Scarne was better suited to a world becoming more dangerous by the day.

“But I don’t have to like it.”

“Excuse me, sir.” It was the flight attendant. “Did you say you didn’t like your drink? Can I get you something else?”

Ah, First Class, Scarne thought.

“No. The scotch is excellent. As a matter of fact, since I’m not flying the plane, I think I’ll have another.”

EPILOGUE

One Month Later

Evelyn Warr looked up from the expense report she was preparing in Scarne’s office.

“I thought I asked you to fly coach.”

“I only went First Class a couple of times,” Scarne protested. “Just to keep my morale up. It’s still the largest payday this office has ever had.”

“Don’t be too hard on him, Evelyn,” Noah Sealth said. He was leaning against a cabinet, drinking coffee. “It was a trip down memory lane. That can be expensive.”

“Besides,” Scarne said. “We now have BVM as a potential corporate client.”

It was more than potential, he knew. After only two weeks on the board, Kate Vallance had been chosen to succeed her late husband as the company’s chief executive. She told Scarne that certain powerful board members, who were made privy to some of the circumstances surrounding what had happened, felt safer with her inside the company than outside.

“They want continuity, not scandal,” Kate said when she called him with the news. “Wall Street doesn’t like it, but the investment community will come around. I know more about this company than anyone else on the board. I’m going to hire back Bryan’s old executive team and add some women. We’re still a damn food company at heart, and women still make plenty of buying decisions related to food.”

“You blackmailed the board, didn’t you?”

“
Such a nasty word.”

There wasn’t a doubt in
Scarne’s mind that Kate would succeed. BVM’s stock had plunged in the aftermath of Lenzer’s death and the subsequent corporate turmoil. Remembering what Tom Dilbert told him in the BVM cafeteria, he’d purchased several thousand shares. The stock had already started to rebound.

“She must be quite a gal,” Evelyn said. “Taking the time to fly to Hawaii to talk to the Campbell family, in person. It will be a comfort to them knowing that Matthew Campbell didn’t kill his wife and daughter. Especially the little boy, when he grows up.”

Kate was going to do more than that for Sean Campbell, Scarne knew. In addition to helping the grandparents out now, she had BVM set up a college scholarship fund for him.

“Takes a big person to forgive the man who killed your husband,” Sealth said.

“The child is an innocent,” Scarne said.

“What about those who did Lenzer’s dirty work? Will the cover up let them off the hook?”

“Turchin is untouchable, at least by us. I don’t know what the Russians will do. Between Burke’s cell phone records and Lenzer’s, there’s a pretty good chance the cops will track down the rest of the assassination team. They didn’t know why they were killing Bryan Vallance, so the cover story should hold up.”

“Lenzer is being painted as just a deranged corporate executive who killed his boss to get his job,” Evelyn said. “Do you think that will fly?”

“It’s in the papers, so it must be true,” Scarne said, smiling. “I bet there are plenty of people in this country who’ve lost their homes to foreclosures willing to believe the worst about corporate America.”

He’d told Bob Huber, off the record, some of what had really happened. Just enough to allow the
Times
business reporter to craft a believable exclusive about Lenzer’s involvement in Vallance’s murder. Huber banked the information he couldn’t print as leverage for future stories. As for Shields Magazine, Scarne was somewhat surprised to learn that both Nigel Blue and Randolph Shields knew much of the real story, but in the interest of national security were going to keep it under wraps.

“We have our own sources,” Blue had told him. “Once we knew you were involved, we figured it wasn’t a run-of-the-mill cock-up. There are no secrets, except from the public. Now the Government owes us a favor. It’s a win-win.”

On top of it all, Blue told Scarne that Shields was preparing a glowing feature on BVM and its new chief executive.

“Katherine Vallance is an impressive woman,” Blue said. “She’s also quite beautiful.”

“So I’ve heard,” Scarne said.

THE END

***

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e also hope you will try all the author’s books on Amazon or his website,
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lawrence De Maria began his career as a general interest reporter (winning an Associated Press award for his crime reporting) and eventually became a Pulitzer-nominated senior editor and financial writer
The New York Times
, where he wrote hundreds of stories and features, often on Page 1. After he left the
Times
, De Maria became an Executive Director at
Forbes.
Following a stint in corporate America – during which he helped uncover the $7 billion Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme and was widely quoted in the national media – he returned to journalism as Managing Editor of the
Naples Sun Times
, a Florida weekly, until its sale to the Scripps chain in 2007. Since then, he has been a full-time fiction writer. De Maria is on the board of directors of the Washington Independent Review of Books.