The Partner Learn English through story level 3
chapter 1
pontipora brazil
they found him in pontipora
a pleasant little town in brazil
on the border of paraguay
he lived alone in a small house on rua
tiradentes
and drove a red 1983 volkswagen
he was thinner
his skin and hair were darker
and his nose and chin were different
they considered taking him quickly
but decided to wait
when he went downtown they followed him
and took photos
they listened as he talked to a clerk in
the market
his portuguese was excellent
almost without an accent
they watched as he ran along rua
tiredentes and into the countryside
he was serious about his running
and this pleased them
danilo would simply run into their arms
guy was from washington dc
and had been hired to find danilo
he’d been searching for him for four
years
and had spent 3.5 million dollars
all for nothing
but now he’d found him
osmar and his brazilian friends didn’t
know why guy wanted danilo
but they guessed that he’d disappeared
and taken a lot of money
they made large copies of the photos and
put them on the wall of the small house
they were staying in
they studied them carefully
was it really him
osmar wanted to take him now
but guy said they’d wait
then
on the fourth day
danilo raced to the airport
parked his car
got on a small plane to sao paulo
and was gone
they waited
watching the red volkswagen and the
arriving planes
osmar was confident that danilo would
return and they’d get him
he returned on the fifth day
and everyone was happy
every day danilo ran his 10 kilometer
course
leaving at almost the same time
on the eighth day when danilo came over
the top of a hill
a small car with a flat tire was
blocking the road its trunk was open
the young driver pretended to be
surprised at the sight of the thin
runner
the man used danilo’s keys to open the
door to his house
he collected all the computer disks
he went through the files on the desk
but couldn’t find what he was looking
for
five minutes after the door opened a
silent signal was sent and a phone call
was made
it informed the person on the other end
that the house had been entered by a
stranger
the directions in the guard’s file were
clear
do not call the police
call a number in rio
and ask for eva miranda
ava put the phone down
the message meant that danilo was
missing
she told herself to relax
she’d need to be calm to do what she had
to do
she took a file from a locked drawer and
read the sheet of instructions again
danilo’s instructions were general
the details were left to her
she divided the money
she’d made the list of imaginary
companies in which the money was hidden
danilo had never seen her list
as a lawyer she worked with
international businessmen
and understood foreign money and banking
she knew how to move money around the
world
and danilo had taught her more
at the moment the money was in two
places
a bank in panama
and one in bermuda
because european banks were closed now
she’d keep the money in the caribbean
for a few hours
she faxed instructions to move it out of
panama and bermuda and into banks on
grand cayman and in the bahamas
as time passed and there was no phone
call from danilo
she became more concerned
he wouldn’t disappear without telling
her first
but if they’d found him
they wouldn’t wait long before they
tried to make him talk
that was what he feared the most
that was why she had to run
she went to a pay phone in the entrance
of her office building and called the
office of the fbi in biloxi mississippi
asking for agent joshua cutter
when he came to the phone she asked
are you in charge of the patrick lanigan
investigation
she knew he was
there was a pause
then he said
yes
who is this
i’m calling from brazil she said
chapter two
paraguay
danilo was lying on a board with holes
in it
ropes through the holes and around his
ankles knees waist chest and wrists held
him tightly against it
a brazilian doctor stepped into the room
and pushed a needle into his arm
the drug ran into danilo’s body
guy entered the room alone
hello patrick he said
danilo knew that his quiet life on rua
tiredentes was finished
he wasn’t danilo silva now
he was patrick
again for four years he’d wondered how
he’d feel if they caught him
now he knew
he was extremely frightened
can you hear me patrick guy asked
we know who you are
you’re patrick lanigan from biloxi
mississippi
you’re a lawyer
you have a wife and a daughter age six
you’ve been missing now for over four
years
that’s me
tell me patrick
did you watch your own funeral
yes
i watched it
where did you hide after your funeral
here and there
where’s the money patrick
guy asked with a smile
what money
the money you took with you
oh
that money
patrick said
then he lost consciousness
more men entered the room
they cut his clothes off and shaved
several parts of his body
then they taped small metal plates to
the shaved skin
wires connected to the metal
went across his body to a box in guy’s
hand
patrick told himself that they weren’t
going to kill him
he’d imagined this situation a thousand
times and prayed it would never happen
but he’d always known it would
he always knew they were out there
searching for him
he closed his eyes tried to breathe
regularly and struggled to control his
thoughts
i don’t know where the money is
i don’t know where the money is
he repeated silently
until today he’d called eva every day
between four
guy held the box close to patrick’s face
see this
he said when i push this lever
electricity will pass through the wires
to the metal plates on your skin
now where’s the money
i don’t know
i swear
guy pushed the lever and electricity
shot through patrick’s body burning his
skin
he closed his eyes and mouth tightly
making an effort not to scream
but he stopped trying after a second
and screamed loudly
tell me where the money is
and you’ll leave this room alive
we’ll take you back to pontapura
we won’t tell the fbi
guy paused
if however you refuse to tell me where
the money is
then you’ll never leave this room alive
do you understand patrick
yes
i swear i don’t know
if i knew i’d tell you
guy pushed the lever down
i don’t know
patrick screamed in pain i swear i don’t
know
guy waited a few seconds for patrick to
recover
then he asked calmly
where’s the money
i don’t know
patrick’s screams filled the house
they left him alone for a few minutes to
suffer and think about what would happen
next
his skin was red from the heat and
electricity
blood ran from under the tape on his
chest where the metal was burning into
his flesh
the ropes around his wrists and ankles
had rubbed away his skin
then guy returned alone
and sat on a chair next to patrick
where were you during the funeral he
asked
patrick relaxed a little
finally there was a question that wasn’t
about money
maybe if he cooperated
they wouldn’t torture him again
i was hiding in biloxi he said
of course
and you watched your own funeral
yes
i was in a tree
where did you go after the funeral
guy asked
to mobile alabama
you changed your appearance
yes
i
guy shouted and the other americans
rushed in
the brazilian doctor pushed another
needle roughly into patrick’s arm and
left
the tape recorder was turned on
guy stood
ready to move the lever if patrick
didn’t talk
the money arrived by wire to your law
firm’s bank account in nassau
on march 26 1992
45 days after your death
you were there patrick
pretending to be someone else
we have photos taken by the bank’s
hidden camera
a short time after the money arrived it
was gone
sent by wire to a bank in malta
you stole it patrick
now
where is it
tell me
and you’ll live
patrick looked at guy
then at the lever
and closed his eyes tightly
i swear i don’t know what you’re talking
about he said
patrick
patrick
guy pushed the lever down
patrick’s scream was so loud and
terrible that osmar and the brazilians
in the yard stopped their conversation
a hundred meters away a brazilian
guarding the house offered a prayer
the apartment in kuritiba was near the
airport
ava told the taxi driver to wait while
she went inside
she knew exactly what to do
she went to the locked file cabinet
opened the three drawers
took out the financial records and put
them in a suitcase to take with her
danilo couldn’t know where his papers
were
then she quickly left and was driven to
a small hotel downtown
in her room she unpacked her small fax
machine
and connected it to the phone line
the asian and zurich banks were open now
soon the bed was covered with sheets of
instructions to move the money
she was tired
but she couldn’t sleep
danilo had said they’d come looking for
her
she couldn’t go home
her thoughts weren’t on money
but on him
was he alive
if so how much was he suffering
how much had he told them
she wiped her eyes and began to arrange
the papers
chapter 3
return to north america
mrs stefano was going crazy
several neighbors had called about the
fbi agents parked in front of their
house
she didn’t care what her husband did at
the office
she did however care a lot about what
the neighbors might think
she went to bed at midnight
at 3 a.m the doorbell rang
and jack who had fallen asleep on the
sofa answered it
four agents were there
and he quickly recognized hamilton james
assistant director of the fbi
the men went to stefano’s living room
and sat down
jane
said we’re working on the lanigan case
we’ve been informed that your people
have him
is this true
no
stefano remained calm
i’m prepared to arrest you
what for
stefano asked
hiding a person wanted by the government
lack of cooperation with the
government’s investigation
we’ll include
anything we need to
i just want to put you in jail
then we’ll arrest the rest of your firm
and your clients
we’ll take care of the indictments later
depending on whether or not we get
lanigan
do you understand
yes i think so
where’s lanigan
james asked
i want him
now
stefano thought for a moment
in these circumstances cooperation
sounded like a good idea
if patrick was given a choice of life in
prison
he might make the money appear
all right
give me 24 hours and i’ll give you
lanigan
and you stop threatening to arrest me
agreed
i need to know where to pick him up
send a plane to asuncion paraguay
he’d better be okay
if he has any marks on his body you’ll
be responsible
james and his agents left
stefano called guy
is he talking
what do you know he asked
a little
the money still exists he doesn’t know
where it is
it’s controlled by a woman in rio
chapter 4
biloxi
since patrick’s disappearance the
remaining four partners in his law firm
had had problems
they drank too much alcohol and argued a
lot
they’d buried patrick on february 11
1992
but six weeks later he somehow stole
their money
money they’d already spent on new homes
big boats and vacation houses in the
caribbean
now they were desperate to get their
money back
bogan and vetrano were at their desks
when agent cutter entered their office
we have patrick he said
the two partners were shocked
how’d you find him are you sure it’s him
vetrano asked
we’re sure
we didn’t find him he was given to us
do you know a man named jack stefano
they both whispered
yes
do you work with him
they both shook their heads
you’re lucky
stefano’s man found patrick tortured him
almost killed him
and then gave him to us
what about the money bogan asked
we don’t know anything about it
we’ll watch stefano
maybe he’ll lead us to the money
the toronto and bogan stared at the
table
thinking
patrick had stolen 90 million dollars
too much money for one person to spend
there must be millions left
the money will be easy to find
vetrano said
somebody was buried in patrick’s grave
patrick killed him it’s clearly a death
penalty case in mississippi
patrick will talk to avoid the death
penalty
cutter looked at his watch
i have to go he said
i have to give trudy the good news
when patrick was killed in a car crash
with no witnesses
his wife trudy received 2.5 million
dollars from his life insurance
she immediately bought an expensive
house
and an expensive car
she was excited about her good fortune
lance trudy’s boyfriend
opened the door when cutter knocked
agent cutter fbi i’ve come to see trudy
she’s in there
lance said point
before the press conference qatar and
morris mast the u.s attorney for the
district
met with raymond sweeney the local
sheriff
and t.l parish the local district
attorney
to decide what to do about patrick
we have two big mysteries
two questions that must be answered
parish said
the big one is
money where is it
what did he do with it
can we recover it and give it to its
owners
the second mystery is who’s buried in
patrick’s grave
only patrick can tell us that
and he won’t unless he’s forced to
he must be scared morris
parchman’s a frightening place
patrick won’t want to go to parchman
everyone in the room knew about the
horrors of the local prison
patrick would realize that if he talked
he might be sent to a government prison
instead
one that wasn’t so terrible
parish and mast made a plan to work
together
the fbi would continue its search for
the money
the locals would concentrate on the
murder
mast and parish went together to the
press conference
mast spoke first
we are pleased to announce the capture
of mr patrick s lanigan formerly of
biloxi
he’s alive and well
and we have him in a hospital
he paused
and then told them the details of
patrick’s capture
he didn’t mention that the fbi wasn’t
responsible for finding patrick
parish promised a quick indictment for
murder
patrick’s story was the big news that
day
lanigan back from the dead the
newspapers reported on the front page
there were stories about patrick’s
capture and trudy’s request for a
divorce
the law firm partners were suing patrick
for the return of their 30 million
dollars
northern case insurance was suing trudy
for the return of their money
benny arithia was suing patrick for the
return of his 60 million dollars
and monarch sierra insurance wanted to
recover the 4 million dollars they paid
the law firm when patrick stole their
money
the story was also on all the tv
stations
cnn chapter five
the base hospital
patrick walked down the hospital hall
with the help of luis his nurse
his skin was burned in four places and
his whole body ached
he stopped and looked out a window
yes
he’d admitted that the money still
existed
with electricity running through his
body
he’d told them what happened to the
money after he stole it
he couldn’t remember the last part of
his torture
he’d been near death
he’d called her name
but was it to himself
or aloud
where was she now
when they returned to his room
luis closed the door and curtains and
took out a camera
luis had agreed to take the photos
when patrick offered him five hundred
dollars
start there
patrick told him pointing to the bottom
of the bed
get the whole body
including the face
luis did as he was told and worked
quickly
when he finished he took the film to a
photoshop
sandy mcdermott had read reports about
the discovery of his law school friend
with great interest
he was busy in his new orleans office
when his secretary announced that a
woman from brazil was waiting to see him
my name’s leah
she said quietly
patrick sent me
sandy noticed that she didn’t smile and
her eyes were tired
have you spoken to him since
no
not since he was taken
i want to hire you to be patrick’s
lawyer
i’m
available sandy had a lot of questions
but he knew he couldn’t ask them now
you might be threatened by some very
nasty people she told him
who
the people chasing patrick
i think they’ve caught him he said
yes
but they don’t have the money
i understand
he said
so the money hadn’t been spent
that wasn’t surprising
but how much was left
where is the money he asked
you can’t ask that question she said
what do you want me to do for him
on the plane sandy and leah didn’t talk
much
just before landing in miami she said
i won’t see you again for a few days
i have to keep moving
patrick will give you instructions
and he and i will communicate through
you
be careful
when people learn that you’re his lawyer
you’ll attract the attention of the
people who are looking for me
who are they he asked
patrick will tell you
you have the money don’t you
i can’t answer that question
when they landed she shook his hand and
said
tell patrick i’m fine
then she disappeared into the crowd
when he landed in san juan
sandy went to the navy base to visit
patrick
the two old friends hadn’t seen each
other for six years
patrick sat in his bed in the dark room
he kept a sheet over his body
sandy studied his face
it was thin
and the chin and nose were different
he looked like someone else
but his eyes and voice were the same
thanks for coming patrick said
sure
sandy
replied she said to tell you she’s fine
he added
patrick closed his eyes and said a
prayer of thanks
then he was silent
sandy sat and waited for his friend
he was alive
and right now nothing else mattered
after a time sandy wanted to talk
a lot of people are waiting for you back
in biloxi he said
trudy filed for divorce two days ago
the grand jury has indicted you for
capital murder
i know
said patrick
cnn has kept me informed
sandy paused and then asked
when do you want to talk
patrick rolled to his side and looked at
the wall
they tortured me sandy he said quietly
they taped wires to my body and gave me
electric shocks until i talked
here
look
he lifted his left arm so sandy could
inspect the burn marks
they kept asking about the money
i’m afraid i told them about the girls
andy
the lawyer
leah
yes
i’m almost certain i told him about leah
at six o’clock the next morning
patrick’s doctor entered his room
he checked his wounds and said
you’re ready to go
they have good doctors waiting for you
where you’re going
then he left
30 minutes later
agent brent myers from the biloxi office
walked in
good morning patrick i just talked to
your doctor you’re going home tomorrow
and i’ve got orders to take you back
we’ll leave in the morning on a special
air force plane to biloxi
see you early in the morning
myers left
next luis arrived with coffee and fruit
he put a package under patrick’s sheet
and asked if he needed anything else
no
patrick said
thanking him softly
an hour later sandy arrived
i want you to go home immediately
patrick said
and take this with you
he handed sandy the package
sandy sat down
opened it and looked through the photos
who did this to you he asked
whose prisoner am i
the fbi’s
so
i think the fbi did it to me
my own government found me caught me
tortured me and is now taking me back
look at what they’ve done to me
you should sue them for this
sandy said
for millions and quickly
here’s the plan
i’m leaving for biloxi in the morning
we should file our lawsuit late this
afternoon so it’ll be in the paper
tomorrow
tell the press
i’ve marked two photos
give them to the reporters for the coast
paper
the one that’s read by the people who
will be on my jury
people will feel sorry for me
an american citizen tortured by the fbi
sandy studied patrick’s face
it wasn’t really the fbi was it he asked
no
patrick said it wasn’t
i was delivered to the fbi by some
people whose names i don’t know
they’d been chasing me for a long time
and they’re still waiting out there
somewhere
does the fbi know about them
yes
patrick said
he paused
be careful
i’ve hidden a lot of money sandy
there are people who’ll do anything to
find it
how much of the money is chapter six
return to biloxi
newspaper tv and radio reporters waited
in the courthouse
while sandy filed the lawsuit
they listened carefully as he calmly
informed them that his client was suing
the fbi for physical damage and torture
sandy answered questions and then
reached into his case and removed two
large color photos
this is what they did to patrick he said
the cameras moved closer
this is your government
fbi agents at work ladies and gentlemen
torturing an american citizen
everyone was shocked
almost half of the six o’clock news was
about sandy and the photos
the other half was about patrick’s
return the next day
cnn played the story hourly
hamilton james was at his club when he
saw the news
he wasn’t happy
the fbi sued by patrick lanigan
he excused himself and went to his
office
he made a phone call
and two agents went immediately to jack
stefano’s front door
stefano had watched the reports and
wasn’t surprised to see the fbi
he thought it was funny that the fbi was
being blamed for his men’s work
he also thought it was a good idea of
patrick’s
good evening he said politely
fbi the first man said mr james would
like to see you
why
we don’t know the second man said he
told us to find you and take you to his
office can you come with us
stefano was angry but he reminded
himself that there were already criminal
charges against him because of the
lanigan case
a little more cooperation might help
give me five minutes he said
when stefano entered his office james
dropped the thick report he was looking
at it was almost midnight
what did you do to that boy down there
i don’t know
i guess the brazilian boys got a little
rough
he’ll live
this is serious business okay jack
these allegations are terrible
right now the whole country is looking
at those pictures and wondering why we
tortured an american citizen
who did it
the doctor gave patrick pills to make
him comfortable for the flight
and a file with his medical records
patrick thanked him
he shook hands with luis and said
goodbye
agent meyers was waiting outside the
door with four navy policemen
if you behave i won’t put chains on you
now he said
when we land though i have no choice
thanks patrick said
his legs ached and his knees were weak
but he held his head high and his back
straight as he walked down the hall and
out to the waiting van
as the van drove slowly across the base
patrick thought about his life in
pontapura
his home now
he wondered what jail they’d put him in
in biloxi
then he had an idea
he opened the file and quickly read the
doctor’s notes
patient should remain hospitalized for
at least another week the doctor had
written
this would keep him out of jail
he had to tell sandy to arrange a
comfortable private room for him
i need to make a phone call he said
when the van stopped he and myers went
to a small office and faxed the doctor’s
instructions to sandy
then they climbed the steps into the air
force plane
the plane landed at kiesler air force
base outside biloxi
patrick was surprised there wasn’t a
crowd waiting for him
he wanted the press to see him with
chains on his legs and wrists
but they’d been forbidden to come near
the plane
only agent cutter sheriff sweeney two
air force officers
and sandy were there
hello patrick welcome home
the sheriff said
hello raymond
patrick answered with a smile
they knew each other well
cutters started to introduce himself
but as soon as patrick heard fbi he
turned to sandy
they all got into the waiting van
patrick was glad the chase was over
lots of problems were ahead
but for now he could ignore what was
behind him
patrick had never been able to
completely relax and enjoy his new life
not even the money could calm his fears
he’d always known that this day would
come
he’d stolen too much money
he looked out the window as he wrote
along
cd2
chapter 7
patrick’s first appearance
cutter and ted grimshaw chief
investigator for the district carefully
examined the evidence from patrick’s
death
there wasn’t much
no one suspected murder when patrick
died
so there was no effort to gather
physical clues
there were ten large color photos of the
burned out chevy blazer
after the car burned there was very
little left of the body in it
and that was buried
so now they had no idea who died in the
crash
patrick had spent that weekend in an old
cabin near the edge of the forest
outside biloxi
sunday night february 9 1992
he called to tell his wife he was
leaving the cabin
he stopped at verhall’s country store
and bought 50 liters of gasoline
an hour later patrick’s chevy blazer was
found burning at the bottom of a steep
hill 12 kilometers down the road
the fire was so hot that they couldn’t
rescue the driver
they read the license plate
and at 3 30 am
trudy received the call that made her a
widow
the next day they discovered a shoe near
the blazer
when they showed it to trudy
she recognized it as patrick’s and cried
his funeral was the following day
dr hayani was happy to sit and chat with
patrick
he enjoyed being close to this patient
who was in all the news reports
he encouraged patrick to talk about his
experience
the torture was something i could never
accurately describe
patrick said after an hour
sleep is impossible
i hear voices then i smell my flesh
burning
and then i wake up
and it’s not getting any better
they’re still out there
still after me
i can’t sleep
i don’t want to sleep
i’ll get tortured again
he paused
doc
i need to stay here as long as i can
they’ll want to put me in jail
in a cell with other criminals
i can’t live like that
but why do they want to move you
it’s pressure doc
they have to slowly increase for the
third day
patrick didn’t wash his hair or shave
the world was waiting to see him today
he wore the same clothes he’d worn every
day
he didn’t wear socks
he wanted people to see the rope marks
just above his ankles
sandy arrived at 10 and gave patrick a
pair of dark glasses he’d requested
patrick sat on the edge of his bed and
tried to breathe slowly
i never thought this day would come
never
he said
i’ll do all the talking sandy said
just try and relax
sheriff sweeney knocked and entered with
his assistance
patrick put on the dark glasses and was
led out of the building to a waiting car
sandy stayed on his left
gently holding him by the elbow
patrick looked out the window as they
drove through biloxi
and noticed the changes since he’d left
he started to relax
then they turned onto main street
and he was anxious again
in the middle of the old shops and
stores was the large white building
where he’d been a partner in bougain
rapley vetrano haverack and lanigan
attorneys
the car stopped in front of the
courthouse where a crowd of reporters
photographers and cameramen was waiting
patrick lowered his head and tried to
hide among the sheriff’s assistants
they walked him quickly into the
courthouse as the press called out
questions
patrick what’s it like to be home
where’s the money
who burned in the car
sandy and sheriff sweeney stayed with
patrick in the jury room
are you okay patrick sweeney asked
yes
sure raymond thanks
he sounded scared and his hands and
knees shook
there was a knock on the door and a
pretty girl entered and said
welcome back patrick
judge husky would like to meet with you
you’ll be here in a few minutes
she and sweeney left and closed the door
finally patrick was alone with his
lawyer
a couple of things
first
leah will contact you soon
i’ve written her a long letter and i’d
like you to give it to her
okay
second
there’s a small machine for finding bug
crowded court rooms were not uncommon
for trials
but no one could remember such a crowded
room for a simple first appearance
the press had taken the best seats
many lawyers were there just to see
patrick
the papers had been full of stories
about him for four days
the torture story had increased their
curiosity
charles bogan and doug vetrano sat
together
they’d wanted to sit in the front row to
make eye contact with patrick and
threaten him quietly
but they were in the fifth
a few other lawyers had come to give
patrick their support
escape
was a common dream of many small town
lawyers
at least patrick had had the courage to
chase the dream
other people were present who’d hardly
known patrick
but now suddenly claimed to have been
his friends
the door opened and sheriff sweeney
entered holding patrick by the elbow
sandy followed
patrick walked slowly head down across
the room to the defendant’s table
he sat down
his shoulders low
chin down
sandy put his arm on his shoulder
the door opened again and t.l parrish
the district attorney entered alone
he walked to his table next to patrick’s
and sat beside sheriff sweeney
behind him were agents joshua cutter
brent myers and two others
judge husky entered and sat down
state against patrick s lanigan would
the defendant please rise
patrick slowly stood
mr lanigan i’m holding a copy of an
indictment against you by the grand jury
it states that you murdered a human
being named unknown
have you read this indictment and
discussed it with your attorney
yes sir patrick announced
what is your plea
not guilty
your plea of not guilty is accepted you
may sit down
he paused
any questions from the attorneys
the lawyers said nothing
parish stood and said your honor
we would like to put the accused in jail
as soon as possible
as you know he’s at the base hospital
now
i just talked to his
sandy’s secretary was cutting out his
photo and the story of yesterday’s court
appearance from the new orleans paper
when the phone call came
she found him immediately
it was lea pirege
she said hello and asked if he’d had his
office checked for bugs
sandy said yes
she was in a hotel room a few blocks
away
and suggested that they meet there
sandy was excited to hear her voice
and would do whatever she wanted
leah greeted him with a smile and poured
coffee for both of them
how is he she asked
he’s getting better the doctor says
he’ll be fine
how bad was it she asked quietly
pretty bad
he reached into his case removed a file
and handed it to her
she looked at the photos and cried
poor patrick
she said to herself
poor baby
i’m sorry sandy said
here’s a letter from patrick
she finished crying and poured more
coffee
are any of the injuries permanent
she asked
the doctor thinks they’ll get better
with time
mentally how is he
he’s okay
he doesn’t sleep much and has bad dreams
but he’s getting better
i guess he’s lucky to be alive
he always said they wouldn’t kill him
she paused and changed the subject
let’s talk about his divorce
she stood walked to a drawer removed a
thick file and placed it in front of
sandy
did you see trudy on tv
she asked
yes
patrick hates her
she’s a bad person
and she was unfaithful to him the whole
time they were married
it’s all in this file
the last year they were together
patrick hired an investigator to watch
her
there are photographs of her lover lance
maxa
coming and going from patrick’s house
when he was away
there are also pictures of lance and
trudy sitting by patrick’s pool
without clothes
sandy took the file and looked through
it until he found the photographs
he smiled
this will help
patrick wants the divorce you understand
he won’t fight it
chapter 8
stefano’s story
stefano’s lawyer advised him to accept
the fbi’s arrangement
the criminal charges against him would
be dropped
and there would be no charges against
his clients
he would tell the fbi everything he knew
about the search for and capture of
patrick lanigan
stefano had easily persuaded benny
arithia
that the fbi was going to arrest him
soon
it was more difficult to persuade paul
adderson at monarch sierra insurance
and frank jill at northern case
insurance
james sent agents to both offices to ask
questions about the search for and
capture of patrick lanigan
both called stefano by noon
and told him to fully cooperate with the
fbi
for four years stefano had worked with
these men
he’d earned almost a million dollars
he’d spent another 2.5 million of his
clients money
and he could claim success
they’d found lanigan
they hadn’t found the 90 million
but it hadn’t been spent
there was a chance of recovering it
benny arithia came to see stefano in his
office
he’d listened to the torture tape three
times
he was certain patrick had told what he
knew
and it wasn’t enough
patrick knew he’d someday be caught
that’s why he’d placed the money with
the girl who hid it from everyone
including patrick
it was a great plan
how much will it take to find her he
asked stefano
i’d guess a hundred thousand with no
guarantees
we have no idea where she is
but we know where she’s from
and we know she’ll probably go to biloxi
will the fbi know we’re still looking
no
and if you find her
we’ll make her talk
stefano said
and they smiled
stefano honestly planned to tell most of
what he knew
he knew little
just the name of the brazilian lawyer
who had the money
now she disappeared
and he doubted the fbi would follow her
the money didn’t belong to them
and he wanted the fbi out of his life
mrs stefano was extremely anxious
stefano sat at a table in the fbi office
his lawyer beside him
what does your company do
asked underhill
lots of things stefano said
watch people get information find
missing persons
were you hired to find patrick lanigan
yes on march 28 1992
who hired you
benny arithia the man whose money was
stolen
what did you do after you were hired
i immediately flew to nassau in the
bahamas to meet with the manager of the
bank where the theft took place
why did arathia have an account outside
the u.s
it was 90 million dollars nobody wanted
the money to appear in a bank in biloxi
where did it come from
here in washington
the wire began at 9 30 on the morning of
march 26 1992
at 15 minutes after 10 it reached the
united bank where it sat for nine
minutes before it was wired to a bank in
malta
from there it was wired to panama
how did the money get wired out of the
bank
someone mr lanigan we think prepared
false wiring instructions from my
client’s lawyers his old firm
and re-rooted the money
on the morning the money was wired he
presented himself as doug vetrano one of
his partners
he had a perfect passport and driver’s
license and he knew all about the money
which was being wired from washington
he had a paper from the office giving
him permission to accept the money for
the firm
and then wire it to the bank in malta
the other partners of course thought he
was dead
they had no reason to suspect anyone was
after the money
the settlement which produced the 90
million was extremely secret and only a
few people knew exactly when or where
the money was wired
so you went to biloxi to look for clues
and you found that the law offices were
bugged
we did
we had two jobs
first to find mr lanigan and the money
and second to find out how he’d stolen
it
there were 22 bugs in the offices
in every phone in every office under
every desk
did you find out where the signals went
he asked
no
but i think he rented a boat he needed a
place to hide and listen to the
conversations
a boat is simple and safe benny arethea
had moved to the coast in 1985
as an officer of platte and rockland
a big defense contractor with a history
of over billing and false claims
one of their small divisions had
received a 990 million dollar navy
contract
and benny was responsible for it
he hated contracting with the government
and he hated living in biloxi
in 1988
he asked for a different job
and was denied
he studied the false claims act
this encouraged people to report over
billing in government contracts
then he went to charles bogan for help
filing a claim with the government
the lawsuit was filed in september of
1990
with the allegation that 600 million
dollars had been overbilled
if benny could prove this he’d receive
15 percent of that amount
and one third of that would go to the
law firm
bogan gave information to the press
and the company lost business
after a year
platt and rockland agreed to repay the
600 million dollars
benny got ready to receive his fortune
and bogan and the partners got ready to
spend theirs
then patrick disappeared
and so did their money
stefano’s next questioner was warren
when did your group form he asked
after we lost patrick in new york we
waited nothing happened
i’d met with benny arithia and he agreed
to pay a million dollars to finance the
search
then i met with people from monarch
sierra and northern cays
northern case had already paid 2.5
million to the widow
they couldn’t sue to get it back because
there wasn’t strong evidence he was
still alive
they agreed to give us half a million
monarch sierra carried the law firm’s
insurance protecting them from theft by
its employees and partners
they had to pay four million dollars to
the firm
and agreed to pay another million to
finance the surge
how was the money spent
on salaries travel rewards and the
services of my firm
not much is left
tell me about the rewards
we immediately offered a one hundred
thousand dollar reward for any
information about the disappearance of
chapter nine
the divorce
sweeney and grimshaw visited patrick
they photographed him and took his
fingerprints
then the two men joined qatar in his
office
where an fbi fingerprint man was waiting
for them
when pepper’s gun was found in patrick’s
cabin
grimshaw had taken fingerprints from it
the fingerprint man compared those with
patrick’s
several of these are perfect matches he
said
the gun was covered with lanigan’s
prince
certainly good news they thought
patrick demanded a different room for
all future meetings with his attorney
and dr hayani quickly made the necessary
arrangements
patrick also requested a wheelchair
a nurse pushed him to the room where
sandy was waiting
did you get the machine for finding bugs
patrick asked
it’ll be here in a few days
you should relax a little
you’ve lived in fear always looking over
your shoulder
but those days are over
they caught you
relax they’re still out there
they have me but not the money
and the money’s much more important
they won’t rest until they have it
the people who lost their money have
spent a fortune trying to find it
how do you know
who are they
there was a long pause
sit down patrick said
sandy removed the thick file leah had
given him four hours earlier
and patrick recognized it immediately
when did you see her he asked anxiously
this morning
she’s fine sends her love and says
nobody’s following her yet
she asked me to deliver this
patrick opened the envelope pulled out a
three-page letter and read it
sandy looked through the file and took
out pictures of trudy and lance
when patrick finished reading he said
i have another letter for her
then he saw the photos on the table
good work isn’t it
it’s amazing i’ve never seen so much
proof in a divorce case
well
i learned about lance after we’d been
married almost two years
trudy was going to have a baby so i said
nothing
but a year later i started gathering
evidence
i wasn’t sure when i’d need it but i
knew the marriage was over
i left town every chance i could
sandy left and riddleton went to see
trudy and lance
he told them patrick knew she’d had a
lover
trudy acted shocked
do you deny it
riddleton asked
absolutely she said
of course
added lance the man’s lying
patrick hired investigators riddleton
told them
handing them one of the reports
trudy and lance looked at each other
they’d been caught
but they weren’t ashamed
can these investigators talk in court
lance asked
we’re not going to court riddleton said
why not trudy asked
because of these
riddleton put the photos in front of
them
they were shocked
trudy started to cry
he’s not getting my daughter
she said
relax riddleton said he doesn’t want the
kid he’s not the father
they both thought about that well
riddleton got out a report
he had a dna test done
he looked at lance and added
congratulations
trudy was angry
so what do we do
it’s simple
you give up your right to his money and
property and he gives you the divorce
and the kid
but i’m going to lose everything she
said
look what he’s done to me
i got two and a half million when he
died and now the insurance company wants
to take it all back
can i sue him for mental cruelty
no
look it’s very simple
you get the divorce and the kid and
patrick keeps whatever money is out
there
and everything is private
if you don’t agree
he’ll give the reports and photos to the
press
where do i sign
she asked
it was past time to leave for the day
but dr hayani stopped to see his famous
patient
welcome to my office patrick said
he was sitting at a small table which
was now his desk
a pile of legal papers was in one corner
nice hyanni said
how are you doing
i’m fine he answered as he always did
patrick sat on the edge of his bed and
looked at his doctor
can i tell you something
he asked sincerely
certainly
chapter 10
patrick’s story
as judge carl husky drove to the
hospital the next afternoon
he thought about how patrick had changed
physically in the months before his
disappearance
he’d gained weight steadily
a month before he disappeared he told
carl that he weighed 150 kilos
he grew a beard and let his hair grow
long
he didn’t look like the patrick they
found in brazil
although others had forgotten about
patrick a few months after his
disappearance
carl had thought about his friend every
day
it was hard to believe he was really
back
when he entered the dark room patrick
was sitting in bed with his shirt off
thanks for coming he said
nasty burns carl said as patrick put his
shirt on
it was ugly patrick said
doc says they’re getting better
but i need to stay here
i have no problem with that
and i’m the one who decides where you
stay
patrick seemed to relax a bit
thanks carl
you know i can’t live in the jail
and i’ll kill myself before i go to
parchment
i don’t blame you
let’s talk about something pleasant
you said you can’t keep this case
when will you give it to someone else
who
soon
probably trussell
carl stared at patrick who was unable to
keep eye contact
this wasn’t the same patrick he’d known
before
he decided to ask patrick about his
experiences
where’d you get that chin and nose
bought them in real
do you like them
they’re handsome
i hear their beautiful beaches in brazil
yes
there was a long silence
carl realized that patrick was in no
hurry to talk
but he couldn’t sit silently in the dark
room much longer
look patrick i’m not here as your judge
i’m not your lawyer
i’m your friend
you can talk to me
i guess it sounds romantic doesn’t it
disappearing and becoming somebody new
all your problems are left behind
you dream about that don’t you carl
i guess everybody does it sometimes
how long did you plan it
a long time
i seriously doubted that the baby was
mine
carl they walked down the hall and sat
looking out a window
it was a sunday
february the 9th
patrick began
i found the place for the accident the
day before
at about 10 o’clock that night i left
the cabin
i stopped at verhall’s country store and
bought some gas
three kilometers down the road i turned
onto a dirt road and stopped
i put on some protective clothes and
drove back to the highway
at the top of a steep hill
i drove off the side of the road
i was scared when the car went into the
air
it crashed and rolled onto its side
my shoulder hurt but i was able to climb
out
i took off the protective clothes and
threw them into the blazer
earlier that day i’d hidden four cans of
gasoline
i put three cans inside the car
and poured the gasoline from the fourth
can around the inside and outside of the
car
then i stepped back lit a cigarette and
threw it into the car
it exploded like a bomb
he took a drink of soda
i ran to find the old motorcycle i’d
hidden pushed it up the hill and rode
away
soon i was back at my cabin
i was scared
but i knew i was running to freedom and
a new life
patrick was dead
it was exciting
what about the guy burning in the car
patrick
carl almost asked
instead he said
weren’t you afraid pepper would see you
patrick studied his feet for a few
seconds and then said
pepper was gone
carl ordered a pizza
after they ate he said
you were at the cabin
yes
it was around 11 30.
i covered the windows so no one would
see the lights
then i cut my hair and colored it dark
brown and i shaved my beard
i felt like a different person
i cleaned the cabin really well and left
at 1am
did you have any concern for trudy
no
i knew she’d handled the shock well and
that she’d be a good widow for about a
month
then she’d get the life insurance money
pepper’s gun tent and sleeping bag were
found under one of the beds
how’d they get there
patrick looked at the wall
i don’t know
where’d you go
carl asked
the judge enjoyed the evening so much
that he called patrick the next day to
see if they could do it again
patrick was anxious for company
when he arrived carl sat next to
patrick’s bed and they ate the pizza
he’d brought
why are you retiring patrick asked
how did you know i’m retiring
i haven’t told many people and you were
in brazil
i had a spy carl
someone here
of course not
i couldn’t risk contacting anyone here
i had an attorney friend there
a woman
now i understand
she’s the one who has the money
patrick smiled and laughed
what do you want to know about the money
carl
everything
where is it how much is left
can’t tell you where it is
there’s more money now than i took
how’d you do it
patrick walked across the room and
stretched
then he sat down on the edge of the bed
i got lucky
he whispered
i was leaving carl
with or without the money
i knew the money was coming to the firm
and i had a plan to get it
but if it didn’t work i was still
leaving
we got as far as your funeral last night
right
i stayed at orange beach a couple of
days listening to portuguese language
tapes
i also listened to conversations i’d
recorded around the office
and i organized documents about arithea
i learned how to sail
and then hid in the sailboat and watched
biloxi from there
why did you want to do that
i had the office bugged
i could listen to their conversations on
the boat
and i recorded all of them
do you have these tapes
of course
there were hundreds of them
at night i listened to them and
organized the important parts
i knew everything that was said in that
office
i knew where the money was going and
when it would get there
so how’d you steal it
i flew to miami
then i used a false passport saying i
was doug vetrano
flew to nassau
and went to the bank that the money was
being wired to
i was sitting in the manager’s office
drinking coffee when the wire came in
i immediately had the money wired out to
a bank in malta with instructions to
wire it on to panama
when i left the bank chapter 11
leah’s story
paulo miranda’s last phone call from his
daughter had been two days earlier
she was in a hotel in new orleans
she was scared though trying desperately
not to show it
he was angry that she wouldn’t give more
details
and he was worried about her and he was
tired of the men who were following him
everywhere he went
after finishing his work he walked to
his car in the parking lot
he was thinking his eyes down
a small red van was parked next to his
car
as he approached the driver got out and
opened the back door
but paulo didn’t notice
osmar stopped paulo and roughly pushed
him into the van the door closed a gun
was pointed between his eyes and a voice
told him to be silent
the van raced away
an hour and a half later it stopped
behind a farmhouse and paolo was led
inside
he wouldn’t be harmed he was told unless
he tried to escape
a phone call to the police informed them
of the kidnapping
calls were made to paulo’s son in rio to
the manager of ava’s apartment and to
one of her friends
the message was the same
paulo miranda had been kidnapped
and the police were investigating
eva was staying in new york moving
frequently
she called her father and there was no
answer
then she called her brother and learned
about the kidnapping
he was going crazy
no there hadn’t been a request for money
against patrick’s specific instructions
she called him speaking in
portuguese
patrick it’s leah
she said
trying to show no emotion
what’s wrong he asked in portuguese
he wasn’t pleased to hear her voice
it’s my father
she said
and told him the story of paulo’s
disappearance
i have to go home
no leah he said calmly it’s a trap
they’re not asking for money they want
you
she played with her hair and watched the
people rushing by
so what do i do
go to new orleans call sandy when you
get there
while she waited at the airport she
thought about her father and the
terrible things they could be doing to
him
they were hurting him because of her
and there was nothing she could do
patrick called sandy
when dr hayani looked into patrick’s
room in the morning patrick was sitting
in a chair by the window looking at the
closed curtains
patrick
are you okay
he asked
after a minute patrick answered i’m fine
doc
but i didn’t sleep at all
you’re safe now patrick
the sun’s up
when he left patrick got up and walked
to the door
did you sleep well
the guard at the door asked as he did
every morning
i slept safe eddie thanks
patrick said
as he did every morning
he returned to his room and did some
exercises
the routine was the same every day he
wanted to be danilo again with his quiet
life in his small house
he wanted to walk along the streets of
pontapura and run in the country
he missed brazil
and he missed eva
her soft touch her beautiful smile
he couldn’t live without her
he’d escaped before
why couldn’t he escape again
he’d have a perfect life with ava
he’d put her in danger
and now he must protect her
could he do it again
or had his luck ended
sandy met cutter at 8 am
do you remember that phone call you
received 13 days ago
sandy asked
the lady from brazil
cutter said he did and sandy continued
i’ve met with her a few times
she’s a lawyer for patrick
he quickly explained most of what he
knew about leah
though he never mentioned her name then
he asked about the stefano investigation
cutter became cautious
how do you know about that
the lady from brazil knows all about
stefano remember she gave you his name
he’s still trying to get my clan and i’d
like to stop him
and how do you know this
because his men in brazil have kidnapped
the woman’s father
gutter’s mouth opened and he looked at
the ceiling
then it made sense
does she know where the money is
that’s a possibility
the kidnapping is an effort to make her
go back to brazil
then they’ll capture her and treat her
like the treated patrick
it’s all about money
there’s not much we can do about it
yes there is
put pressure on stefano
tell him
sandy parked in front of the beach house
leah answered the door with a smile
on the table was a box and beside it
were papers neatly arranged
this is the aritheaphile
leah said
patrick prepared it
they sat at a small table in the kitchen
and ate
house patrick she asked
patrick’s okay the burns are getting
better
he ate a bit
i’m sorry i forgot to ask about your
father
i talked to my brother today
and there’s still no word
it’s difficult
i can’t go home and i can’t stay here
i’m very sorry leah
he asked more questions
general questions not about the
kidnapping as he ate
she didn’t touch her food
when he finished they moved to the table
with the box and papers on it
how much do you know about the arithea
matter
she asked
just the information that was in the
paper
these documents and tapes are the
evidence for everything i’m going to
tell you
the arethia claim was false from the
beginning
she spoke slowly
benny arithia made the plan to cheat
both his company and his government
he was helped by some very good lawyers
patrick’s old firm
and a senator
bogan’s cousin in washington
patrick was a new partner then
he wasn’t included in the arathia plan
but he knew something was happening
he found out that the secrecy was
because of arithea
and he was patient
he pretended to notice nothing
but he was gathering evidence
a lot of it’s in his box
explain how the claim was false
arathia ran new coastal shipyards in
pascagoula
it’s a small division of platinum
rockland
i know all that
they have big defense contracts and are
known for cheating the government
that’s right
a new coastal was working on an enormous
building program for the navy
arithia wrote false work records
claiming thousands of hours for work
that was never done
for employees who never existed
he charged unbelievably high prices for
materials
drinking cups for thirty dollars each
for example
he created piles of paperwork
very little with his name on it
he kept good records
cd3
chapter 12
stefano’s story continued
the third day underhill was back
we’ll start where we stopped yesterday
mr stefano your arrival in brazil
right
it’s a big country and has a history of
being a great place to hide
we put together a file on lanigan and
had it translated into portuguese
we had computer artists make pictures of
his appearance
then we hurried to brazil and hired the
best investigators we could find
in april 1994 we found the doctor who’d
changed lanigan’s chin and nose
we knew then that he was in brazil
stefano’s fourth meeting began early
the questioner was a new one oliver
you were talking about the doctor who
changed lanigan’s chin and nose oliver
said continue
stefano got comfortable in his chair
for a long time we didn’t find anything
then late in 94 we were contacted by an
investigation firm in atlanta the pluto
group they said they might have some
information i’d want
they had a mysterious client who claimed
to know something about lanigan
obviously i was interested
the client not surprisingly wanted lots
of money
this was encouraging
if their client expected a big reward
then the client knew that lanigan still
had plenty of money
in july of 95 the pluto group approached
me and said their client could lead us
to a place in brazil where lanigan had
recently lived
we agreed on the sum of fifty thousand
dollars
after the money was wired to a bank in
panama
i was given an address of an apartment
building in the small city of itahi
we showed the manager our pictures of
patrick
he said the man’s name was john horst a
german who’d rented an apartment for two
months
what about the pluto group
we didn’t hear much from them for six
months
then in january of this year they
returned
their client needed money and was ready
to tell us everything
for a few million dollars we could learn
exactly where our man was
but their client wouldn’t talk until the
money was paid
and i wouldn’t pay until their client
talked
event underhill joined oliver after a
coffee break
we’ve seen the photos of the burns mr
stefano
and we the fbi
have been sued for the injuries caused
by your men
now tell us how you did it
i wasn’t there
i knew he’d be given electric shocks
i had no idea it would cause serious
burns
underhill and oliver looked at each
other in disbelief and whispered
they both asked a number of questions
about the capture and questioning
finally
they asked the most important question
during the questioning of mr lanigan
what did you learn about the money
not much
he told us where the money had been
but it had been moved
the man who did the questioning believes
that mr lanigan didn’t know where the
money was
did mr lanigan mention a partner
i don’t know
they whispered again and then paused
stefano waited nervously
then the door opened and hamilton james
walked in followed by warren
i’ve been listening in the next room
jane said with a smile
and suddenly i wonder if you’re being
truthful
stefano was more anxious
of course i am
of course
have you ever heard the name eva miranda
she’s a lawyer in rio
a friend of patrick’s
no
well
that’s what bothers me jack
i think you know exactly who she is
you’re trying to find her
i don’t know what you’re talking about
stefano said weekly
underhill spoke
he’s lying
oliver and warren agreed
jane’s picked up a sheet of paper
this is a story from a rio paper this
morning
it tells of the kidnapping of mr paolo
miranda
his daughter is patrick’s friend jack
we’ve checked with the police in rio
nothing has been heard from the
kidnappers
so where’s mr miranda
i don’t know what you’re talking about
jane’s looked at the other end of the
table
still lying under hill said
and oliver chapter 13
ava
leah didn’t see the man at the
supermarket at first
but then she turned and saw his green
eyes staring at her
she calmly walked away
minutes later
she saw him again
hiding his face
but watching every move she made
she was frightened
but remained calm as she walked through
the store
she saw him once more in the store and
then saw him walking through the parking
lot
carrying nothing
she paid for her groceries as calmly as
possible
but her hand shook as she took her
change
she got in her car and drove in the
direction of the beach house
though she knew she could never go back
there
after a kilometer she turned quickly and
saw him three cars behind
her she desperately wanted to see
patrick so she could scream at him
this was not part of their agreement
she drove on remaining calm as patrick
had taught her the man with the green
eyes wasn’t following her now
but she knew others would be watching
an hour later she entered the airport in
pensacola and bought a ticket for the
next flight which went to miami
in miami she bought a one-way ticket to
sao paulo
why not visit her country
the agent at the passport checkpoint had
seen an announcement that the fbi was
looking for a young brazilian woman aged
31
and pushed an alarm
a manager appeared and said
could you step in here miss pirage
he pointed to a row of doors
is there a problem she demanded as they
walked
not really just a few questions
when they entered a small room he asked
about her reason for going to sao paulo
then he asked
where’s your baggage
according to our records you entered the
country eight days ago
eight days and no baggage
seems odd doesn’t it
is it a crime to travel without baggage
she asked
no but it is a crime to use a false
passport in the u.s
do you know a person by the name of ava
miranda
leah’s heart stopped
her face fell
and she knew the chase was at an end
the long table was piled with papers and
files and the arithea box sat empty in a
corner
patrick and sandy chapter 14
settlements
at first bogan and vetrano were happy
when patrick was found
but soon it became obvious that the
money wasn’t following him back to
biloxi
then they remembered the bugs stefano
had discovered in their office
they’d forgotten about patrick’s tapes
now they were worried
too much had been said in the offices
do you think we’ll get the money
vitrano asked
no
there was a long pause
we’ll be lucky if we’re not indicted
sandy went to paris’s office at 10 a.m
parish had asked for the meeting
there was a lot of missing information
about the murder and he wanted it
what was the cause of death
and the big question who was killed
after a short discussion
parish said
i have a suggestion if your client gives
me information i can reduce his crime to
accidental killing instead of capital
murder
the penalty is 20 years in prison
would he consider this
go do it
then we’ll talk
sandy returned to his room at the biloxi
nugget hotel
which he’d organized as his office
his first visitor was j murray riddleton
trudy’s lawyer
riddleton gave sandy their suggested
divorce settlement
they knew it would be changed to
whatever patrick wanted
the second visitor was talbot mims the
biloxi lawyer for northern case
do you know jack stefano sandy asked
mims said he didn’t
i didn’t think so
he’s an investigator hired by arithia
northern case and monarch sierra to find
patrick
look at these
sandy said with a smile as he slid a set
of photos of patrick’s burns across the
table the mims
these were in the paper when you sued
the fbi
the fbi didn’t find patrick
we sued them to make people feel
sympathetic toward patrick
anyway the men responsible for these
injuries were working for stefano
northern case was one of his clients
mims hid his surprise
can you prove this he asked calmly
what do you want
the fbi can prove it
i want to talk to someone with the
the following morning after a phone call
from cutter james and several people
from his office parish and mast the u.s
attorney for the district
met sandy in his hotel room office
two court reporters were also present
no one smiled
but they weren’t unhappy to be there
sandy gave greetings from his client and
discussed the charges against patrick
the government charges are serious but
they’re small in comparison to capital
murder
we’d like you to drop them so we can
concentrate on the murder charge
we have an offer that includes money
we have no claim to the money jane said
it wasn’t stolen from the government
that’s where you’re wrong
sandy explained how arithea had worked
with bogan’s firm to cheat the
government out of 600 million dollars
he told them about the documents and
tapes
then he said
here’s our suggestion
we’ll hand over the documents and tapes
patrick will return the money
all of it
in exchange the government will drop its
charges
his brazilian attorney ava miranda must
be released immediately
james looked at the floor
and it has to be done today
sandy added
or my client will keep the money destroy
the evidence and spend his time in
prison
well let’s talk about this said
sprawling one of the government
officials with jane’s
great idea sandy said as he put a tape
in the tape player
the date was january 14th 1992
he said
and he played a conversation between
bogan vetrano and arethea that mentioned
the senator’s cooperation
gentlemen
this is just one example he told them
when it finished
the others left the room to talk
it soon became obvious to mast that the
rest had already made their decision
so we’re going to accept it he said
acting as if he didn’t care
yes sprawling said
we look good by getting the money back
patrick stays in jail for a long time
we arrest more important criminals
the group returned to sandy’s office and
sprawling spoke for them
about the money how much is your client
willing to return he asked sandy
all 90 million
mrs stefano was sleeping well again
the fbi had left their street and the
neighbors had stopped calling
her husband was relaxed
then at 5 30 a.m the phone rang
who’s calling she demanded when she
picked it up
hamilton james fbi
oh my god she said jack it’s the fbi
again
stefano took the phone
good morning jack this is hamilton james
i wanted to let you know that we’ve got
the girl eva miranda
she’s safe
so you can tell your men to stop looking
for her
stefano sat up their last hope was gone
the search for the money was finally
over
congratulations he said
look jack
i’ve sent some men to rio
you have 24 hours to release her father
if he’s not free by then i’ll arrest you
and arithia and probably mr addison at
monarch sierra and mr jill at northern
case
i hear you
and the phone went quiet
mrs stefano was in the bathroom with the
door locked too frightened to face him
stefano went to the kitchen and made
coffee
he was tired of benny
arithia he waited an hour and then
called him
when stefano called
benny knew his dream was over
he’d hoped to find the money and then
disappear with it
just like patrick
but he still had a million dollars
and he had friends in other countries
it was time to leave
just like patrick
he and guy left biloxi after dark
guy went to mobile and benny went to new
orleans
he watched closely as he drove
but didn’t see anyone behind him
he went to the airport and flew to
chicago
then on to new york at dawn
the fbi was in boca raton florida
watching benny’s home
his swedish girlfriend was still there
she’d leave soon they thought
and it would be much easier to follow
her
it was almost dark when paulo his eyes
covered was led from the house
when the car stopped he was helped from
the back
a voice said
to your left 300 meters is a farmhouse
with a telephone
go there for help
i have a gun
if you turn around i’ll have to kill you
at 2 pm talbot mims and a manager from
northern case arrived at the hotel
sandy took them to his office
hal ladd and a lawyer from monarch
sierra joined them
sandy repeated the information about
patrick’s torture
and reminded them that stefano was
working for three clients
benny arethea and their two companies
how do you plan to prove this
asked mims
sandy opened a door and asked jane’s to
join them
with great pleasure james described the
things stefano had told them about the
search for patrick the capture and the
torture
all done with money provided by arithea
and the two insurance companies
questions for mr james sandy asked
happily when jane’s finished
there were none
both companies were rich
and neither company wanted this problem
here’s the agreement sandy said
first
northern case is trying to recover the
2.5 million paid to trudy lanigan
we prefer that you drop the lawsuit
besides most of the money has been spent
if you do this my client will drop his
claim for personal injuries against your
company
is that all
mims asked not believing it
yes that’s it
okay
we agree
sandy gave them their settlement
agreement and asked them to leave so he
could talk with lad and his client
your settlement’s a bit different he
told them
you paid stefano twice as much as they
did
and you have a lot more cash than
northern case
how much do you have in mind
cohen the monarch sierra lawyer asked
anxiously
nothing for patrick
he’s very concerned however about the
child
she’s six and her mother spends money
quickly
patrick would like a quarter of a
million to go into a special account for
her
money that her mother can’t use
plus
he wants the same amount to pay his
legal costs
total of half a million
paid very quietly
so your client won’t be embarrassed by
those pictures of his injuries
the company was anxious to finish
we’ll do it
cohen said
sandy handed him copies of their
settlement agreement
and
left chapter 15
final arrangements
ava walked out of jail at 8 30 a.m
mark burke rushed her to his car and
took her to the airport where a small
jet was waiting to take her to new york
he told her that from new york she’d go
to london
ava closed her eyes and thought of
patrick
then she noticed the car phone and asked
to use it
she called her father in brazil and had
a tearful conversation
she promised to be home soon
her legal work in the united states was
almost finished and she missed her home
in new york the people at the british
airways check-in counter looked at her
questioningly because she had no baggage
she fought to control her nerves
she couldn’t be arrested again
she loved patrick
but this was too much
in the lounge she had coffee and called
sandy
are you okay he asked
i’m fine sandy
i’m at jfk
on my way to london
how’s patrick
wonderful
we’ve made a settlement with the
government people
113 million
sandy waited for her to say something
when
was all she said
i’ll have instructions when you get to
london
call me when you get to the hotel
tell patrick i still love him
even after going to jail
later in the morning sandy met with
riddleton to look over the divorce
settlement agreement
trudy had already signed it
and riddleton didn’t want to see her
again
we’ll sign it sandy said
there’s a new arrangement involving your
client and her lawsuit with northern
case
they’re going to drop their lawsuit
against trudy
riddleton’s mouth opened
sandy gave him a copy of the northern
case insurance settlement agreement
which he read curiously
what a pleasant surprise
there’s one other thing
sandy told him about the special account
that had 250 000 for ashley nicole
anything else riddleton asked with a
broad smile
that’s it
the divorce is finished
patrick was taken into the courthouse
through a side door
he wore new clothes that sandy had
bought
he was pale and thin but seemed to have
no difficulty walking
actually patrick felt great
patrick began
i had a car wreck case once
the driver was killed
and two people were injured
it was the truck’s fault sandy
but the driver claimed that our client’s
car was speeding
we found a witness
mr clovis goodman age 81
he tried to help the injured people in
the car but couldn’t
he left without saying anything to
anyone
later we found him
but he was still too upset to talk about
it
clovis lived alone in the country
and i asked if i could visit him
he was a lonely old man who didn’t trust
lawyers
we drank coffee and talked about
everything except the wreck
when i asked about it
he informed me softly that he was there
but he couldn’t talk about it yet
i went back and we exchanged more
stories
i took him to dinner and we stopped for
a few beers
but he still couldn’t talk about the
wreck
after a month i put pressure on him
i told him we’d reached an important
point in the lawsuit
and it was time for him to answer some
questions
he said he was ready
he had tears in his eyes
and wanted to help the family in the car
they weren’t speeding
we went to trial
and clovis goodman was the best witness
i’ve ever seen
the jury gave our clients 2.3 million
dollars
we became friends
when he got sick and couldn’t live by
himself
i moved him into a nursing home and took
care of his finances
at that time
i was his only friend
he hadn’t heard from his relatives for
years
he got very sick in january of ninety
two
i moved him to a hospital and visited
every day
on february sixth he died
sandy breathed heavily and closed his
eyes tightly
clovis wasn’t buried was he
he asked
no
i put his body in a freezer at my cabin
sandy was shocked
i didn’t kill anybody sandy
i needed a body
but he was already dead when his body
burned
sandy walked around the room then leaned
on the wall
let’s hear the rest of it he said
i’m sure you
sandy visited clovis’s granddaughter at
the coffee shop where she worked
i have good news for you he said
they sat at a table and had coffee
as efficiently as possible he told her
patrick’s story
she found it amusing
give him the death penalty she said
he didn’t kill anybody
the body in the car was already dead
he just stole it
the body was clovis goodman your
grandfather
she looked at him with narrow eyes
he burned clovis
why
he had to have a dead body
clovis was his client and friend
she looked confused
it’s a crime to destroy a dead body
that means clovis’s family can sue my
client
she smiled and said
now i understand
sandy smiled too
yes
that’s why i’m here
my client would like to make a very
quiet settlement with you
how much
what’s most you’ll pay
sandy drank his coffee
fifty thousand
okay
they shook hands
sandy gave her a settlement agreement to
sign and wrote a check
ava left her london hotel and took a
long walk
she looked in the store windows and then
stopped for lunch
she listened to the happy people who had
no idea who she was
they didn’t care
she felt more like lea pirege than ava
miranda
she began shopping without paying
attention to the prices
she was a very wealthy woman at the
moment
at two o’clock in the afternoon she had
a meeting with the manager of deutsche
bank’s london office
his bank would wire 113 million from its
zurich office to its washington office
following her instructions
after the wire
there would be 1.9 million dollars in
the account
another swiss account had 3 million
a bank on grand cayman held 6.5 million
a financial advisor in bermuda had 4
million
and 7.2 million was in luxembourg
the swedish lady left benny arathia’s
home and put her baggage in his bmw
she sped away
went to the airport and took a plane to
london
when she landed the officials were
watching for her
patrick sat at the end of the table with
sandy on his right and parish on his
left
since the government charges had been
dropped parish felt pressured to get
justice from patrick for the state
you can forget murder terry patrick said
i didn’t kill anyone
the person in the car had been dead for
four days
parish questioned him and accepted that
patrick was right
but he wasn’t going to give up
completely
looks like a year in jail he said
a year in parchment should be good for
you
sure
except that i’m not going to parchman
you don’t have a body
you have no idea who was burned
and i’m not telling until we make an
agreement
drop the charges
you can’t win
the family of the dead person doesn’t
want to sue patrick sandy said
you can’t prove anything against me
there are no witnesses and the evidence
isn’t good enough
you can’t make us look like fools
parish said
give us something
i’ll say i’m guilty of destroying the
dead body but i get no jail time
you can explain to the judge that the
family doesn’t want to sue me
you can talk about the torture and what
i’ve been through
you can do all that parish
and you’ll look very good
but no jail
parish thought for a minute
and you’ll tell us the name of the dead
person
i will
but only after we have an agreement
okay
but i have to speak with judge trussell
he’ll have to agree too
patrick smiled at sandy
parish stood up to leave
oh
i almost forgot
the district attorney said
what can you tell us about pepper
scarborough
i can give you his new name and passport
number
sandy parish and judge trussell spent
several hours working out a plea
agreement to reduce the charges against
patrick
sandy took it to him at the hospital
they read the agreement aloud and
patrick signed
sandy noticed that he was already
packing
back in his hotel room office sandy’s
phone rang
it was jack stefano who was downstairs
and wanted to talk
i’m here out of curiosity
the hearing was scheduled for five
o’clock in the courthouse
patrick put on new pants and a large
white shirt
he shook hands with hayani and thanked
him for his friendship
after two weeks as a patient and
prisoner patrick left the hospital
his lawyer was at his side and his
guards followed behind
it was supposed to be a secret hearing
to complete the secret agreements
but people heard about it
in less than 30 minutes half the city
knew
and the courtroom was crowded
patrick smiled for the photographers as
he was led to the jury room
carl entered and asked the guards to
wait in the hall
when are you leaving he asked
i don’t know
soon
can i go with you
would you really leave
if you had the chance to disappear right
now
would you do it
no i wouldn’t leave
but i don’t blame you
everybody wants to disappear carl
at some time in life everybody thinks
about walking away
problems can be left behind
judge trussell entered the courtroom
patrick was led through the door and
stood next to sandy in front of the
judge he didn’t look at his audience
mr lanigan trussell said
first you’ve asked us to reduce the
charges from capital murder to
destroying a dead
body people were surprised
destroying a dead body
parish explained the recent developments
in the case
next it’s been suggested that this court
should accept a plea of guilty to the
charge of destroying a dead body
mr parish
and parish told the story of clovis
what’s your plea mr lanigan the judge
asked
guilty
patrick said
firmly but with no pride
does the state have a recommended
punishment
parish walked to his table looked
through his notes and returned to the
judge’s desk
yes your honor
i have a letter from miss dina pastel of
meridian mississippi she’s a grandchild
of clovis goodman
he handed a copy to trussel in the
letter ms postell asked this court not
to punish mr lanigan for burning her
grandfather’s dead body
he’s been dead for over four years and
the family doesn’t want any more
suffering
so the state recommends a punishment of
12 months in jail
they drove into louisiana in silence
then sandy said
i had a very interesting visitor this
afternoon
really
who
jack stefano
he visited me at the hotel
he said he was sorry his boys injured
you so much when they caught you
he told me about the person in brazil
who gave him information about you and
about the pluto group
and he asked me directly if ava sold the
information
he’s curious
because he found his man
but didn’t get the money
for the last three years i’ve been
chased in my sleep by a hundred men
all of them were hired by jack stefano
i finally got tired of it sandy
i gave up
disappearing is an adventure until you
learn that someone’s trying to find you
and is watching everything you do
i stole too much money sandy
they had to come after me
when i learned they were already in
brazil i knew the end would come
so i decided to do it my way
not theirs
patrick breathed heavily looked out the
window and tried to organize his
thoughts
the rewards were my idea sandy
ava flew to atlanta where she met the
pluto group
we paid them
and we gave stefano information
sandy turned slowly his mouth open
you’re lying he said
i know you’re lying
no
we collected one million one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars from stefano
it’s hidden now
probably in switzerland with the rest of
it
you don’t know where it is
she’s been taking care of it
i’ll find out when i see her
sandy was too shocked to say anything
else
patrick continued
i knew they’d capture me
and i knew they’d tried to make me talk
but i didn’t know this would happen
he pointed to the rope mark above his
left ankle
they almost killed me
i finally gave up and told them about
ava
by then she was gone
and so was the money
they almost killed you
sandy said
that’s true
but two hours after i was captured ava
called cutter in biloxi
and he called the fbi in washington
that’s what saved my life
sandy took him to his mother’s house and
drove away
in the morning patrick woke up smiling
his life of hiding was over
he and his mother talked drove around
the city and did some shopping
then patrick went to the airport
he flew to atlanta and from there to
nice france
he’d last seen ava a month earlier in
rio
she’d almost persuaded him to run and
hide again
but he was tired of running
they’d said goodbye near her apartment
he’d kissed her and walked away
leaving her crying
he flew back to pontapura and began
waiting
on sunday when the train from nice
arrived in aches
patrick took a taxi to the hotel galici
she’d reserved a room in both names
ava miranda and patrick lanigan
but she hadn’t arrived yet the clerk
informed him
he went to the room unpacked and fell
asleep
dreaming of her
when he woke up he went for a walk
maybe they’d live here
they’d stay here for a week or so then
go back to rio
but maybe rio wouldn’t be home
feeling free
patrick wanted to live everywhere
to experience different cultures
to learn different languages
he refused to worry
he waited until dark
and then walked slowly back to the hotel
she wasn’t there
and there was no message
he called the hotel in london and was
informed that she’d left yesterday
he called her father
she was in london paolo said
he would say nothing more
patrick waited two hours and then called
sandy
she’s missing he said
now frightened
sandy hadn’t heard from her
patrick stayed in aches for two days
walking calling sandy and paulo
alone in his room he cried from a broken
heart
he drank too much alcohol
on the third day he left
asking a clerk to keep an envelope at
the desk for ms miranda if she arrived
he flew to rio
he wasn’t sure why
she was too smart to go to rio
patrick had taught her too well how to
disappear
no one would find ava
unless she wanted them to
you