The Old Enemy Henry Porter (best black authors txt) 📖

her direction, his presence, if that indeed was what it had been, had receded.

She stopped talking and held his hand for the next half-hour. Only when Tulliver knocked on the glass door did she let go and rise. ‘We need to speak,’ he said. ‘Martin Reid is here. Says he’s got something important for you.’

‘What? Can’t you tell him I’m with Denis?’

‘He says he’ll wait. Any change?’

She shook her head. He looked away. She reminded herself that Tulliver was devoted to her husband. ‘I know it’s hard, seeing him like this. I’m sorry for you, Jim. You’re going through a lot.’

He made a gesture to say that what he was feeling didn’t matter.

‘What’s Reid want?’

‘Says he knows what Denis was going to reveal. He’s down the hall by the dispensing machines.’

She found Reid sitting with hands across his stomach, looking bad-tempered.

‘Marty, it’s nice of you to come, but I really should be with Denis at this time.’

‘How is he?’

‘The doctors are pleased with his recovery from a minor procedure. Things are looking good.’

‘I heard otherwise.’

‘Well, you heard wrong,’ she said, folding her arms.

‘You told me you were going to the West Coast, but then I hear that you’re in Europe. I like to be told the truth, Ana. That has to be the basis of our arrangement.’

‘What arrangement? You came to me offering help. You said you were outraged about what had happened and you would do everything in your power to support us. But there was no arrangement, Marty. None! And what the hell are you doing, tracking my movements? I don’t have to justify myself to you. Now . . .’

‘Forgive my manners, Ana, they’re a habit of a lifetime of deal-making. I’m too harsh. I meant to be of some help. Please sit down.’

‘And no one calls me Ana. What did you want to say?’

‘I’m sorry. I was given to understand that’s what your friends called you.’ He looked downcast for a moment. ‘This is a complicated business. I’m not sure what to say. My sense is that Denis was about to reveal the source of the funds in TangKi, which were definitely from within the United States and can be traced to a man named Chester Abelman. I have all the evidence.’

‘Who is he?’ she said, knowing perfectly well.

‘He runs GreenState on the West Coast – a big wheel in the Bay Area, supports a lot of projects. And he’s into every kind of business and investment; a big buddy of the Goodhardts – Alan and Lily. You know them?’

‘No.’ She took a seat opposite the vending machine. ‘But GreenState is an environmental organisation – how would they be involved in supporting fascist troublemakers in Europe? It doesn’t make sense, Marty.’

‘I thought maybe you had it all figured out – that Denis had tied all the loose ends. But you say you don’t. Anyway, the money trail is there and that does have implications.’

‘In what way? The Foreign Affairs Committee are hardly going to be interested in some right-wing whacko pretending to be a liberal environmentalist. I don’t think it’s going to impress Mr Speight.’

‘Speight! Do not trust that man. He’s a goddamn snake.’

‘You said that before. Look, I’m unlikely to. He was the one who forced Denis into the hearing and then cut slices off him.’

‘So, you’ve heard nothing about GreenState?’

She shook her head. ‘No.’

‘But I heard Denis was investigating the organisation.’

She was about to ask him who he’d heard that from but stayed her hand. The old bastard was fishing, and she’d let him dangle his line in the water a while longer. ‘My only concern is Denis’s health,’ she said. ‘You may not know this, but exposure to nerve agents in the organophosphate group of compounds can cause serious cognitive impairment, chronic seizures, etcetera. We have no expectation that Denis will remember what he was doing immediately before the attack, still less why. Is that clear, Marty?’

‘So, there’s nothing that I can work with. I was hoping that my people might be able to access his computer.’

She laughed. ‘As you know, Denis never, ever carries anything with him. He rarely uses a cellphone and doesn’t even have a wallet. Everything that Denis’s lawyer had with him in the briefcase was destroyed; the laptop and all the papers were incinerated. Sorry to disappoint you, Marty, but I have nothing to give you. Thanks for your offer of help, though. It’s really appreciated, and when Denis is better, he’ll be grateful that you stayed true to your friendship. It means a lot to him.’

‘Thank you. I will continue my work. Let me know if there’s anything you need.’

He got up, gave her a cattle rancher’s handshake, grunted goodbye and left with rather less spring in his step than when they’d met there before. The titan of business looked rather uncomfortable, to her mind, brought low and in some way humiliated.

She called Tulliver to tell him about the encounter. ‘I need to speak to you about something else too,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you on the roof in five.’

They stood in the shade, out of the dazzling glare of the early-morning sun. ‘I need my husband’s computer. The one he used for all this.’ Her hand swept across Capitol Hill. ‘You know what I’m talking about, Jim. The laptop that’s never been used on the Web.’

He said nothing.

‘Do you know where it is?’

‘I may. But you can’t get into it.’

‘Leave that to me. Where is it?’

‘In New York – at least, that’s the last time I saw him use it.’

‘Off you go then.’

‘I can have the plane bring it down here.’

‘No. I need you to go and find it and bring it back yourself.’ He looked doubtful. ‘Jim, I’m not going to take no.’

‘You know what’s on it?’

‘I do, and I think you should have told me.’

‘Anastasia, I have absolutely no idea what’s on there, but I know it’s more than a hand grenade.’

‘It is. So, you go and get it. You need to be smart, Jim. Don’t use the plane.