Kennedy’s Ghost. Gordon Stevens

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СКАЧАТЬ Francesca.’

      ‘Yes. But before she decides she should know what it involves.’

      Marco, the brother, hadn’t spoken at all, and Francesca only occasionally.

      ‘What does it involve?’ Umberto gave neither of them the chance to contribute.

      The man was on auto-pilot because his son had been kidnapped, Haslam reminded himself. Therefore give him a chance, give them all a chance. Because these people were all in hell, and he was their only way out.

      ‘The kidnapper’s negotiator will switch tactics, one moment he’ll be reasonable and the next he’ll be swearing and screaming. Then he’ll be the only friend Francesca has in the world. And all the time she’ll not only have to control herself, but try to manipulate the other side.’

      ‘I understand,’ the wife said simply.

      Courier.

      ‘Tell us what the courier does.’ Umberto Benini peered down the hawk nose. To avoid confusion Haslam already mentally referred to the father as Umberto and the kidnap victim as Paolo.

      ‘The courier collects messages and packages the kidnappers leave for us. The courier will also be responsible for dropping the ransom money when that moment comes.’

      Therefore Rossi the bank representative or Marco the brother. But Marco was only in the room because he was family, Haslam suspected. Umberto hadn’t even decided whether or not Marco should even be involved.

      He turned to Rossi. ‘It might be that you feel you should play this role. You might also feel, however, that the same problems about the bank’s involvement arise.’

      ‘We’ll discuss it.’ Umberto broke the meeting and called for fresh coffee.

      Haslam waited till the housekeeper had served them, then continued.

      ‘In kidnap negotiations there are guidelines, almost procedures. All the signs are that the kidnappers are professionals, which means they’ll know them and stick by them. They’ll also try to control the situation through them, but those procedures give us the chance to do the same thing back.’

      ‘For example?’ Umberto Benini asked.

      ‘The negotiator will tell you to get a clean phone. That’s a number somewhere else in case the police find out about the kidnapping and start tapping this one. We can begin to control the situation by telling the kidnappers we want to use a clean phone before they tell us.’

      They went through the alternatives: the properties or offices owned or controlled by Umberto, and the facilities which the bank could provide.

      ‘We have another apartment, an investment.’ It was Francesca.

      ‘Whose name is it in, because if it’s in your name it’s no good.’

      ‘A company name.’

      ‘Empty?’

      ‘At the moment.’

      ‘Fine.’

      He wrote the number on the sheet of paper in front of him.

      ‘One more thing our negotiator has to get across.’ There were several more things, but at a first meeting he preferred to keep instructions to a minimum. ‘The time Francesca, assuming it will be Francesca, will be waiting at the clean phone. The kidnappers will try to leave it open, so that she’d be waiting at the phone twenty-four hours a day. You can imagine the effect that would have. So we specify a time, but that time must be in keeping with Francesca’s normal schedule, therefore it should probably be in the evening.’

      ‘Why?’ Umberto asked.

      ‘Because however difficult it will be at first, you must continue to lead your normal lives – business appointments, personal matters. One reason, as I’ve already suggested, is that it maintains a structure to your lives.’

      Because otherwise you’ll go insane.

      But I’m already going insane, he knew the wife was thinking.

      So how was she going to stand up to it, he wondered, how was she going to take whatever the kidnappers threw at her. How was she going to take the pressure Umberto would bring to bear on her. Because that was the way it was already going.

      ‘There’s another reason for not disrupting your normal schedule. If you do there’s a chance the police might spot it, and if they do it wouldn’t be long before they worked out that someone’s been kidnapped.’

      And the first thing they’d do after that would be to freeze the family funds and even try to intervene in the affairs of the bank.

      ‘Agreed,’ Rossi said on behalf of the bank and the family.

      Haslam took the holding script and rewrote it.

CONCERN OVER PAOLO	Is he alive?
TELEPHONE NUMBER AND TIME	Keep saying it.
MONEY	Can’t even think about money until I know he’s alive.
IF PRESSED	Just prove he’s alive.
AND CLEAN PHONE AND TIME.

      ‘You’ll want some time to yourselves, to talk through what I’ve told you today. I suggest we arrange a meeting for tomorrow. There are other things to discuss, but I think Francesca has enough to handle until then.’

      Why not deal with them now? It was in the way Umberto turned.

      ‘Not today.’ Francesca’s voice was suddenly tired. I’ve had enough for one day, more than I can cope with. Just give me twenty-four hours to take on board what he’s already told me, then I’ll be able to face the rest. She called for the housekeeper to telephone for a cab. ‘What time tomorrow?’

      ‘Remember what I told you,’ Haslam reminded her. ‘That we should build our meetings into your normal routines. Unless, of course, something happens.’ He knew she was having difficulty accepting what he was telling them. ‘If it’s in the evening it shouldn’t be over dinner. It should be a business meeting like any other.’

      ‘Six-thirty,’ Francesca suggested.

      ‘If the kidnappers make contact what time will you tell them to ring the clean phone?’

      ‘Seven in the evening.’

      ‘Good. I’ll be at the hotel. If I leave it for any reason I’ll be carrying a pager.’ He gave them the details. ‘One last thing. In case the kidnappers call, are you happy to be here by yourself or do you want someone with you?’

      ‘The housekeeper will stay when I need her. I’m fine.’

      The cab was waiting. He shook each of their hands and left.

      The evening was warm and the three cars he had seen when he arrived were still there: the Saab, the BMW and the Mercedes, the driver and minder sitting in it like a calling card. Perhaps he should have said something about it at the meeting, except that then he hadn’t been sure that the Mercedes was the banker’s.

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