She noticed a cluster of framed pictures on the desk, facing the visitor, of him with George Bush the younger, golfing with Trump.
“I suppose it does,” she said.
“But I’m honored by your visit. I’ve always admired your pluck.”
“My pluck.”
“Against all odds, you’ve managed to climb the greasy pole, haven’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say the odds were against me. Not at all.”
“Well, you certainly made an enemy of Kent Yarnell.”
“That I did. But Kent wasn’t on the Governor’s Council. He wasn’t able to blackball me.”
“Lucky you. You were quite clever, the way you went after me.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Well played. You probably imagine you’re on the side of the just and the righteous, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Juliana said.
“I think you do.” She could see anger tighten his face. “You had a career to make. Another check in the win column. You didn’t care what it might do to a family, the shame it would bring to my wife. And to my son. That didn’t figure in your moral calculus at all, did it?”
Juliana didn’t reply.
“And using that absurd technicality to prosecute me. Because you couldn’t make an honest case. How is that justice?”
“I did what was right,” Juliana said. “If I could have gone after you with bigger weapons, I sure would have.”
“The United States versus Ray Marshak,” he said. “Does that sound like a fair fight to you?”
“It’s not meant to be.”
“You’re here because you want something from me, and — even stranger — you actually think I’m going to give it to you.”
“All I can do is ask,” she said.
“So, Judge Brody, I am all ears.” He folded his arms and smiled.
“Yes, I’m here to ask your help.”
“Me?”
“There’s no one more qualified,” she said.
“I’m listening.”
“Do you know anything about a company called Mayfair Paragon?” she said.
He shook his head. “Should I?”
“What about Harrogate Capital Partners?”
He paused. “Aren’t they some investment firm in the north of England?”
“Right. They bailed out a company called Wheelz, and now they own most of it.”
“And Wheelz is one of the cases you’re presiding over, am I right? One of your cases?”
“It is.”
“I vaguely remember — Wheelz was almost declared dead; then this English firm shows up and saves it. I remember wondering what lunatic would sink a billion dollars into a failing Uber competitor. Insanity. I mean, in a world with Uber and Lyft, who needs Wheelz?”
“Here’s what I want to know,” she said. “Whose money was behind it?”
“Behind Harrogate Capital Partners?”
“Right. Who’s the investor?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I have my reasons.”
“And what makes you think I have the answer?”
“I don’t. But I think you know how to find it.”
“Do I?”
“You know how money is hidden. You’re a master of financial engineering.”
“You flatter me.”
“It’s not flattery, Mr. Marshak. In this realm you have no equal.”
“I’m fascinated,” Marshak said. “This is so inappropriate — for a judge to be conducting a private inquiry like this.”
She shrugged, said nothing.
“I wonder what they have on you.”
She immediately blushed and hoped it wasn’t too visible. She shook her head slowly, disapproving.
Marshak continued that line of thought. “Probably a hell of a lot more substantial than what you had on me. In fact, I have a feeling that you’re walking on the dark side yourself. I’m speculating that you’re no longer quite so high and mighty. Those pretty little hands of yours, with that pink manicure — there’s dirt in those nails, isn’t there? Sure, you like to pretend that you’re better than me, but I can tell those hands aren’t quite clean.”
“I understand,” she said. “You don’t know the answer, but you can’t bring yourself to admit it. That’s all right. If you don’t know, you don’t know.”
For a brief instant, he looked stung, but he quickly recovered. He sighed with exasperation, then laughed. He was being manipulated, and he knew it.
“Tell me, Judge Brody,” he said after a moment. “How much do you know about the money behind Harrogate? Do you know anything?”
“Very little. I know the financing for the Wheelz deal was done by a bank in Cyprus.”
“Ah.”
“And a bank in the British Virgin Islands.”
He gave a crooked grin. “I see. Well, here’s the first thing to know. There’s no such thing as total anonymity,” Marshak said. “Everyone leaves tracks.”
“What sort of tracks?”
“For instance, if they’re the lead investor in Wheelz, you can be certain of one thing: they will certainly have installed their janissaries.”
“Their what now?”
“Janissaries. The sultan’s bodyguards.”
“Bodyguards. I don’t understand.”
“A lead investor will insist on placing two or three of their own people — his janissaries, I call them — in key positions throughout the company. To make sure things are done right. To report back. His people.” He nodded a few times. “So the rumors are true,” he said, almost as if to himself.
“Rumors?”
“It’s the Russians. That’s the Russian pattern. The Cyprus-BVI structure — that’s classic oligarch. Their offshore havens. How these Russian billionaires keep their honeypot away from the Russian bear. The tax collectors. You are dealing with an oligarch. Quite likely chorniy krug.”
“Which means—?”
“Hell if I know. It’s what they call Putin’s inner circle, the oligarchs who remain directly connected to the Kremlin and the Russian security services. Most slavishly loyal to Putin. The ones who’ll do the Kremlin’s dirty work when asked, without hesitation. This is the sort of people you’re going up against.”
“Okay.”
“If your plan is to go bear hunting, be my guest. I’d love to see you try.” He smiled tightly. “Because I know how it ends.”
“Do you.”
“Oh, yes. I can see the glistening red viscera around the bear’s mouth.”
“So how do I find out the name of my oligarch?”
“Go for the soft underbelly in their security. The weak spot. It’s always the lawyers. Law firms have the worst IT security. It’s laughable.”
“But what can the lawyers tell me?”
“The lawyers have to fill out all the tedious paperwork.”
“Like the accredited investor form?”
Marshak’s eyebrows shot up. “Very good. I’m impressed, Your Honor. Yes, find the lawyers and you’ll find the names of their clients. Of course, if you had any sense, you’d just let this thing lie. But that’s not your way. You are not the type to ever back down. Which I’m counting on.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it’s a throne of blood, and I’m happy to take you to it. Because when you go up against some of those chorniy krug oligarchs, you’re putting your life on the line.”
“That right?”
“If I were a betting man, and I am, my money would not be on you. You’re playing Russian roulette. But I rather enjoy the prospect. Because sooner or later that bullet is going to wind up in the chamber. Click. And I won’t shed a tear.” A thin smile. “Your Honor.”
40
Philip Hersh was wearing his ratty gray suit, looking again like a down-and-out courthouse lawyer. His shirt collar was frayed. He handed Juliana a cup of coffee from Tanner Roast in downtown Boston and sat down in the old wooden chair next to her desk in her lobby. His was the gloomy expression of a man who didn’t much like his life.