And he would have to get to Zurich, sooner rather than later, and see what was in the box. Without triggering any alarms, which meant that the trip needed to appear to be for plausible, innocent reasons — for Jeffrey, who had only been to Europe once, seven years before, for a week following his graduation.
Back behind his desk, he searched online for an hour and then saw exactly what he needed: a two-day symposium on the changing tax and reporting rules for the European Union, taking place the following Thursday and Friday in Zurich. It would be well within his job description to put in a request to attend it, and with nothing on his plate now other than tying up a few loose ends for the conglomerate’s attorneys, he certainly had abundant free time.
He drafted a memo requesting permission to sign up for the conference and book travel, and sent it to his immediate superior — Eric Fairbanks, one of the partners. Other than a welcoming handshake on his first day, he hadn’t had any interaction with Garfield, and he’d been relegated to Fairbanks’ pool; he was the one who handled the financial end of things, leaving the others to attend to the lobbying and class action support business.
Twenty minutes later his internal line rang, and Fairbanks asked to see him. Jeffrey suited up and walked down the long hall to the partner offices and nodded to the receptionist, who waved him through.
“Jeffrey. Have a seat. What’s this all about a conference in Zurich? Are you tired of working here already?” Fairbanks asked.
“Hardly. The situation in the EU is changing literally week to week, and as we saw on the first deal I handled here, our clients are global entities who need cutting-edge counsel. Informed advice. If you looked at the link I sent you, the speakers are heavy hitters in Euro Zone banking and taxation. I normally don’t go in for attending conferences, but this is a worthwhile exception. I think we’d get a hundred times the value of the travel and attendance costs. It would take weeks or months of research to get everything they’re covering in the two days. Besides which, since I closed the deal last week I’ve got nothing on the board at the moment, so it comes at an opportune time.”
“We’re not in the habit of sending our staff on paid European vacations, young man,” Fairbanks countered sternly.
“Sir, with all due respect, I wouldn’t call sitting in sessions from eight to five for two days a vacation. One of the reasons I try to avoid these is because they’re typically like having un-anesthetized oral surgery. But with the fluid situation in the EU, I’m willing to make an exception. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was a good use of my time. And if anything comes up between now and then, I can take files with me and work on them on the plane and in the evenings, so my effective usefulness wouldn’t be affected in my absence, nor would my ability to bill.” Jeffrey figured he would mention the magic words — ‘billable hours.’ “And of course, the whole thing’s a write off…”
“And you really believe this is an essential conference?”
“I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. I’ll only lose two days of office time — I can take a red-eye over the night before. I think it would be a mistake not to go. My understanding is that every major player in the field is sending personnel there.”
“I see,” Fairbanks said, studying him over the rims of his reading glasses. He took a few seconds to think and then leaned forward. “Let me take it up with Garfield and confirm that he doesn’t have anything pressing he intends to assign you. I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear from him,” he said, bringing the matter to a close and lowering his eyes back to the paperwork he’d been working on. Jeffrey got the hint and returned to his office, confident that he’d be allowed to take the time off.
Two hours later he got a terse email from Fairbanks okaying the trip.
He went to the men’s room and splashed water on his face, then dried it and looked at his reflection in the mirror. At least that part of his plan had gone off without a hitch. The symposium had been a brilliant feint, a completely reasonable distraction for anyone watching his movements. He could slip out and get to the bank in the late afternoon, and then would have the weekend there if he needed it. And all under the guise of work-related travel.
In a little over a week, he’d know what his brother had paid his life to discover.
From there, he had absolutely no idea what he would do.
But it was a start.
In the meantime, he wanted to spend some time researching cattle mutilations, and figure out how to get to rural Virginia to see about tracking down the professor. All without raising any red flags.
A tall order, but now that he was committed, there was no way he would turn back.
TWENTY
Suspicions
“Europe! Take me with you!” said Monica, as she pushed her Chinese dinner around her plate at Jeffrey’s dining room table.
“I wish I could. It’s not like that. It’s a conference. I’m going to be in meetings all day, and knowing how these go, probably side meetings after. It’s work, not pleasure, unfortunately.”
“That’s what they all say,” she pouted.
“Except this time it’s true. With what happened in Cyprus, the rules are changing really fast, and I need to be up on what the current thinking is. It’s what I do. My job. Besides which, I’m just getting on a plane, landing and going to the meeting, spending the night, and then flying back after the conference on Friday night. It’s actually sort of hellish.”
“Put that way, it doesn’t sound like that much fun,” Monica conceded. “Hey, maybe you can get me some chocolate while you’re there!”
“One order of Swiss chocolate, coming up,” Jeffrey assured her in his most serious tone.
“Do you have to do many of these?”
“No. Thank God. There’s nothing more boring than a symposium with five hundred other attorneys. Usually I’d figure out how to weasel out of it and send someone else, but this is kind of the Super Bowl of Euro Zone structuring, so it’s best that I go. Anyway, it’s a done deal, and it’s only for two days, so I’ll be back before you know it.”
“What am I going to do to keep myself occupied when you’re gone? I’ve gotten used to having you as my boy toy…”
“Hold that thought,” he said, moving his plate aside and standing.
She gave him a flirtatious look. “Our food will get cold.”
“That’s why man invented microwaves. Or at least one of the reasons, I’m pretty sure.”
Jeffrey lay staring at the ceiling as Monica nuzzled his chest, basking in the lingering afterglow of passion, their lovemaking as enthusiastic as always. His heart was torn at not being able to confide in her, but he didn’t want to endanger her in any way — and he kept revisiting Becky’s death, perhaps an accident, but more likely not. As much as he would have liked to share his internal drama, he wouldn’t put Monica in harm’s way. It was better that she knew nothing.
He disengaged and went out into the front room, then got online and checked his email, hoping to see something from the brokerage firm or the banks he’d contacted after receiving Keith’s death certificate. He had no idea what he was going to discover when he opened the Swiss box, but having a boatload of ready cash wouldn’t be a bad idea, and his brother’s accounts were just sitting there, engorged with dollars. Only the usual work-related messages had come in, though, and he put off reading them until he was on the clock and could bill for his time. It was company policy to bill for every second spent on a client’s behalf, and Jeffrey could see the wisdom in that — otherwise half the day could be eaten up with uncompensated queries that would “just take a second” from clients who didn’t comprehend how attorneys earned their keep.