Giorgio Faletti - I Kill

Parker didn’t flinch. Frank was warming to his story now.

‘We listened to the message word by word and we found that some of them were repeated several times: “moon”, “dog”, “speak to me”. Analysis of the intonation showed that every word was repeated twice in exactly the same way. The voice graph of each word when placed one on top of the other matched perfectly. I’m told that can’t happen, just like no two snowflakes or fingerprints can be identical. Which means that the words were taken and spliced on a tape, one after the other until the desired message was obtained. And that was the tape used for the phone call.’ Frank came round to face the general again. ‘It was Laurent, wasn’t it? He’s the one who gave you the recordings of Jean-Loup’s voice so that you had enough material to edit that tape. What else is there to say?’

Frank went on as if what he was about to say was completely unnecessary, like someone explaining the obvious to someone who refuses to understand. All the while he walked slowly around the room to aid his concentration.

‘After the phone call, Mosse went to Jean-Loup Verdier’s house. He took the car, killed Hudson McCormack, and gave him the same treatment that No One used on his victims. Then Mosse left the car and the corpse near police headquarters.’ Frank stopped in front of Parker. He did so deliberately, to force the old man to raise his head and look at him as he drew his conclusions. Just then, in that anonymous airport lounge, he was the judge and jury and his verdict was final.

‘And that was your real aim, Parker. You wanted to eliminate any connection between the heroic, powerful General Nathan Parker and the Larkin brothers whom you supplied with cover and protection in exchange for a sizeable percentage of the profits. I’ll bet that every time General Parker took part in a war somewhere in the world, he didn’t just protect the interests of his country. No, he took advantage of the situation to protect his own interests. I don’t know why and I don’t give a damn. That’s for you and your conscience to sort out, although I’m not sure you have one.’

Frank was like a hunter with a stag in his crosswires.

‘McCormack, your contact with Osmond Larkin, was just a fool in a game that was too big for him, and he could have made a lot of trouble if he decided to talk. And he would have, to protect his own hide if things started going badly. He was killed in mimicry of the serial killer’s modus operandi so it looked like another of his victims. Even if No One had been caught and declared he was not guilty of that particular murder, who would have believed him? The answer makes me laugh: no one. Maybe McCormack had brought you a message from his client. Actually, tell me if I’m wrong, but I would guess that Osmond Larkin threatened to start talking if you didn’t get him out of jail right away. The fact that he was killed during an ordinary prison fight might only be a coincidence, but there have been far too many coincidences in this story.’

Frank sat back down on the couch, looking at his adversary with the expression of a man who is surprised by his own words.

‘Lots of coincidences, right? Like Rouget, the owner of the house you rented. When you were leaving, the old guy must have told you about the nuclear bunker that his sister-in-law had forced his brother to build. You realized that was where Jean-Loup Verdier must have been hiding and you left Mosse to take care of him. All you had to do was get rid of the last witness and everything would be sweet as pie.’

He paused as a flicker of a smile crossed his face. ‘Want to know something funny?’

‘No, but I suspect you’re going to tell me anyway.’

‘You bet I am. Just before I came here, I found out that the delinquent who bumped off Laurent Bedon has been arrested. He’s just a small-time punk who rolled people coming out of the casinos.’

‘And the funny thing?’

‘The funny thing is that my suspicions started with the only death in all this that seems to be accidental and not really a murder. A crime that at first I blamed on you and of which you are completely innocent. I call that funny.’

Parker sat there a moment as if he were thinking over everything Frank had just said. Frank had no illusions. It was just a pause, not a surrender. The general was a chess player taking his time after his opponent had said ‘check’. He gestured vaguely with his hand.

‘This is all just conjecture. You can’t actually prove what you’ve just said.’

And that was the move the FBI man had been expecting. He knew that the general wasn’t all wrong. Although Frank was holding a number of important pieces, the lack of definitive evidence would make it hard to force checkmate. The witnesses were all dead and the only one still alive, Jean-Loup Verdier, was destined for an asylum and not exactly reliable. But this was his attack, and the general would have to marshall his assets expertly to resist its force. He shrugged.

‘Maybe I can. Or maybe not. You’ve got enough money to pay a pack of lawyers to get you out of trouble and keep you out of jail. But a scandal is a different story. Lack of evidence will keep you out of a jail cell, but it won’t prevent people from doubting you. Just think… would the President of the United States still want the opinion of a military adviser suspected of drug trafficking?’

General Parker looked at him for a long time and didn’t answer. He ran his hand through his short, white hair. His blue eyes had lost their warrior spark and he was finally an old man. But his voice was still strong.

‘I think I know what you’re getting at.’

‘Do you?’

‘If you didn’t want anything from me, you’d already have told the FBI. You wouldn’t have come here alone. You’d be here with the entire police force. So have the courage to be explicit.’

Frank could see that Parker’s reputation was well deserved. He knew he was in a corner but, like all soldiers worthy of the name, he could see a way out and was taking advantage of it.

‘I’ll be more than explicit, general. I’ll be brutally honest. If it were up to me, I’d take no pity on you whatsoever. I think you’re a piece of shit and I would gladly drop you into a sea of sharks. That’s exactly what I would do. I once told you that every man has his price and you just didn’t understand mine. Here’s my price: Helena and Stuart in exchange for my silence.’ Frank was quiet for a moment. ‘As you can see, general, you were right about something. Somehow, we’re made of the same stuff, you and I.’

The old man bent his head. ‘And if I…’

Frank shook his head. ‘My offer’s not negotiable. Take it or leave it. And that’s not all.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean that, now that you’re going back to the States, you’ll realize that you’re too old and tired. You’ll resign from your role as a military consultant, and withdraw from public life. People will advise you against it, but you’ll be adamant. It’s only fair that a distinguished soldier like you, someone who has given so much to his country, a father who has suffered so, should be allowed to enjoy the time he has left in peace.’

Parker stared at him in frank amazement.

‘And you’ll let me go? Without doing anything? Where’s your conscience, Agent Ottobre?’

‘Same place as yours. But mine sure weighs a lot less.’

The silence that fell between them was eloquent. There was nothing more to say. Just then, with the perfect timing of fate, the door opened and Stuart’s head peeked through.

‘Oh, Stuart. Come on in. Our conversation is over.’

Stuart ran in, followed by Helena’s slight figure. The boy didn’t understand, and she couldn’t make the leap. It was Nathan Parker who indirectly gave her the news, speaking to the boy who thought he was his grandfather instead of really his father. The old man knelt down before him without any apparent effort and put his hands on his shoulders.