Майкл Ридпат - The Marketmaker

Disappointment. And then fear again. ‘Have you proof of life?’

‘Yes, I have. After our previous experience, I didn’t want to contact you until I was sure she was really alive.’

‘What happened? Why didn’t they come back with proof of life before?’

‘I don’t know. Zico said that they gave up negotiations earlier because of the police raid. But it doesn’t quite make sense to me.’

It didn’t to me either. But Isabel was alive! ‘So, how much do they want this time?’

‘That’s the interesting thing, Nick. They don’t want money.’

‘Then what do they want?’

‘Zico said he wants you to call off the takeover of Dekker.’

I was stunned. How the hell did Zico know about the Dekker takeover? And what did he care?

‘Nick? Are you there?’

‘Yes, I am,’ I said. ‘It’s just quite a lot to take in at once. But it’s so good to know Isabel’s alive. Now we just have to work out how to get her home.’

‘What’s this Dekker takeover?’ Luís asked.

I took a deep breath and explained. Isabel’s safety was far more important than any duty of confidence I owed to Bloomfield Weiss.

Luís, of course, followed everything. ‘But why do the kidnappers care about Dekker?’

I thought aloud. ‘I don’t know. The one person I know who would be most concerned about Dekker being taken over is Ricardo.’

‘So does that mean he’s behind Isabel’s kidnap?’

‘I suppose so. Either him, or his brother Eduardo. It sounds more like something Eduardo would do.’

‘Filho da puta!’

‘But I didn’t think Ricardo knew about the takeover.’

‘Well, if Zico knows someone must have told him,’ muttered Luís. ‘And, by the way, he said something else.’ Luís’s voice was strained.

‘Yes?’

‘If we talk to the police, he will send us Isabel’s head.’

‘You mean...’ My stomach turned. ‘Oh, God.’

‘I spoke to Nelson. In fact, he’s here now.’

‘Good.’ I was glad that Nelson’s calming presence was close at hand. ‘What does he say?’

‘He doesn’t think we should tell the Rio police after what happened last time. He thinks there’s a chance the kidnappers were tipped off by one of them.’

‘That makes sense to me. What about going to the police in Britain? Ask him about that.’

I held for a time while Luís discussed with Nelson Ricardo and Eduardo’s likely involvement with the kidnappers.

‘Nelson thinks it’s risky. He says this threat is different from the usual bluster in kidnappings. Especially if they know we can link the kidnapping to an individual. If Ricardo or Eduardo or whoever it is gets a hint of police involvement, then the kidnappers will carry out their threat. But maybe you can trust the British police not to intervene.’

I didn’t have any idea what the British police would do. ‘Let’s leave them out of it, then,’ I said.

‘Good.’ There was relief in Luís’s voice.

‘So Zico wants me to call off Bloomfield Weiss?’

‘Can you?’ Luís’s voice was tentative, full of fear and hope.

‘I don’t know. How long have I got?’

‘A day and a half. Thursday at midnight, Brazilian time.’

That was interesting. Bloomfield Weiss were due to put in their offer on Friday.

‘And if I don’t?’

Luís whispered, ‘They kill her.’

‘And if I do, do they let her go?’

‘They say they will. But Nelson thinks they might hold out for a cash ransom as well. If they do, I’m happy to pay it.’

I thought it over. ‘I suppose if Eduardo is behind it, he won’t need the money. But he might want to keep her to stop us going to the police after she’s released.’

‘Maybe you’re right. But unless you call Bloomfield Weiss off, I think they will carry out their threat.’

That, at any rate, was clear.

‘OK, Luís. I’ll do what I can.’

I put the phone down, and thought over what Luís had said. Could Ricardo or Eduardo be behind Isabel’s kidnapping? Ricardo would go to almost any lengths to save Dekker. But would he go as far as kidnapping Isabel, his former lover? That I wasn’t sure of. But I remembered Eduardo’s threats to me and shivered. It would be no problem for him.

All that made sense now. But why had they seized Isabel in the first place? There didn’t seem an obvious answer to that one.

I had no time to think about that now. I’d have to call Stahl back. What the hell would I say to him?

I looked out of the window for inspiration. A girl on a palomino pony was trotting along a bridle-path up the hill. It seemed absurd that I should be juggling negotiations over someone’s life and a company’s survival between three continents from this quiet spot in the heart of the English countryside. Except I wasn’t juggling. The balls were up there in mid-air, and there was no way I could catch them all before they came crashing down round my head.

I couldn’t order Stahl to call the deal off. I racked my brains trying to think of a financial excuse. There wasn’t one. I would have to tell him the truth, and trust to his humanity.

Bloomfield Weiss was renowned as one of the most inhumane investment banks on Wall Street.

I called him. Got past his secretary, told Preston Morris this was urgent information on the Dekker deal, and within two minutes was talking to Sidney Stahl himself.

‘Whaddya got, Nick? I’m in a meeting.’

I took a deep breath. ‘I’d like you to call off the deal.’

‘Why?’ The response was immediate, sharp.

‘One of Dekker Ward’s employees was kidnapped in Brazil last month. The kidnappers have said that they will kill her unless we call off the takeover of Dekker Ward.’

‘What is this shit? Is this for real?’

‘Yes, it is.’

‘I can’t call off the deal now. Anyway, why should I? Dekker Ward’s employees aren’t my responsibility. If they want to kill their own people, I can’t stop them. This makes no sense.’

‘This woman means a lot to me, Sidney.’

There was silence at the other end of the phone. For a moment, my hopes rose. Maybe he was considering going along with my request.

But he wasn’t. ‘I’m sorry, Nick. You’re an emotional guy and you’ve gotten yourself emotionally involved in this one. Look, I’m grateful you brought me the transaction, and it’s a great deal. But this is business. This could be the most important deal in Bloomfield Weiss’s history. I can’t stop it now. It’s time for you to step back, Nick. Tell ’em you’ve spoken to me and there’s nothing I can do.’

‘But she’ll die!’

‘This thing’s too big to stop now. I’m sorry. ’Bye Nick.’

The phone went dead.

Jesus! I couldn’t believe it. In the last few hours, I had discovered that Isabel was alive, only to realize that there was nothing I could do to keep her that way. I imagined her shut away in a room somewhere in Rio. God knows what she looked like now after a month in captivity. What was she thinking? Did she know about the threat? Did she know she would die unless I did something to save her? And did she realize that in fact there was nothing I could do?

I sat there, my head in my hands, feeling useless, worthless.

I thought about going to the police. They might arrest Eduardo, and the more I thought about it the more I was sure it was Eduardo, not Ricardo, who had ordered the kidnapping. But although it was clear to me that he was involved, there was no proof whatsoever. Even if the police arrested him, he would no doubt hire a top-class lawyer who would point out the lack of evidence. The British police would have to work with their opposite numbers in Brazil. In fact, as I thought about it, the crime had been committed there against a Brazilian citizen. There would be all kinds of legal limitations to what the British police could do.