Troubleshooter

Chapter 15 - Madam Razorsharp

THE LITTLE gang was marched into Tess Herbert's corner office in the opposite wing of the senior management floor.

Herbert was a fifty-year-old thin woman with tight black hair, tight red lips and a small, tight nose. Not married, according to the bio. No relationship, according to her exterior. She appeared petite but had a raw voice like a diamond cutter on steroids.

Lornsen had prepared a likely and plausible scenario based on a real competitor on whom he had build a questionnaire, but Paul quickly had the impression that the cover story would not hold up for long under Herbert's scrutiny.

"Are you doing transactions through the Cayman Islands or other states that are considered to be harbors of money laundering?" Lornsen asked Tess. Paul listened and made a mental note to tell Lornsen after this meeting not to appear too amused by the fake interview. A merger or acquisition due diligence always meant lost jobs, and that was no laughing matter for someone like Tess Herbert, who knew that two merged companies needed only one head of finance.

Tess Herbert focused her eyes even more than before on Lornsen. "What kind of silly question is this? You know our books. Did we do anything illegal?"

"We are talking about a sensitive area. Especially arms deals are often the target of bribery investigations. The potential target company has some history in that area. We do not want to make it appear as if we are building a bribery giant," Paul improvised. Tess was hard to handle, and it was clear to him why she was the only woman among the senior management team of Strom Defense.

"Of course we do not." She crossed her arms.

"I know that from a formal perspective you are in the clear, but do you see any way that this could have been achieved?"

"You mean hypothetically?"

"Purely," Paul assured her.

Her lip tightened even more. Paul could see that Tess Herbert was almost on the point of calling their cover. "Of course you never know where the money that we spent finally flows. Let's assume we buy an expensive piece of software or an intellectual property, something that costs in the millions. We transfer the purchase price to a foreign address of a good country."

"Like Switzerland?"

"Let's say Ireland. Switzerland and banking has recently been considered suspicious. We pay the partner's bank in Ireland. This company might be a front. It skims off ten percent and passes on the money to the Caymans."

"Millions of Dollars?"

Tess Herbert nodded.

"What measures have you taken to keep this from happening?" Lornsen continued his list of questions.

After the interview Paul, Brady and Lornsen walked back to John Talley's office for the promised late lunch date.

"What's your impression?" asked Lornsen quietly.

"She was sharp in any respect," Paul said. "If she is indeed the bad apple, then we will have a hard time either finding the money or implicating her."

"Think she did it?"

Paul shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We are stirring the pot right now. We will wait to see what comes up from the bottom."

Lornsen looked at Brady. "And that is all? No skillful interview with some sort of truth serum?"

"The approach has worked before, flushing out spies from settled positions," Paul said.

"Surely you have a Plan B?" Lornsen was skeptical.

Brady just looked at Lornsen. "Sure. Pliers."

The late lunch took place on the thirtieth floor which host a fully equipped restaurant for Strom management, clients and guests. The view was breathtaking; Paul was able to see the city of London and Westminster in the background, all the landmarks in plain sight.

"I have a good office, but this is one of the reasons I try not to skip lunch," Talley said as they were sitting down. "I suggest the steak and fries, sounds boring but they prepare excellent meat and you will tell your grandkids about the sauce they serve with the fries. I managed to steal a great chef from one of London's finer kitchens."

Paul doubted that in his case the sauce legend would be handed down another generation. His thoughts turned Isabelle again.

"So, what would you like to know?" Talley asked, coming directly to the point.

"What is your company's connection to the Cayman Islands?" Paul asked.

Talley stopped pouring water. "Did you ask this question to Tess Herbert? And she left your head on? Amazing!"

"I agree. That question was dodgy," Paul said.

Talley asked, "What was the question again?"

Paul sighed inwardly. It was going to be two very long days, brilliant plan or not.