But as for gettingmajor funds...well, that was another matter. There were some rich people in the entertainment industry who could be counted on, but for the real money in California--the investment bankers, portfolio managers, CEOs, real estate, trust funders, people with five hundred million to a couple billion,serious money--well, those people weren't so easy. Those people inhabited a different California. Those people belonged to golf courses that didn't allow actors to join. The big money was in the hands of pioneers and tech entrepreneurs, and they were very smart and very tough. A lot of them knew their science. Christ, a lot of themwere scientists.
Which was why they presented such a challenge to Drake, if he wanted that bonus for making his numbers for the year. He was staring at the screen, thinking it was time for a Scotch, when a new window opened and the cursor blinked:
SCORPIO_L: Can you talk?
Speaking of dimwits, he thought. He typed:
Yes I can.
Drake shifted in his seat, adjusting the light over his desk so it would illuminate his face. He looked at the camera lens mounted just above his screen.
The window opened up. He saw Ted Bradley, sitting at his desk in his house in the San Fernando Valley.
"Well?"
"It was just as you said," Bradley said. "Evans has gone over to the dark side."
"And?"
"He was with that girl, Jennifer, who works on the lawsuit..."
"Jennifer Haynes?"
"Yeah. She's a wise-ass bitch."
Drake said nothing. He was listening to the sound of the voice. Bradley had been drinking again. He said, "Ted, we've talked about this before. Not everybody likes it when you come on to them."
"Yeah, they do. I mean, mostly they do."
"Ted, this is not the impression we want to make."
"Well, she insulted me."
"All right. So Jennifer Haynes was there..."
"She's a stooge for big oil and coal. Gotta be."
"And who else was there?"
"Sarah Jones."
"Uh-huh. She flew up to see the body?"
"I don't know why she was there. She was with a guy named Kenner, a real asshole. Another know-it-all."
"Describe him."
"Forties, dark, kind of butch. Looks military to me."
"Uh-huh. Anyone else?"
"No."
"Nobody foreign? No other people?"
"No, just the ones I described."
"Would you say that Peter Evans knew Kenner?"
"Yeah. Pretty well, I would say."
"So, it was your impression they were working together?"
"Yes. I would say very much together."
"All right, Ted," Drake said. "I like your instincts here." He watched as Bradley preened on the monitor. "I think you may be on to something. Evans could prove a problem to us."
"I'll say."
"He's been one of our trusted attorneys. Why, he was in my office just the other day, getting an assignment from me. If he's turned on us, he could do damage."
"Damn turncoat," Ted said. "He's another Bennett Arnold."
"I want you to stick close to him for the next week or so."
"My pleasure."
"Hang out with him, stay by his side. Buddy-buddy. You know."
"I got you, Nick. I'll be on him like glue."
"I'm sure he'll be at the opening of the conference later this morning," Drake said. And he thought,Or then again, he might not make it.
WESTWOOD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13
3:40 A. M.
Kenner said, "I must say, it was an excellent choice. Hapalochlaena fasciata, the most deadly of the three species of blue-ringed octopus. So named because when it is threatened it changes color and produces bright blue rings on its skin. It's found everywhere in the coastal waters of Australia. The animal is very tiny, the bite is small and almost undetectable, and envenomation is often deadly. There is no antivenom. And a bite's not likely to be quickly recognized at a hospital in Los Angeles. Really, a masterful choice."*
Evans, who was lying in the emergency room at UCLA with a respirator on his face, just stared. He was still unable to speak. But he was no longer so frightened. Janis had gone home in a huff, mentioning something about teaching an early class. Sarah was sitting by his bed, rubbing his hand gently and looking beautiful. "Where would they have gotten one?"
"I imagine they have several," Kenner said. "They're delicate, and don't live very long anyway. But they are captured in fairly large numbers because the Aussies are trying to make an antivenin. You probably know the Australians lead the world in deadly poisonous animals. The most poisonous snake, the most poisonous mollusk, the most poisonous fish--all from Australia or found there."
Evans thought,Great.
"But now of course UCLA has seen three cases. They're on it."
"Yes, we are," an intern said, coming into the room. He checked Evans's IV and his respirator. He said, "We have your preliminary blood work. It's a tetrodotoxin, like the others. You should be up and around in about three more hours. Lucky guy." He smiled winningly at Sarah, then walked out again.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're all right," Kenner said. "It would have been embarrassing to lose you."
Evans thought,What is he talking about? He was increasingly able to use his eye muscles, and he glanced over at Sarah. But she just smiled.
"Oh yes," Kenner said. "I need you alive, Peter. At least for a while."
Sitting in a corner of the room on his cell phone, Sanjong said, "Okay, we have some action."
Kenner said, "Is it where we thought?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"We just got the receipt notice. They rented an aircraft last month. A C-57 transport."
"Whew," Kenner said.
"What does that mean?" Sarah said.
"Big aircraft. They probably need it to spray."