Treasure Hunt Part 9

"Maybe it wasn't true, what he told his driver."

"Maybe that," Russo conceded. "Or maybe the driver-Al Carter-didn't tell us the truth about what Como told him."

Hunt put his sandwich down, looked across at Russo. "Any sign of that?"

She shook her head. "Not really, no. Carter got the limo back to Sunset's headquarters, where they keep it parked, at six-thirty, when it was still light out. Three witnesses there agree with that timetable. And there's no motive for him anyway. Carter's loyal as a dog. He's been driving Como around for something like eight years."

"But wait," Juhle suddenly said. "Let's back up to the first thing Wyatt asked about that. Maybe what Como told this guy Carter wasn't true. Maybe he wasn't meeting an old friend after all."

"Devin likes the idea of a woman being involved," Russo said.

"Who's that?" Hunt asked, all innocence.

"Young girl," Juhle said. "Really, really beautiful young girl, I think even Sarah will agree. . . ."

Russo nodded. "Even Sarah admits she's very pretty."

"In fact"-Juhle leaned halfway across the table to Hunt-"she is so incredibly beautiful she'll make your teeth bleed. Alicia Thorpe. Twenty-five or so, volunteering at Sunset-"

"-and Como was having an affair with her?"

"That's the problem." Juhle shook his head sadly. "If he was, they both were d.a.m.ned discreet."

"And so," Hunt asked, "how would she be involved then, exactly?"

Russo let herself chuckle. "Probably not, is your answer. And Devin's answer after we talked to her. And mine, too, while we're at it. And Dev so badly wants an excuse to go look at her again. I told him if he kept it up I'd have to tell Connie."

"h.e.l.l," Juhle said, "I've already told Connie. Now she wants to see her too. I'm thinking of taking Connie out to Morton's and spending a million dollars just so we can both look at her."

"Morton's?" Hunt asked.

"She's the hostess there," Russo told him.

Hunt looked over at Juhle. "Is she there Tuesday nights?"

Juhle pointed back at him. "Not the last one. She could have been anywhere."

"Did you ask her?"

Juhle threw him a withering gaze. "Oh, I must have forgot. What a good idea." Then, "Of course I asked her, Wyatt. She, like Mrs. Como, was home alone watching television. Except if she really was out with Como."

"But alas," Russo said, "we have nothing like any evidence on her."

Hunt's cell phone went off and he brought it to his ear and had a short conversation. When he closed it, he said, "Well, I'm glad you took this opportunity to get me caught up on all the excellent police work and progress you've made so far. That was Tamara from my office and it looks like we're going to be in business together for a while."

Jaime Sanchez came up from the Mission Street Coalition offices to downtown to have lunch with Len Turner at the Olympic Club, a venue in the grand tradition of old San Francisco. The s.p.a.cious, high-ceilinged dining room conveyed a tone of gentility and leisure. Here all voices were well-modulated, controlled; there was no unseemly hurry or vulgar clothing on display. Almost all of the male diners today-and today, as every day, they were mostly male-wore conservative dark business suits and ties. One could order, of course, nearly anything from the waitstaff, but the buffet was so staggeringly laden with all manner of foodstuffs-from cold cuts to chicken three ways; from smoked salmon to poached and sauteed fish; pastas and potatoes and a carving station with leg of lamb, prime rib, and fresh ham-that most guests availed themselves of that opportunity.

Sanchez wore his own personal uniform-unpolished brogues, a pair of well-worn khakis, a blue blazer with some years on it, and a light orange s.h.i.+rt with matching woolen tie. He enjoyed flouting this bastion of privilege with his inadequate attire. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and his relatively short physical stature, along with the general swarthiness of his complexion, didn't make for much of a presentation, either, at least in this crowd.

To h.e.l.l with 'em, he thought. He knew he was here because of what he represented.

His partner, Len, on the other hand, couldn't have looked more natural here, and couldn't have fit in more easily. Sanchez thought that he had probably come here as a child, on his father's knee. He knew not just the greeter and the waiters by first name but the bussers behind the buffet.

Well, he told himself, this was why Len was so valuable to have as a partner. The man was not only a skilled negotiator (and lawyer), but he cultivated an ease that inspired confidence, the sense that everything was as it should be, and under control. Even in rarefied settings such as this one, Len was always at home. Tall, aristocratic, fit, and tanned. Could it all be just genes? That, to Sanchez, was a scary thought.

Now they were returning from the buffet. In contrast to Sanchez's overheaping plate of fettuccine, green beans, French fries, Caesar salad, and prime rib, Turner's plate held a small bit of petrale in lemon-caper sauce, a few slices of scalloped potatoes, and three spears of asparagus.

As they sat down, two of them at their four- person, white-tablecloth table, Sanchez forced a laugh. "I've got to learn to control myself around a buffet like that. I see all that incredible food and I swear to you, Len, I want all of it."

His elegant colleague offered a small smile. "That's what it's there for, Jimi. You want more, when you're done, go back and get it. n.o.body's going to say a word." He forked himself a bite of fish, savored it, nodded in mute approval, then directed his attention back across the table. "Thanks for coming up on short notice."

"No problem," Sanchez said. "Always better to talk in person anyway. You said it was urgent."

"Well"-Turner waved a hand-"maybe the urgency is relative. But I thought it would be worthwhile if you and I, first, came together on a consistent game plan for this reward idea, which basically I like, and then talked a little about strategy for the succession at Sunset, which is going to be a huge deal."

"Don't I know," Sanchez said.

"Yes, I'm sure you do. But first things first, huh?"

"Always. So what do you have?"

Turner put his fork down. "Nancy Neshek called me as soon as she'd gotten off the phone with Lorraine. What Nancy understands, and you I'm sure, while perhaps Lorraine doesn't, is what a great fund-raising opportunity this reward scenario is for all of us." He lowered his voice and leaned in over the table. "Here's Dominic Como, fallen hero, champion of the people. Every organization where he's on the board-that's yours and Nancy's and at least three others I could name-we announce we're ponying up 'x' number of dollars for the reward. It's going to be a city-wide, concerted effort to find his killer, because the police have run out of leads. But, you're asking, aren't these charities running on lean budgets anyway? Where's all that money going to come from?"

For Sanchez, the picture suddenly snapped into sharp focus. "Our generous contributors."

"Right. We make a special, one-time appeal for emergency funds to cover the reward we're offering. So we commit, let's say, a couple of hundred grand between us, maybe more-it doesn't really matter, chump change, whatever it turns out to be. We print up special pledge cards, get 'em out to your mailing lists and into the community, make a pitch on TV. It could easily bring in two, three million, maybe more."

The number lit up Sanchez's eyes. This was the kind of plan that could make the nonprofit world so incredibly lucrative. Turner was proposing that he and Nancy Neshek and a few other executives could invest thirty or forty thousand dollars each on the reward and its attendant publicity, and conceivably bring in a million or more each for their efforts. And that wasn't even including private foundation and grant money, which-given Dominic Como's personal connections with these groups-Sanchez thought would flow like water.

Never mind that none of the charities might ever actually have to pay a cent of that reward, since it was far from a certainty that anyone could provide the information that would lead to an arrest in the Como case. Nevertheless, this one-time, special fund-raising campaign would raise money that no one in the real world would ever audit or follow up on in any way. This was because once they gave, contributors simply tended to a.s.sume that the funds would be used either for the express purpose of the campaign, or to b.u.t.tress another needy area in the charity's charter.

"This is one of those 'opportunity knocks' moments, Jimi. We'll want to get this reward up and posted as soon as we can."

Sanchez brought a hand up to his mouth, placed two fingers on his lips against the urge to smile. "Of course," he said. "That goes without saying. I was going to put up twenty-five, same as Sunset."

"That sounds about right. Nancy's in at that level too. And I'm sure I can talk to a couple of other colleagues and get the total up to over a hundred, which is about the minimum we'll need for credibility. As soon as we get to that number, I thought I'd announce the press conference, put things in motion. Then we can sit back and just watch the money start to pour in."

Sanchez went back to the buffet for dessert, and sat down again across from Turner with a wedge of cheesecake and a brownie sitting under a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Both men waited while their coffees were refilled, and then Sanchez waded into the turbulent waters of the succession question at the Sunset Youth Project. "I realize that there'll be an open evaluation and hiring process, Len, but I don't think anyone could object to my qualifications. I've been running Mission for seven years. I'd be a logical and natural choice."

Turner dabbed his lips with his napkin. "Well, that's what we need to discuss, Jimi. I'm all for supporting you, and for advancing your candidacy with the board, but there are still some unresolved issues that aren't so obvious."

Sanchez clearly hadn't antic.i.p.ated this objection from his colleague. His brow went dark. "Like what?"

"Like, first, Lorraine Hess."

"Pah! She's-"

But Turner raised a hand, stopping him. "Lorraine Hess is a woman with ten years' hands-on experience with the nuts-and-bolts stuff, Jim. She knows the place inside out. She's going to have a good deal of support from the board. And she's made no secret of the fact that she's going to want to be in the running and deserves the job. And did I mention she's a woman? We've never had a woman director. That could prove to be more important than everything else put together." Len offered half a smile. "You're d.a.m.n lucky she's not black."

Sanchez was shaking his head. "She's not executive material, Len. You and I both know it. She's a worker bee. She'd be best staying where she is. I don't think she even has a clue what Dominic actually did."

This brought a tight smile. "Did anybody?"

"I like to think I've got a pretty good idea of it."

While he shoveled a bite of cheesecake and washed it down with some coffee, Turner said, "I'd be interested to hear that. We can look on it as part of your interview process."

Sanchez swallowed. "Fair enough," he said. "But saying what he did first of all entails what he didn't do, and that is any actual work with Sunset's organization. He was just totally above it. Which, by the way, is why Lorraine wouldn't be any good at his job. There wasn't really anything to Dominic's job at all, except to do favors and collect money. I think she's still under the impression that he actually had some function within the organization, when in fact he didn't."

"No. I agree. That was his genius."

"Call it that if you want. But if some new hire goes waltzing into there thinking he or she's going to be doing something, as opposed to simply peddling and trading influence, there's going to be anguish and gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth, believe me."

Now Turner leaned in over the table. "Well, frankly, Jimi, that's exactly the concern that some of us on the board have about your interest in the job. You have actually been in charge of running your programs day-to-day at Mission, keeping track of your people, mandating profit centers. To use your phrase, you're a bit of a worker bee yourself."

Sanchez allowed himself a small nod. "I've been biding my time, Len. I'm ready to move up to a new level. I think I've paid plenty of dues."

"And then who takes over your place at Mission?"

"It's good you asked that. You know that my wife has been in the office and on the payroll almost since the beginning. She'd be the natural choice, I'd think, and would serve to demonstrate our commitment to gender equality."

Turner sat back with a look of appreciation. "You know, Jimi," he said, "all this time we've worked together and I had no idea you were so ambitious. Those two jobs, yours and Lola's, they'd bring in what?"

"Round it off to eight hundred."

"Don't you think that might draw a little scrutiny?"

Sanchez put down his fork. "I make two hundred now, Len. Lola's at around one fifty. No one raises their eyebrows. If I move to Sunset and Lola moves up at Mission, no one will even notice. The important thing is that Dominic's work continues, that our people keep getting elected. And how does that happen? You know how that happens."

Turner did know.

In fact, as counsel to Sunset, Turner had come to understand the power that Dominic Como had held. Not only did he control the purse strings on his $50 million-per-year budget, he directed those funds to where they could wield the most political influence in the city. For the great secret of the nonprofit community, especially in the incredibly corrupt environment that was San Francisco, was its intimate connection to the political, and hence the business, community.

Como's genius lay in the fact that he'd positioned himself as the broker between all of the elements. He was the go- to guy for problems among the families of the power elite. If a judge's son needed rehab, for example, Como's wide- ranging connections in the social service community made it possible for a spot to open in a facility in Arizona, say, or Los Angeles, rather than in San Francisco where the boy's presence could be politically embarra.s.sing for the father. If a supervisor's daughter needed a job, Como could find her a place with the Muni bus system. In fact, if a politician was having trouble with any one of San Francisco's const.i.tuencies-unions, Hispanics, gays, immigrants, city employees-Como had been the de facto intermediary, greasing the wheels of governance through the judicious application of money or personnel.

For the simple fact was that election laws in the city forbade any individual giving more than $1,150 to any single political candidate, for whatever position, be it district attorney, city supervisor, mayor, or any other elected position. On the other hand, there was no limit at all to nonprofit charity giving, which could also be written off on taxes.

Len Turner's position functioned entirely upon this axis. His clients, for the most part developers of multimillion-dollar, long-range city projects, found it in their hearts to be charitable to worthy foundations such as the Sunset Youth Project because the money that found its way into Dominic Como's coffers could then be applied to the election of city officials sympathetic to these projects. Armies of volunteers, ostensibly on their own time, manned phone banks, handed out pamphlets, packed rallies, and-on a darker note-sometimes disrupted their opponents' events. While technically illegal and certainly unethical, these practices continued unchecked because the people whose job it was to oversee these activities were among the very people benefiting from them.

Now Turner pushed himself a bit back from his table, crossed one leg over the other, and reached for his coffee cup. He met the eye of his companion and nodded. Jaime was telling him that he knew how the game was played, and signaling that he was ready to try to take his own game to the heights that Como had scaled. It was true that he wasn't as polished as Como had been-but then who was? "Well, listen," Turner said. "I appreciate your frankness, Jimi. Let's let things settle for a few weeks-h.e.l.l, Dominic's not even buried yet-and then see how we stand. It's good you've given me this early warning of your interest. I'll pa.s.s it along to some of the board. Meanwhile, let's get this reward up and running, take advantage of the opportunity that's right in front of us. How's that sound?"

"Good. That sounds good, Len. But I did want you specifically to know that my interest in taking over Dominic's job at Sunset isn't going away. If it wasn't for the unfortunate choice of words in this situation, I'd be tempted to say I'd kill for that job."

10.

Tamara heard Hunt's cry of delight from back in his office. She jumped up at her station, went to the connecting door, and opened it to see her boss standing up behind his desk, arms outstretched above him in the cla.s.sic touchdown signal.

"I'm guessing good news," she said.

Hunt brought his hands down, but his eyes still danced. "That was the wife, Ellen, who had just got off the phone with Len Turner. You want to guess?"

"She confessed?"

"No."

"She gave you a list of suspects?"

"No, but she does want to talk to us. Meanwhile, how about if she puts up fifty grand on her own?"

"Fifteen?"

Hunt's smile wouldn't go away. "Five- oh, Tam. Fifty. She didn't want people to think she didn't care as much as any of the nonprofits. She's the most hurt. She's been damaged the most. She wants the killer to be caught more than anybody else. I feel terrible for her, but in all other ways, I've got to say that I'm starting to feel pretty good about this whole thing. Your brother is too much, you know that?"

"I do, but don't tell him. He'll get all swell-headed."

"Don't tell me what?" Mickey appearing as if by magic behind her in the doorway. "I promise, my head will stay the same size it is now."

His sister half turned to face him. "Ellen Como just came in for fifty thousand, which brings us up to-you're not going to believe this-two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars."

Mickey's mouth dropped. "No way."

Hunt nodded. "The phone's been ringing off the hook. Ten here, fifteen there, a couple more twenty-fives. This was a brilliant idea."

"Uh-oh," Mickey said. "Tam's right. I can feel my head getting bigger." He pushed on the sides of it with both hands. "Stop," he cried in mock desperation, "stop." Then, smiling, "It's no use. I'm going to have to buy a new hat."

"You don't have a hat," Tam replied. "I've never seen you wear a hat."

"Whew! That's lucky. I could have been out a perfectly good hat."

"I'll buy you the d.a.m.n hat," Hunt said.

When the telephone rang again, Tamara pushed her brother to the side and ran over to her desk. Hunt came up to stand beside Mickey at the door, waiting to hear what was coming next.

"The Hunt Club, Tamara speaking. How can I help you?" A pause, then, "Yes. Yes, we are. Uh-huh, that would be us. Just a minute, Mr. Hunt is handling that. I'll let you speak with him." She covered the receiver and looked over. "It's somebody from Len Turner's office," she said. "You're not going to believe this, but the Board of Supervisors just voted to pitch in."

By the time Hunt left the office, the city had pledged thirty thousand dollars and the total reward from still other nonprofits had grown to three hundred thousand.

It was a lifeline.

So he was in high spirits as, following Ellen Como's phoned instructions, he pulled his Mini Cooper into the sandstone driveway in front of the mansion on Cervantes Street. Getting out of the car, he looked up at the facade in front of him, marveling at the way some people managed to live. He loved his giant old warehouse, of course, but that was industrial and mostly his own handiwork.