Whistleblower

by Terry Morgan

CHAPTER 89

  "Mr Smith? Jim? I'm truly honoured to meet you."

  Senator Colin Stafford was a tall, well groomed and smart-looking middle-aged American. His handshake was fierce, his eye contact direct and Jim wondered if he should have shaved and perhaps worn his suit jacket and tie instead of the damp sweater. But he hadn't planned on finding himself in a plush office somewhere in the heart of the US Embassy with a Senator. Jonathan, Scott Evora and the man Scott reported to, the Legal Attache Stephen Lockhart, were already present when Jim was shown in.

  "Scott's given me the rundown," Stafford continued. "A short but painful experience of politics, huh? You were given a hard time, Jim - ridiculed you might say."

  "Yes, indeed," Jim said, "That's why I went away to think, instead."

  "But still with the bit held firmly between your teeth."

  Jim now worried about his dentistry. Stafford's teeth glistened like white piano keys. He nodded with his mouth shut.

  "And you've built yourself a small team, I understand," Stafford went on..

  Jim took a deep breath. He had already decided that the so-called small team could not carry on much longer. It needed help and recognition for what it had already done. It needed immediate, top level action to support what Jan and Tom were doing right now in Italy. It was time to ask for it.

  "Right now, Senator, we have two guys, one an ex newspaper reporter who so disliked what he saw happen to me that he tracked me down and offered to help, and someone who has been working undercover as a mole within the system. This guy is at particular risk because he is known to some powerful people, but both men are, as we sit here, putting themselves in acute danger."

  Stafford nodded. "OK, Jim. Let me tell you where the US stands right now. It began with basic concerns about fraudulent use of USAID. Yeh, we've got hotlines and suchlike that pick up odd bits of petty fraud, but what we needed were the bigger fish. For me it started with my involvement in Central Asia. I've just got back from Islamabad and I can tell you that, only a few weeks ago, we listened in to a Government Minister with bank accounts scattered around from Dubai to the Caymans talking with a director of their Central Bank about how to steal millions from international aid donations. We know they have already used every trick in the book from tendering fraud to false invoicing. An American citizen was also involved. That's why I went and we've now arrested him. But our attention turned to the wider organisation. There were signs of sophistication creeping in - serious organisational crime, big players using small ones to do the dirty work. You'll know one name - Silvester Mendes - that's who we've just taken in, but we know darned well that even he was only living on the edge of the more organised crime. Through Mendes though, we've got wind of others - including this mysterious guy known as Guido. We've also got to understand a little more about European aid fraud. Jonathan has already helped a lot. We could usefully use everything you've now got, Jim."

  "How long have you got, Senator?"

  "I'm here till Sunday. It should have been Saturday but, hey, my wife is with me and she always wanted to see Windsor Castle. But let me tell you this before you have your say and because I know you spoke to Scott about this. Your government is starting to listen now, Jim. You got booed out of the country once. No-one wanted to hear what you were saying. Others decided they needed to silence you. But you were right all along and things are now starting to change. I met with your Home Secretary the day before yesterday, I was in Germany and Holland and this morning in Brussels. And tonight, after our discussion, I'm meeting the Director of your SFO - Serious Fraud Office. OK, it's US stuff I'm stuck with as my remit, but we're all in this together. None of us can afford this amount of corruption and theft of tax payers money that's happening right under our noses. We want the SFO's co-operation to support action and anything I take to them tonight will be enhanced by what you tell me."

  So began Jim's long explanation with Jonathan adding bits from his own experiences. Jim, sure that the conversation was being recorded, ignored the likelihood. As he talked, Senator Stafford sat and listened.

  Finally. "This guy Guido," Stafford said. "We still don't know who he is. Right? " Jim nodded. "But you've got a few leads now, addresses, some possible bank details and now a link with Lake Como. Correct?"

  "And Tom and Jan are driving there as we speak"

  All three Americans looked at one another but it was Scott Evora who spoke for the first time. "Jim, you mentioned you had some photos of Guido's Mercedes."

  "Yes, taken by Tom on his mobile from a distance and at night in an underground car park in Antwerp."

  "Does the registration number show?"

  "It's impossible to read because they're on Tom's mobile phone but I can ask him to send them over."

  Stephen Lockhart spoke. "Let's have a look at them, Jim. Urgently. You never know."

  Stafford looked towards Stephen Lockhart. "And get onto Milan, will you Steve. Tell them we're now gonna need some local support - urgently - and tell them the Italian Government are about to issue some guidance."

  Scott Evora seeing his cue, nodded at his superior and left.

  Stafford continued. "Now. Explain Puff and Slush again, Jim. Is he for real this guy Guido?"

  Jim did as best he could.

  "It's clever," he concluded. "There's Puff and there's Slush but there's also Flush. One can only assume Guido developed it himself but it's not at all certain. One or more computer wizards might well be involved somewhere. But it has flaws, as we noticed when we looked at the video. That video will be strong evidence."

  With that, as everyone watched, Jim edged forward in his seat, reached behind his damp jumper and struggled with something deep inside the tight back pocket of his trousers. He eventually extracted a crumpled envelope and then took out the memory stick inside. He handed it to Stafford.

  "This is a copy," he said, pushing his hair back behind his ears and desperately wishing he could remove the jumper.

  Stafford took the memory stick, exchanged glances with Stephen Lockhart and laughed. "You sure you aren't the magician, Jim. That looked like a real clever trick.

  "I'm damp from the rain and it got stuck in my pocket," Jim apologised.

  Jonathan then spoke. "Jim won't mind me telling you, Senator, that outward appearances disguise a highly successful businessman who could and should have made a huge contribution to politics. He won't, however, thank me for saying he's not only an excellent magician but a brilliant artist."

  Jim smiled and shook his head in embarrassment, but an idea had suddenly come to him.

  "Yes.........uh, my first London exhibition is Friday, next week, Senator. Any chance you could come along? Introduce the artist, then the reasons behind the exhibition."

  "And what are the reasons, Jim?"

  "It's payback day, Senator. Let them see that Jim Smith was telling the truth all along, that he is not the politically incompetent old fool he was made out to be, that stories about a liaison with a nightclub hostess were fabrications designed to destroy both him and his marriage, that he never ever gives up if he believes something's wrong and needs to be put right, and that Jim Smith is also not a bad artist."

  Stafford smiled. "OK, here's the deal, Jim. If we can find and arrest that weirdo Guido and get perhaps some Interpol action on Eischmann and a few others between now and a week Friday I'll be there. That's a promise."