Out of Bounds
Dagfin left the Zurich Board meeting and headed for the club. He was eager to watch at least some of the golf match. He had a lot riding on it, much more than anyone knew.
His thoughts drifted back to Ken’s last visit to Zurich. Dag had met Ken at the airport and greeted him warmly. “It’s great to see you, Ken. I hope you got a few hours sleep because I planned on stopping for a couple drinks after we checked you into the hotel.”
“I’m fine, Dag. Give me a half hour to wash up and change clothes, and I’ll be ready to go. See those two kids over there, the ones sleeping in the stroller. They sat a row behind me and cried for the entire trip. I finally had a stewardess find me some earplugs and I managed to sleep a couple hours. This was Dave’s reminder, Dag. No kids! I’m not cut out to be a father.”
“You get used to it, Ken, trust me; I know, I have four.”
“Are you still planning on going back Friday?”
“Yeah, I need to be back in Cabo San Lucas Friday, to prepare for the meeting on Saturday. You’re going to be there too, aren’t you?”
“Sven and I are flying in Saturday morning. I was hoping you could stay another day and we could fly together.”
“Can’t do it, I need some time with Chris and Pedro before the meeting. There are a few things that don’t make sense that we are trying to get a handle on. I’m hoping you might be able to shed some light on them.”
“Let’s talk later, Ken. There are a couple things I want to discuss with you.”
Buzz had honors and took out a three wood. He had butchered the hole last week by hitting driver through the fairway. He didn’t make the same mistake again as his 3-wood found the center of the fairway. He sacrificed some distance, but was in play. Dave hit his driver squarely and ended up about five yards short of Buzz, 170 yards to the pin. Not bad.
Dave’s 7-wood floated and stopped on the fringe in front of the green. Buzz’s 7-iron was pin high, 15 feet right of the hole. Buzz was playing well again.
The DEA Agent assigned to watch Dave came over to him as the players walked to the green. “Dave, we got the two guys that jumped you in the bathroom and we believe they know where Mary is being held. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”
“What’s this about Mary?” Buzz asked, obviously having overheard the conversation. His face and voice portrayed genuine concern.
Bradford hesitated, but decided not to get into it now. “It’s nothing to worry about, Buzz. Let’s play golf.” He could tell Buzz didn’t buy his story and appeared hurt that he had not confided in him.
Ken and Dag were having a cocktail at a restaurant overlooking Lake Zurich. What a view, thought Ken.
Be patient, thought Dagfin. Wait for an opportunity.
“Dag, what’s going on at the casino?” Ken looked at Dag, trying to keep his tone light and friendly. “It doesn’t make sense. The cash shortages are so obvious that it’s almost like someone wanted us to find them.”
“I know what you are saying, Ken. That’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you this evening, before you met with Sven and the other Board members. It’s almost like someone is trying to sabotage the deal.”
“But why?” Ken asked. Ken had a theory, but he wanted to hear what Dag would say. “Who would want to stop us, especially when we are so close to reaching an agreement to go forward with Phase II? Everyone stands to make a lot of money; Sven, Mario, Dave. Everybody! There are no losers that I can see.”
“Ken, have you ever asked yourself if Mario is his own man in this deal? Is he the top guy? I don’t think he is calling the shots, do you?” Ken was surprised. This wasn’t where he thought the conversation was heading.
“I have given it some thought, Dag. I assume Romano has more than an idle interest in the casino. Assuming he’s involved in drugs, the casino would be a great place to hide some money. But, why would he kill the golden goose by skimming profits in the first few months. He isn’t stupid. It doesn’t make sense.”
“It has to be the money, Ken. Someone is trying to get control over the projects, and I don’t think it’s Sven.”
“Speaking of money, Dag, where is the money coming from to fund these projects? Whenever I ask I get told it’s money from wealthy private investors and pension funds, but I have never see anything specific. Do you know where the money is coming from?”
This is the opening I have been waiting for, thought Dagfin. J.R. had said he would ask.
“I don’t know, Ken, but I have some suspicions. Last week I was working on Phase II financing when I came across several files that I don’t think I was supposed to see. There is one file for each of several banks located in the West Indies and the Caribbean Islands. Each file contains copies of deposits from Caribbean banks, and transfers of funds to our corporate account.”
“Who owns these accounts, Dag? Where did the money come from?”
“That’s the problem, Ken. I can't get any details. The banks involved take great pride in maintaining the confidentiality of their customers. They are worse than the Swiss regarding privacy. The countries and banks are notorious for being used by criminals and drug smugglers.”
“Okay, let’s assume the money is coming from illegal sources. How does this provide us a motive for what’s happening at the casino?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet, Ken, but I have a feeling there is a tie-in. It could be drug money for all I know. I trust you, Ken, and you have a lot of contacts. If I give you the accounts and transactions, can you get them traced without getting everyone in trouble?”
“I might know someone that can help us,” Ken replied, thinking back to his conversation with Buzz.
“Thanks, Ken. This has been bothering me lately. I don’t want to be involved in anything shady. I have my kids to think of. Cheers, Ken, let’s drink to a successful outcome to this partnership.”
“Cheers, Dag. Here’s to your family and a solution that is best for everybody.”
Bradford had 50-feet to the hole and a choice between putting from the fringe and chipping with a 7-iron. It might have been lack of confidence that caused him to go with the putter. He didn’t want to take a chance on chilly-dipping a 7-iron. He was pleased when the putt stopped three feet past the hole.
Buzz’ birdie putt was makeable, about 18 feet with a slight right to left break. He barely missed on the high side and both men tapped in for pars. This was the first hole they had halved on the back nine.
The two men walked to the next tee box with the match dead even, with three holes to play.
Chapter 16
Par 3 – 220 Yards
Romano Takes Control