Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven

An interrogation is taking place at the Lury police headquarters on rue Hainarde in the fourth arrondissement of Paris.The superintendent of the Eiffel Tower is under investigation by André Belmondo and Inspector Pierre Marais. "Evaporation? Are we talking about the great Houdini or a little bastard who drives an elevator?" The speaker was Secretary-General Claude Renault, head of Interpol Headquarters.Renault is in his fifties, short in stature and full of vigor. He has worked hard for twenty years to climb up to the highest level of criminal police step by step. Renault is chairing a meeting in a conference room at the seven-story headquarters of Interpol, the intelligence-clearing hub for 126 special police units in 78 countries.The building, located in Saint-Cloud, six miles west of Paris, is staffed by former agents of the National Police and the Paris department.

Twelve people sat around the large conference table.They had been questioning Inspector Belmondo for an hour. Secretary Renault said angrily: "Then, you and Inspector Marley have not been able to obtain any information on how a person is in an area that is, first, completely impossible for him to reach, and secondly, completely impossible for his assassins to reach or escape. area, murdered information? Is this what you want to tell me?" "Marley and I got every--" "Okay. You can go." "Yes, sir." They watched the scolded inspector come out of the room.

Secretary General Renault turned to the participants: "During your investigations, has anyone come across a man named Prima?" They thought for a moment, then shook their heads: "No. Who is Prima?" "We don't know. His name was scrawled on a note that was found in the coat pocket of a man who died in New York. We think there's a connection." He sighed. "Gentlemen, we are dealing with a mystery in a mysterious wrapping and an unknowable inside. In the fifteen years I have worked in this office, we have investigated serial killers, international gangs, dismemberment, murder Father and every other possible crime." He paused. "But in all these years, I've never come across anything like this. I'm going to send a circular to the New York office..."

Frank Bigley, the chief of the Manhattan Criminal Investigation Bureau, was looking at a file sent by Secretary Raynor when he saw Earl Greenberg and Robert Pregiser walk into his office. "You want to see us, Chief?" "Yes. Sit." They each picked a chair and sat down. Chief Bigley held up the paper: "This is a circular from Interpol this morning." He began to read, "Six years ago, a Japanese scientist named Akira Iso committed suicide in his hotel room in Tokyo. Hanged. Mr. Akira Iso is in good health, newly promoted, and is said to be in high spirits."

"Japan? What does that have to do with—?" "Listen to me. Three years ago, Madeleine Smith, a thirty-two-year-old Swiss scientist, committed suicide by turning on the gas in her Zurich apartment. She was pregnant and about to marry the baby's father. Friends said they had never I've seen her so happy." He looked up at the two detectives. "In the last three days: a Berliner named Sonia Verbrugge drowned herself in her own bathtub. On the same night Mark Harris, an American, visited from the Eiffel Tower We did a swoop dive from the platform, and a day later, a Canadian named Gary Reynolds crashed his Cessna into a cliff near Denver."

Greenberg and Pregidzer listened, increasingly confused. "And yesterday, the two of you found Richard Stevens' body on the banks of the East River." Earl Greenberg looked at him inexplicably. "What have all these cases to do with us?" Director Bigley said calmly: "They are all one case." Greenberg stared at him with wide eyes. "What? Let me see if I understand. Six years ago a Japanese, three years ago a Swiss, a few days ago a German, a Canadian and two Americans." He was silent for a moment, "What connects these cases together?" Director Bigley handed Greenberg a notice from Interpol.

Greenberg's eyes widened as he watched.He raised his head and said slowly: "Interpol believes that a think tank, Kingsley International Group, is behind these murders? It's ridiculous." "Director, we're talking about the largest think tank in the world," Prigidzer said. "All of these people were murdered, and each one was somehow connected to KIG. The company is owned and operated by Tanner Kingsley. He is the chairman and CEO of Kingsley International Group, chairman of the President's Science Council, The head of the National Advanced Planning Association, and director of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. I think you and Greenberg would do well to talk to Mr. Kingsley."

Earl Greenberg made a swallowing motion: "Yes." "Earl..." "arrive." "Tread lightly and carry a stick." Five minutes later, Earl Greenberg was on the phone with Tanner Kingsley's secretary.After it was over, he turned to Prigidzer: "We have an appointment to meet at ten o'clock on Tuesday morning. At the moment Mr. Kingsley is in Washington DC to attend a congressional committee hearing." At a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on the Environment in Washington, D.C., six Senate committee members and more than 30 observers and reporters listened intently to Tanner Kingsley's statement.

Tanner Kingsley was in his forties, tall and handsome, with cool blue eyes full of intelligence and a sparkle.He had a high Roman nose, a strong jaw, and a profile that deserved to be engraved on a coin. The chairman of the committee, Senator Pauline Marie van Leuven, senior, was a dignified figure with an almost insane self-confidence.She looked at Tanner and said crisply, "You can go on, Mr. Kingsley." Tanner nodded. "Thank you, Senator." He turned to the other committee members, and when he spoke, his voice was passionate. "While certain politicians in our government are still quibbling about the consequences of global warming and the greenhouse effect, the hole in the ozone layer is growing rapidly. Because of this, half the world suffers from drought while the other half suffers from flooding. In the Ross Sea, an iceberg the size of Jamaica has just collapsed due to global warming. The ozone hole over Antarctica has reached a record size of 10 million square miles." He paused for effect, then repeated word for word. : "Ten million square miles."

"We are witnessing an unprecedented number of hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons and storms ravaging parts of Europe. Thousands of people in countries around the world are starving and dying due to dramatic climate change. But these are just words: famine And death. Don't think of them as words. Think of what they mean—men, women, and children, hungry, homeless, and dying. "More than 20,000 people died in a heat wave in Europe this summer." Tanner raised his voice. "And what have we done? My government has refused to recognize the Kyoto Protocol that was created at the Global Environment Summit. This means we are turning a blind eye to what is happening in the rest of the world. We are just moving forward and doing what is good for us We're so numb, so self-serving, that we don't see what we're doing against—"

Senator Van Leuven interjected: "Mr. Kingsley, this is not a debate. I would ask you to adopt a more moderate tone." Tanner took a deep breath and nodded.Go on with a little less enthusiasm. "As we all know, the greenhouse effect is induced by the burning of fossil fuels and other related elements that are completely under our control, yet those emissions have reached their highest point in half a million years. They are Pollution of the air our children and grandchildren breathe. Pollution can be stopped. Why not? Because it would cost the business a lot of money." His voice rose again. "Money! How much is a breath of fresh air worth to a human life? A gallon of gas? Two gallons of gas?" His tone became more passionate. "As far as we know, this planet is the only place we can live, yet we are rapidly poisoning the land, oceans, and atmosphere we breathe. If we don't stop—" Senator Van Leuven interrupted him again. "Mr. Kingsley—" "I apologize, Senator. I'm sorry. But I cannot watch our world fall and remain indifferent." Kingsley spoke for another thirty minutes. After he finished, Senator Van Leuven said: "Mr. Kingsley, I would like to receive you in my office, please. The hearing is over." Senator Van Leuven's office was originally laid out in the stereotyped pattern of a typical bureaucracy: a desk, a reception table, six chairs, and rows of filing cabinets, but the Senator wove it in colorful She adds her own feminine touch to objects, paintings and photographs. In addition to Senator Van Leuven, there were two other people in the office when Tanner walked in. "My assistants, Corinna Murphy and Carolie Trost." Corinna Murphy, a pretty young redhead, and Carolie Trost, a petite blond, both in their twenties, took their seats beside the Senator.They were visibly smitten with Tanner. "Sit, Mr. Kingsley." Tanner sat down.The senator looked at him for a moment: "Frankly, I don't understand what you're saying." "Oh, really? I'm surprised, Senator. I thought I made myself clear. I feel—" "I know how you feel. But your company, Kingsley International Group, has contracts with our government for multiple projects, and yet you challenge the government on environmental issues. Isn't it detrimental to your business? ?” Tanner said grimly, "This is not about business, Senator Van Leuven. The issue is about all of humanity. We are witnessing the beginning of a catastrophic global instability. I am trying to persuade the Senate to appropriate funding to make this happen." control." Senator Van Leuven said tartly, "Some of the appropriation might go to your company, wouldn't it?" "I don't care at all who gets the money. I just want to see action taken before it's too late." Corinna Murphy enthuses: "It's admirable. You're a different person." Tanner turned to her: "Miss Murphy, if you mean by that that most people seem to believe that money is more important than morality, I'm sorry to say that you're probably right." Caroline Trost exclaimed: "I think everything you've worked for is fantastic." Senator Van Leuven cast disapproving glances at her two aides separately, then turned to Tanner: "I can't make any promises, but I will be talking to my colleagues to find out their views on environmental issues. I Will give you feedback." "Thank you, Senator. I appreciate it very much." He hesitated. "Maybe sometime while you're in Manhattan, I can show you around the KIG and show you how we operate. I think you might feel interested." Senator Van Leuven nodded noncommittally: "I will let you know." The meeting is over.