really a shame about her. I just can’t believe it.”
“That’s good, Mr. Campbell, because nobody else believes it either.”
“Well, that lady from the SEC sure as hell does. Man, I’d hate to have her down on my ass.”
“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, Mr. Campbell,” DeMarco said. “The SEC knows that somebody at Reston Tech has been leaking insider information for twenty years. In other words, a long time before Molly Mahoney began working there.”
But as long as you’ve been there.
“You’re kidding,” Campbell said.
DeMarco just stared at him.
“Hey, where are my manners?” Campbell said. “You wanna drink?”
“No,” DeMarco said.
“Well, I’m gonna make myself another one. I’ll be right back.”
Campbell’s reaction to DeMarco’s statement about something criminal going on at his company hadn’t been right. Too nonchalant. No big surprise. No big denial. Just off.
DeMarco looked through the sliding glass door that allowed entry to Campbell’s kitchen from the patio. Campbell was mixing his drink, head down, his back to his wife, trying to ignore her, while she made angry, jabbing gestures at his back as she yammered at him.
Two drunks in an unhappy marriage, DeMarco thought.
Campbell came back to the pool, a gin and tonic in his hand. He took a gulp of his drink then turned the hot dogs on the grill. He had the heat up too high and the hot dogs were scorched black on the side that had been facing the flame.
“Does your wife work, Mr. Campbell?”
“Not unless you call hitting tennis balls work,” Campbell said. “Anyway, what does my wife working have to do with . . .”
“You didn’t seem particularly surprised when I told you that the SEC has been trying to find a criminal at Reston Tech for twenty years.”
“Sure I’m surprised,” Campbell said, “but if something like that’s really going on, I sure as hell don’t know anything about it.”
“That’s not what Molly says.”
“What’s that mean?”
It was time for DeMarco’s big lie. “Molly overheard a conversation between you and another person in two thousand . . . Well, I’m not going to go into the details—we’ll save those for the trial—but when the SEC finds out what she knows, they’re going to start looking at you again, and this time they’ll find something.”
“Are you saying Molly’s accused me of doing something illegal? Well, if she has, it’s bullshit and she’s lying to take the heat off herself. And I’ll tell you something else, pal: this discussion is over. Right now. I’m not saying another word to you without a lawyer present.”
“Now, I know you have a partner, and . . .”
“A partner? What are you . . .”
“And when Kay Kiser hears what Molly has to say, she’ll find your partner.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Do you know how the government makes most of its cases, Mr. Campbell? By rolling one of the people involved. WorldCom, Enron, Madoff—in all those cases, one guy rolled and told the government what all the other guys did. And the reason the one guy always rolls is the government grants him immunity. The trick is, you have to be the first guy to turn over. But if you wait, and if somebody else talks first, then you get nothing but time in the pen. In your case, a federal pen.”
“This is outrageous! You get the hell off my property,” Campbell said, glowering down at DeMarco. Ordinarily, DeMarco would have been concerned goading a guy Campbell’s size, but Campbell was not only drunk, he also looked pretty foolish in his barbecue apron, his big gut pushing out the cloth.
DeMarco didn’t move. “I think you live far above your means, Mr. Campbell. There’s no way you can afford this place, your beach house, your boat, and all your cars and not be up to your neck in debt. But I did a credit check on you, and you’re debt free.”
“You gotta lotta goddamn nerve doing credit checks on me. Wait’ll my
“That’s good, Mr. Campbell, because nobody else believes it either.”
“Well, that lady from the SEC sure as hell does. Man, I’d hate to have her down on my ass.”
“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, Mr. Campbell,” DeMarco said. “The SEC knows that somebody at Reston Tech has been leaking insider information for twenty years. In other words, a long time before Molly Mahoney began working there.”
But as long as you’ve been there.
“You’re kidding,” Campbell said.
DeMarco just stared at him.
“Hey, where are my manners?” Campbell said. “You wanna drink?”
“No,” DeMarco said.
“Well, I’m gonna make myself another one. I’ll be right back.”
Campbell’s reaction to DeMarco’s statement about something criminal going on at his company hadn’t been right. Too nonchalant. No big surprise. No big denial. Just off.
DeMarco looked through the sliding glass door that allowed entry to Campbell’s kitchen from the patio. Campbell was mixing his drink, head down, his back to his wife, trying to ignore her, while she made angry, jabbing gestures at his back as she yammered at him.
Two drunks in an unhappy marriage, DeMarco thought.
Campbell came back to the pool, a gin and tonic in his hand. He took a gulp of his drink then turned the hot dogs on the grill. He had the heat up too high and the hot dogs were scorched black on the side that had been facing the flame.
“Does your wife work, Mr. Campbell?”
“Not unless you call hitting tennis balls work,” Campbell said. “Anyway, what does my wife working have to do with . . .”
“You didn’t seem particularly surprised when I told you that the SEC has been trying to find a criminal at Reston Tech for twenty years.”
“Sure I’m surprised,” Campbell said, “but if something like that’s really going on, I sure as hell don’t know anything about it.”
“That’s not what Molly says.”
“What’s that mean?”
It was time for DeMarco’s big lie. “Molly overheard a conversation between you and another person in two thousand . . . Well, I’m not going to go into the details—we’ll save those for the trial—but when the SEC finds out what she knows, they’re going to start looking at you again, and this time they’ll find something.”
“Are you saying Molly’s accused me of doing something illegal? Well, if she has, it’s bullshit and she’s lying to take the heat off herself. And I’ll tell you something else, pal: this discussion is over. Right now. I’m not saying another word to you without a lawyer present.”
“Now, I know you have a partner, and . . .”
“A partner? What are you . . .”
“And when Kay Kiser hears what Molly has to say, she’ll find your partner.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Do you know how the government makes most of its cases, Mr. Campbell? By rolling one of the people involved. WorldCom, Enron, Madoff—in all those cases, one guy rolled and told the government what all the other guys did. And the reason the one guy always rolls is the government grants him immunity. The trick is, you have to be the first guy to turn over. But if you wait, and if somebody else talks first, then you get nothing but time in the pen. In your case, a federal pen.”
“This is outrageous! You get the hell off my property,” Campbell said, glowering down at DeMarco. Ordinarily, DeMarco would have been concerned goading a guy Campbell’s size, but Campbell was not only drunk, he also looked pretty foolish in his barbecue apron, his big gut pushing out the cloth.
DeMarco didn’t move. “I think you live far above your means, Mr. Campbell. There’s no way you can afford this place, your beach house, your boat, and all your cars and not be up to your neck in debt. But I did a credit check on you, and you’re debt free.”
“You gotta lotta goddamn nerve doing credit checks on me. Wait’ll my
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