Page 38 of Pro Bono

“Yes,” said Polter. “The current Prospectus was printed and delivered to the Postal Service three days ago so it arrives everywhere at the end of the third quarter on or around August first. If we get this one out anywhere near October 12, it will be an achievement. It will also nearly double the Prospectus section’s expenditure for that month. Our printings are in the millions of copies, with proportional mailing costs.”

Warren looked at Mr. Foshin. “And what does it accomplish?”

Foshin’s hand rose from the table in a gesture that meant, “If you’ll look, you’ll see it,” but there was nothing there. “It will let the clients, prospective clients, and any businesses know that he’s not authorized to act on Great Oceana’s behalf. It prevents any future Vesper Ellises.”

Warren said, “It does nothing for the only Vesper Ellis who exists at present—the widow who has trusted Great Oceana for about ten years and has been robbed.”

“Okay,” Mr. Foshin said. “I understand you have a client and you have a duty to advocate for her and protect her interests. Everybody in this room has read the evidence you’ve provided, and our problem isn’t that we disagree with you. We also know that besides being a lawyer you’re a licensed CPA. But Great Oceana has hundreds of CPAs and many more lawyers than Warren & Associates, and we’ve already gone much farther and deeper on this than you have. Not only has Mr. Ollonsun been doing this for longer than the statute of limitations runs, but he has been doing it to people besides Mrs. Ellis. We don’t know exactly how long, and we’re not sure how many just yet. As of noon today, the number was twelve. They’re working backward in time, and thatmeans retrieving information from the company’s archives in New York, London, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and elsewhere, some of it pertaining to clients who are deceased. It’s a much worse problem than you know, and may be even worse than we know so far.” He looked at his watch again.

“What is it you’re asking for?” Warren said.

“Time,” Foshin said.

“What for?”

“It takes time to collect the rest of the evidence, complete the full investigation of each account he might have been tapping, brief the police and the relevant federal agencies. We know he’s guilty, but we also know he managed to do this without getting stopped by our system of audits, spot-checks, and safeguards. Is anyone else in the company doing this too? The truth is, we don’t know. The day we drop the net on Mr. Ollonsun, of course he’ll know he’s caught. But so will anyone else who’s doing it, or helped him do it or hide it. We can’t take the chance of leaving some within our organization.”

“Publicity.”

“That too. There will be terrible press. The FBI will come for him. The SEC, the FTC, and the US Attorney will come for us. What weren’t we doing to prevent it, what do we need to do now, who should have been doing what, how much will our fine be. I’ve been proud to work for this company for twenty-eight years. Now I have to fear that the rest of my time here will be spent defending it in court and trying to negotiate its penalties.”

Warren said, “I’m sorry for your part of it.”

“Does that mean that we can count on you to keep this out of the legal system and the public eye until we have time to prepare and get the answers we need? As officers of the court, you and I have a responsibility to act for the public good. I take that to heart, and I think you do too.”

“I do. But as you pointed out, my main—as well as immediate—responsibility is to Vesper Ellis. And as you also pointed out, Great Oceana is an enormous corporation. You can pay what you’re going to owe Mrs. Ellis today and have a signed settlement in hand within an hour. If you prefer to handle it online, we could probably do it faster than that.”

“What do you see as an appropriate figure?”

Warren removed a couple inches of paper off the stack in front of him, retrieved the copy of his lawsuit, and set it in front of Foshin. He said, “Full repayment plus ten million dollars. The argument for it is in the lawsuit.”

“Ten is far too steep. We could agree to full repayment plus one. That would still pay you adequately without penalizing Mrs. Ellis for being robbed. You’ll take a full third, right?”

“Five million. We’d be giving you over a month and a half to clean house and prepare your case.”

Foshin was leafing through the lawsuit, which he appeared to be scanning. “Three.”

“Done.”

Foshin held up the lawsuit and pointed at the hole. “What’s this? It looks like a bullet hole.”

“It does,” said Warren.

Another man in a dark suit opened the door halfway and sidestepped inside, but made no attempt to move farther into the room or sit down. He simply stood waiting.

Foshin looked at him and said, “Hello, Phil.” He said to the room, “We’ve got to leave for the airport now, I’m afraid.” He stood. “Mr. Warren, will payment within seventy-two hours be acceptable to you?”

“Yes.”

“Ms. Soames, will you please conclude our business with Mr. Warren?”

“Yes. Have a safe trip, Mr. Foshin.”

Foshin shook Warren’s hand. “You’ve done a fine job for your client, Mr. Warren. I’m sure we’ll be in touch over the next year or so while this plays out.”

“Yes,” said Warren. “Thank you.”

Phil the driver opened the door for Foshin and then moved ahead of him, probably to press the elevator buttons and open more doors.

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