Whiplash

many millions of dollars already, certainly nothing anyone in our company would have an interest in doing. Thus far we ourselves and the Spanish police have no good idea who perpetrated that act. I can assure you if anyone in our company was involved, I will do everything in my power to help you find him."
    Savich said, "It seems fairly obvious to me, Mr. Dieffendorf. The Culovort production was not only cut off in the U.S., it was also cut off in Spain. You have no other facilities, so now there is a worldwide shortage of Culovort . We understand a French company is garnering windfall profits."
    "If you are speaking of Laboratoires Ancondor and their drug Eloxium, yes, they have profited handsomely from our troubles, of course everyone has noticed that. We have gained nothing from it. I have no proof of any complicity on their part, but if any of this was a conspiracy of some sort, they were certainly the ones who gained from it."
    Savich said easily, "You know, Mr. Dieffendorf, sooner or later money transfers can always be discovered, contacts traced, if they exist. Would it surprise you to know that Mr. Royal had nearly a half million dollars stashed in an offshore account?"
    Dieffendorf looked unimpressed. "Not a large sum for a CEO. But if it was ill-gotten, it would be a calamity. I do not look forward to what the Schiffer family would say, having their CEO of American operations not only murdered under suspicious circumstances, but now he was involved in a crime? That is even worse." He shook his head, trying to gather himself. He said finally, "It is certainly looking like Mr. Royal was involved in wrongdoing. Perhaps he was helping someone who would profit from the worldwide shortage of Culovort, perhaps he had a hand in planning it all. Clearly, there are vicious criminal elements involved, if they have murdered more than once. Now, gentlemen, ladies, is there any other way we can be of assistance?"
    Bowie said, "Mr. Dieffendorf, would you be willing to send me all the threats Schiffer Hartwin has received since the severe cutback on Culovort production?"
    "We will, of course, cooperate to the fullest, without jeopardizing our company's position." Dieffendorf added with a nice understated shrug, "There are always unhappy people, Agent, all over the world, who must blame a drug for their misfortunes."
    Bowie said, "This list, sir, we would like it to include only those people who were unhappy about the unavailability of Culovort, no other drug."
    Erin spoke for the first time. "Can you tell me when Culovort will be back up to full production, sir?"
    "It is now a priority," Dieffendorf said, his head cocked to one side as he looked at Erin. He looked down at his watch. "I fear it is time we returned to Schiffer Hartwin. We have much more information to assemble before we can return to Germany." He rose, followed quickly by Gerlach. "Thank you, Agents. I am sorry we could not be of much assistance to you. If you will fill in Agent Kesselring, so perhaps he may contribute something positive to your investigation?
    "Oh, yes, Agent Savich, if you have the Culovort papers, may we please have them back? They are the property of the company."
    Savich smiled. "Those papers are evidence now, Mr. Dieffendorf. It is my understanding we don't have the only copy. I fear you must prepare yourself for their release to the media and the Department of Justice."
    The two directors left, leaving Kesselring standing against the wall, looking like he'd get great pleasure from shooting them. "If I do not aid significantly in solving these murders, I will have failed for the first time in my career. It is possible that my career will be ended." He turned to Bowie. "You have my cell phone number."
    He turned and left the conference room.

47

    FIFTH FLOOR, HOOVER BUILDING
    WASHINGTON, D.C.
    Friday afternoon

    Agent Ruth Warnecki steered Aiden and Benson Hoffman into the CAU. The large room was crowded with agents and staff, all talking on cell phones and landlines, while computer keyboards clicked away above the hum of hard drives. One agent was whistling. The noise was a din, hard to hear over.
    Ruth smiled at the two men. "It's a bit hectic. What with the vice president's accident, we're all very busy."
    Aiden Hoffman, Senator Hoffman's eldest son, stared around him. "Can you tell us why Agent Savich wanted to see us, Agent Warnecki?"
    Ruth smiled. "As to that, I'll leave it to Agent Savich. Now, come with me, gentlemen." She led