mc.risingsun-第39节

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ight　like　to。　From　our　reticence；　you　may　draw　useful　conclusions　about　the　underlying　issue。'　That's　what　they　said　to　me。〃
　〃And　what　is　the　underlying　issue？〃
　〃Well；〃　Connor　said。　〃They　mentioned　MicroCon　several　times。〃
　〃That　high…tech　pany？〃
　〃Yes。　The　one　that's　being　sold。　Apparently　it's　a　small　pany　in　Silicon　Valley　that　makes　specialized　puter　machinery。　And　there　are　political　problems　about　the　sale。　They　referred　to　those　problems　several　times。〃
　〃So　this　murder　has　something　to　do　with　MicroCon？〃
　〃I　think　so。〃　He　shifted　in　his　chair。　〃By　the　way；　what　did　you　learn　at　U。S。C。　about　the　tapes？〃
　〃For　one　thing；　that　they　were　duplicated。〃
　Connor　nodded。　〃I　assumed　that；〃　he　said。
　〃You　did？〃
　〃Ishiguro　would　never　give　us　the　originals。　The　Japanese　think　everybody　who　is　not　Japanese　is　a　barbarian；　They　mean　it；　literally：　barbarian。　Stinking；　vulgar；　stupid　barbarian。　They're　polite　about　it；　because　they　know　you　can't　help　the　misfortune　of　not　being　born　Japanese。　But　they　still　think　it。〃
　I　nodded。　That　was　more　or　less　what　Sanders　had　said；　too。
　〃The　other　thing；〃　Connor　said；　〃is　that　the　Japanese　are　extremely　successful；　but　they　are　not　daring。　They　are　plotters　and　plodders。　So　they're　not　going　to　give　us　the　originals　because　they　don't　want　to　take　any　chances。　Now。　What　else　did　you　learn　about　the　tapes？〃
　〃What　makes　you　think　there　was　something　else？〃　I　said。
　〃When　you　looked　at　the　tapes；〃　he　said；　〃I'm　sure　you　noticed　an　important　detail　that…　〃
　And　then　we　were　interrupted　by　the　telephone。
　
　〃Captain　Connor；〃　said　a　cheerful　voice；　over　the　speaker　phone。　〃This　is　Jerry　Orr。　Over　at　Sunset　Hills　Country　Club？　You　left　without　taking　the　papers　with　you。〃
　〃The　papers？〃
　〃The　application；〃　Orr　said。　〃You　need　to　fill　it　out；　Captain。　Of　course　it's　just　routine。　I　can　assure　you；　there　won't　be　any　problem　with　it；　considering　who　your　sponsors　are。〃
　〃My　sponsors；〃　Connor　said。
　〃Yes；　sir；〃　Orr　said。　〃And　congratulations。　As　you　know；　it's　almost　impossible　to　obtain　a　membership　at　Sunset　these　days。　But　Mr。　Hanada's　pany　had　already　bought　a　corporate　membership　some　time　ago；　and　they　have　decided　to　put　it　in　your　name。　I　must　say；　it's　a　very　nice　gesture　from　your　friends。〃
　〃Yes；　it　is；〃　Connor　said；　frowning。
　I　was　looking　at　him。
　〃They　know　how　fond　you　are　of　playing　golf　here；〃　Orr　said。　〃You　know　the　terms；　of　course。　Hanada　will　purchase　the　membership　over　five　years；　but　after　that　time；　it'll　be　transferred　to　your　name。　So　when　you　retire　from　club　membership；　you're　free　to　sell　it。　Now：　will　you　be　picking　up　the　paperwork　here；　or　should　I　send　it　to　your　home？〃
　Connor　said；　〃Mr。　Orr；　please　convey　my　heartfelt　appreciation　to　Mr。　Hanada　for　his　very　great　generosity。　I　hardly　know　what　to　say。　But　I　will　have　to　call　you　back　about　this。〃
　〃That's　fine。　You　just　let　us　know　where　to　send　it。〃
　〃I'll　call　you　back；〃　Connor　said。
　He　pushed　the　button　to　end　the　call；　and　stared　forward；　frowning。　There　was　a　long　silence。
　I　said；　〃How　much　is　a　membership　at　that　club　worth？〃
　〃Seven　fifty。　Maybe　a　million。〃
　I　said；　〃Pretty　nice　gift　from　your　friends。〃　I　was　thinking　again　of　Graham；　and　the　way　Graham　had　always　implied　that　Connor　was　in　the　pocket　of　the　Japanese。　There　didn't　seem　to　be　much　doubt　of　it　now。
　Connor　was　shaking　his　head。　〃I　don't　get　it。〃
　〃What's　not　to　get？〃　I　said。　〃Jesus；　Captain。　Seems　pretty　straightforward　to　me。〃
　〃No；　I　don't　get　it；〃　Connor　said。
　And　then　the　phone　rang　again。　This　time；　it　was　for　me。
　
　〃Lieutenant　Smith？　It's　Louise　Gerber。　I'm　so　glad　I　was　able　to　reach　you。〃
　I　didn't　recognize　her　name。　I　said；　〃Yes？〃
　〃Since　tomorrow　is　Saturday；　I　was　wondering　if　you　had　any　time　to　look　at　a　house。〃
　Then　I　remembered　who　she　was。　A　month　earlier　I　had　gone　out　with　a　broker　to　look　at　houses。　Michelle　is　getting　older；　and　I　wanted　to　get　her　out　of　an　apartment。　To　get　her　a　backyard　if　I　could。　It　was　pretty　discouraging。　Even　with　a　real　estate　slump；　the　smallest　houses　were　four　and　five　hundred　thousand。　I　couldn't　possibly　qualify　for　that；　on　my　salary。
　〃This　is　a　very　special　situation；〃　she　said；　〃and　I　thought　of　you　and　your　little　girl。　It's　a　small　house　in　Palms　…　very　small　…　but　it's　a　corner　lot　and　it　has　a　charming　backyard。　Flowers　and　a　lovely　lawn。　The　asking　is　three　hundred。　But　the　reason　I　thought　of　you　is　that　the　seller　is　willing　to　take　back　all　the　paper　on　it。　I　think　you　could　get　it　for　very　little　down。　Do　you　want　to　see　it？〃
　I　said；　〃Who　is　the　seller？〃
　〃I　don't　really　know。　It's　a　special　situation。　The　house　is　owned　by　an　elderly　woman　who　has　gone　into　a　nursing　home　and　her　son　who　lives　in　Topeka　intends　to　sell　it；　but　he　wants　an　ine　flow　instead　of　an　outright　sale。　The　property's　not　formally　listed　yet；　but　I　know　the　seller　is　motivated。　If　you　could　get　in　tomorrow；　you　might　be　able　to　do　something。　And　the　backyard　is　charming。　I　can　just　see　your　little　girl　there。〃
　Now　Connor　was　looking　at　me。　I　said；　〃Miss　Gerber；　I'd　have　to　know　more　about　it。　Who　the　seller　is；　and　so　on。
　She　sounded　surprised。　〃Gee；　I　thought　you'd　jump　at　it。　A　situation　like　this　doesn't　e　along　very　often。　Don't　you　want　to　look　at　it？〃
　Connor　was　looking　at　me；　nodding。　He　mouthed；　say　yes。
　〃I'll　have　to　get　back　to　you　about　this；〃　I　said。
　〃All　right；　Lieutenant；〃　she　said。　She　sounded　reluctant。　〃Please　let　me　know。〃
　〃I　will。〃
　I　hung　up。
　〃What　the　hell　is　going　on？〃　I　said。　Because　there　wasn't　any　way　to　get　around　it。　Between　us；　we　had　just　been　offered　a　lot　of　money。　A　lot　of　money。
　Connor　shook　his　head。　〃I　don't　know。〃
　〃Is　it　to　do　with　MicroCon？〃
　〃I　don't　know。　I　thought　MicroCon　was　a　small　pany。　This　doesn't　make　sense。〃　He　looked　very　uneasy。　〃What　exactly　is　MicroCon？〃
　I　said；　〃I　think　I　know　who　to　ask。〃
　
　？
　〃MicroCon？〃　Ron　Levine　said；　lighting　a　big　cigar。　〃Sure；　I　can　tell　you　about　MicroCon。　It's　an　ugly　story。〃
　We　were　sitting　in　the　newsroom　of　American　Financial　Network；　a　cable　news　operation　located　near　the　airport。　Through　the　window　of　Ron's　office；　I　could　see　the　white　satellite　dishes　on　the　roof　of　the　adjacent　garage。　Ron　puffed　on　his　cigar　and　grinned　at　us。　He　had　been　a　financial　reporter　at　the　Times　before　taking　an　on…camera　job　here。　AFN　was　one　of　the　few　television　operations　where　the　on…camera　people　weren't　scripted；　they　had　to　know　what　they　were　talking　about；　and　Ron　did。
　〃MicroCon；〃　he　said；　〃was　formed　five　years　ago　by　a　consortium　of　American　puter　manufacturers。　The　pany　was　intended　to　develop　the　next　generation　of　X…ray　lithography　machines　for　puter　chips。　At　the　time　MicroCon　started　up；　there　were　no　American　manufacturers　of　lithography　machines　…　they'd　all　been　put　out　of　business　in　the　eighties；　under　intense　petition　from　the　Japanese。　MicroCon　developed　new　technology；　and　has　been　building　machines　for　American　panies。　Okay？〃
　〃Okay；〃　I　said。
　〃Two　years　ago；　MicroCon　was　sold　to　Darley…Higgins；　a　management　pany　in　Georgia。　Darley's　other　operations　were　foundering；　the　pany　decided　to　sell　MicroCon　to　raise　cash。　They　found　a　buyer　in　Akai　Ceramics；　an　Osaka　pany　that　already　made　lithography　machines　in　Japan。　Akai　had　plenty　of　cash；　and　was　willing　to　acquire　the　American　pany　for　a　high　price。　Then　Congress　moved　to　stop　the　sale。〃
　〃Why？〃
　〃The　decline　of　American　business　is　starting　to　disturb　even　Congress。　We've　lost　too　many　basic　industries　to　Japan　…　steel　and　shipbuilding　in　the　sixties；　television　and　puter　chips　in　the　seventies；　machine　tools　in　the　eighties。　One　day　somebody　wakes　up　and　realizes　these　industries　are　vital　for　American　defense。　We've　lost　the　ability　to　make　ponents　essential　to　our　national　security。　We're　entirely　dependent　on　Japan　to　supply　them。　So　Congress　starts　to　worry。　But　I　hear　the　sale　is　going　through；　anyway。　Why？　Do　you　guys　have　something　to　do　with　the　sale？〃
　〃In　a　sense；〃　Connor　said。
　〃Lucky　you；〃　Ron　said；　puffing　on　his　cigar。　〃If　you're　involved　in　a　sale　to　the　Japanese；　it's　like　striking　oil。　Everybody　gets　rich。　You　two　are　looking　at　some　pretty　big　gifts；　I　imagine。〃
　Connor　nodded。　〃Very　big。〃
　〃I'm　sure；〃　Ron　said。　〃They'll　take　care　of　you：　buy　you　a　house　or　a　car；　get　you　cheap　financing；　something　like　that。〃
　I　said；　〃Why　would　they　do　that？〃
　Ron　laughed。　〃Why　would　they　eat　sushi？　It's　the　way　they　conduct　business。〃
　Connor　said；　〃But　isn't　MicroCon　a　small　sale？〃
　〃Yeah；　pretty　small。　The　pany's　worth　a　hundred　million。　Akai's　buying　it　for　a　hundred　and　fifty。　On　top　of　that；　they　probably　have　another　twenty　million　in　incentives　to　the　current　corporate　officers；　maybe　ten　million　in　legal；　ten　million　in　consultant　fees　spread　around　Washington；　and　ten　million　in　miscellaneous　gifts　for　people　like　you。　So　call　it　two　hundred　million；　in　total。〃
　I　said；　〃Two　hundred　million　for　a　hundred…million　pany？　Why　are　they　paying　more　than　it's　worth？〃
　〃They're　not；〃　Ron　said。　〃As　far　as　they're　concerned；　they're　getting　a　bargain。〃
　〃Why〃
　〃Because；〃　Ron　said；　〃if　you　own　the　ma