No One Rides For Free - Larry Beinhart Read Online Free Page B

doing.
    "Let's get Willie on this one," he said,
taking me by the elbow and leading me to his left hand who had a
connecting office. "I'll let him know he's to give you full
cooperation. If he doesn't give satisfaction, get back to me."
    We smiled. Proud that we had handled so many delicate
issues so quickly and discreetly and with so little said. He handed
me over to Willie, repeating his full-cooperation routine.
    Willie greeted me with genuine enthusiasm. We were on
the same level in a way. We did our deeds based on other people's
needs, particularly when they ran to the gray areas and beyond. Maybe
the only real difference between us was that he was staff, I was
free-lance.
    To Willie, someplace to talk meant someplace we could
not possibly be overheard. We got into his car, but even that was not
considered suitable, though I thought it was pretentious of him to
think he was important enough for people to bug his car. The
Watergate, of course, was not a place that anyone paranoid about
listening devices wants to talk, so we ended up at the Jefferson
Memorial, walking through the trees around the Tidal Basin.
    It had been raining when I left New York. In D.C. the
sky was slate-grey drifting between a dreary mist and drizzle.
    "The SEC," I told him, "is taking
testimony from a guy named Wood, Edgar Wood. What I want to know is
simple. Where is he? What's he saying?"
    "I have a friend over at Justice."
    "No. Justice won't be in on this one. There's a
glory shortage these days, and besides, keeping it in-house protects
the investigation."
    "How's that?" he asked.
    "Wood is an attorney and he's talking about his
former client. If he were talking to somebody at Justice, or any
other law-enforcement group, his testimony would be flat-out illegal.
It would also be open to discovery and he could be deposed."
    "Interesting. Very slick," Willie said
admiringly. The wind came from the east, throwing the rain at a
slant. We edged around the sheltering curve of our tribute to Thomas
Jefferson. When we were facing west the angle of the wind and wall
gave us a dry spot. Willie took a "bullet" out of his
pocket. He manipulated it around so that the cocaine in the bottom
dropped into the little cup of the crossbar. Another twist and the
cup heed up into an aperture at the top. A quick practiced set of
gestures that ended with a deep snort. He repeated it for the other
nostril. Balance. He offered me some.
    I wanted it. When I took it I would want more. No
matter how much more there was, eventually I would have to deal with
coming down. I concentrated on the ashes of coming down.
    "Thanks anyway," I said. He shrugged and
helped himself again.
    "Let's say," Willie said, chemically
inspired, "let's say I number among my friends a congressional
aide whose boss likes to make an issue of corporate abuse. Without
naming names . . ."
    "Of course. "
    ". . . let's say my friend approaches the SEC.
His congressman, he says, is interested in corporate abuses of
securities regs. Even that, like he wants to strengthen enforcement
capability. You know, he wants to start hearings, but he needs a
juicy case, something ripe."
    "It sounds real time-consuming," I said.
    "In a rush, are we?"
    "Yeah. "
    "I'll do what I can."
    "Go to hell, Willie. Find a way to do it. Waltz
over, use your boss's name. Over & East is a New York
corporation; the Exchange is in New York; if it affects the Apple,
it's your business. "
    "The regulatory agencies are tough. They're
insulated. You gotta, you know, coax 'em."
    "OK, I'll give you an easy one. To start with. I
want to know who's on the investigation. A guy named Brodsky, Mel, he
has his name attached to the press stories. Find out if he's the man.
If he's not, find out who is."
    "You got it," he promised. "Gimme a
couple of days."
    "Let's do this on New York time, shall we, not
D.C. time. It's not even lunch yet. Get it for me by the end of the
day. "
    "Fuck off," he said.
    "OK, how long, Willie?"
    "As the guy on the toilet