‘Not even a good try,’ he said. ‘I don’t imagine you worked out this kidnapping yourself. I am not interested in your associates. I intend to deal with you. With the ransom demand, as you know, are specimens of transfers to a Swiss bank. These are illegal transfers as the currency regulations in Italy forbid money leaving the country, but what your associates haven’t appreciated is the fact that transfer of money from Italy is illegal only to the vast majority.’ Grandi regarded Frost. ‘I am not the vast majority. To have obtained these photocopies, your associates must have corrupted my chief accountant, Guiseppe Vessi, who handled the transfers. You may have wondered why you have been kept waiting for an hour before I talk with you. Let me tell you: I was arranging that Vessi ceases to exist. No one ever betrays me and remains alive!’
Frost, staring at the ruthless, vicious face, knew Grandi wasn’t bluffing.
‘Even with Vessi out of the way,’ he said, ‘that still doesn’t keep you out of jail.’
‘Little man!’ Grandi laughed. ‘There is only one man in Italy who could make trouble for me, and he is my close friend: the Minister of Finance. Suppose your associates are stupid enough to send copies of these Swiss transactions to the tax authorities. They would pass them to the Minister of Finance who would sweep them under the carpet. He is as much involved as I am. In fact, little man, I will tell you for the past three years I have allowed him to syphon off some of his money to my account. Your associates are so ill-informed of the Italian scene that they don’t realise that any deal can be arranged in Italy as long as you have enough power.’ He leaned forward, stabbing his finger at Frost. ‘And I have all the power in the world!’
‘If you want your daughter back, you’ll sign that document!’ Frost snapped. ‘I’m not interested in your machinations. Just sign it!’
Grandi studied him, then drew the document to him and signed with a flourish.
‘If that’s all you want. When do I get my daughter back?’
‘As soon as the money has been transferred to Zurich,’ Frost said. This was a moment of triumph. He snatched up the document.
Grandi shook his head.
‘That won’t do. She will be dead of old age by then.’
With a feeling that he was being tricked, Frost glared at Grandi.
‘What the hell do you mean?’
‘Your associates didn’t do their homework,’ Grandi said. ‘The Lugano numbered account belongs to myself and three friends, and one of them is the Minister of Finance who I have just mentioned. None of us can draw out money without the the other three adding their signatures. I can tell you their names, but I can assure you they wouldn’t sign.’ He lifted his heavy shoulders in an Italian shrug. ‘Unfortunately, they have no interest in my daughter.’
Frost flung the document back on the desk.
‘If you want Gina back alive, you’d better persuade your friends to sign!’
‘That would be a waste of time to try. They certainly don’t value my daughter at twenty million dollars.’ Grandi leaned forward and gave his wolf smile. ‘Let us approach this business from another angle.’
‘How much will you pay to get your daughter back?’ Frost demanded, aware now his hands had turned moist.
‘Ah! That is a good question.’ Grandi drew on his cigar and released a rich-smelling smoke. ‘So we are agreed the ransom isn’t to be twenty million dollars?’
Frost hesitated.
‘This is something I must discuss with my associates, he said. ‘Give me a proposal, and then we will consider it.’
‘Now you are growing up, little man,’ Grandi said. ‘Here is my proposal. You will return Gina here within four hours. In return, I will take no legal proceedings against you or your associates. That is my proposal.’
‘How much money?’ Frost demanded.
Grandi shook his head.
‘No money. Send her back unharmed, and I’ll forget you and your stupid associates exist.’
Frost forced a laugh. Even to him it sounded hollow.
‘No way. We’re in this for money. Suppose we say five million? She’s worth five million to you. How about it?’
‘No money and I will tell you why.’ He opened a drawer in his desk and took out two reels of tape. ‘Take these. I have the originals, but I want you to have them so that you and your stupid associates can understand how badly you have planned this operation.’ Grandi pulled on his cigar, then went on, ‘When I rented Orchid Villa, I took precautions. Now I will tell you about Suka. He was a security and an electronic expert working for the Tokyo police. I bought him. I gave him the problem of making the villa safe. Apart from all the security gimmicks, he also installed a telephone tap with a continuous tape recording. Every call in and out of the villa has been recorded. The copies of these tapes which I am giving you tell a story. I know about Marcia Goolden, a whore, who lives at this hotel. I know you have been in contact with her and Amando visits her. Obviously, she drugged Amando when he was with her as you drugged Marvin. I know you told your associates to murder Suka. A voice print will identify you, and if I give the tapes to the police, they will have no problem indicting you. I know too you have been screwing my daughter. Her room has always been bugged. My daughter is mentally sick, but she is still my daughter and I’m going to have her back! Return her to me in four hours and I won’t take proceedings.’ Grandi stubbed out his cigar. ‘Take the tapes, talk to your associates, but remember... if she isn’t here by ten o’clock tonight, you will spend twenty years in jail.’
Frost tried to say something but the words wouldn’t come. He got unsteadily to his feet.
‘One more thing, little man,’ Grandi said. ‘It might occur to you that the way out for you would be to kill me.’ He smiled wolfishly. ‘Don’t try it. I am very well protected.’ He leaned forward, his face a snarling mask of rage, and he screamed at Frost, ‘Get out of my sight!’
The four men sat around the table, a tape player before them and they listened to Frost saying:
‘Did you get Suka?’
Silk’s voice.
‘No sign of the sonofabitch. No sign of Grandi either.’
Frost snapped off the player.
‘We’ve got to find her and return her, Silk!’
Silk rubbed the side of his jaw, thought for a moment, then shrugged.
‘It looked good.’ He stared with his one glittering eye at Umney who looked pale and he kept his hand to his aching head. ‘You sure fell down on this one, Ross. You should have dug deeper.’
‘You shouldn’t have touched it at all,’ Umney snarled. ‘We told you no way, but you wouldn’t listen!’
‘Wrap up!’ Frost exclaimed. ‘How do we find her?’
‘She left my car at the waterfront,’ Goble said. ‘I’ve got men down there.’ He got up, went to the telephone and put a call through. He talked quietly for two or three minutes, then hung up.
The others looked at him expectantly.
‘She hasn’t taken a boat,’ he said. ‘There are around fifteen small hotels down there. She’s probably holed up in one of them, waiting until it gets dark.’
‘Or she left the car there as a stall and walked to the bus stop and is in Miami by now,’ Silk said Frost got to his feet.
‘We have less than three hours to find her! You get down to the waterfront,’ he was speaking to Goble. ‘You,’ turning to Silk, ‘cover the bus station. You’ve got her description. I’m going back to the villa to search her room. I might come up with something.’ He paused at the door. To Umney he said, ‘Stay by the telephone. I’ll be dialling in for progress reports,’ then he left the room at a run.
Driving just within the speed limit, he arrived back at the villa as the car’s dashboard clock showed 19.20. Aware time was rapidly running out, he dashed up the stairs and into Gina’s room. He feverishly searched through every drawer and cupboard, went through the contents of the little desk by the window, but came up with nothing. By now the time was 20.00. Two hours more to find her!