"Based upon our initial contacts with the U.S. Attorney's office, I think we can expect the court to set a bail of at least five hundred thousand dollars for each until a decision has been reached on the additional charges."
"Money is not the issue here," Albert Bloom said calmly. "What about the other charges?"
"Roberto Jacall and Henry Allen Lightner," Crane went on, "have been charged with two felony and one misdemeanor counts each, which include possession of untagged hunting trophies and unauthorized possession of a weapon in a national park.
"Mr. Jacall is likely to be charged with additional counts, depending on the lab analysis of hides and furs collected at what appears to be a hidden and illegal taxidermy operation located on his property. Bail is expected to be set at approximately one hundred thousand dollars.
"Mr. Lightner is currently hospitalized in federal custody. He may or may not be charged with the hunting and possession violations, depending upon the lab analysis of the bullets removed from the seized carcasses, footprints at the scenes, and the blood and hair on his clothing. His bail is expected to be set at approximately fifty thousand dollars.
"I should note here that based on our extensive interviews with Dr. Wolfe and Miss Abercombie, there seems to be some question as to the extent of Mr. Lightner's actual involvement in the hunt. Apparently he was scheduled to hunt that day, but then agreed to allow our clients to take his place at the last moment as a result of some financial arrangements.
"While Mr. Lightner certainly did take an active part in the hunt, it is not clear whether he actually shot at or killed any of these animals. Nor is it clear that he could be charged with transportation or possession, since he was apparently unconscious at the time.
"In essence," Crane explained, "it is our considered opinion that of all the subjects involved in this case, Mr. Lightner is the least vulnerable in terms of substantive charges, and therefore, the one most likely to consider a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office."
"You mean testifying for the prosecution in exchange for a lesser sentence?" an ICER member asked.
"Or possibly he will face no prosecution at all," Crane nodded. "One thing we need to keep in mind about Mr. Lightner is that the majority of his injuries were apparently caused by misdirected gunfire
… that is to say, bullets fired by our clients."
Albert Bloom closed his eyes and shook his head slowly in disbelief.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen," Crane said quietly, "is the sum of all charges filed in this case to date. Are there any questions?"
"That's all?" Albert Bloom blinked.
"Yes, sir," Crane nodded. "As best we are able to tell so far, and-" he gestured toward the thick pile of documents that he and his highly paid team of private investigators had managed to collect during the previous twelve hours-"I would emphasize that we have only begun to sort things out. The focus of the federal investigation seems to have been on Alex Chareaux and his brothers. At this point, there is no indication that Dr. Wolfe or Miss Abercombie were ever targets of this undercover operation.
"In fact," Crane said as he carefully replaced his summary notes in the crisp manila file folder, "as far as we can tell, there is no indication that the federal officials are even aware that Mr. Wolfe and Miss Abercombie were ever involved in that hunt.
"But then, of course," he added, "so far, none of the individuals in custody have chosen to cooperate with the investigators by making a statement. Obviously, that could change at any time."
"What are we doing about that?" Bloom asked.
"As you know, we are currently representing the Chareaux brothers as their legal counsel; and we have, of course, advised them in the strongest possible terms to make no statements whatsoever. And as you directed, we have also offered our services to Mr. Jacall and to Mr. Lightner, making it clear that all costs will be borne by the Chareaux family… the very least that they could do under the circumstances."
"And their response?"
"It is our understanding that Mr. Jacall will accept our offer and sign the necessary papers this afternoon. We have been unable to reach Mr. Lightner in the hospital; however, we have been in contact with his family attorney, and the initial indications are that he will accept Mr. Chareaux's offer on behalf of his client," Crane said with an absolutely straight face. "Apparently this attorney has some limited experience with criminal law and is thus very impressed with the number and quality of the resources-trial attorneys and support staff-that we are willing to put to work in his client's defense. And it seems that he is perfectly willing to accept an appropriate retainer to act as co-counsel in this matter. I have been instructed, by the way, to tell you that Mr. Kole considers the terms of your contract to be exceptionally generous. As we discussed previously, the contingency provisions should cover any unexpected situation. And in any case, Mr. Kole feels that the bonus clause will certainly compensate us for any foreseeable overage costs at our end."
"Keeping in mind that the bonus clause applies only when and if you win," Bloom reminded.
"Yes, of course," Walter Crane nodded, actually smiling as he did so.
"Are there any other questions that I can answer for anyone at this time?" Crane asked politely.
"No, Walter. Thank you for coming," Albert Bloom said, getting up and shaking the chief investigator's hand as he led him over to the door.
After closing the door, Bloom walked back to his chair, sat down, and then stared down the full length of the teak- and-rosewood table at the two people whose inconceivable stupidity had triggered this multimillion-dollar coverup.
"Do either of you have a sense, any sense at all, of the damage that you may have caused with this, this… hunt?" he asked, his voice nearly choked with rage.
Lisa Abercombie knew Bloom well enough to keep her mouth tightly shut. But Reston Wolfe still viewed himself as a high-level government bureaucrat, one who would therefore have some degree of leverage over a mere captain of industry.
"I think you're overreacting, Mr. Bloom," Wolfe started in. "There was no reason at all for any of us to think that-"
But Albert Bloom cut him off in mid-sentence.
"No, don't you see, Mr. Wolfe, that is exactly the point," Bloom said emphatically. "There was every reason why you should have been thinking. Every reason in the goddamn world."
"But-"
"You repeatedly assured me that there were no federal investigations of any sort being run near the Whitehorse Cabin Training Center and that you had everything under control," Bloom rasped. "But there were investigations being conducted, and you didn't have everything under control, because you stepped right into the middle of a major covert investigation like it was a pile of horse shit lying there right in front of your goddamn eyes!"
Bloom paused as if determined to maintain some semblance of self-control.
"You may think that this is all just a sort of game, Mr. Wolfe," he said in a soft, menacing voice that barely carried across to the other end of the table. "But I want you to understand, very clearly, as clear as I can possibly make it, that Operation Counter Wrench is not a game. And it is not one of your infantile government projects where you can simply step back and blame one of your subordinates when something goes wrong."
"But-"
"Operation Counter Wrench, Mr. Wolfe," Bloom went on forcefully, ignoring his executive director's feeble protests, "is the most important and crucial project that you will ever be involved with in your life. And if you have caused it to falter-or, God forbid, to fail-because you couldn't resist the opportunity to go out in the woods and kill things with a goddamn gun…"
Bloom's face was red, his hands were extended out like claws, and he seemed to be temporarily incapable of doing anything other than shaking his head slowly in pure, incredulous disbelief.