Mountains of Dawn - Page 185/239

"You may be right. I haven't thought of that," Paul said.

"Mr. Matwin counts on a wealthy and refined crowd for his business."

"Tanya is a warm girl. She doesn't fake things. He may have fallen for that." Paul glanced at Malcolm, concern over his face. "But you're right. Kevin fell for her almost instantly. That is strange. She isn't his type." He paused. "Yesterday, I looked at his file again. There's a parade of beautiful women around him." Paul sighed. "You certainly have a point there, Malcolm. A big one, too."

They both kept silent for some time. Then Paul rose and moved around the room. He glanced at the empty aquarium for the second time. "You should get a new fish tank," he said. "There are real nice ones out today-blue lights in the corners, automatic release of food, incredible imitations of the ocean's bottom."

"I know. I went to see them. I'm going to buy an expensive one as soon as I have some time. Besides, it appears that's the only way I'll ever see any fish this summer." He turned at a soft knock at the door. "Come in," he hollered, annoyed. Joe Halliday walked in the room. "You finally show up," Malcolm said with annoyance. "Sit down." He gestured at a chair near the coffee table. "Did you find anything about Luigi Amedeo di Monteturro?"

"Yes. A lot," said Joe smiling at Malcolm. He took his notebook from his briefcase. "He's been investigated twice by the IRS. Nothing serious turned up. Interpol had some suspicions about drug smuggling. They gathered enough evidence to question him, but not enough to press charges." He turned a couple of pages, shaking his head. "Not much here," he murmured. "Oh, now, that may be interesting." He read from his notebook. "About the sites where that drug smuggling occurred. He justified his presence very well. In each case he was the guide-guide, interpreter, advisor-for an organized trip. His agencies-he has two of them-organize tours all over the world." Joe looked at Malcolm, expecting some comments. As he didn't get any, he continued reading: "There was also a big sum of money deposited overnight in a bank. He claimed it was a win from a private gambling house in Istanbul. That couldn't be verified or disproved."

"Anything else?" Malcolm asked, his tone sharp as a blade.

"Ah, here," Joe replied. "About Mr. di Monteturro's family: his father was a gambler. There was a rumor he committed suicide."