Money to Burn

“It’s a very tough day in our history,” said Volke, begi

Sca

He ditched his prepared words and took an entirely different tack.

“There was a time when the kings of Wall Street were not the commercial banks,” he said, “but entities far less regulated. They controlled ungodly sums of wealth, and the more they controlled, the more investors fed them. The average American still lived off the sweat of his brow, but the rich sure got richer. The Wall Street creed was to make money. Big money. Fast money. Rules were bent. Ethics were relative. Laws were swallowed by loopholes. It was all okay; Adam Smith told us so. It all came crashing down, of course. The stock market suddenly lost almost fifty percent of its value, and banks simply stopped making loans.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping across a sea of perplexed faces.

“That was 1907,” he said. “I guess we didn’t learn much.”

He drew a deep breath, then let it out. “The doors will lock at five o’clock. I’m sorry,” he said, eyes lowered, “especially for you young people. I’m very, very sorry.”

Suddenly a bagel flew across the room and nailed him squarely in the chest.

“Fly home in your helicopter and fuck yourself sideways,” someone shouted. “You and Michael Cantella both.”

A security guard went to the president’s side, but no one else moved. No one said a word. The indignity of silence simply hung there.

Volke brushed the crumbs and traces of cream cheese from his Hermès tie, then turned and left the room.

Ivy Layton rose from the couch as Volke returned to his office on the executive floor.

“Thanks a ton for telling me to go with the 1907 mea culpa speech,” he said as he tossed his stained necktie onto the chair. “Went over like a mink coat at a PETA convention.”

“Maybe the apology didn’t come across as genuine,” said Ivy.

“Maybe I don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said.

Ivy didn’t go there. All across Wall Street, it was someone else’s fault.

Volpe went to his closet and found another tie. He spoke with his back to Ivy, using his reflection in the window as he knotted a perfect double Windsor.

“You can’t hide here forever,” he said. “The bankruptcy team will be inventorying my office in about four hours.”

“I know. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent more than one night in any one place anyway.”

He turned to face her, straightening the knot. “Any longer than that and I’d have some explaining to do to Mrs. Volke.”

“I understand. I’ll go. But I need your help.”

“What now?”

“I have nowhere else to turn,” she said. “No one else has the power to bring down Kyle McVee.”

“Don’t you watch FNN? He’s already kicked my ass.”

“I want you to tell the FBI that it’s him, not Michael, who’s killing the firm.”

“I already have. It’s falling on deaf ears. I know you’ve been away, but now more than ever, Wall Street is like the Wild West, no sheriff in town. Players like McVee do as they please.”

“Then you have to make the FBI understand what kind of man Kyle McVee is. Make them realize that he’s capable of murder.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

Ivy paused, then forced out the words. “I want you to tell the FBI about me.”

“Tell them you’re alive?”

“Yes. And why I disappeared.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Have you lost your mind? I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“For starters, I helped fake your death. That’s a felony.”

Helped was almost an understatement. Eric had arranged for payoffs to the Bahamian medical examiner and DNA expert who had linked Ivy’s name to the decomposed “remains” found in the belly of the tiger shark.

“I was just watching television,” she said. “A warrant has been issued to arrest Michael for the murder of Chuck Bell.”

“That’s not my fault. In fact, I protected Michael. The FBI was very interested in knowing what he said to me in our phone conversation before Bell was shot, and quite honestly, Michael’s words could have been used against him.”

“What did he say?”

“Something to the effect that he was going to put a stop to Bell ‘one way or another.’”

“I’m sure Michael didn’t mean kill him.”

“I know he didn’t. That’s why I kept that conversation between us.”

“One of us has to tell the FBI what’s really going on.”

He went to her, his expression deadly serious. “That was not our deal,” he said. “I helped you disappear with the understanding that you would never come back, no matter what.”

“Things have changed, Eric. I tried ru

He stepped away, ru

“You’re right,” he said. “The only way to derail Kyle McVee is to make the FBI understand that, in his twisted mind, bringing down Saxton Silvers is secondary to finding you.”

“Everything is secondary to finding me. I should have told the FBI that four years ago.”

“The FBI couldn’t protect you then. And they won’t be able to protect you now.”

“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about Michael and my mother.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “They’ll be fine. I promise.”

“You got their backs?”

He nodded. “McVee will never find them. I don’t care what it costs. I may have lost my shirt in Saxton Silvers, but thankfully, money will never be an issue for me. I’ve still got WhiteSands.”

Eric was talking about the investment management firm he’d founded in the 1980s, before his rise to power within Saxton Silvers. Some said it was the proverbial tail wagging the dog, with over a trillion dollars in assets under management, yet 49 percent owned by Saxton Silvers. Eric, individually, was still a major shareholder.

“Thank you, Eric.”

He nodded. “I don’t regret the way I helped you four years ago. And, of course, we all want to help Michael. You just have to figure out a way to do it without throwing me under the bus.”

She knew he was right. She gave him a quick hug, then stepped away.

“Good luck, Ivy. And for the last time: good-bye.”