After Landers ate his way through their mini-bar like a rescued hostage, they’d ordered room service. He promptly devoured a ten-ounce steak dinner and two desserts in minutes.
One detail still bothered Kat. Landers had arrived at Hideaway Bay on the same ferry they had. Assuming he had taped the interview in advance, when had he done it? The weather in the interview had been sunny. It hadn’t been sunny the whole time they had been here.
Then there was the discovery of Svensson’s body. It was only recovered yesterday, and the autopsy completed today. Landers arrived on the same ferry they did, before the autopsy results were announced. If the interview was taped ahead of time, when did Landers and the police get the autopsy results?
Kat was tired of playing host to an opportunist like Landers. After eating their food and absorbing all their information, he’d offered nothing tangible in return. It was already eleven p.m. She’d been holed up in the room all day and couldn’t work on the case with Landers present.
Kat turned to the television. The late news was on. Even with the volume muted, she saw that Paris was in a state of siege. The camera panned to the Latin Quarter where an angry mob had set several cars on fire, including a police cruiser.
“France is the next one to fall.” Landers followed Kat’s gaze. “It’s following in the footsteps of Greece and Portugal. People won’t accept the austerity measures they’re proposing. Especially not the French.”
Jace turned up the volume. The television footage moved to the Champs Élysées where several men disguised with bandanas kicked in store windows. A crowd had formed behind them, cheering them on.
“Why are they so mad?” Jace asked. “It’s their fault for overextending themselves on credit. Now they’ve got to pay for it.”
“Sort of,” Kat said. “The government and the banks share some of the blame with their monetary policy. The government, for keeping interest rates so low. The banks, because they lent to everyone, regardless of creditworthiness. When people defaulted, everything unwound. It’s not just the people who over-extended, but the country itself.” Kat understood why Svensson changed his mind. A common currency made theoretical sense, until you factored in the self-serving behavior of fewer and fewer people who controlled it. Concentration of power lent itself to corruption.
“Why didn’t the banks just stop lending when things got ugly?” Jace asked.
“They were making too much money.” Kat said. “The banks offloaded their risk by packaging the good and bad loans together to make a new investment product. As long as most of the loans packaged together have a high credit rating, they can apply the high rating to the group. In reality, the loans have been re-packaged so many times that no one remembers who or what the loans are for.”
“Or who isn’t making payments,” Landers said. “The banks made money on the way up by loaning to anyone with an address outside of a cemetery. Yet they expect government bailouts when people default. Giving a seasonal berry picker a mortgage on a million-dollar home with zero down is a disaster waiting to happen. When it implodes, the bankers want to make money on the way down too.”
“What exactly are you working on, Roger?” Kat asked him point-blank so he couldn’t avoid the question. If she was feeding this marooned castaway, she wanted something in return. How could she trust him when all he did was take, take, take?
“You hadn’t heard of me before? My work is quite well known.”
Kat feigned ignorance. “Not until I researched the World Institute and discovered you’re a World Institute groupie.”
Jace frowned at Kat.
At least she finally had his attention. He was practically fawning over Landers, convinced they could do a story together. Kat was certain Landers would never share credit with anyone. He was a user, a taker. Why couldn’t Jace see it?
Landers puffed out his chest. “I’m a journalist, not a groupie, Katerina. If you had read my book, you would understand how serious this all is.”
Kat ignored the snub. “Isn’t your World Institute theory just a bit overblown? You have to admit, making up all this stuff boosts sales of your book. You’ve probably got enough filler for a sequel.” Landers’ book sales had languished, and a bit of controversy wouldn’t hurt his book sales. Bruising his ego might make him show his true colors.
Landers’s face reddened and he crossed his arms. “I don’t need your opinion.”
“Let’s call it a night.” Kat turned and headed into the bathroom. Maybe Landers would leave if he were ignored.
She started to close the bathroom door, but Jace followed and slipped inside. “Kat, why are you acting like this? It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Landers has researched the World Institute for ten years. Together with what we’ve already got, we can expose this thing. It’s a huge story about greed and corruption.”
Kat pushed past him to the partially open bathroom door. “You left Landers out there with all the documents? Jace, how could you?”
Jace blocked her and held his forearms up, palms facing outwards.
“Landers won’t do anything,” he whispered. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Of course he will. He’s an opportunist.” Kat turned on the tap to muffle their conversation. “See where this is headed? He’s just using you until he gets what he wants. Then he’ll dump you and take all the credit.”
“Why are you always so negative?” Jace stood beside her at the bathroom sink, looking at her in the mirror.
“I’m just being realistic.” Kat squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush, furious. Her head pounded, and she was upset that their conversation had deteriorated into an argument. All because of Landers. Why had she talked to him in the first place? There were better ways of getting information, and now that she had dragged Jace into it, things would only escalate. “I have to wrap this case up before I meet with Zachary at noon tomorrow. I can’t afford any complications or delays.” Zachary had already left her several messages, and she needed concrete proof before revealing the World Institute connection. It sounded too unbelievable otherwise.
“Can’t you give me credit for anything, Kat? We’re staying here tonight anyways—what’s wrong with taking advantage of an opportunity? I’m going next door.” Jace turned and slammed the bathroom door behind him.
Couldn’t Jace see Landers for what he really was? Kat clenched her teeth and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She disliked the person she had become.
While she didn’t begrudge Jace an opportunity for a story, she couldn’t let it be at the expense of her own investigation.
Kat turned off the bathroom tap and pressed her ear to the door. She strained to hear the snippets of conversation.
“Let’s go to the adjoining suite.” Jace said to Landers. “Kat’s tired, and we can continue our discussion there.”
“Sure.”
“You can sleep there too. The room’s empty, and it’s better than the storage closet.”
Kat’s mouth dropped open. How could Jace offer the room to Landers? Even if he was trustworthy, which Kat doubted, one more person just increased their odds of discovery.
She rinsed her mouth and opened the door, ready to voice her objections. But Jace and Landers were already gone. The World Institute papers were gone from the table too.
Kat pressed her ear to the adjoining suite door and listened. She heard their voices in the next room, animated as they carried on their discussion. She considered knocking but decided against it.
Let Jace have his story. She had to trust him with the papers. Although she didn’t agree with full disclosure to Landers, she also knew Jace would never part with them. As long as it didn’t interfere with her investigation, it was good to see his enthusiasm return after being sacked from the Sentinel. She shuffled over to the bed and collapsed. He’d get what he needed tonight, and tomorrow they could wrap up and go.