Jerry reached into his jacket again and took out a thick manila envelope. He threw it down on the table next to Hooper’s drink. Hooper picked up the envelope, held it below the level of the tabletop, and opened it with a finger. He flicked through the bills and looked up at Jerry. Jerry thought that if Hooper had ever seen that much money before, it was evidence he’d seized in an investigation, and it was going under lock and key.

“I don’t get it,” Hooper said. “That’s a lot more than ten.”

“Yes, it is. That’s fifty.”

“Fifty grand! Holy shit.”

“Ah, Mr. Hooper, your grim exterior is slipping.” Jerry finished off his drink. He was feeling a lot more like his old self.

“What do I gotta do?”

“You tell me two things, and I give you another one of those envelopes in a couple of weeks. That’s all. First, I’m going to tell you what I think. I think you’re a greedy little man. I know you pad your bills for me—that’s fine, everyone does it. But this is real money. And I have more real money that I intend to keep giving you as long as we can help each other out. Because we really are in this together. I also think you don’t know exactly what I have on tape. Hmm?”

Hooper had regained his composure and was looking Jerry right in the eye.

“I notice you already took the money. I also think you’re thinking, Screw it, I want the money. It’s easy money too, Harry, because I know you already know the first thing—that’s why we’re here. And I really think you’ll find out the second one very quickly, a man of your experience.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game. You’re an amateur.”

“I know.” Jerry closed his eyes and smiled. “But I’m a quick learner. So tell me what you found out about Edmund Mathews and Ms. Croft.”

In a few sentences Harry Hooper told Jerry Trotter what he’d been told and about the source of the information. There was no doubt in Hooper’s mind that it was true.

“Thank you, Harry. That might just be enough for me.”

“So what’s the other thing you want to know?”

Jerry leaned in toward Hooper.

“I want you to tell me how I get my hands on some polonium-210.”

Chapter 24.

24.

GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT
MARCH 4, 2011, 3:23 P.M.