The Color of Greed (Raja Williams 1) (20 page)

“The rest is technical,” said Vinny,
“and that went to the computer tech division. They did the
rest. It even instructed them to contact Detective Rafferty.”

“Just where would you get access to a
satellite?”

“You wouldn’t believe how many
satellites are up in orbit around the earth. You can take your pick,
if you have the frequency and an access code. Easy peasy, lemon
squeezy.”

“You could get in trouble.”

“Not if you don’t get caught.”

“I suppose not.” Raja did not always
approve of Vinny’s use of what she called shortcuts, but today
he was glad she did what she did.

“You can pick on me, or thank me,” said
Vinny.

“You’re right. I’m just glad you
are okay. Thank you.”

Chapter Thirty-nine: Gangrene

While Vinny sifted through information, Raja worked
on arranging a meeting with Sue Storm. After Vinny’s ordeal,
Sue was more gun-shy than ever. It took every bit of Raja’s
empathic skill to convince Sue of two premises. One, that Raja and
Vinny were exactly who she thought they were, and two, that meeting
with them would not result in anyone’s immediate death.
Although he had suggested a neutral meeting place, she preferred
coming to them. If premise one were correct, she could control when
and if they met. If not, premise two would be a dismal failure any
way you sliced it.

One night just after two in the morning, Vinny got a
text message. “Downstairs,” is all it said. One minute
later Vinny stood outside the elevator in the garage. No one
appeared, so after a minute she stepped back into the elevator and
turned the key to the loft. Just as the doors came together, a hand
stopped them. Vinny pushed the open button. The doors parted and a
blond woman in a brown leather bomber jacket holding a motorcycle
helmet stepped into the elevator, pushed the close button and
flattened herself along the side wall of the car.

“Nice to meet you, Vinny,” said Sue
Storm, keeping her eyes on the doors until they were completely
closed.

“Ditto,” said Vinny.

When the elevator moved upward, Sue exhaled and
began to relax.

Vinny noticed her dark roots were showing, but with
the jagged short haircut it gave her an emo look.

When the doors opened onto the loft, Sue looked
around and said, “So this is the bat cave. Nice digs.”

“Raj, she’s here,” said Vinny. She
had woken him before going downstairs.

“So we finally meet,” said Raja. “I’m
glad you came.”

“I’ll hold my applause until later, if
you don’t mind. But, it is good to see you two.”

“We have been going through the files you
sent. Thank you, by the way. I thought it would be good to talk
directly about what conclusions you have made.”

“I suppose I should start at the beginning.
Let me preface by saying that I have been strongly pro-environment my
whole adult life. I consider myself a full-fledged tree hugger all
the way. I have been a strong advocate of alternative energy.”

“Go green,” said Vinny.

“Yes, go green and all that. So, for me it was
eye-opening to find out there were some glitches in the green energy
industry as it currently stands. The CEO of Solex Industries, a
developer and manufacturer of storage batteries, gave me an inside
glimpse into the current scene. While his solar battery was
promising, it was not yet able to meet the specifications required
for successful application by a major green energy provider.”

“Any new industry has its R & D phase,”
said Raja.

“True. But, the demand for energy is enormous,
especially in this country. As other countries modernize, their
demand grows geometrically. The Chinese are already the #1 consumers
of energy, blowing right by the U.S. in 2009. The Chinese have been
quietly buying into all forms of U.S. energy. Millions of acres in
Texas, Michigan and Ohio for shale oil drilling. Billions of dollars
into oil and gas deals from Canada to Texas. And, besides buying into
major oil companies, they are investing in green energy companies who
are desperate for research and development money.”

“That should help the green energy sector,”
said Raja.

“Yes, an infusion of money is very much
needed. The government grants are also meant to help in that area.
However, the ability to fill the demand for energy without
interruption and viably is the real make-break for any energy
provider, green or otherwise.

“With huge government grant money at stake,
several companies were submitting doctored specifications to make
their projected numbers work. Most of the green energy projects are
new and highly technical. There is no track record for officials to
look at to determine if a company can actually do what they propose.
And those who see the green energy companies as a necessary salvation
for this planet are not going to look too close.

“The dirty little secret I came across is that
for every company legitimately trying to make green energy work,
there are ten other companies set up to reap the government windfall
in short term cash flow, with no chance of success. While long-term
government mandates make investors feel safer, the company still has
to produce energy profitably at a reasonable, competitive cost for it
to work. Unfortunately, savvy Wall Street players know when to get in
and out to rape the profits from the government subsidies, and leave
the smaller investors and taxpayers holding a bag of hot air. Think
of the dotcom boom and bust and you have the basic picture.”

“Companies like Solyndra,” said Raja.

“Yes.”

“I’m not so sure I would agree,”
said Vinny. “Companies can be mismanaged. But the sun is a
permanent and unlimited source of free energy. Surely there is a
viable way to harness it.”

“The problem is not just where and how to
store it, but how to absorb enough energy when it is available. The
old saying ‘Make hay while the sun is shining’ takes on a
whole new perspective.”

“Anything has to be better than coal and oil
and the environmental damage they do,” said Vinny.

“Definitely. But sometimes there are
unforeseen consequences. Look at the nuclear reactor meltdown in
Japan. That was a good plan to provide energy with a much improved
carbon footprint over fossil fuels. Result: disaster.”

“But wind and solar don’t have the
liability of nuclear radiation,” said Raja.

“No they don’t. Sometimes it is a matter
of infrastructure and cost. We might be able to provide enough
electricity with wind if we covered the country with windmills. Who
will buy or lease the land? Who will pay to build the infrastructure?
And, do we want a countryside with wall-to-wall windmills?

“Universal green energy will be achievable at
some future point, however investors don’t like to bank on a
promise and a prayer.

“My point is, I don’t think it’s a
simple or one-sided argument on either side of the issue. And please
understand. My story is not about whether green energy is good or
not. It most certainly is good. My story is about the color of greed
blended with the color of green energy in an unholy mix that is
unpalatable to any sane person or group.

“I can’t say yet who is behind the
fraud, but there are indications that the governor is up to his ears
in this mess. He ran on a business rejuvenation platform for
California, and the green energy sector looks to be the basket he put
most of his eggs in. What I can tell you is it is bigger than just
John Smiley and Solex Industries, and there is someone determined to
keep things from unraveling. Determined enough to kill.”

Chapter Forty: Love Stinks

Governor Robert Black sat in his office wondering
what his next move should be. As usual, he thought immediately of
Stanley Bryce, his top aide, and told his secretary to call him in.
His office had been contacted regarding a campaign finance issue,
something Bryce would know more about than anyone else, including
himself. There had been a number of potential disasters in recent
months, but, so far, Bryce had kept the vultures from feeding on the
governor’s career.

“Stanley, you told me you took care of the
Jennifer Gowan mess. You said that her death, while unfortunate,
would put the matter to rest. When it didn’t, you said that
there was no evidence, nothing to tie me to her.”

“Yes, and—”

“I’m not done,” said the governor,
as if talking to a disobedient child. “Now I have the attorney
general’s office asking about campaign contributions, and
mentioning both Judge Griggsby and Jennifer Gowan in the same call.”

“I can handle the campaign questions, as I
always do, Robert. As for the judge and the girl, I assure you, the
video has been destroyed. The girl is dead. Remember the underage
dancer in the Bahamas? Well, no one else does. We got past that, and
you can weather this, too. It will be a short news cycle. We stay on
point and—”

“That is the point, Stanley. People have died.
This isn’t going to go away. Someone has to be held
accountable. Someone is accountable.”

“Yes, you’re right. That’s good.
We have Fernando Lopez, he’s perfect. No one likes a pimp and a
drug dealer. We add blackmail and—”

“I’m afraid I am going to have to ask
for your resignation.”

“What?”

The governor’s voice changed. “You have
served me well for quite some time, Stanley, but I think the
political pressure may have become too great. I just wish I had seen
it coming sooner.”

Bryce could see the governor working out the sound
bite for a press conference before his very eyes. It was like
listening to his own funeral service, reading his own epitaph. Spin.
It’s what politicians did, and the governor was good at it.
Hell, it’s what Bryce was paid to do, and he was great at it.
He shouldn’t have been so shocked. Still, Bryce felt sick to
his stomach.

“Robert, what are you saying?”

“You have always been a bright boy. I think
you know.”

“What about us?”

The governor sneered. “Us? What we did—what
I let you do was a careless mistake, and you know it. There is no us.
There never could be. It was morally wrong.”

Bryce could see the revulsion in the governor’s
eyes. His stomach tightened into a knot. He knew then that the
governor didn’t feel as he did. The governor had used him and
now he was using him again. Perhaps that was his destiny—to be
used and then thrown away.

“I’ll have my resignation on your desk
in the morning.”

“Perhaps you should email it to Allison.
Goodbye, Stanley.”

The cold finality of those words was an avalanche
that buried Bryce somewhere deep inside. He left without saying
another word. He didn’t remember walking out past Allison, the
governor’s smiling secretary, or getting into his blue Nissan
Maxima and driving home. He was in a psychotic break.

Chapter Forty-one: All Roads Lead To Rome

When Raja picked up the phone, it was Detective
Rafferty. “The district attorney has requested all my files on
Fernando, and the Hope and Gowan cases. I was hoping to get some of
the information you and Vinny have uncovered. But, now that Fernando
is dead, I don’t see what else they can do.”

“I do,” said Raja. “Come on over,
and I’ll show you.”

Rafferty arrived at the Studio City building and
rode the elevator to the loft. “Must be nice,” he said,
more to himself than anything else, as he stepped into the spacious
loft. The skylights that covered half of the arching twenty-foot
ceilings, and a tiered waterfall on one wall gave the sense of still
being outdoors.

“Welcome, Tommy,” said Vinny, who
appeared from behind a huge Jackson Pollock painting that hung
suspended in mid air. She was dressed in her usual baggy T-shirt and
jeans that tried but failed to hide her model’s figure. There
was still a red mark on her cheek from her ordeal with Fernando, but
she was all smiles.

“Hey, there,” said Rafferty, always a
bit uncomfortable around beautiful women.

“Have we got the goods to show you. Come on.”
Vinny took him into the area where she had her futuristic-looking
computer setup. You couldn’t call it a room as there were no
walls, just a brick column and random sculptures that defined the
space.

“I’d like you to meet Bulldog,”
said Raja. He was standing next to the large glass computer screen
displaying a picture of Stanley Bryce wearing a cut-off T-shirt that
read Bulldog. “We thought it was a school mascot, but it turns
out it was Bryce’s nickname.” The picture changed to one
of Bryce from his youth. He was wearing a spiked dog collar. “Bryce
had met Judge Griggsby in the man-boy love circles when he was a
teenager.” Another picture showed the Judge and the teenage
Bryce.

“Jennifer Gowan’s phone number showed up
on Bryce’s phone records right up until her death. But it
appeared several years back as well. It is likely he knew her, and
arranged for the governor to meet her. Of course, we have the video
to connect her to the governor himself.

“We knew that Randall Hope was sleeping with
the judge’s wife, but now we know Bryce had met with Hope to
offer him a job, possibly to find out what he knew or to secure his
silence. And, of course, Clarice Hope was a donor to the governor’s
campaign, all done through Bryce. In fact, all the campaign finance
went through Bryce. It is how he made so many important connections.

“He also controlled several PACs, although
carefully hidden through intermediaries. There is a lot of Silicon
Valley money flowing through those coffers, including from John
Smiley, the CEO of Solex who was killed in the Starbucks bombing.
Heavy Hollywood donations showed up as well.”

“I didn’t think Bryce had that kind of
power,” said Rafferty.

“Apparently, he does. Needless to say, we have
found a lot of commonality with Governor Black, Stanley Bryce and the
victims in our case. Of course campaign donations alone do not a
murderer make.