The Southern Hemisphere is about eighty percent ocean, while the Northern Hemisphere is sixty percent ocean, causing another imbalance. In addition to that, the jet stream determines the path of storms, and there is no way to control that." Greenburg nodded, then hesitated. "Do you know why we're here, Mr. Kingsley?" Tanner studied Greenburg a moment. "I trust that that is a rhetorical question.
Otherwise, I would find it offensive. Kingsley International Group is a think tank. Four of my employees have died or disappeared mysteriously within a period of twenty-four hours. We have already started our own investigation.
We have offices in major cities around the world, with eighteen hundred employees, and it is obviously difficult for me to keep in contact with all of them. But what I have learned so far is that two of the employees who were murdered were apparently involved in illegal activities. It cost them their livesbut I assure you, it is not going to cost Kingsley International Group its reputation. I expect our people to resolve this very quickly." Greenburg spoke up. "Mr. Kingsley, there's something else. We understand that six years ago a Japanese scientist named Akira Iso committed suicide in Tokyo. Three years ago a Swiss scientist named Madeleine Smith committed suicide in-" Tanner interrupted. "Zurich. Neither of them committed suicide. They were murdered." The two detectives looked at him in surprise. Praegitzer asked, "How do you know that?" There was a hardened tone in Tanner's voice. "They were killed because of me." "When you say-" "Akira Iso was a brilliant scientist. He worked for a Japanese electronics conglomerate called Tokyo First Industrial. I met Iso at an international industry convention in Tokyo. We got along well. I felt that KIG could offer him a better atmosphere than the company he was with. I made him an offer to work here, and he accepted. In fact, he was very excited about it." Tanner was fighting to keep his voice steady. "We agreed to keep it confidential until he was legally able to leave that company. But he obviously mentioned it to someone, because there was an item about it in a newspaper column, and? Tanner stopped again for a long moment, then went on. "The day after the item appeared, Iso was found dead in a hotel room." Robert Praegitzer asked, "Mr. Kingsley, couldn't there have been other reasons that might explain his death?" Tanner shook his head. "No. I didn't believe he committed suicide. I hired investigators and sent them and some of my own people to Japan to try to learn what had happened. They couldn't find any evidence of foul play, and I thought that perhaps I was wrong, that possibly there was some tragedy in Iso's life that I knew nothing about." "Then why are you so sure now that he was murdered?" Green-burg wanted to know.
"As you mentioned, a scientist named Madeleine Smith supposedly committed suicide in Zurich, three years ago. What you don't know is that Madeleine Smith also wanted to leave the people she worked for and come to our company." Greenburg frowned. "What makes you think the two deaths are connected?" Tanner's face was stone. "Because the company she worked for is a branch of the same Tokyo First Industrial." There was a stunned silence.
Praegitzer said, "There's something I don't understand. Why would they murder an employee just because she wants to quit? If-" "Madeleine Smith wasn't just an employee. Neither was Iso. They were brilliant physicists who were about to solve problems that would have made the company a fortune larger than you can imagine.
That's why they didn't want to lose either of them to us." "Did the Swiss police investigate Smith's death?" "Yes. So did we. But again, we could prove nothing. As a matter of fact, we're still working on all the deaths that occurred, and I expect that we will solve them. KIG has far-reaching connections all over the world. If I get any useful information, I will be happy to share it with you. I hope you will reciprocate." Greenburg said, "That's fair enough." A gold-plated phone on Tanner's desk rang. "Excuse me." He walked over to the desk and picked up the phone. "Hello?Yes?The investigation's coming along very satisfactorily. As a matter of fact, two detectives are in my office at this moment, and they have agreed to cooperate with us." He glanced over at Praegitzer and Greenburg. "Right?I'll let you know when we have any further news." He replaced the receiver.
Greenburg asked, "Mr. Kingsley, are you working on anything sensitive here?" "You mean are we working on something sensitive enough to have half a dozen people murdered? Detective Greenburg, there are more than a hundred think tanks around the world, some of them working on exactly the same problems we are. We're not building atomic bombs here. The answer to your question is no." The door opened, and Andrew Kingsley walked into the office carrying a stack of papers. Andrew Kingsley bore little resemblance to his brother. His features seemed to be blurred. He had thinning gray hair, a lined face, and he walked in a slightly stooped posture. Whereas Tanner Kingsley was brimming with vitality and intelligence, Andrew Kingsley appeared to be slow-witted and apathetic. He spoke haltingly and seemed to have trouble putting sentences together.
"Here are those-you know-those notes you asked for, Tanner. I'm sorry I didn't finish-finish them earlier." "That's perfectly all right, Andrew." Tanner turned to the two detectives. "This is my brother, Andrew. Detectives Greenburg and Praegitzer." Andrew looked at them uncertainly and blinked.
"Andrew, do you want to tell them about your Nobel Prize?" Andrew looked at Tanner and said vaguely, "Yes, the Nobel Prize?the Nobel Prize? They watched as he turned and shuffled out of the room.