The Nostradamus File

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

"A cat?"

Elizabeth looked at the huge orange cat in Selena's arms. His ear was tattered and torn. He had only one front tooth. He drooled. He sounded like a truck in need of a tune up.

"That's not a cat. It's a fugitive from a zoo. You want it to live here?"

"He's not just any cat," Selena said. "Burps is a hero. He saved our lives in California."

"That cat," Elizabeth said. "The one that makes noises."

"Only when he eats too much. He won't be any trouble. Burps is an outdoor cat. He'll keep the moles out of the flowers. Steph and I will take care of him."

"I couldn't leave him in California," Nick said. "Think of him as added security. A watch cat."

"We need a mascot," Stephanie said. "A good luck mascot."

"I think he should live here," Ronnie said. "It lightens things up a little. I can make a cat door for the tool shed. He could go in there when the weather's bad."

Elizabeth knew when she was outnumbered. "All right."

Burps had been watching her. He purred louder. The sound rumbled across the room.

"See?" Selena said. "He knows. He's a very smart cat."

She carried the cat over to the garden doors and set him down. She opened the door. Burps looked, walked outside and sat down. He began cleaning his paw. Selena closed the door.

"I talked with Lamont's doctors," Elizabeth said. "They're keeping him in Germany for another day, then they're sending him back here to Bethesda. But he's out of commission for a while."

"What happens now?" Nick said.

"If Adam is right, Cask and Swords is behind this. The man at the center of that is a banker named Harrison. I've got full electronic surveillance on him. Most of the time we know what he's doing."

"Most of the time?"

"He uses an encrypted sat phone sometimes. I don't think he's talking about banking. Speaking of which, Stephanie managed to look at the offshore accounts where he keeps most of the money. Tell them what you found out, Steph."

"Harrison's main accounts are in the British Virgin Islands and the Caymans. That gives him a nice, legal tax dodge. The accounts are set up in shell companies with several layers of separation from Harrison. He's heavily invested in defense industries, gas and oil and real estate. His bank did quite well with the financial meltdown and the government money that went out. He's also funding a few foreign politicians."

"Can he do that?"

"As a private individual, yes. The main recipient is an Israeli politician named Weisner. He's the leader of an extremist right wing party that wants to reclaim the West Bank and Gaza and kick all the Arabs out of Israel. He also advocates using nukes against Iran."

"There's an election coming up in Israel," Elizabeth said. "Weisner is a serious contender to become the next Prime Minister."

"Why would Harrison back someone like that?" Nick asked.

"Weisner's policies could start another war. War means big bucks for Harrison and his friends. Harrison has made several public statements attacking Islam. A war over there with a lot of Muslim casualties would appeal to him."

"Where does the Ark come in?" Ronnie said.

"If the Ark turns up, Weisner would use it to beat the drums for war. For what it's worth, his first name is Joshua."

"So the Arab world is the new Jericho?"

"It might as well be, as far as he's concerned."

"Son of a bitch," Nick said. They all looked at him.

"Now I know what Herzog wasn't telling me, back in Jordan."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth said.

"When we were talking, I got the feeling he wasn't telling us something. He must know Harrison is backing this guy. Why didn't he want us to know?"

"He probably didn't want to air Israel's dirty laundry," Elizabeth said. "Strictly speaking, it wasn't necessary for you to know. It's not directly related to finding the Ark."

Nick felt his blood pressure rising. "It would have saved us some time if he'd pointed us at Harrison."

"Whatever we may think, we don't have proof yet about Harrison's involvement with Bertrand's murder and the attacks on you," Elizabeth said. "Until we have it, there isn't a lot we can do."

"There's something I can do."

"What?"

"Talk to Herzog."