‘I don’t get it,’ Jack said.
‘My contact at the FAA was able to call someone who knew someone who
works in a European organization that doles out landing and takeoff
times all over Europe,’ Lou explained. ‘They also get the flight plans
and store them for over sixty days. Franconi’s G4 came to France from
Equatorial Guinea.’
‘Where?’ Jack questioned as his eyebrows collided in an expression of
total confusion. ‘I never even heard of Equatorial Guinea. Is it a
country?’
‘Check out page one hundred fifty-two!’ Lou said.
‘What’s this about a Franconi and a G4?’ Laurie asked.
‘A G4 is a private jet,’ Lou explained. ‘I was able to find out for Jack
that Franconi had been out of the country. We thought he’d been in
France until I got this new information.’
Jack got to page 152 in the atlas. It was a map labeled ‘the Western
Congo Basin,’ covering a huge portion of western Africa.
‘All right, give me a hint,’ Jack said.
Lou pointed over Jack’s shoulder. ‘It’s this little tiny country between
Cameroon and Gabon. The city that the plane flew out of is Bata, on the
coast.’ He pointed to the appropriate dot. The atlas depicted the
country as mostly uninterrupted green.
Laurie got up from her chair and looked over Jack’s other shoulder. ‘I
think I remember hearing about that country one time. I think that’s
where the writer Frederick Forsyth went to write Dogs of War.’
Lou slapped the top of his head in utter amazement. ‘How do you remember
stuff like that? I can’t remember where I had lunch last Tuesday.’
Laurie shrugged. ‘I read a lot of novels,’ she said. ‘Writers interest
me.’
‘This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,’ Jack complained. ‘This is an
undeveloped part of Africa. This country must be covered with nothing
but jungle. In fact, this whole part of Africa is nothing but jungle.
Franconi couldn’t have gotten a liver transplant there.’
‘That was my reaction, too,’ Lou said. ‘But the other information makes
a little more sense. I tracked Alpha Aviation through its Nevada
management corporation to its real owner. It’s GenSys Corp in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.’
‘I’ve heard of GenSys,’ Laurie said. ‘It’s a biotech firm that’s big in
vaccines and lymphokines. I remember because a girlfriend of mine who’s
a broker in Chicago recommended the stock. She’s forever giving me tips,
thinking I’ve got tons of money to invest.’
‘A biotech company!’ Jack mused. ‘Hmmm. That’s a new twist. It must be
significant, although I don’t quite know how. Nor do I know what a
biotech firm would be doing in Equatorial Guinea.’
‘What’s the meaning of this indirect corporate trail in Nevada?’ Laurie
asked. ‘Is GenSys trying to hide the fact that they own an aircraft?’
‘I doubt it,’ Lou said. ‘I was able to learn the connection too easily.
If GenSys was trying to conceal ownership, the lawyers in Nevada would
have continued to be the directors and officers of record for Alpha
Aviation. Instead, at the first board meeting the chief financial
officer of GenSys assumed the duties of president and secretary.’
‘Then why Nevada for an airplane owned by a Massachusetts-based
company?’ Laurie asked.
‘I’m no lawyer,’ Lou admitted. ‘But I’m sure it has something to do with
taxes and limitation of liability. Massachusetts is a terrible state to
get sued in. I imagine GenSys leases its plane out for the percentage of
the time it doesn’t use it, and insurance for a Nevada-based company
would be a lot less.’
‘How well do you know this broker friend of yours?’ Jack asked Laurie.
‘Really well,’ Laurie said. ‘We went to Wesleyan University together.’
‘How about giving her a call and asking her if she knows of any
connection between GenSys and Equatorial Guinea,’ Jack said. ‘If she
recommended the stock, she’d probably thoroughly researched the
company.’
‘Without a doubt,’ Laurie said. ‘Jean Corwin was one of the most
compulsive students I knew. She made us premeds seem casual by
comparison.’
‘Is it all right if Laurie uses your phone?’ Jack asked Lou.
‘No problem,’ Lou said.
‘You want me to call this minute?’ Laurie asked with surprise.
‘Catch her while she’s still at work,’ Jack said. ‘Chances are if she