“Also I’ve come up with someone—a financier—who’s not on the board. Another investigator, a lot better qualified than I am to find these things out, has listed all the people who provide major financial support. And when I compare them to the board of trustees, I find a perfect match. With one exception.
“It’s that exception that’s troubling me. Why wouldn’t he be on the board of trustees? His name is David Hunter. Major General David Hunter, U.S. Air Force retired. He’s a scion of the ‘old money’ Hunter family, whose wealth came originally from Green Mountain Distilleries, founded in 1828. His great-great-grandfather predicted Prohibition, and built a distillery in Alberton, Ontario. When his forecast came true, he profited big time, from smuggling.
“As an Air Force officer, David Hunter’s postings were more administrative and political than military. His career took off—no pun intended—after he was assigned to Air Force Intelligence. And he took an early and unpublicized retirement less than two weeks after the One-Day War, which occurred only three weeks after an unpublicized working trip to Damascus.” Cochran paused.
“So?” Lee prompted.
“I realize none of that is incriminating in any way. But it does tell me something about his family and the way it does business. And it suggests a personality given to manipulation and intrigue. A personality who might be attracted to covert activities to get its way.
“And again, why would he decline to be a member of Millennium’s board? I doubt very much that the members have to carry out any actual board duties, unless they want to. Memberships on the boards of foundations are often more honorary than anything else.”
“What does this ex-general do now?” Lee asked. “Since he left the Air Force.”
“He’s a high-priced consultant, a fixer of ‘broken companies.’ He bails out once successful corporations that have fallen on hard times, often acquiring temporary executive authority to do it with. He’s supposed to be very good at what he does. He certainly charges enough.”
Lee was interested in spite of herself; interested yet resistive. “So what are you trying to tell me?” she asked.
“I was skeptical of Millennium’s purposes myself once. But I’ve been more thoroughly immersed in its operations than an investigative reporter could possibly be, and seen nothing the least bit suspicious. And there’s an obvious explanation for the general to keep his Millennium connection quiet. He doesn’t have a buffered permanent position; he sells his services. And prospective clients might be uncomfortable with his Millennium connections. Cultish, you know.”
She paused after her last sentence. “Why did you come to me with this?” she asked.
“Partly because you don’t seem to have the emotional investment in Millennium that the others here do, and partly because you’re brighter than hell. And you know Millennium’s inside workings and still respect it, which is the kind of commendation for it that money can’t buy.”
Cochran had said that to make points with her; now it occurred to him that it was true.
“You and I both know that Millennium and Ngunda Aran have done a lot for the country,” he went on, “especially through Hand and Ladder and Bailout. But what are Hunter’s objectives? His credentials as a philanthropist? I haven’t found any except his support of Millennium. On the other hand, he’s been instrumental in takeovers of several corporations. (Engineered them.) And you and I both know that Millennium spends a lot more than it earns. Taking all this together makes me wonder what plans Hunter might have for Millennium.”
She gnawed her lip thoughtfully. She couldn’t imagine someone putting anything over on Lor Lu, but . . . “So you want me to do—what?” she asked.
“Besides completing our interview, I’d like you to see if you can find anything about David Hunter in the dim dark recesses of Millennium’s mainframe. By and large, concealment technology is ahead of snooping technology these days, but with your insider knowledge, and your access . . .”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Lee told him. “That doesn’t mean I’ll make a research project out of it. I can’t imagine I could get away with one. Or that there’s anything ominous going on. But I’ll make a cursory search, and if I find anything suggestive, I’ll let you know.”