made more money than there are stars?”
“Yes,” Tiedman said very quietly. “Yes,” he said again. “There’s also
the reality that others lost at least an equal amount of money.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you’re correct that Arthur was being blackmailed to manipulate
rates, the extreme steps he took–adjusting the Fed Funds Rate by as
large as a percentage point at a time–leads me to conclude that damage
to others was intended.”
“Why?” Sawyer asked.
“Because if your goal was merely to profit from the adjustment in rates,
you wouldn’t need much in the way of movement to do so, so long as the
direction, up or down, was a surprise to the markets.
However, to the investments of others who anticipated a change in the
other direction, a point adjustment the other way is catastrophic.”
“Jesus. Any way to find out who took those kinds of hits?”
Tiedman smiled. “Lee, with the complexities of money movement today,
neither you nor I would have enough years left to do that.”
Tiedman didn’t speak for at least another minute, and Sawyer really
couldn’t think of anything else to say. When Tiedman finally broke the
silence, his voice was suddenly bone tired. “Until we had our earlier
discussion, I never had considered the possibility that Arthur’s
relationship with Steven Page could have been used to coerce him into
doing it. Now it seems rather obvious.”
“You understand, though, that we don’t have any proof that he was being
blackmailed?”
“We’ll probably never know the answer to that, I’m afraid,” said
Tiedman. “Not with Steven Page dead.”
“Do you know whether Lieberman ever met Page at his apartment?”
“I don’t believe that he did. Arthur mentioned to me once that he
leased a cottage in Connecticut. And he cautioned me about mentioning
it in front of his wife.”
“You think that was the rendezvous spot for Page and Lieberman?”
“It could’ve been.”
“I’ll tell you where I’m going with this. Steven Page left behind a
considerable estate when he died. Megabucks.”
Tiedman’s tone was one of complete shock. “I don’t understand. I
remember Arthur telling me more than once that Steven was always
complaining about money.”
“Nonetheless, it’s undisputed that he died a very rich man. I’m
wondering, could Lieberman have been the source of that wealth?”
“Highly unlikely. As I just said, Arthur’s conversations with me
indicated that he believed Steven to be far from affluent. In addition,
I think it quite impossible that Arthur could have transferred that kind
of money to Steven Page without his wife knowing about it.”
“Then why take a risk with leasing a cottage? Couldn’t they have met at
Page’s apartment?”
“All I can say is he never mentioned to me that he had visited Steven
Page’s apartment.”
“Well, maybe the cottage was Page’s idea.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, if Lieberman didn’t give Page the money, someone else had to.
Don’t you think Lieberman would’ve been suspicious if he had walked into
Page’s apartment and saw a Picasso on the wall? Wouldn’t he have wanted
to know where the funds came from?”
“Absolutely!”
“Actually, I’m certain Page wasn’t blackmailing Lieberman. At least not
directly.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Lieberman kept a picture of Page at his apartment. I don’t think he
would keep a blackmailer’s photo around. On top of that, we also found
a bunch of letters at Lieberman’s apartment. They were unsigned,
romantic in content. Lieberman obviously valued them highly.”
“You think Page was the author of those letters?”
“I know a way to tell for sure. You were friends with Page. Do you
have a sample of his writing?”
“Actually, I’ve kept several handwritten letters he wrote me while he
was working in New York. I can send them to you.” Tiedman paused.
Sawyer could hear him scribbling a note. “Lee, you’ve adeptly pointed
out ways Page could not have reaped his millions. So where did he get
his wealth?”
“Think about it. If Page and Lieberman were having an affair, that’s
plenty of ammo to blackmail him with, you agree?”
“Certainly.”
“Okay, what if someone else, a third party, encouraged Page to have an
affair with Lieberman.”
“But I introduced them. I hope you’re not accusing me of perpetrating