A Woman Involved (41 page)

Morgan hung up and looked for a taxi, feeling that he had had a good day. He had missed out on Meteor Air but the rain had saved him from golf. He was doubtful if he could trust Benetti, even if he was cooperative. Which was even more doubtful. But it was all potentially useful local knowledge, and it had come his way easily.

He told the taxi-driver to take him to
Il Figaro
newspaper.

Miguel Milano was much less approachable in the flesh than he had been on the telephone. He was a sharp-faced, bearded Italian-American in his mid-thirties, with an abrupt manner.
‘I’m afraid I can only give you fifteen minutes, Mr Armstrong. And let me say at the outset that there
are
no experts on God’s Banker. You would need to be a team of detectives and accountants rolled into one. What do you want to know?’

Morgan said, ‘You reported on the inquest in London after he was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was he murdered?’ ‘Yes.’

‘Not suicide?’

‘He was
suicided.
Meaning murder made to look like suicide.’

Morgan said, ‘Who murdered him?’

Miguel said flatly: ‘The Vatican.’

Morgan stared. ‘The
Vatican
? Not the Russians?’

‘What has Russia to do with this?’

Morgan sighed inwardly. Maybe this man wasn’t going to be so useful after all. ‘Can you prove that the Vatican murdered him?’

‘If I could I wouldn’t be sitting here today, I would be suicided too. “The Italian Solution” it’s called.’

Morgan sat forward. ‘Why do you suspect the Vatican?’

Miguel got up and went to a cabinet. He pulled out a file six inches thick. He slapped it on the desk. He pulled out two more files and slapped them down.

‘There’re the newspaper reports plus the inquest in England, plus Calvi’s trial in Italy before he was murdered. You can’t expect me to summarize very much in fifteen minutes.’

Morgan said hastily, ‘Let me be more specific. Firstly, why did God’s Banker run to England?’

Miguel sat down again. ‘To get his hands on some documents. With which to blackmail the Vatican.’

Morgan felt his pulse trip in exultation. ‘What documents?’

‘If I knew that I’d solve the whole mystery.’

‘Who was he going to get these documents
from
?’

‘From somebody in the P2.’

Morgan blinked. ‘What’s P2?’

‘A secret society.’

Morgan frowned. ‘Does the name Max Hapsburg mean anything to you?’

‘Sure. He’s an economist of sorts. From the Caribbean.’

‘Right. Was
he
a member of this P2?’ Morgan demanded.

Miguel said, ‘I wouldn’t know. There’re about two thousand members of P2 and only the Grand Master knows who they all are – they aren’t even all known to each other. What has Hapsburg got to do with this?’

‘Can you tell me more about P2?’

Miguel sighed. He said, by rote:

‘P2 is a lodge of the Freemasons. Its declared purpose is to defend the world against communism. Ultra-right-wing. Its members are top army officers, top industrialists, top civil servants, top bankers, professionals, world-wide. They are, or try to be, a sort of government within governments. If Italy elected a communist government tomorrow, for example, P2 would mount a coup immediately and take over the country. P2 bank-rolls right-wing régimes, in South America particularly, does arms deals for them, espionage, pressurizing other governments through their international network, gets them bank loans, trade deals, et cetera. They call themselves “Defenders of the Free World”. In practice they are also making fortunes for themselves by highly illegal transactions.’

‘Bank loans? To governments?’

‘One of their chores. Most of the repressive governments in South America, for example, are bankrupt. They’ve got massive loans outstanding. They constantly need more loans to cover the old ones.’ He added, ‘And to buy more arms, et cetera.’

Morgan took a deep breath. Oh boy … 

‘Is it known who the Grand Master of P2 is?’

‘A man called Gelli. Italian who’s taken on Argentinian citizenship. One of the most powerful men in the world. A king-maker. A master blackmailer on the international scale. That’s how P2 gets its power.’

‘By
black
mail?’

Miguel said wearily: ‘Anybody who joins P2 has to present the Grand Master with two pieces of evidence. One must be damaging to the applicant himself, to ensure his loyalty. The other evidence must be damaging to another important person whom P2 wants to join the club – so that the Grand Master can pressurize that person into joining. And then that person must
bring along evidence against some other powerful person. And so on.’

Evidence
… ‘Gelli is literally a king-maker?’

Miguel said, ‘For example. Perón was overthrown as President of Argentina, and fled to Spain. Years later he returned to Argentina as President. Who arranged that?’ He answered himself: ‘When Perón returned, he publicly knelt at the feet of Gelli.’

Morgan sat back. ‘Good God.’

‘Gelli’s been in blackmail all his life. During the war he spied for the highest bidder. After the war he specialized in smuggling Nazi war criminals to South America. He charged forty per cent of what they were worth. And most were worth a fortune in looted treasure.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘After that, Gelli went to South America himself. Ingratiated himself with the right-wing military people and Nazis down there. Joined the Masons to help himself along. Then he formed P2, a brotherhood within the brotherhood.’

Smuggling Nazi war criminals?
‘Klaus Barbie? “The Butcher of Lyons”,’ Morgan said. ‘Did Gelli smuggle him to South America?’

Miguel said irritably, ‘What’s Klaus Barbie got to do with this? Barbie worked for American Intelligence in Germany after the war, tracking down communists. That had been part of his job under Hitler. Barbie was a wanted Nazi war criminal but the Americans sheltered him because he was useful. When that ended, the
Americans
gave him a new identity, a fake passport, and smuggled him to South America. And when he got to Bolivia, he continued to supply the CIA with information.’ He added, ‘He also worked for the military régime and he ran a murder squad protecting the cocaine trade for officers in the Bolivian government. He knew Gelli, sure, but it was the Americans who smuggled him out of Germany.’ Miguel glanced at his watch significantly.

Morgan said hastily, ‘Why haven’t the French prosecuted him yet?’

‘Because Barbie knows too much. I don’t know what but I hear on the grapevine that he threatens to start a smear campaign at his trial, maybe against the heroes of the French
Resistance during the war, who knows? I thought you wanted to know about God’s Banker?’

‘I do. One more question, please …’ He marshalled his thoughts. ‘God’s Banker fled to England to get hold of some documents to blackmail the Vatican? Blackmail them for
what
?’

Miguel said bluntly, ‘For money.’

Morgan rubbed his chin. ‘But
just
money? You’ve told me that P2 is into high-powered politics. King-making. Et cetera. Was there something
else
that God’s Banker was after, perhaps?’

Miguel smacked the pile of files. ‘I simply haven’t got time to explain it to you in detail. But God’s Banker was a financial adviser to the Vatican Bank. In addition, he was laundering money for the Mafia, was paymaster to the P2, was smuggling money illegally out of Italy for favoured clients, and was stealing money for himself from his
own
bank. To do all this he set up ghost companies in such places as Liechtenstein and Panama and the Bahamas, in collaboration with the Vatican Bank – in fact, the Vatican Bank partly
owned
Banco Ambrosiana. And these ghost companies borrowed money from overseas banks, to do such things as arms deals for South American military régimes. And to buy Vatican assets as part of schemes to get money out of Italy. For example, a ghost company in Panama buys some shares the Vatican owns in an Italian industry. To pay for them the Panama company borrows money from another ghost company owned by Banco Ambrosiana. This company has borrowed money from, say, a British bank. Banco Ambrosiana pays the money to the Vatican Bank for the shares. Because the Vatican Bank is not subject to Italian banking laws it can transfer money out of the country easily. The Vatican hands over the Italian shares to the Panama ghost company – but because the Vatican is a partner in the ghost company it still owns the shares. Meanwhile the Vatican pays the money into God’s Banker’s private Swiss bank account, less a commission. And everybody is happy. The Vatican is happy because it’s still got its shares plus a fat commission on the fraudulent deal, and God’s Banker’s happy because he’s just stolen the purchase price which he’s indirectly borrowed from the British bank.’ Miguel waved his hand in disgust. ‘And the international banks were queuing up to lend money to God’s Banker and
his ghost companies. Why? Because he was involved with the Vatican Bank – and because Bishop Marcinkus, the president of the Vatican Bank, was on the board of directors of these companies.’

Morgan was astounded. ‘Good Lord … I’m a babe in the woods …’

‘But don’t imagine that Bishop Marcinkus is.’

Morgan shook his head. ‘And how did the arms deals work?’

Miguel said impatiently: ‘Same way. The P2 generals in South America need arms. Arms cost money. The generals are bankrupt. So Gelli and the P2 generals lean on God’s Banker for money. So one of his ghost companies in Panama buys the arms, with money borrowed from a bank owned by Banco Ambrosiana, who in turn borrows the money from a British bank. The British bank happily lends the money because God’s Banker and Bishop Marcinkus are on the board of directors. The arms arrive in Panama, and the ghost company ships them to Bolivia or Peru or wherever. Simple. Disgusting, but simple.’

‘So the Vatican
knew
that it was assisting the buying of arms for repressive military régimes?’

‘The Vatican
Bank
knew. So what do you think? The
previous
Pope was going to fire Bishop Marcinkus and all the top brass at the Vatican Bank, for this very sort of thing, but
this
Pope re-confirmed them all in their positions.’

Morgan frowned. ‘But do you think this Pope is … dishonest?’

‘Naive. I only know it’s very wrong to keep such people running the Church’s bank. Or any bank.’

Morgan rubbed his hand over his face.

‘So how did the whole thing blow up?’

Miguel said: ‘Finally, Banco Ambrosiana was in trouble, with over a thousand
million
dollars missing from its vaults from all his thefts and crooked deals, and the Bank of Italy inspectors were chasing them.’ He flicked open the big file and rifled through it impatiently. He pulled out a letter. He said:

‘The ghost company in Panama that did most of the arms deals was called Bellatrix.’

Morgan stared at him.
Bellatrix?

Miguel went on: ‘Bellatrix and the other ghost companies borrowed over nine hundred
million
dollars from a bank in
Peru, which was partly owned by God’s Banker. When God’s Banker got into financial trouble, his co-directors in Peru demanded to know who actually
owned
Bellatrix, who therefore actually
owed
them the nine hundred million. So what happens? A miracle!’ He leaned forward. ‘The Vatican Bank, at God’s Banker’s request, wrote this letter,’ he held up a photocopy, ‘to the Peruvian bank, acknowledging that the
Vatican Bank
owned Bellatrix – the company that was buying all the arms – and acknowledging that the Vatican Bank therefore owed the nine hundred million dollars!’

He tossed Morgan the letter. Morgan stared at it. It was the very same letter which he had found in Max’s deposit box in Zurich! The letter which was in his pocket right now … 
So the Meteor Air waybill was in respect of a shipment of arms from Malta to Panama!
… Miguel went on:

‘So the Peruvian bank directors heaved a sigh of relief. The Holy Roman Church itself was the guarantor for the loan to Bellatrix. But – aha!’ Miguel held up a finger. ‘There was one little snag … It was another letter which God’s Banker formally wrote to the Vatican Bank –’ He pulled it out of the file – ‘dated four days
before
! And in it he says if the Vatican Bank will admit that they are the owners of Bellatrix and responsible for the debt, this “would entail
no liabilities
for the Vatican Bank”!’

Morgan stared at the letter.

‘Good God … So God’s Banker made a secret deal with the Vatican Bank letting them off the hook provided they bluffed the Peruvian bankers? That’s fraud.’

‘Exactly,’ Miguel said with disgust. ‘It was a plot to defraud the South American banks into
not
chasing their debt. Thereby gaining time.’

Morgan sat back. Stunned.
And now he knew what God’s Banker wanted the microfilm for … 

‘But,’ he said, ‘if the Vatican Bank owns Bellatrix, surely they can be legally forced to pay?’

Miguel shook his head with a scornful leer.

‘Not yet, they haven’t. No,
sir
. The Vatican Bank is piously claiming that they were only the nominees, that they knew nothing about what these ghost companies really
did
, oh dear me no, that their letter to the Peruvian bankers was only a
“letter of patronage”, a sort of character reference for God’s Banker who they had believed was such an honest man, et cetera, et cetera …’Miguel glared, then leant across the desk. ‘
That
is what God’s so-called Banker ran to London for … to try to get his hands on some documents which would
force
the Vatican Bank to pay up! Blackmail them into paying up over nine hundred million dollars … And then some more.’

Morgan stared. Of course. With the microfilm God’s Banker could have blackmailed the Vatican to Kingdom Come. He sat back. This was what his Church’s bank was involved in? … Arms. Fraud. He was appalled. …

But thank God that Miguel was wrong in thinking that it was the Vatican who murdered God’s Banker to stop him blackmailing them – Morgan knew it was the Russians, to protect their secret weapon in the Vatican. And he was sure there was some further vital point that he was missing. Miguel did not know what the blackmail documents were, but Morgan did, and it was political dynamite. He repeated: