mc.risingsun-第38章

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　I　said；　〃You　think　the　Japanese　are　doing　this？〃
　〃I　think　the　Weasel　does　jobs　for　people。　He　is　a　scumbag　for　hire。　He　does　jobs　for　the　studios；　record　panies；　brokerage　houses；　even　the　realtors。　He's　a　consultant。　The　Weasel　now　drives　a　Mercedes　500SL；　you　know。〃
　〃Oh；　yeah？〃
　〃Pretty　good　on　a　reporter's　salary；　wouldn't　you　say？〃
　〃Yeah；　I　would。〃
　〃So。　You　got　on　the　wrong　side　of　somebody？　You　do　that　last　night？〃
　〃Maybe。〃
　〃Because　somebody　called　the　Weasel　to　track　you　down。〃
　I　said；　〃I　can't　believe　this。〃
　〃Believe　it；〃　Ken　said。　〃The　only　thing　that　worries　me　is　the　Weasel's　source　inside　Parker　Center。　Somebody　in　the　department's　leaking　him　internal　affairs　stuff。　You　okay　inside　your　own　department？〃
　〃As　far　as　I　know。〃
　〃Good。　Because　the　Weasel　is　up　to　his　usual　tricks。　This　morning　I　talked　to　Roger　Basb；　our　in…house　counsel。〃
　〃And？〃
　〃Guess　who　called　him　all　hot　and　bothered　with　a　question　last　night？　The　Weasel。　And　you　want　to　guess　what　the　question　was？〃
　I　said　nothing。
　〃The　question　was；　does　serving　as　a　police　press…officer　make　an　individual　a　public　personality？　As　in；　a　public　personality　who　can't　sue　for　libel？〃
　I　said；　〃Jesus。〃
　〃Right。〃
　〃And　the　answer？〃
　〃Who　cares　about　the　answer？　You　know　how　this　works。　All　the　Weasel　has　to　do　is　call　a　few　people　and　say；　'Hi；　this　is　Bill　Wilhelm　over　here　at　the　L。A。　Times。　We're　going　with　a　story　tomorrow　that　says　Lieutenant　Peter　Smith　is　a　child　molester；　do　you　have　any　ment　on　that？'　A　few　well…placed　calls；　and　the　story　doesn't　even　have　to　run。　The　editors　can　kill　it　but　the　damage　is　already　done。〃
　I　said　nothing。　I　knew　what　Ken　was　telling　me　was　true。　I　had　seen　it　happen　more　than　once。
　I　said；　〃What　can　I　do？〃
　Ken　laughed。　〃You　could　arrange　one　of　your　famous　incidents　of　L。A。　police　brutality。〃
　〃That's　not　funny。〃
　〃Nobody　at　this　paper　would　cover　it；　I　can　promise　you　that。　You　could　fucking　kill　him。　And　if　somebody　made　a　home　video？　Hey；　people　here　would　pay　to　see　it　on　video。〃
　〃Ken。〃
　Ken　sighed。　〃I　can　dream。　Okay。　There's　one　thing。　Last　year；　after　Wilhelm　was　involved　in　the；　ah；　change　of　management　over　in　Calendar；　I　got　an　anonymous　package　in　the　mail。　So　did　a　few　other　people。　Nobody　did　anything　about　it　at　the　time。　It's　pretty　dirty　pool。　You　interested？〃
　〃Yeah。〃
　Ken　took　a　small　manila　envelope　from　the　inside　pocket　of　his　sport　coat。　It　had　one　of　those　strings　that　you　wrap　back　and　forth　to　close　it。　Inside　was　a　series　of　photos；　printed　in　a　strip。　It　showed　Willy　Wilhelm　engaged　in　an　intimate　act　with　a　dark…haired　man。　His　head　buried　in　his　lap。
　〃You　can't　see　the　Weasel's　face　too　well　in　all　the　angles；〃　Ken　said。　〃But　it's　him；　all　right。　Action　snap　of　the　reporter　entertaining　his　source。　Having　a　drink　with　him；　so　to　speak。〃
　〃Who　is　the　guy？〃
　〃It　took　us　a　while。　His　name　is　Barry　Borman。　He's　the　regional　head　of　sales　for　Kaisei　Electronics　in　southern　California。〃
　〃What　can　I　do　with　this？〃
　〃Give　me　your　card；〃　Ken　said。　〃I'll　clip　it　to　the　envelope；　and　have　it　delivered　to　the　Weasel。〃
　I　shook　my　head。　〃I　don't　think　so。〃
　〃It'd　sure　make　him　think　twice。〃
　〃No；〃　I　said。　〃It's　not　for　me。〃
　Ken　shrugged。　〃Yeah。　It　might　not　work；　anyway。　Even　if　we　squeeze　the　Weasel's　nuts；　the　Japanese　probably　have　other　ways。　I　still　haven't　been　able　to　find　out　how　that　story　ran　last　night。　All　I　hear　is；　'Orders　from　the　top；　orders　from　the　top。'　Whatever　that　means。　It　could　mean　anything。〃
　〃Somebody　must　have　written　it。〃
　〃I　tell　you；　I　can't　find　out。　But　you　know；　the　Japanese　have　a　powerful　influence　at　the　paper。　It's　more　than　just　the　ads　they　take。　It's　more　than　their　relentless　PR　machine　drumming　out　of　Washington；　or　the　local　lobbying　and　the　campaign　contributions　to　political　figures　and　organizations。　It's　the　sum　of　all　those　things　and　more。　And　it's　starting　to　be　insidious。　I　mean；　you　can　be　sitting　around　in　a　staff　meeting　discussing　some　article　that　we　might　run；　and　you　suddenly　realize；　nobody　wants　to　offend　them。　It　isn't　a　question　of　whether　a　story　is　right　or　wrong；　news　or　not　news。　And　it　isn't　a　one…to…one　equation；　like　'We　can't　say　that　or　they'll　pull　their　ads。'　It's　more　subtle　than　that。　Sometimes　I　look　at　my　editors；　and　I　can　tell　they　won't　go　with　certain　stories　because　they　are　afraid。　They　don't　even　know　what　they　are　afraid　of。　They're　just　afraid。〃
　〃So　much　for　a　free　press。〃
　〃Hey；〃　Ken　said。　〃This　is　not　the　time　for　sophomore　bullshit。　You　know　how　it　works。　The　American　press　reports　the　prevailing　opinion。　The　prevailing　opinion　is　the　opinion　of　the　group　in　power。　The　Japanese　are　now　in　power。　The　press　reports　the　prevailing　opinion　as　usual。　No　surprises。　Just　take　care。〃
　〃I　will。〃
　〃And　don't　hesitate　to　call；　if　you　decide　you　want　to　arrange　mail　service。〃
　
　*　*　*
　
　I　wanted　to　talk　to　Connor。　I　was　beginning　to　understand　why　Connor　had　been　worried；　and　why　he　had　wanted　to　conclude　the　investigation　quickly。　Because　a　well…mounted　campaign　of　innuendo　is　a　fearsome　thing。　A　skillful　practitioner　…　and　the　Weasel　was　skillful　…　would　arrange　it　so　that　a　new　story　came　out；　day　after　day；　even　when　nothing　happened。　You　got　headlines　like　GRAND　JURY　UNDECIDED　ON　POLICEMAN'S　GUILT　when　in　fact　the　grand　jury　hadn't　met　yet。　But　people　saw　the　headlines；　day　after　day；　and　drew　their　own　conclusions。
　The　truth　was；　there　was　always　a　way　to　spin　it。　At　the　end　of　the　innuendo　campaign；　if　your　subject　was　found　blameless；　you　could　still　mount　a　headline　like　GRAND　JURY　FAILS　TO　FIND　POLICEMAN　GUILTY　or　DISTRICT　ATTORNEY　UNWILLING　TO　PROSECUTE　ACCUSED　COP。　Headlines　like　that　were　as　bad　as　a　conviction。
　And　there　was　no　way　to　bounce　back　from　weeks　of　negative　press。　Everybody　remembered　the　accusation。　Nobody　remembered　the　exoneration。　That　was　human　nature。　Once　you　were　accused；　it　was　tough　to　get　back　to　normal。
　It　was　getting　creepy；　and　I　had　a　lot　of　bad　feelings。　I　was　a　little　preoccupied；　pulling　into　the　parking　lot　next　to　the　physics　department　at　U。S。C。；　when　the　phone　rang　again。　It　was　assistant　chief　Olson。
　〃Peter。〃
　〃Yes；　sir。〃
　〃It's　almost　ten　o'clock。　I　thought　you'd　be　down　here　putting　the　tapes　on　my　desk。　You　promised　them　to　me。〃
　〃I've　been　having　trouble　getting　the　tapes　copied。〃
　〃Is　that　what　you've　been　doing？〃
　〃Sure。　Why？〃
　〃Because　from　the　calls　I　get；　it　sounds　like　you　aren't　dropping　this　investigation；〃　Jim　Olson　said。　〃In　the　last　hour；　you've　been　out　asking　questions　at　a　Japanese　research　institute。　Then　you've　interrogated　a　scientist　who　works　for　a　Japanese　research　institute。　You're　hanging　around　some　Japanese　seminar。　Let's　get　it　straight；　Peter。　Is　the　investigation　over；　or　not？〃
　〃It's　over；〃　I　said。　〃I'm　just　trying　to　get　the　tapes　copied。〃
　〃Make　sure　that's　all　it　is；〃　he　said。
　〃Right；　Jim。〃
　〃For　the　good　of　the　whole　department　…　and　the　individuals　in　it　…　I　want　this　thing　behind　us。〃
　〃Right；　Jim。〃
　〃I　don't　want　to　lose　control　of　this　situation。〃
　〃I　understand。〃
　〃I　hope　you　do；〃　he　said。　〃Get　the　copies　made；　and　get　your　ass　down　here。〃　And　he　hung　up。
　I　parked　the　car；　and　went　into　the　physics　building。
　
　？
　I　waited　at　the　top　of　the　lecture　hall　while　Phillip　Sanders　finished　his　lecture。　He　stood　in　front　of　a　blackboard　covered　with　plex　formulas。　There　were　about　thirty　students　in　the　room；　most　of　them　seated　down　near　the　front。　I　could　see　the　backs　of　their　heads。
　Dr。　Sanders　was　about　forty　years　old；　one　of　those　energetic　types；　in　constant　motion；　pacing　back　and　forth；　tapping　the　equations　on　the　blackboard　in　short　emphatic　jabs　with　his　chalk　as　he　pointed　to　the　〃signal　covariant　ratio　determination〃　and　the　〃factorial　delta　bandwidth　noise。〃　I　couldn't　even　guess　what　subject　he　was　teaching。　Finally　I　concluded　it　must　be　electrical　engineering。
　When　the　bell　rang　on　the　hour；　the　class　stood　and　packed　up　their　bags。　I　was　startled：　nearly　everyone　in　the　class　was　Asian；　both　men　and　women。　Those　that　weren't　Oriental　were　Indian　or　Pakistani。　Out　of　thir