The Ghost Writer Page #7

I can't even remember what it was called.

- Can I show you something else?

- Lf you must.

Oh, my.

Is that what I think it is?

Let's hope he didn't inhale.

But that is you standing behind him,

isn't it?

I do believe it is.

And I do believe I'm on the point

of issuing a stern warning to him

on the perils of drug abuse.

Is Mr. Lang really going to use

these pictures in his memoirs?

If so, I would prefer it if I weren't named.

My children would be mortified.

They're so much more puritanical

than we were.

- Can you tell me about any of the others?

- No, I'm afraid not.

The whole summer is a blur,

a very happy blur.

Now, you were going to tell me

about these pictures.

I got them from Michael McAra.

And he is whom, exactly?

My predecessor on Lang's memoirs.

- He resigned?

- No, he died.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Yes, a couple of weeks ago.

He drove up here to see you.

And he died a few hours afterwards.

He drove up to see me?

No, I'm afraid you're mistaken.

- How did he die?

- He drowned.

Poor fellow.

I've never really believed the myth that

death by drowning is painless, have you?

Seems to me it must be agonizing.

And the police never said anything to you

about this?

I've had no contact with the police.

But were you here that weekend?

This would have been

January, the 11th and 12th.

A less equable man than I might start

to find your questions impertinent.

Nancy?

Nancy?

Our visitor wishes to know where we were

on the 11th and 12th of January.

Do we possess that information?

That was the Colorado weekend.

Yes, of course, the Aspen Institute.

Bipolar relationships in a multi-polar world.

- Sounds fun.

- Yes, it was. I was the main speaker.

Look, just to return to Cambridge...

No, if you don't mind,

let's not return to Cambridge.

I've said all I have to say on that subject.

I'm an avid reader of political memoirs.

I'll get hold of Mr. Lang's when they appear.

Perhaps he'll send you a copy,

for old time's sake.

I doubt that very much.

The gate will open automatically.

Be sure to make a right

when you get to the end of the drive.

If you turn left, the road

will take you deeper into the woods

and you may never be seen again.

BMW ConnectedDrive.

When is the last ferry?

- You're just in time.

- Here, I've got a return.

All right.

- Ticket?

- Uh...

- Okay.

- Okay.

Sh*t.

Hey, you! Stop!

Don't do that! Where you going?

Man, get out of here!

Get out of here, a**hole!

Sh*t!

You've reached the office

of Rick Ricardelli. Leave a message.

Piss off.

What can I do for you, sir?

You wouldn't happen to know

if there are any flights leaving

the airport tonight, would you?

Not unless you've got your own private jet.

I lent it to my butler.

You Brits!

There's a flight to Boston

- 8:
30 tomorrow morning.

- Sh*t!

- How much for a room?

- For you, $89.

- I'll pay cash.

- Who's got your card? The nanny?

You rang back.

Are you going to stay on the line this time?

Yes.

I've been trying to call you.

I know, I'm sorry...

It didn't seem right, speaking to you.

Who are you?

I'm the new ghostwriter...

No names, don't use any names.

How did you get this number?

It was in my predecessor's effects.

The...

The thing is, I'm in trouble.

Is it because of your client?

Yeah.

There's something wrong,

but I didn't know who to talk to.

Where are you? Without being too specific.

On the island?

I'm in the... No, I'm on the mainland,

on the... This motel by the ferry.

Room number?

- Have you got the book with you?

- Yeah.

Okay. Stay there.

Hatherton?

With $35 billion of funds at its disposal,

the Hatherton Group brings together

a family of companies

devoted to defense and security.

And with unrivaled expertise

in the Middle East,

including the services

of two former Presidents,

three Prime Ministers

and two directors of the CIA,

Hatherton is proud to stand at the forefront

of the struggle against terror.

Hatherton, a shelter from harm.

"According to CIA whistleblower

Frank Molinari,

"Yale graduate Paul Emmett

"was reported to have joined the Agency

as an officer in 1971,

"and was assigned to the Foreign

Resources Division of the Directorate of..."

It's 1974.

- Hello?

- You're alive.

Yeah, just about.

I've been worried sick.

The police called to say

they'd found the car on the ferry. Again!

I'm so sorry. I parked it,

and then, and then I got off the boat.

What the hell were you doing

on the mainland, anyway?

- I drove to New York.

- Why?

I needed to see John Maddox.

And where are you now?

I'm still at the ferry terminal.

I missed the last crossing.

You really are bloody hopeless!

I just had Adam on the phone,

trying to get hold of you.

He's flying back tonight.

He sounds in a right state.

You didn't tell him about us, did you?

God's sake, Ruth!

I've got to go. I'll call you back.

- Who is it?

- Mr. Rycart sent me.

Hold on.

Just gonna do a quick check,

if you don't mind.

Get your stuff together. We're leaving.

Hey! That's private!

- He's clean.

- Thanks, Frank.

Sorry about that. Please, get in.

- You thought it was a trap?

- It crossed my mind.

You do work for Lang.

Yeah, for three days. I hardly know the guy.

Who does? I worked for him for 15 years,

till he fired me, and I still can't fathom him.

Yeah, his wife said more or less the same.

There you go. If someone as sharp as Ruth

can't get him, what hope do we have?

- Tough day?

- Yeah, you could say that.

You have the book?

Yeah.

He's got it.

Before we go any further, I wonder

if I might take a look at that book.

No. Before we go any further,

there's a few things I'd like to know first.

Such as,

why did Mike McAra have your number?

Okay. Sure.

He was helping me.

McAra? How?

Mike found the documents linking Lang

to the torture flights.

What? It was McAra

who gave you the documents?

- Yeah, Mike McAra. The loyalest of the loyal.

- But why?

He didn't like discovering

he was working for a war criminal.

Would you?

Oh, I forgot. You are.

The book?

Well, don't tell me

you're gonna read it now.

Not all of it. Just the beginning.

There's something very important about it.

Yeah. It's the cure for insomnia.

There you go, guys.

Can I get you anything else?

No, thanks, love.

Mike said he'd discovered something new.

It's the last time he called me.

He said it explained everything that had

gone wrong when we were in government.

- What was it?

- He wouldn't say over the phone.

He just kept saying if anything happened

to him, the truth was in Lang's memoirs.

"It's all there in the beginning."

The beginning?

Then he means Cambridge.

What the hell's this?

That is Lang, and that is Paul Emmett.

Emmett? The Arcadia guy. So what?

On the day that Mike McAra died,

he drove up to see Emmett,

and I think he was murdered

on his way home.

- What?

- I went to see Emmett today,

and two guys followed me from his house.

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