Chapter 4
The next day I called Umberto’s cell phone several times, but he only got back to me late in the afternoon.
We arranged to meet at a Thai restaurant in Leblon, where I could be sure of the type of meat they served.
When I arrived, he was already waiting for me, sipping a lychee martini.
I sat down without shaking his hand and got straight to the point.
“You lied about Vladimir.”
“What?”
Umberto almost choked on his drink. He shifted in his chair, loosening the knot of his red bow tie. He signaled to the waiter and ordered a whiskey, even though he hadn’t finished his martini. Then he turned to face me again.
“He’s not a new partner, but the old one, right?”
“Dante, I agreed to meet you for dinner so we could talk about nice things. I didn’t come here to argue.”
“I just want to know the truth. Who is Vladimir?”
“You’re still insisting, after all this time … Please!” he said, letting out an unusually high-pitched sound. “It’s better if you and your friends stay out of this. It’s really none of your concern…”
“None of our concern? We’re in business together, for fuck’s sake!”
The waiter brought the whiskey, and Umberto slammed it back. He made a sound with his lips, fidgeting with the tablecloth. Then he glanced around before whispering, “It’s no use, I can’t tell you much.”
“Tell me or I’m leaving right now and going to the nearest police station.”
“You’re too smart to do that. Here’s the thing, Dante: You’ve got a good sum of money coming your way from these last few dinners.
I can’t deposit it directly into your account; the tax authorities will get suspicious.
We’re just going to keep raking it in, so you need to find some way to launder it …
I do it through my film production company, UMM Company.
You need some kind of front, preferably in the cultural sector, where there’s less oversight. ”
“There’s no point in changing the subject, Umberto. Tell me or I’m out.”
I could tell a deep-seated fear was preventing him from taking the next step.
“Vladimir helped us grow our business,” Umberto finally conceded.
“Was he the one who squashed the police investigation?”
“Yes … He’s influential but discreet. It’s important to him that no one knows of his existence; neither you nor your friends. Please don’t tell anyone I said anything.”
“So what’s his cut from all this?”
“Eighty percent of my share. I really don’t want to say any more. You all have nothing to do with him.”
“I need to meet him.”
“You don’t understand. Vladimir is a very dangerous man, Dante.
” There was sincere horror in his voice.
“Keep hosting the dinners, earn your money, and forget about it. Forget what I told you, and not a word to the others, okay? It’s for your own good.
And for mine, too. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve lost my appetite. ”
Umberto dropped two hundreds on the table and left without looking back.