Hannibal Page 0,48
most of the case. Two things made him catch his breath. One old and one new. The most recent update cited an X-ray indicating Lecter probably had had surgery on his hand. The old item, a scan of a hand-printed Tennessee police report, noted that while he killed his guards in Memphis, Hannibal Lecter played a tape of the Goldberg Variations.
The poster circulated by the rich American victim, Mason Verger, dutifully encouraged an informant to call the FBI number provided. It gave the standard warning about Dr Lecter being armed and dangerous.
A private telephone number was provided as well just below the paragraph about the huge reward.
Airfare from Florence to Paris is ridiculously expensive and Pazzi had to pay it out of his own pocket. He did not trust the French police to give him a phone patch without meddling, and he knew no other way to get one. From an American Express phone cabin near the Opera, he telephoned the private number on Mason's poster. He assumed the call would be traced. Pazzi spoke English well enough, but he knew his accent would betray him as Italian.
The voice was male, American, very calm.
"Would you state your business please?"
"I may have information about Hannibal Lecter."
"Yes, well, thank you for calling. Do you know where he is now?"
"I believe so. Is the reward in effect?"
"Yes, it is. What hard evidence do you have that it's him? You have to understand we get a lot of crank calls."
"I'll tell you he's undergone plastic surgery on his face and had an operation on his left hand. He can still play the Goldberg Variations. He has Brazilian.papers."
A pause. Then, "Why haven't you called the police? I'm required to encourage you to do that."
"Is the reward in effect in all circumstances?"
"The reward is for information leading to the arrest and conviction."
"Would the reward be payable in... special circumstances?"
"Do you mean a bounty on Dr Lecter? Say, in the case of someone who might not ordinarily be eligible to accept a reward?"
"Yes."
"We are both working toward the same goal. So stay on the telephone please, while I make a suggestion. It is against international convention and U.S. law to offer a bounty for someone's death, sir. Stay on the telephone please. May I ask if you're calling from Europe?"
"Yes, I am, and that's all I'm telling you."
"Good, hear me out - I suggest you contact an attorney to discuss legality of bounties and not to undertake any illegal action against Dr Lecter. May I recommend an attorney? There's one in Geneva who is excellent in these matters. May I give you the toll-free number? I encourage you strongly to call him and to be frank with him."
Pazzi bought a prepaid telephone card and made his next call from a booth in the Bon Marche department store. He spoke to a person with a dry Swiss voice. It took less than five minutes.
Mason would pay one million United States dollars for Dr Hannibal Letter's head and hands. He would pay the same amount for information leading to arrest. He would privately pay three million dollars for the doctor alive, no questions asked, discretion guaranteed. The terms included one hundred thousand dollars in advance. To qualify for the advance, Pazzi would have to provide a positively identifiable fingerprint from Dr Lecter, the print in situ on an object. If he did that, he could see the rest of the cash in an escrowed safe deposit locker in Switzerland at his convenience.
Before he left Bon Marche for the airport, Pazzi bought a peignoir for his wife in peach silk moue.
Chapter 23
How no you behave when you know the conventional honors are dross? When you have come to believe with Marcus Aurelius that the opinion of future generations will be worth no more than the opinion of the current one? Is it possible to behave well then? Desirable to behave well then? Now Rinaldo Pazzi, a Pazzi of the Pazzi, chief inspector of the Florentine Questura, had to decide what his honor was worth, or if there is a wisdom longer than considerations of honor.
He returned from Paris by dinnertime, and slept a little while. He wanted to ask his wife, but he could not, though he did take comfort in her. He lay awake for a long time afterward, after her breathing was quiet. Late in the night he gave up on sleep and went out to walk and think...Avarice is not unknown in Italy, and Rinaldo