Free A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer

Russia and thought to be the worst poker player. ”
    Romanov laughed. He had never known his
grandfather and the few books that referred to him had long ago been destroyed.
His father talked openly of his wealth and position which had only given the
authorities ammunition finally to destroy him.
    “You’ll forgive my curiosity, Major, but if
I am to hand over one hundred million dollars in gold I should like to know
what it is to be spent on. I thought only the CIA put in chits for those sort of expenses without explanation.”
    Romanov laughed again and explained to the
Chairman how they had discovered the Tsar’s icon was a fake and he had been set
the task of recovering the original. When he had completed his story he handed
over the names of the fourteen banks. The banker studied the list closely while
Romanov outlined the course of action he proposed to take, showing how the
money would be returned intact as soon as he had located the missing icon.
    “But how can one small icon possibly be that
important to the State?” Poskonov asked out loud, almost as if Romanov were no
longer in the room.
    “I have no idea,” replied Romanov truthfully
and then briefed him on the results of his research.
    There was an exasperated grunt from the
other chair when Romanov had finished. “May I be permitted to suggest an
alternative to your plan?”
    “Please do,” said Romanov, relieved to be
gaining the older man’s co-operation.
    “Do you smoke?” asked the banker, taking a
packet of Dunhill cigarettes from his coat pocket.
    “No,” said Romanov, his eyebrows lifting
slightly at the sight of the red box.
    The old man paused as he lit a cigarette. “That
suit was not tailored in Moscow either, Major,” the banker said, pointing at
Romanov with his cigarette. “Now, to business – and do not hesitate to correct
me if I have misunderstood any of your requirements. You suspect that lodged in
one of these fourteen Swiss banks” – the Chairman tapped the list with his
index finger – “is the original Tsar’s icon. You therefore want me to deposit
large amounts of gold with each bank in the hope that it will give you immediate
access to the head of the family, or chairman. You will then offer the chairman
the chance to control the entire hundred million if they promise to co-operate
with you?”
    “Yes,” said Romanov. “Bribery is surely
something the West has always understood.”
    “I would have said ‘naive’ if I hadn’t known
your grandfather, though to be fair it was he who ended up making millions of
roubles, not me. Nevertheless, how much do you imagine is a lot of money to a
major Swiss bank?”
    Romanov considered the question. “Ten million, twenty million?”
    “To the Moscow Narodny Bank perhaps,” said
Poskonov. “But every one of the banks you hope to deal with will have several
customers with deposits of over a hundred million each.”
    Romanov was unable to hide his disbelief. “I
confess,” continued the chairman, “that our revered
General Secretary showed no less incredulity when I informed him of these facts
some years ago.”
    “Then I will need a thousand million?” asked
Romanov.
    “No, no, no. We must approach the problem
from a different standpoint. You do not catch a poacher by offering him rabbit
stew.”
    “But if the Swiss are not moved by the offer
of vast amounts of money, what will move
them?”
    “The simple suggestion that their bank has
been used for criminal activity,” said the chairman. “But how...” began
Romanov. “Let me explain. You say that the Tsar’s icon hanging in the Winter
Palace is not the original but a copy. A good copy, painted
by a twentieth-century court painter, but nevertheless a copy. Therefore
why not explain to each of the fourteen banks privately that, after extensive
research, we have reason to believe that one of the nation’s most valuable
treasures has been substituted with a copy and the original is thought to have
been