Debut for a Spy (42 page)

“
Does that title mean anything different?”

“
Nothing at all.”

“
Why don't I name some of the Sousa marches, and you tell me if anything jars your memory.”

“
Okay, but I don't think we'll find anything.”

“
Take your time, and think about each title.”

“
Go ahead.”

“
The Thunderer.”

Pause.
“No.”

“
High School Cadets.”

Pause.
“There was this boy I liked. He was a cadet.”

“
Anything that connects him to your dad?”

“
No.”

“
Okay. Next one: El Capitan.”

Longer pause.
“I was trying to see if there was anything from our trip to South America, but there isn't any connection.”

“
Semper Fidelis.”

“
What does that mean?”

“
Always faithful.”

“
Nope.”

“
King Cotton.”

“
No.”

“
Manhattan Beach.”

She took her time with this one.
“We spent some time in New York, and we got out to the beaches a couple of times, but never one called Manhattan Beach. Sorry.”

“
The Washington Post.”

“
What?”

“
The Washington Post.”

“
I thought it was a newspaper.”

“
It is. Sousa named the march after the paper. Anything significant?”

Kate hesitated.
“Well… probably not.”

“
Tell me anyway.”

“
When we lived in Washington I was quite small. I liked to come in to their bedroom and play on their bed. It was a big old fashioned one. I had an idea that I could fasten a rope to one of the posts and make a swing. I didn't know that the post wouldn't support my weight, and it snapped off. I thought I was in big trouble, but dad just laughed, and they called in a furniture repair man. I remember he had to drill and put a rod inside it and glue it back. When it was done Dad said that wherever we moved we'd always have our own 'Washington Post' with us. That's it.”

“Where's that bed now?”

“
They sold it before we came to Britain.”

“
End of story,” I sighed.

“
Well, there's a bit more, but I don’t think it’s connected. They liked that bed so well they bought one here that's almost identical. That's the bed you bought from them – the one you sleep in.”

A sense of burning realization crept over me. I became excited.

“Kate, do you remember which post you broke?”

“
I'll never forget it. As you face the head from the foot it'd be the one on the right.”

“
Show me.”

We rushed into the bedroom. Kate went to the head of the bed at the side nearest the door.

“This one. But these posts are thicker than the one we had in the States. These wouldn't have broken.”

I examined it carefully. Nothing seemed obvious. I ran to get a flashlight and a magnifying glass.

“Now, let's have a closer look.”

I used the light and the magnifier, peering carefully at the one, and, for comparison, at the other.

“You have a look. Kate. Tell me if you see any difference.”

She went through the same procedure I had.

“What d'ya think?”

“
I'm not sure, but I think there's a line on the 'Washington Post' that isn't on the other.”

“
That's what I thought. Let's see if it moves. I don't want to break it.”

“
Then it would become the 'London Post'.”

We laughed. I took hold of it, gently at first, then with increasing force tried to lift it off. It didn't budge. I knocked it with my hand a few times and tried again. No movement.

“I've got a feeling it's solid wood glued firmly in place. I'll try unscrewing it.”

Again with increasing force I tried to turn it counterclockwise. It didn't budge.

“Are you turning it the right way?”

“
Clockwise on, counterclockwise off. That's the rule.”

She considered that.

“Dad changed the rules a lot, David.”

I tried again, this time clockwise. Harder and harder I twisted, then suddenly, with a loud screech, the top of the post came free, and as I continued unscrewing wooden threads appeared on a thick dowel. The post came off to reveal that the dowel was hollow. Inside was a rolled piece of heavy vellum. I drew it out with shaking fingers, and handed it to Kate.

“Here. You have a look. Tell me what it is.”

She unrolled it carefully. Her fingers were shaking, too.

“A list,” she said, hushed. “A list of names.”

“
Read one or two.”

“
Ihab El-Khatie. Alexandria 3-5684. Abdul Khadirhashi. Bahrain 6-8859.” She looked up. “This is it, isn't it?”

“
It must be. How many names, Kate?”

She counted.
“18. One or two seem to be in the same city.”

We sat in silence, looking at the list.

“What do we do, David? Who do we give it to?”

“
I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't give it to anyone, Kate. Look at the trouble it's already caused. If it got into the wrong hands some of those people could end up dead, and every one of them placed their trust in your father. I don't know what's best.”

“Can't we give it to Dwight Vandenberg? He was a friend of my father's, and he knows how important the list is.”

“
That's probably best. If we don't hand it over you're still a target for any crazy who thinks he can pump it out of you. If we give it to Dwight Vandenberg we've got to make sure the Soviets know about it.”

“
How do you do that?”

“
Simple. Make one call on my phone. The Soviets have both mine and yours tapped.”

“
Jesus. I don't like this at all. It gives me the creeps.”

“
How well did your family know the Vandenbergs?”

“
Really well. When Dwight was in the air force a couple of his postings coincided with Dad's, and the friendship sort of grew. When Dwight and Barbara were in Moscow they met us in Berlin and we spent a holiday together in West Germany.”

“
I didn't know he'd been in Moscow.”

“
It wasn't an embassy job. He'd just come out of the air force, and he led an American aerospace trade mission to Moscow. It was only for a month and wasn't very high profile.”

Well, well, well. Another piece of the puzzle.

Kate started to yawn.

“
I think I'll have a bath and turn in. What about you?”

“
I have some thinking to do. I may want to talk to you before you go to bed.”

“
Sure.”

When she'd left, I sat in a quandary. I had to do something about this thing, and it had to be in a hurry. I looked at various possibilities, and one began to emerge as the most logical. Kate came out looking pink and fresh, wrapped in a fluffy white housecoat.

“Have you decided anything?”

“
Yes. I'm going to call Dwight Vandenberg right now. Then the ball's in his court. Do you have a private number for him?”

“
Yeah, I'll get it.”

She was back immediately.

“Are you sure this is the way to do it, David?”

“
No. But I'll know after I talk to the ambassador.”

“
It's four in the morning. Isn't that a little late?”

“
I'll know after I talk to him. If he tells me to get lost I'll know I made a mistake.”

I went to the phone and dialed the ambassador's private line. The phone rang twice, and then I heard the unmistakable tones of the man himself.

“Yes?”

“
Mr. Ambassador, it's David Baird. I know it's late, but I thought you'd want to know immediately that I've got the list.”

“
What? You've really got it? There's no mistake?”

“
I'm certain of it, sir. Through a process of deduction we finally figured it out.”

“
We, David? Who knows about this?”

“
Just Kate and me, sir.”

“
Kate? What the hell's going on? I was called to say she was missing and one of our people had been killed at the airport.”

“
They found her, sir, and she's fine. I'm not sure of the details. The authorities will probably tell you about it tomorrow. Shall I bring the list to the embassy in the morning?”

“
Not wise. There are certain people who shouldn't even know it's been found. Do you realize how dangerous it is?”

“
Only too well, sir.”

“
Are you willing to meet me right now?”

“
Whatever you say, sir. Shall I bring it to the residence?”

“
No, too risky. It's watched all the time. Do you know the Chiswick Bridge over the Thames?”

“
That's the one near Mortlake. I know it, sir.”

“
Coming from Chiswick, just before you get to the bridge there's a turnoff on the left which leads to a lane along the river bank. It's right beside Duke's Meadows Sports Ground. Can you find it?”

“
I know it exactly, sir. How soon?”

“
Half an hour.” He paused. “Will Kate be with you?”

“
No, sir, she's exhausted. I'll see you there.”

He hung up. Kate looked at me curiously.

“He wants you to meet him now, at this hour?”

“
I thought he might. It's very important to him. I'll be back as soon as I can. Make sure the door is locked.”

“
I really don't want to be alone. Do you have to do this?”

“
Yes. I want it over and done with, once and for all.”

With a flash of inspiration I grabbed a piece of foolscap and wrote quickly.

“What are you doing, David?” asked Kate.

“
Insurance.”

I grabbed my jacket, putting the foolscap in an inner pocket.

“'Bye, love.”

Kate threw her arms around me, kissing me on the cheek. I did the same, then left, waiting to hear the lock click. I had to hurry. I ran to the car, raced down Edgeware Road and stopped at the first call-box I saw. I made two calls, then drove off toward Chiswick.

Now I took my time.

I had every intention of being late.

*

If you didn't know where to turn off the road, you'd miss it. The spot was popular with lovers
– secluded, dark, romantic because it's right on the river, and lonely, because of the immense sports field which backs it. I drove in carefully until I saw a car. It wasn't the ambassador's, yet there he was, standing and waiting. I pulled up on top of the dike beside him, stopped, and got out, leaving the door open.

“
I was afraid you'd gotten lost.”

“
Took longer than I thought. Kate was a little nervous about being on her own.”

“
Did you bring it?”

“
Yes, its here.”

“
May I see it?”

I handed it over. He pulled a flashlight out and scanned it. I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

“Did you look at it. David?”

“
Yes, just to see if it really was the mystery list. It seemed to be the right one. Can you tell?”

“
I have no doubt at all. That's what we've been looking for.”

He pulled something from his pocket.

“In a way I'm sorry you found it, David. As long as it was missing things could remain unchanged. Now that it's shown up I must see that it reaches the right people. Officially the list will still be lost. Unfortunately, as in ancient Greece, the bearer of the bad tidings must be put to death. I regret this.”

He slipped the safety off his old service pistol.

“I think you'd better wait, Dwight,” I said, calmly. “Did you think I'd be so gullible that I'd meet you on a deserted riverbank in the middle of the night with a list that must be worth a pile of money to somebody? It's a phony.”