'She's Canadian?'
'Yes. Let me tell you why I have to know without telling you so much you could get into trouble. If the connection's there, I have to go one way, if it's not, I can turn a hundred and eighty degrees and take another route. If it's the latter, I can go public. I can use the newspapers, radio, television, anything that can spread the word and pull her husband in. '
'Which means he's out in the cold,' broke in the attaché.
'And you know where she is, but others don't. '
'As I said before, you're very quick. '
'But if it's the former – if there is a connection to Havilland, which you believe there is.'
'No comment. If I answered you, I'd be telling you more than you should know.'
'I see. It's touchy. Let me think. ' Nelson picked up his martini, but instead of drinking, he put it down. 'How about an anonymous phone call that I got?'
'Such as?'
'A distraught Canadian woman looking for information about her missing American husband. '
'Why would she have called you? She's experienced in government circles. Why not the consul general himself?'
'He wasn't in. I was. '
'I don't want to disabuse you, Johnny, but you're not next in line. '
'You're right. And anyone could check the switchboard and find out I never got the call. '
Staples frowned, then leaned forward. There is a way if you're willing to lie a bit further. It's based on reality. It happened, and no one could say that it didn't. '
'What is it?'
'A woman stopped you in Garden Road when you were leaving the consulate. She didn't tell you very much but enough to alarm you, and she wouldn't go inside because she was frightened. She's the distraught woman looking for her missing American husband. You could even describe her. '
'Start with her description,' said Nelson.
Sitting in front of McAllister's desk, Lin Wenzu read from his notebook as the undersecretary of state listened. 'Although the description differs, the differences are minor and easily achieved. Hair pulled back and covered by a hat, no makeup, flat shoes to reduce her height but not that much – it is she. '
'And she claimed not to recognize the name of anyone in the directory who could be her so-called cousin?
'A second cousin on her mother's side. Just far-fetched yet specific enough to be credible. According to the receptionist, she was quite awkward, even flustered. She also carried a purse that was so obviously a Gucci imitation that the receptionist took her for a backwoods hick. Pleasant but gullible. '
'She recognized someone's name,' said McAllister.
'If she did, why didn't she ask to see him? She wouldn't waste time under the circumstances. '
'She probably assumed that we'd sent out an alert, that she couldn't take the chance of being recognized, not on the premises. '
'I don't think that would concern her, Edward. With what she knows, what she's been through, she could be extremely convincing. '
'With what she thinks she knows, Lin. She can't be sure of anything. She'll be very cautious, afraid to make a wrong move. That's her husband out there, and take my word for it -I saw them together – she's extremely protective of him. My God, she stole over five million dollars for the simple reason that she thought, quite correctly, he'd been wronged by his own people. By her lights he deserved it – they deserved it -and let Washington go to hell in a basket. '
'She did that?'
'Havilland cleared you for everything. She did that and got away with it. Who was going to raise his voice? She had clandestine Washington just the way she wanted it. Frightened and embarrassed, both to the teeth. '
The more I learn, the more I admire her. '
'Admire her all you like, just find her. '
'Speaking of the ambassador, where is he?'
'Having a quiet lunch with the Canadian high commissioner. '
'He's going to tell him everything?'
'No, he's going to ask for blind co-operation with a telephone at his table so he can reach London. London will instruct the commissioner to do whatever Havilland asks him to do. It's all been arranged. '
'He moves and shakes, doesn't he?'
'There's no one like him. He should be back any minute now, actually he's late. ' The telephone rang and McAllister picked it up. 'Yes? ... No, he's not here. Who? ... Yes, of course, I'll talk to him. ' The undersecretary covered the mouthpiece and spoke to the major. 'It's our consul general. '
'Something's happened,' said Lin, nervously getting out of his chair.
'Yes, Mr Lewis, this is McAllister. I want you to know how much we appreciate everything, sir. The consulate's been most co-operative. '
Suddenly the door opened and Havilland walked into the room.
'It's the American consul general, Mr Ambassador,' said Lin. 'I believe he was asking for you. '
This is no time for one of his damned dinner parties!'
'Just a minute, Mr Lewis. The ambassador just arrived. I'm sure you want to speak with him. ' McAllister extended; the phone to Havilland, who walked rapidly to the desk.
'Yes, Jonathan, what is it?' His tall, slender body rigid, his eyes fixed on an unseen spot in the garden beyond the large bay window, the ambassador stood in silence, listening. Finally he spoke. Thank you, Jonathan, you did the right thing. Say absolutely nothing to anyone and I'll take it from here. ' Havilland hung up and looked alternately at McAllister and Wenzu. 'Our breakthrough, if it is a breakthrough, just came from the wrong direction. Not the Canadian but the American consulate. '
'It's not consistent,' said McAllister. 'It's not Paris, not the street with her favourite tree, the maple tree, the maple leaf. That's the Canadian consulate, not the American. '
'And with that analysis are we to disregard it?'
'Of course not. What happened?'
'An attaché named Nelson was stopped in Garden Road by a Canadian woman trying to find her American husband. This Nelson offered to help her, to accompany her to the police, but she was adamant. She wouldn't go to the police, and neither would she go back with him to his office. '
'Did she give any reasons?' asked Lin. 'She appeals for help and then refuses it.'
'Just that it was personal. Nelson described her as high-strung, overwrought. She identified herself as Marie Webb and said that perhaps her husband had come to the consulate looking for her. Could Nelson ask around and she'd call him back. '
'That's not what she said before,' protested McAllister. 'She was clearly referring to what had happened to them in Paris, and that meant reaching an official of her own government, her own country. Canada. '
'Why do you persist?' asked Havilland. That's not a criticism I simply want to know why. '
'I'm not sure. Something's not right. Among other things, the major here established the fact that she did go to the Canadian consulate. '
'Oh?' The ambassador looked at the man from Special Branch.
The receptionist confirmed it. The description was close enough, especially for someone trained by a chameleon. Her story was that she had promised her family she would look up a distant cousin whose last name she had forgotten. The receptionist gave her a directory and she went through it. '
'She found someone she knew,' interrupted the undersecretary of state. 'She made contact. '
Then there's your answer,' said Havilland firmly. 'She learned that her husband had not gone to a street with a row of maple trees, so she took the next best course of action. The American consulate. '
'And identified herself when she has to know people are looking for her all over Hong Kong?'
'Giving a false name would serve no purpose,' the ambassador replied.
They both speak French. She could have used a French word – toile, for instance. It means web. '
'I know what it means, but I think you're reaching. '
'Her husband would have understood. She would have done something less obvious. '
'Mr. Ambassador
,' interrupted Lin Wenzu, slowly taking his eyes off McAllister. 'Hearing your words to the American consul general, that he should say absolutely nothing to anyone, and now fully understanding your concerns for secrecy, I assume Mr. Lewis has not been apprised of the situation. '
'Correct, Major. '
Then why did he call you? People frequently get lost here in Hong Kong. A missing husband or a missing wife is not so uncommon. '
For an instant Havilland's expression was creased with self doubt . 'Jonathan Lewis and I go back a long time,' he said, his voice lacking its usual authority. 'He may be something of a bon vivani but he's no fool – he wouldn't be here if he were. And the circumstances under which the woman stopped his attaché – well, Lewis knows me and he drew certain conclusions. ' The diplomat turned to McAllister; when he continued his authority gradually returned. 'Call Lewis back, Edward. Tell him to instruct this Nelson to stand by for a call from you. I'd prefer a less direct approach, but there isn't time. I want you to question him, question him on anything and everything you can think of. I'll be listening on the line in your office. '
'You agree, then,' said the undersecretary. 'Something's wrong. '
'Yes,' answered Havilland, looking at Lin. The major saw it and I didn't. I'd phrase it somewhat differently but it's essentially what disturbs him. The question is not why Lewis called me, it's why an attaché went to him. After all, a highly agitated woman says her husband's missing but she won't go to the police, won't enter the consulate. Normally such a person would be dismissed as a crank. Certainly on the surface it's not a matter to bring to the attention of an overworked CG. Call Lewis. '
'Of course. But, first, did things go smoothly with the Canadian commissioner? Will he co-operate?'
The answer to your first question is no, things did not go smoothly. As to the second, he has no choice. '
'I don't understand. '
Havilland exhaled in weary irritation. Through Ottawa he'll provide us with a list of everyone on his staff who's had any dealings whatsoever with Marie St Jacques – reluctantly. That's the co-operation he's been instructed to deliver, but he was damned testy about it. To begin with, he himself went through a two-day seminar with her four years ago, and he ventured that probably a quarter of the consulate had done the same. Not that she'd remember them, but they certainly would remember her. She was "outstanding", that was the way he put it. She's also a Canadian who was thoroughly messed up by a group of American assholes – mind you, he had no compunction at all using the word – in some kind of mentally deranged black operation – yes, that was the phrase he used, mentally deranged – an idiotic operation mounted by these same assholes – indeed, he repeated it – that has never been satisfactorily explained. ' The ambassador stopped briefly, smiling briefly as he coughed a short laugh. 'It was all very refreshing. He didn't pull a single punch, and I haven't been talked to like that since my dear wife died. I need more of it. '
'But you did tell him it was for her own good, didn't you? That we've got to find her before any harm's done to her. '
'I got the distinct impression that our Canadian friend had serious doubts as to my mental faculties. Call Lewis. God knows when we'll get that list. Our maple leaf will probably have it sent by train from Ottawa to Vancouver and then on a slow freighter to Hong Kong where it'll get lost in the mailroom. In the meantime, we've got an attaché who behaves very strangely. He leaps over fences when no such jumps are required. '
'I've met John Nelson, sir,' said Lin. 'He's a bright lad and speaks a fair Chinese. He's quite popular with the consulate crowd. '
'He's also something else, Major. '
Nelson hung up the phone. Beads of perspiration had broken out on his forehead; he wiped them off with the back of his hand, satisfied that he had handled himself as well as he did, all things considered. He was especially pleased that he had turned the thrust of McAllister's questions against the questioner, albeit diplomatically.
Why did you feel compelled to go to the consul general?
Your call would seem to answer that, Mr McAllister. I sensed that something out of the ordinary had happened. I thought the consul should be told.
But the woman refused to go to the police; she even refused to come inside the consulate.
As I said, it was out of the ordinary, sir. She was nervous and tense, but she wasn't a ding dong.
A what?
She was perfectly lucid, you could even say controlled, in spite of her anxiety.
I see.
I wonder if you do, sir. I have no idea what the consul general told you, but I did suggest to him that what with the house in Victoria Peak, the marine guards, and then the arrival of Ambassador Havilland, he might consider calling someone up there.
You suggested it?
Yes, I did.
Why?
I don't think it would serve any purpose for me to speculate on these matters, Mr McAllister. They don't concern me.
Yes, of course, you're right. I mean -yes, all right. But we must find that woman, Mr Nelson. I've been instructed to tell you that if you can help us it would be greatly to your advantage.
I want to help in any event, sir. If she reaches me, I'll try to set up a meeting somewhere and call you. I knew I was right to do what I did, to say what I did.
We'll wait for your call.
Catherine was on target, thought John Nelson, there was one hell of a connection. So much of a connection that he did not dare use his consulate phone to call Staples. But when he did reach her, he would ask her some very hard questions. He trusted Catherine, but the photographs and their consequences notwithstanding, he was not for sale. He got up from his desk and headed for the door of his office. A suddenly remembered dental appointment would suffice. As he walked down the corridor towards the reception room his thoughts returned to Catherine Staples. Catherine was one of the strongest people he had ever met, but the look in her eyes last night had conveyed not strength, but a kind of desperate fear. It was a Catherine he had never seen before.
'He diverted your questions to his own ends,' said Havilland, coming through the door, the immense Lin Wenzu behind him. 'Do you agree, Major?'
'Yes, and that means he anticipated the questions. He was primed for them. '
'Which means someone primed him!'
'We never should have called him,' said McAllister quietly, sitting behind the desk, his nervous fingers once again massaging his right temple. 'Nearly everything he brought up was meant to provoke a response from me. '
'We had to call him,' insisted Havilland, 'if only to learn that. '
'He stayed in control. I lost it. '
'You could not have behaved differently, Edward,' said Lin. 'To react other than you did would have been to question his motives. In essence, you would have threatened him. '
'And at the moment, we don't want him to feel threatened,' agreed Havilland. 'He's getting information for someone, and we've got to find out who it is. '
'And that means Webb's wife did reach someone she knew and told that person everything. ' McAllister leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, his hands tightly clasped.
'You were right, after all,' said the Ambassador, looking down at the undersecretary of state. 'A street with her favourite maple trees. Paris. The inevitable repetition. It's quite clear. Nelson is working for someone in the Canadian consulate – and whoever it is, is in touch with Webb's wife. '
McAllister looked up. Then Nelson's either a damn fool or a bigger damn fool. By his own admission he knows – at least he assumes – that he's dealing with highly sensitive information involving an adviser to presidents. Dismissal aside, he could be sent to prison for conspiring against the government. '
'He's not a fool, I can assure you,' said Lin.
'Then either someone is forcing him to do this against his win – blackmail most likely – or he's being paid to find out if
there's a connection between Marie St Jacques and this house in Victoria Peak. It can't be an
ything else. ' Frowning, Havilland sat down in the chair in front of the desk.
'Give me a day,' continued the major from MI6 . 'Perhaps I can find out. If I can, we'll pick up whoever it is in the consulate. '
'No,' said the diplomat whose expertise lay in covert operations. 'You have until eight o'clock tonight. We can't afford that, but if we can avoid a confrontation and any possible fallout, we must try. Containment is everything. Try, Lin. For God's sake, try. '
'And after eight o'clock, Mr Ambassador? What then?'
Then, Major, we pull in our clever and evasive attaché and break him. I'd much prefer to use him without his knowing it, without risking alarms, but the woman comes first. Eight o'clock, Major Lin. '
'I'll do everything I can. '
'And if we're wrong,' went on Havilland, as if Lin Wenzu had not spoken, 'if this Nelson has been set up as a blind and knows nothing, I want all the rules broken. I don't care how you do it or how much it costs in bribes or the garbage you have to employ to get it done. I want cameras, telephone taps, electronic surveillance – whatever you can manage – on every single person in that consulate. Someone there knows where she is. Someone there is hiding her. '
'Catherine, it's John,' said Nelson into the pay phone on Albert Road.
'How good of you to call,' answered Staples quickly. 'It's been a trying afternoon, but do let's have drinks one of these days. It'll be so good to see you after all these months, and you can tell me about Canberra. But do tell me one thing now. Was I right in what I told you?'
'I have to see you, Catherine. '
'Not even a hint?'
'I have to see you. Are you free?'
'I have a meeting in forty-five minutes. '
Then later, around five. There's a place called the Monkey Tree in the Wanchai, on Gloucester-'
'I know it. I'll be there. '
John Nelson hung up. There was nothing else to do but go back to the office. He could not stay away for three hours, not after his conversation with Undersecretary of State Edward McAllister; appearances precluded such an absence. He had heard about McAllister; the undersecretary had spent seven years in Hong Kong, leaving only months before Nelson had arrived. Why had he returned? Why was there a sterile house in Victoria Peak with Ambassador Havilland suddenly in residence? Above all, why was Catherine Staples so frightened? He owed Catherine his career, but he had to have a few answers. He had a decision to make.
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