Jeffrey Archer

by Shall We Tell The President (lit)

  Mark drove down Connecticut Avenue

  , past the Washington Hilton and the National Zoo, into Maryland. Patches of bright, yellow forsythia had begun to appear along the road. Connecticut Avenue

  turned into University Boulevard

  , and Mark found himself in Wheaton, a suburban satellite of stores, restaurants, - gas stations, and a few apartment buildings. Stopped by a red light near Wheaton Plaza, Mark checked his notes: 11501 Elkin Street

  . He was looking for the Blue Ridge Manor Apartments. Fancy name for a group of

  squat, three-storey faded-brick buildings lining Blue Ridge and Elkin streets. As he approached 11501, Mark looked for a parking space. No luck. He hovered for a moment, then decided to park in front of a fire hydrant. He draped the radio microphone carefully over his rear-view mirror, so that any observant meter maid or policeman would know that this was an official car on official business.

  Ariana Casefikis burst into tears at the mere sight of Mark's badge. She looked frail; only twenty-nine, her clothes unkempt, her hair all over the place, her eyes grey and still full of tears. The lines on her face showed where the tears had been running, running for two days. She and Mark were about the same age. She didn't have a country, and now she didn't have a husband. What was going to happen to her? If Mark had felt alone, he was certainly better off than this poor woman.

  Mrs Casefikis's English turned out to be rather better than her husband's. She had already seen two policemen. She told them that she knew nothing. First the nice man from the Metropolitan Police who had broken the news to her and been so understanding, then the Homicide lieutenant who had come a little later and been much firmer, wanting to know things she hadn't the faintest clue about, and now a visit from the FBI. Her husband had never been in trouble before and she didn't know who shot him or why anybody would want to. He was a gentle, kind man. Mark believed her.

  He also assured her that she had no immediate cause for worry and that he would deal personally with the Immigration Office and the Welfare people about getting her some income. It seemed to cheer her up and make her a little more responsive.

  'Now please try to think carefully, Mrs Casefikis. Have you any idea where your husband was working on 23 or 24 February, the Wednesday and Thursday of last week, and did he tell you anything about his work?'

  She had no idea. Angelo never told her what he was up to and half the jobs were casual and only for the day, because he couldn't risk staying on without a work permit, being an illegal immigrant. Mark was getting nowhere, but it wasn't her fault.

  'Will I be able to stay in America?'

  'I'll do everything I can to help, Mrs Casefikis. That I promise you. I'll talk to a Greek Orthodox priest I know about finding some money to tide you over till I've seen the Welfare people.'

  Mark opened the door, despondent about the lack of any hard information either from Father Gregory or from Ariana Casefikis.

  'The priest already give me money.'

  Mark stopped in his tracks, turned slowly, and faced her. He tried to show no particular interest.

  'Which priest was that?' he asked casually.

  'He said he help. Man who came to visit yesterday. Nice man, very nice, very kind. He give me fifty dollars.'

  Mark turned cold. The man had been ahead of him again. Father Gregory was right, there was something professional about him.

  'Can you describe him, Mrs Casefikis?'

  'What do you mean?'

  'What did he look like?'

  'Oh, he was a big man, very dark, I think,' she began.

  Mark tried to remain offhand. It must have been the man who had passed him in the elevator, the man who had earlier kept Father Gregory from going to the hospital and who, if Mrs Casefikis had known anything at all about the plot, would no doubt have dispatched her to join her husband.

  'Did he have a beard, Mrs Casefikis?'

  'Of course he did.' She hesitated. 'But I can't remember him having one.'

  Mark asked her to stay in the house, not to leave under any circumstances. He made an excuse that he was going to check on the Welfare situation and talk to the Immigration officials. He was learning how to lie. The clean-shaven Greek Orthodox priest was teaching him.

  He jumped into the car and drove a few hundred yards to the nearest pay phone on Georgia Avenue

  . He dialled the Director's private line. The Director picked up the phone.

  Julius.'

  'What is your number?' asked the Director.

  Thirty seconds later the phone rang. Mark went over the story carefully.

  ‘I'll send an Identikit man down to you immediately. You go back there and hold her hand. And, Andrews, try to think on your feet. I'd like that fifty dollars. Was it one bill, or several? There may just be a fingerprint on them.' The telephone clicked. Mark frowned. If the phony Greek Orthodox priest weren't always two steps ahead of him, the Director was. Mark returned to Mrs Casefikis and told her that her case would be dealt with at the highest level; he must remember to speak to the Director about it at the next meeting, he made a note about it on his pad. Back to the casual voice again.

  'Are you sure it was fifty dollars, Mrs Casefikis?'

  'Oh, yes, I don't see a fifty-dollar bill every day, and I was most thankful at the time.'

  'Can you remember what you did with it?'

  'Yes, I went and bought food from the supermarket just before they closed.'

  'Which supermarket, Mrs Casefikis?'

  'Wheaton Supermarket. Up the street.'

  'When was that?'

  'Yesterday evening about six o'clock,'

  Mark realised that there wasn't a moment to lose. If it wasn't already too late.

  'Mrs Casefikis, a man will be coming, a colleague of mine, a friend, from the FBI, to ask you to describe the kind Father who gave you the money. It will help us greatly if you can remember as much about him as possible. You have nothing to worry about because we're doing everything we can to help you.'

  Mark hesitated, took out his wallet and gave her fifty dollars. She smiled for the first time.

  'Now, Mrs Casefikis, I want you to do just one last thing for me. If the Greek priest ever comes to visit again, don't tell him about our conversation, just call me at this number.'

  Mark handed her a card. Ariana Casefikis nodded, but her lacklustre grey eyes followed Mark to his car. She didn't understand, or know which man to trust: hadn't they both given her fifty dollars?

  Mark pulled into a parking space in front of the Wheaton Supermarket. A huge sign in the window announced that cases of cold beer were sold inside. Above the window was a blue and white cardboard representation of the dome of the Capitol. Five days, thought Mark. He went into the store. It was a small family enterprise, privately owned, not part of a chain. Beer lined one wall, wine the other, and in between were four rows of canned and frozen foods. A meat counter stretched the length of the rear wall. The butcher seemed to be minding the store alone. Mark hurried towards him, starting to ask the question before he reached the counter.

  'Could I please see the manager?'

  The butcher eyed him suspiciously. 'What for?'

  Mark showed his credentials.

  The butcher shrugged and yelled over his shoulder, 'Hey, Flavio. FBI. Wants to see you.'

  Several seconds later, the manager, a large red-faced Italian, appeared in the doorway to the left of the meat counter. 'Yeah? What can I do for you, Mr, uh…’

  ‘Andrews, FBI.' Mark showed his credentials once again.

  'Yeah, okay. What do you want, Mr Andrews? I'm Flavio Guida. This is my place. I run a good, honest place.'

  'Yes, of course, Mr Guida. I'm simply hoping you can help me. I'm investigating a case of stolen money, and we have reason to believe that a stolen fifty-dollar bill was spent in this supermarket yesterday and we wonder now if there is any way of tracing it.'

  'Well, my money is collected every night,' said their manager. 'It's put into the safe and deposited
in the bank first thing in the morning. It would have gone to the bank about an hour ago, and I think—'

  'But it's Saturday,' Mark said.

  'No problem. My bank is open till noon on Saturday. It's just a few doors down.'

  Mark thought on his feet.

  'Would you please accompany me to the bank immediately, Mr Guida?'

  Guida looked at his watch and then at Mark Andrews.

  'Okay. Give me just half a minute.'

  He shouted to an invisible woman in the back of the store to keep an eye on the cash register. Together he and Mark walked to the corner of Georgia and Hickers. Guida was obviously getting quite excited by the whole episode.

  At the bank Mark went immediately to the chief cashier. The money had been handed over thirty minutes before to one of his tellers, a Mrs Townsend. She still had it in piles ready for sorting. It was next on her list. She hadn't had time to do so yet, she said rather apologetically. No need to feel sorry, thought Mark. The supermarket's take for the day had been just over five thousand dollars. There were twenty-eight fifty-dollar bills. Christ Almighty, the Director was going to tear him apart, or to be more exact, the fingerprint experts were. Mark counted the fifty-dollar notes using gloves supplied by Mrs Townsend and put them on one side — he agreed there were twenty-eight. He signed for them, gave the receipt to the chief

  cashier, and assured him they would be returned in the very near future. The bank manager came over and took charge of the receipt and the situation.

  'Don't FBI men usually work in pairs?'

  Mark blushed. 'Yes, sir, but this is a special assignment.'

  'I would like to check,' said the manager. 'You are asking me to release one thousand four hundred dollars on your word.'

  'Of course, sir, please do check.'

  Mark had to think quickly. He couldn't ask the manager of a local bank to ring the Director of the FBI. It would be like charging your gasoline to the account of Henry Ford.

  'Why don't you ring the FBI's Washington Field Office, sir, ask for the head of the Criminal Section. Mr Grant Nanna.'

  'I'll do just that.'

  Mark gave him the number, but he ignored it and looked it up for himself in the Washington directory. He got right through to Nanna. Thank God he was there.

  'I have a young man from your Field Office with me. His name is Mark Andrews. He says he has the authority to take away twenty-eight fifty-dollar bills. Something to do with stolen money.'

  Nanna also had to think quickly. Deny the allegation, defy the alligator - Nick Stames's old motto.

  Mark, meanwhile, offered up a little prayer.

  'That's correct, sir,' said Nanna. 'He has been instructed by me to pick up those notes. I hope you will release them immediately. They will be returned

  as soon as possible.'

  'Thank you, Mr Nanna. I'm sorry to have bothered you. I just felt I ought just to check; you never can be sure nowadays.'

  'No bother, sir, a wise precaution. We wish everybody were as careful.' The first truth he'd uttered, thought Grant Nanna.

  The bank manager replaced the receiver, put the pile of fifty-dollar bills in a brown envelope, accepted the receipt, and shook hands with Mark apologet-

  ically.

  'You understand I had to check?'

  'Of course,' said Mark. 'I would have done the same myself.'

  He thanked Mr Guida and the manager and asked them both not to mention the matter to anybody. They nodded with the air of those who know their duty.

  Mark returned to the FBI Building immediately and went straight to the Director's office. Mrs McGregor nodded at him. A quiet knock on the door, and he went in.

  'Sorry to interrupt you, sir.'

  'Not at all, Andrews. Have a seat. We were just finishing.'

  Matthew Rogers rose and looked carefully at Andrews and smiled.

  'I'll try and have the answers for you by lunch, Director,' he said, and left.

  'Well, young man, do you have our Senator in the car downstairs?'

  'No, sir, but I do have these.'

  Mark opened the brown envelope and put twenty-eight fifty-dollar bills on the table.

  'Been robbing a bank, have you? A federal charge, Andrews.'

  'Almost, sir. One of these notes, as you know, was given to Mrs Casefikis by the man posing as the Greek Orthodox priest.'

  'Well, that will be a nice little conundrum for our fingerprint boys; fifty-six sides with hundreds, perhaps thousands of prints on them. It's a long shot and it will take a considerable time, but it's worth a try.' He was careful not to touch the notes. 'I'll have Sommerton deal with it immediately. We'll also need Mrs Casefikis's prints. I'll also put one of our agents on her house in case the big man returns.' The Director was writing and talking at the same time. 'It's just like the old days when I ran a field office. I do believe I'd enjoy it if it weren't so serious.'

  'Can I mention just one other thing while I'm here, sir?'

  'Yes, say whatever you want to, Andrews.' Tyson didn't look up, just continued writing.

  'Mrs Casefikis is worried about her status in this country. She has no money, no job, and now no husband. She may well have given us a vital lead and

  she has certainly been as co-operative as possible. I think we might help.'

  The Director pressed a button.

  'Ask Sommerton from Fingerprints to come up immediately, and send Elliott in.'

  Ah, thought Mark, the anonymous man has a name.

  'I'll do what I can. I'll see you Monday at seven, Andrews. I'll be home all weekend if you need me. Don't stop working.'

  'Yes, sir.'

  Mark left. He stopped at the Riggs Bank and changed fifteen dollars into quarters. The teller looked at him curiously.

  'Have your own pinball machine, do you?'

  Mark smiled.

  He spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon with a diminishing pile of quarters, calling the weekend-duty secretaries of the sixty-two senators who had been in Washington on 24 February. All of

  them were most gratified that their senator should be invited to an Environmental Conference; the Director was no fool. At the end of sixty-two phone calls, his ears were numb. Mark studied the results . . . thirty

  senators had eaten in the office or with constituents, fifteen had not told their secretaries where they were having lunch or had mentioned some vague 'appointment', and seventeen had attended luncheons hosted by groups as varied as the National Press Club, Common Cause, and the NAACP. One secretary even thought her boss had been at that particular Environmental Luncheon on 24 February. Mark hadn't been able to think of a reply to that.

  With the Director's help he was now down to fifteen senators.

  He returned to the Library of Congress, and once again made for the quiet reference room. The librarian did not seem the least bit suspicious of all his questions about particular senators and committees find procedure in the Senate; she was used to graduate students who were just as demanding and far less courteous.

  Mark went back to the shelf that held the Congressional Record. It was easy to find 24 February: it was the only thumbed number in the pile of unbound

  latest issues. He checked through the fifteen remaining names. On that day, there had been one committee in session, the Foreign Relations Committee; three senators on his list of fifteen were members of that committee, and all three had spoken in committee that morning, according to the Record. The Senate itself had debated two issues that day: the allocation of funds in the Energy Department for solar-energy research, and the Gun Control bill. Some of the remaining twelve had spoken on one or both issues on the floor of the Senate: there was no way of eliminating any of the fifteen, damn it. He listed the fifteen ames on fifteen sheets of paper, and read through he Congressional Record for every day from 24 February to 3 March. By each name he noted the senator's presence or absence from the Senate on each working day. Painstakingly, he built up each senator's schedule; there were many g
aps. It was evident that senators do not spend all their time in the Senate.

  The young librarian was at his elbow. Mark glanced at the clock: 7:30. Throwing-out time. Time to forget the senators and to see Elizabeth. He called her at home.

  'Hello, lovely lady. I think it must be time to eat again. I haven't had anything since breakfast. Will you take pity on my debilitated state, Doctor, and eat with me?'

  'And do what with you, Mark? I've just washed my hair. I think I must have soap in my ears.'

  'Eat with me, I said. That will do for the moment. I just might think of something else later.'