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‘Mrs Douglas Schiffer?’
‘Yes …?’
The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an identification card. ‘My name is Donald Zamlock. I’m with the Security Agency of the State Department.’
‘Good God! Don’t tell me Doug has robbed a bank!’
The agent smiled politely. ‘No, ma’am. Not that we know of. I wanted to ask you a few questions about your neighbour, Mrs Ashley.’
She looked at him with sudden concern. ‘Mary? What about her?’
‘May I come in?’
‘Yes. Of course.’ Florence Schiffer led him into the living room. ‘Sit down. Would you like some coffee?’
‘No, thanks. I’ll only take a few minutes of your time.’
‘Why would you be asking about Mary?’
He smiled reassuringly. ‘This is just a routine check. She’s not suspected of any wrong-doing.’
‘I should hope not,’ Florence Schiffer said indignantly. ‘Mary Ashley is one of the nicest persons you’ll ever meet.’ She added, ‘Have you met her?’
‘No, ma’am. This visit is confidential, and I would appreciate it if you kept it that way. How long have you known Mrs Ashley?’
‘About thirteen years. Since the day she moved in next door.’
‘Would you say that you know Mrs Ashley well?’
‘Of course I would. Mary’s my closest friend. What –?’
‘Do she and her husband get along well?’
‘Next to Douglas and me, they’re the happiest couple I’ve ever known.’ She thought a moment. ‘I take that back. They are the happiest couple I’ve ever known.’
‘I understand Mrs Ashley has two children. A girl twelve and a boy ten?’
‘That’s right. Beth and Tim.’
‘Would you say she’s a good mother?’
‘She’s a great mother. What’s –?’
‘Mrs Schiffer, in your opinion, is Mrs Ashley an emotionally stable person?’
‘Of course she is.’
‘She has no emotional problems that you are aware of?’
‘Certainly not.’
‘Does she drink?’
‘No. She doesn’t like alcohol.’
‘What about drugs?’
‘You’ve come to the wrong town, Mister. We don’t have a drug problem in Junction City.’
‘Mrs Ashley is married to a doctor?’
‘Yes.’
‘If she wanted to get drugs –’
‘You’re way off base. She doesn’t do drugs. She doesn’t snort, and she doesn’t shoot up.’
He studied her a moment. ‘You seem to know all the terminology.’
‘I watch Miami Vice, like everybody else.’ Florence Schiffer was getting angry. ‘Do you have any more questions?’
‘Mary Ashley’s grandfather was born in Romania. Have you ever heard her discuss Romania?’
‘Oh, once in a while she’ll tell stories her grandfather told her about the old country. Her grandfather was born in Romania but he came over here when he was in his teens.’
‘Have you ever heard Mrs Ashley express a negative opinion about the present Romanian government?’
‘No. Not that I can remember.’
‘One last question. Have you ever heard Mrs Ashley or Dr Ashley say anything against the United States government?’
‘Absolutely not!’
‘Then in your estimation, they’re both loyal Americans?’
‘You bet they are. Would you mind telling me –?’
The man rose. ‘I want to thank you for your time, Mrs Schiffer. And I’d like to impress upon you again that this matter is highly confidential. I would appreciate it if you didn’t discuss it with anyone – not even your husband.’
A moment later he was out of the door. Florence Schiffer stood there staring after him. ‘I don’t believe this whole conversation took place,’ she said aloud.
The two agents drove down Washington Street, heading north. They passed a billboard that read: ‘Enjoy yourself in the land of Ah’s.’
‘Cute,’ Rex Olds grunted.
They went by the Chamber of Commerce and the Royal Order of the Elks building, Irma’s Pet Grooming and a bar called ‘The Fat Chance’. The commercial buildings came to an abrupt end.
Donald Zamlock said, ‘Jesus, the main street is only two blocks long. This isn’t a town. It’s a pit stop.’
Rex Olds said, ‘To you it’s a pit stop, and to me it’s a pit stop, but to these people it’s a town.’
Zamlock shook his head. ‘It’s probably a nice place to live, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want to visit here.’
The sedan pulled up in front of the State Bank and Rex Olds went inside.
He returned twenty minutes later. ‘Clean,’ he said, getting into the car. ‘The Ashleys have seven thousand dollars in the bank, a mortgage on their house, and they pay their bills on time. The president of the bank thinks the doctor is too soft-hearted to be a good businessman, but as far as he’s concerned, he’s a top credit risk.’
Zamlock looked at a clipboard at his side. ‘Let’s check out a few more names and get back to civilization before I begin to moo.’
Douglas Schiffer was normally a pleasant, easy-going man, but at the moment there was a grim expression on his face. The Schiffers and the Ashleys were in the middle of their weekly bridge game, and the Schiffers were 10,000 points behind. For the fourth time that evening, Florence Schiffer had reneged.
Douglas Schiffer slammed down his cards. ‘Florence!’ he exploded, ‘which side are you playing on? Do you know how much we’re down?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said nervously. ‘I – I just can’t seem to concentrate.’
‘Obviously,’ her husband snorted.
‘Is anything bothering you?’ Edward Ashley asked Florence.
‘I can’t tell you.’
They all looked at her in surprise. ‘What does that mean?’ her husband asked.
Florence Schiffer took a deep breath. ‘Mary – it’s about you.’
‘What about me?’
‘You’re in some sort of trouble, aren’t you?’
Mary stared at her. ‘Trouble? No. I – what makes you think that?’
‘I’m not supposed to tell. I promised.’
‘You promised who?’ Edward asked.
‘A federal agent from Washington. He was at the house this morning asking me all kinds of questions about Mary. He made her sound like some kind of international spy.’
‘What kind of questions?’ Edward demanded.
‘Oh, you know. Was she a loyal American? Was she a good wife and mother? Was she on drugs?’
‘Why the devil would they be asking you questions like that?’
‘Wait a minute,’ Mary said excitedly. ‘I think I know. It’s about my tenure.’
‘What?’ Florence asked.
‘I’m up for tenure at the University. The University does some sensitive government research on campus, so I suppose they have to check everyone pretty thoroughly.’
‘Well, thank God that’s all it is.’ Florence Schiffer breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I thought they were going to lock you up.’
‘I hope they do,’ Mary smiled. ‘At Kansas State.’
‘Well, now that that’s out of the way,’ Douglas Schiffer said, ‘can we get on with the game?’ He turned to his wife. ‘If you renege one more time, I’m going to put you over my knee.’
‘Promises, promises.’
Chapter Five (#ulink_cf8737e5-d7de-5472-97d7-26e2e6f62540)
Abbeywood, England
‘We are meeting under the usual rules,’ the chairman announced. ‘No records will be kept, this meeting will never be discussed, and we will refer to one another by the code names we have been assigned.’
There were eight men inside the library of the fifteenth-century Claymore Castle. Two armed men in plainclothes, bundled up in heavy overcoats, kept vigil outside, while a third man guarded the door to the library. The eight men inside the room had arrived at the site separately, a short time earlier.
The chairman continued. ‘The Controller has received some disturbing information. Marin Groza is preparing a coup against Alexandros Ionescu. A group of senior army officers in Romania has decided to back Groza. This time he could very well be successful.’
Odin spoke up. ‘How would that affect our plan?’
‘It could destroy it. It would open too many bridges to the West.’
Freyr said, ‘Then we must prevent it from happening.’
Balder asked, ‘How?’
‘We assassinate Groza,’ the chairman replied.
‘That’s impossible. Ionescu’s men have made half a dozen attempts that we know of, and they’ve all failed. His villa seems to be impregnable. Anyway, no one in this room can afford to be involved in an assassination attempt.’
‘We wouldn’t be directly involved,’ the chairman said.
‘Then how?’
‘The Controller discovered a confidential dossier that concerns an international terrorist who’s for hire.’
‘Abul Abbas, the man who organized the hijacking of the Achille Lauro?’
‘No. There’s a new gun in town, gentlemen. A better one. He’s called Angel.’
‘Never heard of him,’ Sigmund said.
‘Exactly. His credentials are most impressive. According to the Controller’s file, Angel was involved in the Sikh Khalistan assassination in India. He helped the Macheteros terrorists in Puerto Rico, and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. He’s master-minded the assassination of half a dozen army officers in Israel and the Israelis have offered a million-dollar reward for him, dead or alive.’
‘He sounds promising,’ Thor said. ‘Can we get him?’
‘He’s expensive. If he agrees to take the contract, it will cost us two million dollars.’
Freyr whistled, then shrugged. ‘That can be handled. We’ll take it from the general fund we’ve set up.’
