pieces.â
âYouâre the unknown element.â
âYarnell has already gone to Powers and to the president with this?â
Trotter nodded glumly. âIâm sure he hasnât
come right out and said he was being investigated as a spy. But heâs almost certainly worked himself in solid with them. Heâll begin digging in now. But, Kirk, listen to me, the man has his Achillesâ heel. He has a weak side.â
âDonât we all,â McGarvey muttered.
âYarnell was married back in the late fifties to a girl in Mexico. Very young, very pretty.â
âI thought he was a bachelor.â
âThey divorced a long time ago. Sheâs living in New York City these days. Her name is Evita Perez. She has a club. In SoHo, I think.â
âChrist,â McGarvey said softly.
Trotter suddenly turned away again. âWeâre asking a lot of you, Kirk. I know it; Leonard knows it.â
The house grew very quiet. It was all coming to McGarvey now, and he felt very fragile, as if he were a delicate crystal vase that would shatter at the slightest vibration.
âThere cannot be a trial; you canât or wonât go to the president with this; heâs Powersâs friend; youâre not sure of the bureau. So what, we send him back to Moscow? Is that it, John?â
Trotter shook his head.
âNo, it would be another Kim Philby. Theyâd crow about it for years. The effect would be worse than a trial, wouldnât it?â
A lot of thoughts came tumbling, one over the other, into McGarveyâs head. The business in Chile was uppermost in his mind. It was still an active file. He could still be prosecuted for murder. Were they holding that over him?
âWeâre talking about murder, here, John, arenât we? About the assassination of a former U.S. senator, one of the most influential men in Washington.â
Trotter held himself very still.
âDoes Leonard Day know about this? Has he approved this plan?â
âWe didnât talk about it ⦠not in so many words.â
âBut the implication was there between you, goddamnit, wasnât it?â
Trotter nodded.
God, he couldnât believe any of this. âWhat if I do kill him, John? What then? Where would that leave me? No official sanction from the agency, certainly none from the bureau or Justice. We just donât do those sorts of things, do we? What happens if Iâm caught?â He couldnât believe any of this.
âYou would have Leonardâs personal help, as well as mine, all the way.â
âYou would take the fall with me if I was arrested?â McGarvey said. âTurn around, for Christâs sake, and look at me!â
Trotter turned. He was pale. Sweat lined his brow and his upper lip. âIâve thought the possibility through. Believe me, I have. If that were to happen, we would go to Powers and to the president and lay it out for them piece by piece. Make them understand.â
âIf you are willing to do that in extremis, why not now? Go to them now!â
âWeâre not sure!â Trotter cried.
âIâm to make sure, first, is that it? Iâm to suck after his ex-wife, dig through his dirty laundry. Iâm to make sure and then kill the bastard. No trial. Nothing!â McGarvey wanted very much to hit something.
âWe didnât know who else to turn to,â Trotter said miserably.
âAmerican justice has broken down,â McGarvey said quietly. âWill I get a medal when itâs over? Or will I be the next embarrassment? You have
someone in the wings to put a bullet in the back of my head?â
Trotterâs eyes went wide. âGood God, what do you take us for, Kirk?â
âWeâve already established that, John. Now itâs just a question of degree. Nothing more.â
Â
The young girl with the sommersprossen drove McGarvey back up to Lausanne in the blue van
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