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CHAPTER 47
THE NEXT MORNING CHAPMAN was at Stone’s cottage by seven o’clock, and she wasn’t alone Jae and took a seat in front of the fireplace He’d changed his jacket and wore no tie His open-collared shirt had a checked pattern His hair was neatly coy face spoke of the stress he was enduring
“Chapht” He looked at the daed
door and eyed the bullet holes “Not quite as civilized as a nightcap,” he pointed out
“No,” agreed Stone
“US govern, eh?”
“Yes”
“Complicates an already overly complicated situation”
“But it’s the first tiotten under their collar, so to speak”
“Well, that is soed “Spoke to the PM this an
“And?”
“And he’s not pleased”
“Well, for what it’s worth, neither am I But we’ve only been on the case a few days And in that time four people have died and my friends nearly made it six”
“Yes, Agent Chapain?”
Chapman said, “The Camel Club”
“Right, this Caroup to help I have to say I find the nainative”
“And do you disapprove of my use of them?”
“Personally I’ve found the utilization of irregular forces a stroke of genius, particularly when the paid troops are lacking Whether that was the case here or not, I’m not prepared to say But that’s not the issue”
“So what exactly is the problem?”
“I understand that you put a man on Fuat Turkekul?”
“Yes Harry Finn For the security of sensitive facilities in this country and abroad But he’s taken some time off And he’s elected to use that time off to help me”
“I of course know all about his mother, Lesya, and the fate of his father, Rayfield Solomon”
Stone looked stunned “I wasn’t aware that was public knowledge”
“It’s certainly not,” replied McElroy “I would not have been advised of it except that Solomon was a friend of ether in both Asia and South America And I knew Lesya from her days with the former Soviet Union I was actually one of the first Western intelligence officers to know that she was a double agent”
“Then you know the whole story? About me, I mean? What I did to Rayfield Solomon?”
“Orders are orders, Oliver You were following them If you hadn’t you wouldn’t have been simply put in the clink for insubordination You would’ve been shot for treason I kno the Yanks operate on that score, which is sis”
“I could still have refused”
“But you can’t change that fact now, no matter how much you may want to”
“Then you also know about Harry?”
“Not everything, no”
He and Stone exchanged a long glance
McElroy said, “But you do trust him?”
“He’s proven his loyalty to me beyond doubt”
“May I ask how you ed that? With what happened between his father and you?”
“We worked it out That’s all I can say on the matter”
“I see” McElroy did not look convinced “Still,him privy to Fuat’s presence and role? That was a reach, wasn’t it? I have to say I’m surprised”
“I can’t ask ahim why Harry knohat Fuat Turkekulin his power to safeguard him”