Fasil was held on charges of illegal entry and conspiracy to violate Customs regulations. Awad was held for illegal entry. The embassy of the United Arab Republic arranged for them to be represented by a New Orleans law firm. Neither Arab said anything. Corley hammered at Fasil for hours Sunday night in the prison infirmary and received nothing but a mocking stare. Fasil’s lawyer withdrew from the case when he heard the nature of the questions. He was replaced by a Legal Aid attorney. Fasil paid no attention to either lawyer. He seemed content to wait.
Corley dumped the contents of a manila envelope on a desk in the FBI office. “This is all Fasil had on him.”
Kabakov poked through the pile. There was a wallet, an envelope containing twenty-five hundred dollars in cash, an open airline ticket to Mexico City, Fasil’s fake credentials and passport, assorted change, room keys from the YMCA and the Bienville House, and two other keys.
“His room is clean,” Corley said. “A few clothes. Awad’s luggage is clean as a whistle. We’re working on tracing Fasil’s gun, but I think he brought it in with him. One of the holes in the Leticia was a magnum.”
“He hasn’t said anything?”
“No.” By tacit agreement, Corley and Kabakov had not referred to their angry clash in the Superdome again, but for a moment they both thought about it.
“Have you threatened Fasil with immediate extradition to Israel to stand trial for Munich?”
“I’ve threatened him with everything.”
“What about sodium pentathol or hallucinogens?”
“Can’t do it, David. Look, I have a pretty good idea of what Dr. Bauman probably has in her purse. That’s why I haven’t let you in to see Fasil.”
“No, you’re wrong. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t drug him.”
“But I expect you asked her.”
Kabakov did not reply.
“These keys are for two Master padlocks,” Corley said. “There are no padlocks in Fasil’s luggage or in Awad’s. Fasil has locked up something. If the bomb is big, and it would have to be big if it’s in a single charge or even two charges, then it’s probably in a truck, or close to a truck. That means a garage, a locked garage.
“We’re having five hundred of these keys made. They’ll be issued to patrolmen with instructions to try every padlock on their beats. When one clicks open, the patrolman is to lay back and call for us.
“I know what’s bothering you. Two keys come with each new padlock, right?”
“Yes,” Kabakov said. “Somebody has got the other set of keys.”
24
“DAHLIA? ARE YOU HERE?” THE room was very dark.
“Yes, Michael. Right here.”
He felt her hand on his arm. “Have I been asleep?”
“You’ve slept for two hours. It’s one a.m.”
“Turn on the light. I want to see your face.”
“All right. Here it is. The same old face.”
He held her face in his hands, gently rubbing his thumbs in the soft hollows beneath her cheekbones. It had been three days since his fever broke. He was getting 250 milligrams of Erythromycin four times a day. It was working, but slowly.
“Let’s see if I can walk.”
“We should wait—”
“I want to know now if I can walk. Help me up.” He sat on the side of the hospital bed. “Okay, here we go.” He put his arm around her shoulders. She held him by the waist. He stood and took a shaky step. “Dizzy,” he said. “Keep going.”
She felt him trembling. “Let’s go back to the bed, Michael.”
“Nope. I can make the chair.” He sank back in the chair and fought down a wave of nausea and dizziness. He looked at her and smiled weakly. “That’s eight steps. From the bus to the cockpit won’t be more than fifty-five. This is January fifth, no, the sixth, it’s after midnight. We’ve got five and a half days. We’ll make it.”
“I never doubted it, Michael.”
“Yes, you did. You doubt it now. You’d be a fool not to doubt it. Help me back to bed.”
He slept until midmorning, and he was able to eat breakfast. It was time to tell him.
“Michael, I’m afraid something is wrong with Fasil.”
“When did you talk to him last?”
“Tuesday, the second. He called to say the truck was safe in the garage. He was scheduled to call again last night. He didn’t.” She had not mentioned the Libyan pilot to Lander. She never would.
“You think he’s caught, don’t you?”
“He wouldn’t miss a call. If he hasn’t called by tomorrow night, then he’s taken.”
“If he was caught away from the garage, what would he be carrying to give it away?”
“Nothing but his set of keys. I burned the rent receipt as soon as I got it. He never even had that. He had nothing that would identify us. If he had anything and he was caught, the police would be here now.”
“What about the hospital telephone number?”
“Only in his head. He picked pay telephones at random to call here.”
“We’ll go on then. Either the plastic is still there, or it’s not. The loading will be harder with just the two of us, but we can do it if we’re quick. Have you got the reservations?”
“Yes, at the Fairmont. I didn’t ask if the blimp crew was there. I was afraid—”
“That’s all right. The crew has always stayed there when we flew New Orleans. They’ll do it again this time. Let’s walk a little.”
“I’m supposed to call the Aldrich office again this afternoon and give them your condition.” She had introduced herself on the telephone as Lander’s sister when she reported him ill.
“Say I’ve still got the flu and I’m out for at least a week and a half. They’ll keep Farley on the schedule as chief pilot and Simmons as second officer. You remember what Farley looks like? You only saw him once, when we flew the night-sign run over Shea.”
“I remember.”
“He’s in some of the pictures at the house, if you want to look at him again.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll go to the house tomorrow. You must be sick of this dress.” She had bought underclothing at a shop across the street from the hospital, had bathed in Lander’s bathroom. Otherwise, she had not left his side. She laid her head on Lander’s chest. He smiled and rubbed the back of her neck.
I can’t hear him bubbling, she thought. His chest is clear.
25
THE PRESENCE OF FASIL AND Awad in New Orleans left no doubt in the minds of the FBI and the Secret Service that the Arabs had planned to blow up the Super Bowl. The authorities believed that with the capture of Fasil and Awad the prime threat to the Super Bowl was blunted, but they knew they still faced a dangerous situation.
Two persons known to be at least peripherally involved in the plot—the woman and the American—were still at large. Neither had been identified, although the officers had a likeness of the woman. Worse, more than a half ton of high explosive was cached somewhere, probably in the New Orleans area.
In the first few hours after the arrests, Corley half-expected a shattering blast somewhere in the city, or a threatening telephone call demanding Fasil’s release as the price of the guerrillas not detonating the bomb in a crowded area. Neither occurred.