Her reasoning made sense, so I suggested that she not have him drive directly back to the city, but to follow through on our original plan of stopping at a couple of stores, ostensibly to handle some errands for Sherima. “But don’t take too long,” I warned, “and keep Abdul from reporting in to the embassy if you can. Bring him up to the suite when you get back to the Watergate.”
“Is that where you are now, Nick?”
“Yes, Candy. I’ll be waiting here for your return.”
Candy was silent for a moment, then asked slowly, “Nick, do you think Abdul might be involved in Sherima’s disappearance? Is that why you want him back there?”
“Right now, I don’t know what to think. But I’d rather have him where I can keep an eye on him. Just try to get back here within a couple of hours if you can do it without being too obvious about it.”
“All right, Nick. See you soon.”
Five minutes after I put down the phone and flopped on the bed to wait, the AXE radio operator phoned to report that Candy had left the real estate office in Potomac, and that the limousine had started back toward Washington.
“Keep me posted on every move they make,” I instructed before hanging up.
Ten minutes later, the phone rang again. I was informed that the cover car was proceeding south on Route 190—River Road — about five hundred yards behind Sherima’s limousine and nearing the intersection with Cabin John Parkway. That meant Abdul was taking a more direct route into the District than he and Candy had used to reach the horse country of Maryland. He’d obviously done some more map reading since our earlier expedition up that way.
“Instruct the cover car to keep them in sight at all times,” I told the radioman. “I don’t care if they have to stick right on their rear bumper, I don’t want to lose that car.”
“Yes, sir,” he responded, and even before he hung up, I could hear him beginning to pass on my orders over the powerful AXE transmitter.
The rapidity with which his next report came surprised me. And his report wasn’t the least bit encouraging.
“Subject car has stopped at a service station near the intersection of River Road and Seven Locks Road.” I fumbled for my map as he continued routinely, “C car reports that the chauffeur has gone into the gas station while the attendant is fueling limousine. C car has halted just out of sight of the station and one agent is going forward on foot to keep up surveillance… Shall I stay on the line for his report, sir?”
“Affirmative,” I told him, then waited perhaps ten minutes before I heard the radio crackling in the background with the report. The radioman returned to the phone with words that confirmed one of my worst fears: Candy hadn’t been able to prevent Abdul from reaching a phone:
“Agent in C car reports that the limousine driver was inside service station eight minutes before going back to his car. During that time, agent observed the chauffeur using a public telephone in the station after obtaining change from attendant. At least two calls were made by driver and one by female passenger, but agent was not close enough to observe numbers dialed. Limousine and occupants are now proceeding south on Cabin John Parkway… One moment, sir.” I could hear another transmission, but was unable to make out the message. The AXE operator soon filled me in on what was happening:
“Subject car has moved onto George Washington Memorial Parkway and still is proceeding south. C car will report again in five minutes unless you wish me to maintain contact, sir.”
“No. Just inform C car to maintain that schedule of reports.”
As I broke the connection I was wondering just whom Abdul had contacted. It was logical that one of his calls had been made to the embassy, which meant he now knew about the flap over Sherima’s whereabouts — if he hadn’t already known. But who else had he called?
The next three reports at five-minute intervals were from our C car, who told me only that Sherima’s limousine was continuing its progress back toward the District on the George Washington Parkway. When I asked the radioman to check the car’s speed, he flashed the query to the C car and soon informed me that Abdul seemed to be maintaining the same forty-five to fifty miles per hour that he had held while he’d been traveling to and from Potomac. I asked for a reconfirmation of that speed and was assured the initial information was correct.
That threw even more suspicion in the direction it had been building. If Abdul had been informed by the embassy that Sherima might be in danger, he should be getting back to the city as fast as possible. I wished that Hawk had returned to his office so he could check his contact at the embassy and determine if the bodyguard had phoned there. However, since Hawk hadn’t contacted me, I assumed that he was still at the White House. The AXE radioman confirmed the fact for me during his next report.
“Do you want me to have Communications put out an emergency call on his beeper?” the radio operator asked.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I told him, having visions of Hawk’s little receiver suddenly beginning to buzz in the President’s office. Still, it would be valuable right now to know if any of our underground contacts had come up with a lead to Sherima’s disappearance. As the agent in charge of the operation, I had the authority to contact Hawk’s executive office and request the status of any field reports, but I decided that I would wait until the Old Man returned to headquarters. I felt certain, anyway, that he had left orders that I was to be informed of any vital communications bearing on the case.
Keeping track of Sherima’s car on my map as reports were relayed to me, I traced its entry onto Canal Road and realized it was back in the District. Since I was assuming that Abdul knew something was up with Sherima, I expected him and Candy back at the hotel soon. She wouldn’t have been able to sidetrack him on any errands once he felt “Her Highness” was in danger.
Just two minutes after his latest report, the AXE radioman was back on the phone to me again. “Sir, something has happened that I think you should know about. C car began transmission ahead of schedule to report that the limousine it was following had slowed considerably. Then C car abruptly broke off contact and I have been unable to raise it again.”
“Keep trying,” I ordered. “I’ll stay on the line.”
Over and over I could hear him mouthing the call numbers of the C car. He didn’t have to come on the line to tell me that he was getting no response. Then, suddenly, over the phone I heard some message coming into the radio room and my hopes were raised that the C car perhaps had been in a dead transmission area. They were quickly dashed when the radioman came back on the line:
“Sir, I’m afraid there’s trouble. Monitoring just picked up a District Police flash ordering patrol cruisers to investigate a crash on Canal Road in the area where our C car last reported in. The police dispatcher sent more than one car and transmitted a code signal that indicated shots had been heard in that area. Are there any orders?”
“Yes. Get off the line and have Monitoring call me directly. I want to know every word that District Police transmit about that call.” The radioman was sharp enough to break the connection immediately without acknowledging my instructions.
Ninety seconds later, my phone rang again — the Watergate switchboard must have thought I was booking bets out of my room with so many calls. A supervisor in the AXE Monitoring Section began reporting what they were learning from listening in on the District Police wave-length. The news was not good. A district cruiser apparently had been near the locale on Canal Road and had reached the scene swiftly. Its initial report back to headquarters was that a car was crashed and burning, and ambulances were needed.
“Hold it a minute, sir,” my new contact said, and, once more, I could hear radio cross-chatter in the background. He soon came back on the line with an update. “It looks bad sir,” he said. “The DP cruiser just requested that Homicide respond to the call and that all available back-up cars be sent. The patrolman making the call said a second cruiser has arrived, and they are attempting to put out a fire, but a fire engine is needed, too. Also, he said there is evidence of automatic weaponsfire.”