‘We’ve made great progress in one evening. By using her as the bait we’ll pick up leads on both the Russian and Chinese networks. If Marie is a pawn, Nancy either wouldn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it. Just tell the Director I’m ready for the step he and I discussed this afternoon and if that pans out I have a wild idea that should solve most of our problems.’
‘Very well.’ She knew better than to question him about
matters he was not yet ready to reveal to her. ‘Where will you be if the Director wants to reach you tonight?’
‘I’m moving straight back into my role as the tender loving care chap. I’m taking Nancy back to the house and putting her to bed after her ordeal.’
‘You know,’ Adrienne said, ‘if you can really use the Wing woman as a successful shield for Project Neptune, I won’t mind all the nights you’ve slept with her. Not too much.’
In the morning Porter returned to the command post, where he conferred at length with the Director, working out a careful strategy. Shortly before noon he was back at the rented house overlooking the sea.
Nancy, who had slept late and luxuriated in a hot bath, was drying her hair, and switched off the apparatus as he came into the bedroom.
‘You’re looking better,’ he said as he kissed her.
‘I’m feeling more like myself.’
‘I have some news for you that will speed your improvement,’ Porter said, and handed her a postal order for $5,000. ‘This is a down payment on your new job. You can mail it to the bank in Oakland on our way to the airport.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘I’ve rented an aeroplane to take us to Seattle for twenty-four hours of shopping, recuperating, and celebrating. This is one day you can dress up and wear your cheongsam.’
She needed an hour to dress and make up, and a small aircraft awaited them when they reached the local airport. Porter refrained from mentioning that pilot and aeroplane were being provided by the Corporation. The short flight to Seattle was uneventful, and the driver of the taxi that took them into the city was a Corporation employee, too. Nancy was a stalking horse, and would be guarded far more thoroughly than she knew.
The couple spent the afternoon shopping, and Nancy celebrated the turn in her fortunes by splurging on an extensive new wardrobe. In one shop a $500 silver bracelet caught her fancy, too, so Porter, still playing the role of the infatuated lover, bought it for her. When they returned to their hotel suite she was radiant.
‘There’s just time for you to change,’ Porter told her. ‘There’s a private club here in the hotel that’s supposed to be the nicest place in town, and I have a temporary membership, so I’ve made us a reservation for dinner.’
‘You’re too nice to be a boss,’ Nancy said, ‘and far too sweet to be in our rotten business. Which of my new outfits shall I wear for you?’
‘Surprise me,’ he said, ‘but just for the fun of it wear your wig.’
‘I thought I’d go Oriental tonight.’
‘Let’s not push our luck. I don’t think we’ve been followed, but I prefer to take no chances.’
He read the newspapers while she prepared for the evening, and when she rejoined him she was wearing a low-cut white dress, with Western make-up that matched her blonde wig. She was lovely, and Porter told himself she was undoubtedly the most beautiful triple agent in the intelligence community.
Others thought she was attractive, too, and she created a stir as they were conducted down the length of the oak-panelled dining-room to their table. Their cocktails were served, and Porter raised his glass. ‘To you and me, partner.’
‘To us,’ Nancy said, and they drank.
Another couple were led to the adjacent table, and the men feigned surprise. ‘Join us,’ Franklin Richards said.
Two waiters and a wine steward stood nearby, watching the reactions of the women as Porter said, ‘Mrs Richards, Miss Wing.’
Marie was her usual bland, cheerful self.
Nancy appeared to be somewhat impressed.
Neither indicated any previous meeting by as much as a flicker and unless they were superb actresses they were unacquainted.
As they were sipping their drinks and making small talk, however Marie suddenly interrupted the conversation. ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’ she asked the younger woman.
Franklin Richards stiffened.
Porter sat very still.
Nancy shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. I’ve never forgotten any celebrities I’ve ever met.’
The moment passed, the conversation became general again, and when their second drinks were served Richards, following instructions, asked casually, ‘Where are you staying these days, Porter?’
‘Oh, Nancy and I have rented a vacation house on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We’re spending most of our time doing nothing but work on our suntans.’
‘Well,’ Richards said, ‘we have a house up that way. You’ll have to come over. And perhaps MisS Wing would like a tour of our shipyard.’
The manoeuvre, Porter thought, was one of the most delicate he had ever attempted.
‘I’d love it,’ Nancy said.
Porter was certain she was sincere.
‘I know!’ Marie exclaimed.
Her husband gripped the arms of his chair.
‘When you said you’re staying on the Strait I remembered. You visited the new shopping centre the other morning, Miss Wing. I’m sure you did.’
Nancy didn’t know what to reply, and Porter was no help, so she decided truth was the best defence. ‘I believe I did attend to some errands at a shopping centre one day this week.’
‘Indeed you did, and you stopped in at a little snack bar. I was having coffee there at the same time.’
‘Now that you mention it, I did go into a little place for a cup of tea.’
‘I knew it!’ Marie was triumphant. ‘I have a photographic memory for attractive people. Don’t I, Frank?’
‘Indeed she does,’ Richards said.
So the coincidence was explained. Or was it? If Marie was as innocent as she seemed, the appearance of the two women in the shopping centre snack bar had no significance. And, on the surface, only someone innocent of wrong-doing would mention the matter in front of a man who, she knew, held a position of importance in the Corporation. On the other hand, if she was guilty, only a diabolically clever woman would try to confuse an experienced intelligence officer by mentioning the trivial incident.
Franklin Richards was beaming, and it was obvious he believed his wife’s inadvertent explanation had cleared the air.
Porter was content to let him think the subject was closed. The Corporation could keep Marie under close surveillance without interference, and what her husband didn’t know might not hurt him. More evidence had to be accumulated before a final verdict could be rendered.
After a leisurely dinner the two couples separated, with Porter and Nancy returning to their suite. She accepted a nightcap from him, placed it on the coffee table in front of her and momentarily forgot it.
‘Did Franklin Richards really invite me to tour his shipyard, or was he just being polite?’ she asked.
‘I’m sure it was a genuine invitation.’
‘How could he?’
‘I don’t see why not,’ Porter said. ‘It’s his shipyard, so he can do as he pleases.’
‘Suppose the KGB is right, and he’s building a super-submarine there for the American Navy. Mind you, I haven’t asked you whether the report is true or false. After the way you’ve treated me I don’t want to cause problems for you. But assume there is such a super-submarine. How can Richards allow a stranger to wander through his shipyard?’
‘He knows where I work, so he must believe that anyone associated with me is safe.’
There was a wicked gleam in her eyes as she smiled. ‘How I’d love to notify Moscow that I’ve had the invitation from him! Even Andropov himself will become excited.’