“Why don’t you leave a note on her desk?”
“Why don’t you just do me a favor?”
“Every time I do you a favor I feel like I’m an accessory to a felony.”
“I’ll bring you back some baklava.”
“Make it a corn muffin.”
I stood and said to Harry, “Keep this to yourself.”
“Toasted, with butter.”
I made a hasty exit for the elevator. On the way down, I thought about what my instincts were telling me to do. First, get out of the building in case Koenig wanted to speak to me after he grilled Kate. Second, the next person I needed to speak to was Kate, alone and away from the Ministry of Love. These were good instincts.
I got off the elevator, went out on Broadway, and walked south toward the World Trade Center.
The coffee shop-the Acropolis-had the advantage of high-backed booths, so the customers couldn’t be seen from the street. Also, the horrible, tinny, piped-in Greek music covered conversation, and every five minutes or so there was the sickening sound of smashing crockery. This was piped in, too, and was supposed to be funny. I guess you had to be Greek to get it.
I took a seat at an empty booth in the rear.
I had the feeling that things were closing in on me-that I shouldn’t use my cell phone or my office phone, or my e-mail, or even my apartment phone. When the Feds get on your case, you’re toast.
The waitress came over, and I ordered coffee.
“Anything with that?”
“Toast.”
I was on my third cup of coffee, leaning out into the aisle to see the front door, when Kate came in. She spotted me, walked quickly to the booth, and slid in opposite me. She asked me, “Why are you here?”
“Obviously, we need to talk. Alone.”
“Well, Jack is looking for you.”
“That’s why I’m here. What did you two talk about?”
She replied, “He asked me if I was looking into the TWA case. I said I was. He thanked me for being so forthright, then he asked me if you were looking into the case, too.” She hesitated, then continued, “I said you were. Then, he wanted some details, so I told him what he probably already knew about everything that had happened from the night of the memorial service to now.” She paused, then added, “That’s what you suggested. Right?”
“Right. How did he handle the truth?”
“Not too well.”
The waitress came, and Kate ordered a chamomile tea, whatever that is.
I asked her, “Did you tell him where I went yesterday?”
“I told him you went out east and that’s all I knew. I explained, quite frankly, that you weren’t sharing much with me, so that I wouldn’t be in a position to have to lie. He appreciated that strategy on a professional level, but he was very pissed off.”
“The mere mention of my name pisses him off.”
Kate’s tea came at the same time the crockery crashed, and she was startled. I could tell she was a little jumpy after an hour with Koenig. I said, “That was a recording. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” She sipped her tea, then leaned across the table and said to me, “I told him in no uncertain terms that I asked you to look into this case and that you were reluctant to do so, but out of loyalty to me, you agreed to check out a few things. I told him I take full responsibility for any breach of rules, regulations, standing orders, and so forth.”
“Was his face red? I like it when his face gets red. You ever see him snap a pencil between his fingers?”
“This is not a joke. But, yes, he was in a state of controlled freak-out.”
“Well, that tells you something right there-doesn’t it? Somebody-the government, the FBI, the CIA-has something to hide.”
“Not necessarily. He was pissed because this was the second time I was told that this case was none of my business. They don’t like to have to tell you twice about something, even if it’s something minor. There is no room for renegades and hotshots on the team. Jack’s annoyance had nothing to do with this case, per se, but with the larger issues of giving aid and comfort to conspiracy theorists and muckraking news media.”
“Why didn’t we think of that?”
“Because it’s bullshit.”
“I hope you told him that.”
“I did not. I told him I understood completely.”
I wasn’t exactly certain where Ms. Mayfield now stood on this subject, so I asked, “What’s the bottom line?”
“He gave me a direct order not to involve myself in this matter, and if I gave him my word on that, then nothing negative would be entered in my service record.”
“So, there you go. No big deal. Where do you want to meet for lunch?”
She ignored the question and asked me, “What did Captain Stein say to you?”
“Oh, right. Stein. Koenig didn’t tell him much except that one of Stein’s problem cops-me-needed to get smacked into line about something. I actually had to tell Stein what I thought this was about so he could chew me out about it. It was a little bizarre.”
“That’s it?”
“Sort of.” I decided not to mention the Yemen thing now, if ever.
She asked me, “Then why does Jack want to see you?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
“No… probably he wants to reprimand you in person.”
“Not a chance. He loves me.”
“He actually doesn’t. But he respects you.”
“And I respect him.”
“But… he thinks you’re not a team player. He said that. He’s afraid you might bring discredit to the task force.”
“Yeah? Fuck him. Basically, he doesn’t like all these cops in his office. They make him nervous.”
She didn’t comment.
I informed Kate, “I don’t have to see Jack Koenig. I’ve resigned.”
She looked up at me. “What?”
“Stein gave me a choice of keeping my nose out of TWA 800 or resigning. I chose to resign.”
“Why? Just drop this thing, John. It’s not worth our careers.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I resigned out of principle. In other words, I’m tired of this job.” Also, I didn’t want any job where someone could send me to Yemen and fuck with my life. But I didn’t tell that to Kate.
She said, “We’ll talk about that later…” She stayed quiet for a while, then said, “Jack gave me a few choices, too.”
I knew we weren’t getting off that easy.
She said, “First choice was a permanent transfer to someplace in the continental U.S., to be discussed. Second choice was a temporary assignment to assist the FBI legal attache in the investigation of the U.S. embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.”
I let that sink in awhile, avoiding Kate’s eyes. Finally, I said, “You understand, of course, that this is a punishment and not a reward for good initiative.”
She replied, “That’s not the way it was presented.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Well… you don’t like New York, so take the transfer to Dubuque or someplace.”
“Actually, I do like New York.”
“Since when?”
“Since I was given the opportunity to leave. Look, John, if I take the temporary assignment to Tanzania, I’ll be guaranteed at least two more years in New York. On the other hand, the transfer in the continental U.S. is permanent. You’d have to apply for a transfer to wherever I wind up, and it could be years before we’re in the same city. If ever.”
“I told you-I’m going to resign.”
“No, you’re not. And even if you do, would you leave New York and come with me to Dallas, or Cleveland, or Wichita?”
“I’d follow you anywhere. I’ve never been west of Eleventh Avenue. It could be fun.”
She looked at me to see if I was being serious, which I was not. I said, “I’ll get a security job in a department store. Or, here’s another choice-tell Koenig to go fuck himself.”
“That is not a good career choice. Look, I could file a grievance, or plead hardship, but the easier thing to do would be to take the temporary overseas assignment. It won’t be more than three months. Then, I come back, the slate is clean, and we go on with our lives and our jobs here.” She added, “I made Jack Koenig promise that you’d get a two-year contract renewal here in New York.”