‘My parents could not have been involved with a man like that. It just can’t be.’
‘That’s what Carrie thought, I’m sure,’ Bedford said. ‘Her father worked for Jargo. Jargo killed her mom and dad. Or rather, had them killed.’
‘Shit.’
‘Her real name is Caroline Leblanc. Her father ran a private security service after a long career in military intelligence. He had come to the Agency and met with me, let me know that Jargo had operatives working in the Agency and people buying his services within the Agency. I asked him to remain in place, keep working for Jargo, but report to me. Jargo found out, or Carrie’s father slipped up. Jargo made her think the CIA was responsible for her father’s death. But Carrie came to us after her father’s death – she learned additional details that convinced her that Jargo was behind her parents’ murders. At tremendous personal risk, Carrie joined us and became our double agent within the Deeps.’
Evan found his voice after a moment. ‘Jargo killed her folks. And she kept working for him. My God.’
‘Yes. It was difficult but she knew it had to be done. Carrie is our single operative who’s gotten close to Jargo, although she’s only seen him face to face less than five times.’
‘So who sent her into my bed, you or Jargo?’
Bedford let the words die on the air. ‘A man like you, who looks for truth in the world, knows that life is complicated. I asked her to watch out for you. I didn’t order her to kiss you, sleep with you, or to care about you. She’s not who you thought she was… but she’s still Carrie. Does that make sense?’
He didn’t know. ‘Why were you and Jargo interested in me?’
‘I, simply because Jargo sent Carrie to watch you.’ Bedford cleared his throat. ‘He wanted to know what film you were making next.’
‘Film? I don’t understand. Wasn’t he watching me because of my parents?’
‘That would be the natural assumption. But he wanted Carrie to find out about your film plans. That seems to have been the genesis of his interest in you.’
‘He wanted me for this network. Like Carrie.’
‘Possibly. But then he’d have gotten your parents to recruit you. Like how John Walker talked his friend and his son into becoming spies for the Russians.’
Evan tried to imagine his parents sitting him down for that talk. The picture wouldn’t form.
‘But… Jargo never said a word to me about my films. He said I had files he needed. He wanted them in exchange for my dad.’
‘He told Carrie the files are information on his clients – the people in the CIA and elsewhere who hire him to do their dirty work. I don’t know why your mother went against Jargo, but she did. We think she contacted Gabriel to extract her and you. In return, she would have given him Jargo’s client list. Gabriel would have taken the list public, to shame the CIA – we fired him, because no one believed his stories that we had freelance spying occurring within the Agency – and to bring down Jargo.’
‘How did Mom get these files?’
‘Unknown. She must have worked for Jargo.’
‘So Gabriel was telling me the truth. Well, partially.’
‘Mr. Gabriel let his personal weaknesses and biases cloud his judgment. Both here and after he left the Agency. It’s very sad. I’ve asked the FBI to move his family to a safe location, hide them until we bring Jargo down. We told both the family and the Bureau that Mr. Gabriel gave us information on a drug cartel before he vanished.’
‘So… how long ago did Jargo order Carrie to get involved with me?’
‘Three months.’
‘When did my mother steal these files?’
‘I’m not sure, but we believe she contacted Gabriel last month.’
‘So Carrie was watching me… before Mom stole the files. That doesn’t make sense.’ Evan stood up, paced the room. ‘I never thought, never talked, about making a documentary about spies or the CIA or intelligence work of any sort. Why would he tell Carrie to watch me because of my films?’
‘He never gave her a more specific reason,’ Bedford said.
‘So she’s told you about what films I’ve made or might make.’
‘Yes.’
‘So, you must have an idea about what sparked Jargo’s interest.’
‘Tell me what your planned subjects were.’
‘Hasn’t Carrie reported all this to you anyway?’
‘I’d like to hear it from you, Evan. Tell me everything. This might be the key to locating Jargo. We find him, we get your father back.’
‘Won’t he just kill my dad? If my mom betrayed him, he’ll think my dad did as well.’
‘Carrie tells me Jargo has been rather protective of your father. I’m not sure why. Now tell me about your films.’
‘I thought about telling the story of Jameson Wong, the Hong Kong financier. He had the franchise for a number of luxury brands in Hong Kong. But he made bad investments, got grossly overextended, lost his fortune. When he got on his feet, he started funneling money from wealthy expat Chinese to groups that support reform in China. He went from being a self-involved CEO to a real voice for democracy.’
‘How did you choose him?’
‘I read an article about him in the New York Times. Is he connected to Jargo?’
‘Perhaps. Continue.’
‘Um, Alexander Bast. He was kind of the king of the London social scene about thirty years ago. High roller, slept with lots of famous women. Renaissance man, for a partyer. Ran three famous nightclubs but also two art galleries, a modeling agency. He lost it all, I think his accountant stole it from him, and then he started a small publishing company, of all things, publishing books by Soviet dissidents. Then he was murdered in a robbery of his home.’
‘How did you find out about Bast?’
‘Well, he was semifamous already, simply because he was such a friend to so many famous people. But I was in the UK a few months ago, lecturing at the London Film School, and I got an anonymous package indicating that Alexander Bast would be a good subject for my next film project. It included clippings about Bast, his murder, his life.’
‘That’s rather unusual, isn’t it, for someone to pitch you a film idea anonymously?’ Bedford cupped his hands over his chin, leaned forward on the table.
‘Everyone has an idea for a movie, I get ideas tossed to me by nearly everyone I meet.’ Evan took a long sip of water. ‘But, yes, an anonymous package, this was odd. I hadn’t ever heard of Bast. But the story about him – rich party animal embraces social change – was interesting, and he was certainly an intriguing character. Most pitches are beyond boring – they just don’t have meat enough for a movie.’
‘Did you ever find out who left the package?’
Evan shifted in his chair. ‘The head of the documentary department at London Film, Jon Malcolm, told me that a man named Hadley Khan had been asking him if I’d mentioned doing a film on Alexander Bast. I told Malcolm about the anonymous package I’d gotten, because it was odd.’
‘Hadley Khan.’
‘Yeah. He’s from a wealthy Pakistani family based in London. I had met him at a Film School cocktail party. His family donates money to a number of London cultural interests. Malcolm told me Hadley had mentioned my work to him a couple of times, pushed for me to get an invite to speak at the Film School. I figured Hadley sent the package.’
‘What did he talk to you about at the cocktail party? Do you recall?’
Evan thought, let the silence take hold of the room. ‘I only thought about it later, when it became clear he’d sent me the anonymous package.’ He closed his eyes. ‘He asked about my next film project. I don’t discuss my ideas, and I gave him the polite answer that I wasn’t sure yet. And frankly, I really wasn’t sure what I’d do. He told me how much he admired biography as a focus, that London was full of fascinating characters. It was all harmless and vague. But I remember his face – he reminded me of a rookie car salesman, gearing up for the pitch but lacking the spine to close the deal.’
‘Did you ever ask Hadley Khan about the information on Bast?’
‘No. Malcolm didn’t tell me about Hadley having sent me the package until I was back in the States. I e-mailed Hadley but never got a response.’ Evan shrugged. ‘It was strange, but I found out a long time ago all sorts of people want to get close to the film business. I figured, since he had money, he probably wanted to be a producer. Get a credit on a film. It’s very common. I thought he was just an amateur.’ Evan shook his head. ‘It definitely sounds more sinister now. Knowing what I know.’