Mike Salerno, Moscow correspondent for Pacific News Service, said that he sat next to Hollis and Rhodes when the Pan Am flight left Moscow. He said Hollis and Rhodes both seemed grateful for the chance to return to Moscow aboard the helicopter. He said they asked him to notify the U.S. embassy about their flight change, which he said he did. “The Soviet authorities at Minsk offered me a ride in the helicopter back to Moscow,” Salerno said. “But I didn’t mind staying on in Minsk. Sam and Lisa (Hollis and Rhodes) were anxious to make connections in Frankfurt.” A spokesman for Pan Am said Soviet authorities held the aircraft overnight in Minsk before allowing it to resume its flight, and the passengers were put up in a local hotel. The Soviets declined to say whether a bomb was found.
Family friends said Gen. Hollis claimed his son’s body Wednesday at Andrews Air Force Base. Col. Hollis was married but had been estranged from his wife Katherine during the past six months, a friend of the Hollis family said. Katherine Hollis arrived here yesterday from her home in London for the funeral but refused to talk to reporters.
Rhodes was buried last week in Sea Cliff, N.Y. Her mother, Eva Rhodes, described Rhodes as an energetic woman who was “proud of her work” and was “a lover of the Russian language and culture.” A USIS spokesman said Rhodes was considered a “hard worker” by her peers with a keen interest in Russian history. She had worked at USIS for six years, the last two years in Moscow.
Hollis, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, joined the Air Force in 1962 and was a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He was responsible for maintaining liaison with the Red Air Force in matters of mutual interest to both countries.
The State Department said it considered the matter closed unless there was “substantial new information” regarding the helicopter crash.
Lisa closed the newspaper and stared at the burning logs. Hollis poured two more glasses of brandy. He saw that her cheeks were wet with wiped tears. Finally, she said, “They don’t suspect a thing.”
“Not for the record.”
“But Seth…”
Hollis felt himself getting somewhat annoyed but answered, “Yes, Seth probably knows.”
She seemed to sense his irritation and added, “We don’t need him to get us out of here. We can do it ourselves. You got us away from Mozhaisk and that state farm.”
“Right. We’ll work on it together.”
She looked at the newspapers spread out on the coffee table, stood, gathered them up, and threw them in the fire. The blaze lit up the room, and Hollis watched her face in the sudden light. She seemed, he thought, to be finding herself again. And he noticed too that somewhere between the Arbat and here she had gotten much older.
She sat beside him again, and they held hands on the love seat. The VCR continued to play, the fire burned, and the brandy took effect. They both slept.
Hollis was awakened by a knock on the door and sat up. The videotape had run out, and the fire was dying. The mantel clock showed 10:15 P.M. Hollis stood.
Lisa awoke and mumbled, “Where’re you going?”
There was another knock on the door. Hollis went to it and opened it. A man of about fifty, dressed in a ski parka, stood in the cold. “Sorry to bother you, Colonel. We met earlier in the woods. I’m Lewis Poole. May I come in a moment?”
“That depends. Were you born Lewis Poole, or are you one of Burov’s flying worms?”
Commander Poole smiled. “I guess that meeting on the path could have been a setup. But I can take you to fifty guys here who were in the Hanoi Hilton with me.”
“Come in.”
Poole stepped in and greeted Lisa. He stood by the fire and warmed himself, then said, “Can we play a little music?”
Lisa put on one of Dodson’s tapes in a portable player, and the voices of black gospel singers filled the room.
Poole said, “They’ve about given up on house bugs because we find them and squash them. Also, we play music or just use writing and sign language. Every one of us here can communicate by signing. Someone found a book on it in the library years ago, and by the time the Russians realized it, we were all pretty adept at signing.”
Lisa nodded. “We used a simple sign language in the embassy.”
“Right. You know what it’s all about. This cottage is probably all wired for you. Soviet technology. But I don’t think they’ve invented a simple one-family house furnace yet.”
“Brandy?” Hollis asked.
“Fine.”
Hollis poured him some brandy.
Poole took a drink and continued, “Also, you have to be extremely aware of the directional microphones outdoors. They’re in the watchtowers. You have to get low, into gullies and ravines, and swish pine branches around when you speak.”
Hollis commented, “I suppose there are a lot of things we have to learn.”
“Yes. I can set up a briefing session for you both in the next day or two.”
“That’s very good of you, Commander.”
“Lew. Let me introduce myself a bit further. I’m the aide-de-camp for General Austin. Do you know the name?”
Hollis replied, “Of course. He was the commander of the Eighth Tactical Wing at Cu Chi. The only American Air Force general shot down. Missing, believed dead.”
“Yes. But he’s very much alive. According to camp rules, there is no senior man among us and no aide-de-camp or any command structure. But we’re all military, are we not? So we’ve set up a sub-rosa POW camp organization as we were trained to do. You understand.”
Hollis nodded.
“It may surprise you, Colonel Hollis, to discover that the spirit of resistance is still alive here after nearly two decades. But I hope it doesn’t surprise you.”
Hollis did not respond.
Poole continued, “Though to be perfectly frank, we have not accomplished very much aside from sabotaging the curriculum as often as possible. In real terms — that is, bottomline breakout — Jack Dodson is only the second man we’ve gotten out of here. The escape committee has tried virtually everything known in the annals of prison-camp escape, including a hot-air balloon. But there are either a few turncoats among us or perhaps it’s the Russian wives, though they aren’t supposed to know anything about escape plans. Maybe it’s just good KGB intelligence work. Whatever it is, we’ve been damned unsuccessful.”
Lisa asked, “What happened to the first man who escaped?”
“That was Gene Romero, an Air Force captain. He was recaptured and shot on the athletic field along with five other men as an example. That was nine years ago.”
“And Dodson?” Hollis asked. “How did he get out?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“All right.”
Poole glanced at Hollis and Lisa and said, “Your presence here has sparked a lot of hope.” His eyes searched Hollis’, and he asked, “Right or wrong?”
Hollis replied, “I’m not prepared to comment at this time.”
Poole seemed to take this as a positive statement, Hollis thought. Poole said, “Well, the reason I’m here is to invite you to meet General Austin.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
Hollis considered a moment, then replied, “You understand that I don’t accept the authority of General Austin under these circumstances.”
“I think I understand that.”
“Well, Commander, let me be blunt so that you do understand. I hold an active and honorable commission as a full colonel in the United States Air Force. The status of you men is somewhat questionable.”
Poole stared at Hollis, then turned away and looked at the fire. “All right. I think General Austin knew you might say that. His invitation is not an order. In fact, if you wish, I’ll ask him to come here.”