First things first. Holcroft knew he had to dispel the convictions of the two men in his room. He walked unsteadily to a chair, sat down, and leaned forward.
«Listen to me,» he said, his voice weak in astonishment. «I’ve told you the truth. I don’t know anything about any Tinamou, any assassin. My business is with the Von Tiebolt family, not a particular member of the family. I was trying to find Tennyson because I was told he was Von Tiebolt and worked at the Guardian. That’s all there is to it.»
«If so,» said the red-haired man, «perhaps you’ll explain the nature of your business.»
Base the lie in an aspect of truth.
«I’ll tell you what I can, which isn’t a great deal. Some of it I pieced together myself from what I learned in Rio. It is confidential, and it does concern money.» Noel took a deep breath, and reached for his cigarettes. «The Von Tiebolts were left an inheritance—don’t ask me by whom, because I don’t know, and the lawyer won’t say.»
«What’s the name of this lawyer,» asked the gray-haired man.
«I’d have to get his permission to tell you,» answered Holcroft, lighting his cigarette, wondering whom in New York he could call from an untraceable pay phone in London.
«We may ask you to do that,» said the older agent. «Go on, please.»
«I found out in Rio that the Von Tiebolts were despised by the German community there. I have an idea—and it’s only an idea—that somewhere along the line they opposed the Nazis in Germany, and someone, perhaps an anti-Nazi German—or Germans—left them the money.»
«In America?» asked the red-haired man.
Noel sensed the trap and was prepared for it.
Be consistent. «Obviously, whoever left the Von Tiebolts money has been living there for a long time. If he, or they, came to the United States after the war, that could presume they had a clean bill of health. On the other hand, they could be relatives who came to the States years ago. I honestly don’t know.»
«Why were you chosen as the intermediary? You’re not a lawyer.»
«No, but the lawyer’s a friend of mine,» replied Holcroft. «He knows I travel a lot, knew I was going to Brazil for a client … I’m an architect. He asked me to call around, gave me some names, including Rio’s Immigration people.»
Keep it simple; avoid complication.
«That was asking quite a bit of you, wasn’t it?» The red-haired agent’s disbelief was in his question.
«Not really. He’s done me favors; I can do him one.» Noel drew on his cigarette. «This is crazy. What started out as a simple … well, it’s just crazy.»
«You were told Johann von Tiebolt was John Tennyson and that he worked in London, or was based in London,» said the older man, his hands in his overcoat pockets, looking down at Noel. «So, as a favor, you decided to make the trip from Brazil to the UK to find him. As a favor… Yes, Mr. Holcroft, I’d say it was crazy.»
Noel glared up at the gray-haired man. He remembered Sam Buonoventura’s words: I got hot myself… It’s the only way to handle angry cops.
«Now just a minute! I didn’t make a special trip from Rio to London for the Von Tiebolts. I’m on my way to Amsterdam. If you check my office in New York, you’ll find that I’m doing some work in Curaçao. For your benefit, it’s Dutch, and I’m going to Amsterdam for design conferences.»
The look in the older man’s eyes seemed to soften. «I see,» he said quietly. «It’s quite possible we drew the wrong conclusions, but I think you’ll agree the surface facts led us to them. We may owe you an apology.»
Pleased with himself, Noel suppressed the urge to smile. He had adhered to the lessons, handled the lie with his guard up.
«It’s okay,» he replied. «But now I’m curious. This Tinamou. How do you know it’s Von Tiebolt?»
«We’re not certain,» replied the gray-haired agent.
«We were hoping you’d provide that certainty. I think we were wrong about that.»
«You certainly were. But why Tennyson? I guess I should tell the lawyer in New York…»
«No,» interrupted the Englishman. «Don’t do that. You must not discuss this with anyone.»
«It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?» Holcroft said, gambling. «The ‘matter’ has been discussed. I’m under no obligation to you, but I do have an obligation to that lawyer. He’s a friend.»
The MI-Five men looked at each other, their mutual concern in the exchange.
«Beyond an obligation to a friend,» the older man said, «I suggest that you have a far greater responsibility. One that can be substantiated by your own government. This is a highly classified, intensely sensitive investigation. The Tinamou is an international killer. His victims include some of the world’s most distinguished men.»
«And you believe he’s Tennyson?»
«The evidence is circumstantial, but very, very strong.»
«Still, not conclusive.»
«Not conclusive.»
«A few minutes ago you sounded positive.»
«A few minutes ago we tried to trap you. It’s merely a technique.»
«It’s damned offensive.»
«It’s damned effective,» said the red-haired man with the scar on his forehead.
«What’s the circumstantial evidence against Tennyson?»
«Will you hold it in the strictest confidence?» asked the older agent. «That request can be transmitted by the highest law-enforcement officials in your country, if you wish.»
Holcroft paused. «All right, I won’t call New York; I won’t say anything. But I want information.»
«We don’t bargain.» The younger man spoke offensively, cut off by a look from his associate.
«It’s not a question of a bargain,» said Noel. «I said I’d reach a member of the family, and I think I should. Where can I contact Tennyson’s sisters? One’s married to a commander in the navy named Beaumont. The lawyer in New York knows that; he’ll try to find her if I don’t. It might as well be me.»
«Far better that it’s you,» agreed the gray-haired man. «We’re convinced that neither woman is aware of her brother’s activities. As near as we can determine, the family are estranged from one another. How seriously, we don’t know, but there’s been little or no communication. Frankly, your showing up is a complication we’d rather not be burdened with. We don’t want alarms raised; a controlled situation is infinitely preferable.»
«There won’t be any alarms,» said Noel. «I’ll deliver my message and go about my business.»
«To Amsterdam?»
«To Amsterdam.»
«Yes, of course. The older sister is married to Commander Anthony Beaumont; she’s his second wife. They live near Portsmouth, several miles north of the naval base, in a suburb of Portsea. He’s in the telephone directory. The younger girl recently moved to Paris. She’s a translator for Gallimard Publishers, but she’s not at the address listed with the company. We don’t know where she lives.»
Holcroft rose from the chair and walked between the two men to the desk. He picked up the hotel pen and wrote on a page of stationery.
«Anthony Beaumont … Portsmouth… Gallimard Publishers… How do you spell ‘Gallimard’?»
The red-haired agent told him.
Noel finished writing. «I’ll make the calls in the morning and send a note to New York,» he said, wondering to himself how long it would take to drive to Portsmouth. «I’ll tell the lawyer I reached the sisters but was unable to contact the brother. Is that all right?»
«We couldn’t persuade you to drop the entire matter?»
«No. I’d have to say why I dropped it, and you don’t want that.»