“Good holiday?” Baskin asked.
“A quiet one,” she replied. “We spent it with Will’s parents in Georgia.”
“So I hear,” English said.
“Why, Hugh,” Kate said, smiling, “I thought you were barred from conducting domestic intelligence operations.” Something was up.
“Just an ear to the ground,” English said, waving a hand.
Baskin spoke up. “I hear you visited Ed Rawls in Atlanta,” he said.
Kate nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“You should have reported it, Kate.”
“You haven’t been reading your mail, Elliot; I did report it.”
Baskin reddened slightly. “I haven’t caught up after the holiday. Tell us about it.”
“The day after I arrived in Delano, a letter from Ed came for me, asking me to visit him. I enclosed his letter with my report.”
“What did he want?”
Kate shrugged. “I think he was lonely. He seemed apologetic about his crimes, though he didn’t quite apologize.”
“How many times have you seen Rawls since his conviction?”
“This was the first.”
“Heard from him? Written to him?”
“No.”
“Why do you think he really wanted to see you, Kate?”
Kate had already decided to stick strictly to her report. “If he had a real reason, he never got around to it. He talked about his place in Maine, said he’d like to finish out his days there.”
“Is he planning an escape?” Hugh English asked, chuckling.
“I got the impression he hopes for a pardon.”
“From whom?” Baskin asked.
“I suppose from the president, since no one else can pardon him.”
“I’d certainly oppose that,” Baskin said. “The director would, too, I think.”
“I expressed that opinion to Ed,” she said.
“The son of a bitch,” English said heatedly. “He cost me half a dozen good agents.”
Kate turned to him. “My recollection, Hugh, is that you were working in the Bangkok station when Ed was caught.”
“I meant Ops. He cost Ops some good men.”
“And women.”
“Yeah. All because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”
“So gracefully expressed, Hugh,” Kate said.
“All right, you two,” Baskin interjected, “let’s not get off the subject.”
“What exactly is the subject, Elliot?” Kate asked.
“Your visit to Rawls.”
“I don’t see how you could even sit in the same room with the bastard,” English said.
“We were once good friends,” Kate said. “You may have heard that he was one of the best people the Agency ever produced, and that, at the time he was arrested, he was the leading candidate for your job.”
English squirmed a little. “You might remember what he did.”
“And you might remember that I put him out of business,” she said. “I don’t like him for what he did, but I don’t hate him for it, either.” She turned to Baskin. “If you don’t want me to see him again, all you have to do is say so.” She saw Baskin and English exchange a quick glance, and she wondered what it meant.
“Oh, no,” Baskin said. “See him anytime you like, just report the content of your conversation.”
“I don’t have any plans to visit him again.” She looked at both men. “I don’t get this. Ed is no longer a threat to anybody. Why are you two so exercised by my visit?”
“Kate,” Baskin said, “I want to ask you a very serious question.”
“Shoot.”
“Your marriage has always been something of a concern to me, and to the director.”
“And why is that?”
“Do you ever discuss Agency business with your husband?”
“No,” she said immediately. “When Will and I got married, we agreed that we would not talk about my work.”
“You talked about it before you were married?”
“Elliot, you might remember that, before we were married, and before Will was elected to the Senate, he was the counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee. We had occasion to discuss business — always, I think, to the benefit of the Agency.”
Baskin nodded. “Does he know about your visit to Rawls?”
“No. When he asked me where I was going, I told him it was business, and he dropped it, just as he always does.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“I am. I’d be pleased to take a polygraph, if you like.”
“Oh, no, no,” Baskin said. “That won’t be necessary.”
English spoke up. “I’d like her to take a polygraph.”
“I said it wouldn’t be necessary,” Baskin said sharply.
“I’d be happy to take a polygraph and have you administer it personally, Hugh,” she said. “Now, either do it or never question my word again.”
“I’ll question your word whenever I feel like it,” English said.
“Now, people,” Baskin interjected. “This is unnecessary.”
“Apparently it is necessary,” Kate said. “I insist on a polygraph, and I want it done before lunch.” She stood up. “I’ll be in my office; call me when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready right now,” English said, getting to his feet.
“Both of you, shut up!” Baskin barked. “I’m not going to have this sort of childish display at the upper levels of the Agency.”
Kate wheeled on him. “Childish? You haul me in here and accuse me of an unreported visit to a jailed officer, when my report is already on your desk; then Hugh as much as accuses me of some sort of treasonous behavior. Then you imply that I’m discussing Agency business with my husband. If you think I’m going to put up with it for a minute, you’re very, very wrong.”
“Kate, I apologize if it seemed that way, and I’m sorry I didn’t look for your report before calling you in.” He turned to English. “Hugh, I think you owe Kate an apology, too.”
“Sorry,” English said, not looking at her.
“Will that be all?” Kate asked.
“Yes, of course. Again, I’m sorry about the tone of this meeting, and I fully accept your representations both about your meeting with Rawls and about your conversations with your husband.”
“Thank you,” Kate said, then walked out of the office. All the way back to her floor and her own office she fumed inside, while greeting people pleasantly in the hallways. Back at her desk she took deep breaths and tried to cool down. She wished she’d never gone to see Ed Rawls.
10
On New Year’s Eve Will and Kate threw a dinner party, a nearly annual event, with a guest list of fifty. At the time of their marriage they had each owned a small town house in Georgetown; they had sold them both and bought a bigger house with a wider facade and three stories and a garage in the basement. It was perfect for entertaining, which they did fairly often, ranging from intimate dinners of eight or twelve to the New Year’s bash. They had it down to a science, and, except for work on the guest list, it had become an almost effortless exercise. A perfectly trained caterer took over the house; all Will and Kate had to do was get dressed.
Guests were due at seven, and at six-thirty, the doorbell rang. Joe and Susan Adams had been invited to come early. To Will’s surprise, they were accompanied by Senator Frederick Wallace of South Carolina and his wife, Betty Jane. Will tried not to seem annoyed; he had wanted a few minutes alone with Joe and Sue.
“Come in, come in,” Will said, kissing the women and shaking the men’s hands. “How are you, Freddie?” he asked the elderly senator.
“Better than can be expected,” Wallace rumbled. An ancient tuxedo covered his bulk, and his wife was dressed in a lace gown. They looked like something out of the forties, Will thought. “Kate will be down momentarily,” he said. “Everybody have a seat, and we’ll get you a drink. Anybody want champagne?”