«That seems to me awfully dangerous, complicated.»
«A degree of danger, perhaps; not complicated, really. Fassett was maneuvered, just as he maneuvered you and your friends. He was brought into the Omega operation because his credentials warranted it. He was brilliant and this was an explosive situation… Certain laws of espionage are fundamental. We correctly assumed that the enemy would give Fassett the responsibility of keeping Omega intact, not allowing its destruction. He was at once the defending general and the attacking force. The strategy was well thought out, take my word for it. Do you begin to see?»
«Yes.» Tanner was barely audible.
«‘Divide and Kill.’ Omega existed. Chasm of Leather was Saddle Valley. The checks on residents did uncover the Swiss accounts of the Cardones and the Tremaynes. When Osterman appeared, he, too, was found to have an account in Zurich. The circumstances were perfect for Fassett. He had found three couples allied with each other in an illegal—or at least highly questionable—financial venture in Switzerland.»
«Zurich. That’s why the name Zurich made them all nervous. Cardone was petrified.»
«He had every reason to be. He and Tremayne. One the partner in a highly speculative brokerage house with a lot of Mafia financing; and the other an attorney with a firm engaged in unethical mergers—Tremayne, the specialist. They could have been ruined. Osterman had the least to lose, but, nevertheless, as part of the public media, an indictment might have had disastrous effects. As you know better than we do, networks are sensitive.»
«Yes,» said Tanner again without feeling.
«If, during the weekend, Fassett could so intensify mistrust between the three couples that they began hurling accusations at each other—the next step would be violence. Once that possibility was established, the real Omega intended to murder at least two of the couples, and Fassett could then present us with a substitute Omega. Who could refuse him? The subjects would be dead. It … was brilliant.»
Tanner rose painfully from the couch and limped to the fireplace. He gripped the mantel angrily.
«I’m glad you can sit there and make professional judgments.» He turned on the government men. «You had no right, no right! My wife, my children were damn near killed! Where were your men outside on the grounds? What happened to all that protective equipment from the biggest corporation in the world? Who listened on those electronic … things which were supposedly installed all over the house? Where was everybody? We were left in that cellar to die!»
Grover and Jenkins let the moment subside. They accepted Tanner’s hostility calmly, with understanding. They’d been through such moments before. Grover spoke quietly, in counterpoint to Tanner’s anger.
«In operations such as these, we anticipate that errors—I’ll be honest, generally one massive error—occur. It’s unavoidable when you consider the logistics.»
«What error?»
Jenkins spoke. «I’d like to answer that… The error was mine. I was the senior officer at ‘Leather’ and the only one who knew about Fassett’s defection. The only one. Saturday afternoon McDermott told me that Cole had unearthed extraordinary information, and had to see me right away. I didn’t check it out with Washington, I didn’t confirm it. I just accepted it and drove into the city as fast I could… I thought that Cole, or someone here at ‘Leather,’ had discovered who Fassett really was. If that had been the case a whole new set of instructions would have to come from Washington…»
«We were prepared,» interrupted Grover. «Alternate plans were ready to be implemented.»
«I got into New York, went up to the hotel suite … and Cole wasn’t there. I know it sounds incredible, but he was out to dinner. He was simply out to dinner. He left the name of the restaurant, so I went there. This all took time. Taxis, traffic. I couldn’t use the phone; all conversations were recorded. Fassett might have been tipped. Finally I got to Cole. He didn’t know what I was talking about. He’d sent no message.»
Jenkins stopped, the telling of the story angered and embarrassed him.
«That was the error?» asked Ali.
«Yes. It gave Fassett the time he needed. I gave him the time.»
«Wasn’t Fassett risking too much? Trapping himself? Cole denied the message.»
«He calculated the risk. Timed it. Since Cole was constantly in touch with ‘Leather,’ a single message, especially second hand, could be garbled. The fact that I fell for the ruse also told him something. Put simply, I was to be killed.»
«That doesn’t explain the guards outside. Your going to New York doesn’t explain their not being there.»
«We said Fassett was brilliant,» continued Grover. «When we tell you why they weren’t there, why there wasn’t a single patrol within miles, you’ll understand just how brilliant he was… He systematically withdrew all the men from your property on the grounds that you were Omega. The man they were guarding with their lives was, in reality, the enemy.»
«What?»
«Think about it. Once you were dead, who could disprove it?»
«Why would they believe it?»
«The electronic pick-ups. They’d stopped functioning throughout your house. One by one they stopped transmitting. You were the only one here who knew they existed. Therefore, you were eliminating them.»
«But I wasn’t! I didn’t know where they were! I still don’t!»
«It wouldn’t make any difference if you did.» It was Jenkins who spoke. «Those transmitters had operating capacities of anywhere from thirty-six to forty-eight hours only. No more. I showed you one last night. It was treated with acid. They all were. The acid gradually ate through the miniature plates and shorted out the transmissions… But all the men in the field knew was that they weren’t functioning. Fasset then announced that he’d made the error. You were Omega and he hadn’t realized it. I’m told he did it very effectively. There’s something awesome about a man like Fassett admitting a major mistake. He withdrew the patrols and then he and MacAuliff moved in for the kill. They were able to do it because I wasn’t here to stop them. He’d removed me from the scene.»
«Did you know about MacAuliff?»
«No,» answered Jenkins. «He wasn’t even a suspect. His cover was pure genius. A bigoted small town cop, veteran of the New York police, and a right-winger to boot. Frankly, the first hint we had of his involvement was when you said the police car didn’t stop when you signaled from the basement. Neither patrol car was in the vicinity at the time; MacAuliff made sure of that. However, he carries a red signal light in his trunk. Simple clamp device that can be mounted on top. He was circling your house, trying to draw you out… When he finally got here, two things struck us. The first was that he’d been reached by car radio. Not at home. The second was a general description supplied by those on duty. That MacAuliff kept holding his stomach, claimed to be having a severe ulcer attack. MacAuliff had no history of ulcers. It was possible that he’d been wounded. It turned out to be correct. His ‘ulcer’ was a gash in his stomach. Courtesy of Mr. Osterman.»
Tanner reached for a cigarette. Ali lit it for him.
«Who killed the man in the woods?»
«MacAuliff. And don’t hold yourself responsible. He would have killed him whether you got up and turned on the light or not. He also gassed your family last Wednesday. He used the police riot supply.»
«What about our dog? In my daughter’s bedroom.»