While Rome Was Sleeping

by M. S. Forsythe

  “All right, you two conspirators, I know when I’m licked,” Andrew stated and then asked, “Father Ben. Is Jack still with you?”

  “Yes, Andrew, he is. We have had an opportunity to talk...he carries much weight on his soul.”

  “I hope you can help him, Ben; I know if anyone can, you can,” he said confidently.

  “I am not certain, Andrew; I will do what I can. Do you wish to speak with him?”

  “Yes, I plan to go home and I think I want Jack there with me. It will be good for both of us...what do you think?”

  “Yes, my friend, I believe he should not be alone just now...I’ll put him on.”

  “Andy,” Jack sounded different as he took the phone. “Father Ben has been showing me around the Center and I have even met some of the fellows that come here. I watched them play Mah-Jongg and I think I might have even understood what they were doing,” he said lightly.

  “It sounds as if Father Ben has found himself another promoter,” Andrew laughed. “Jack, plan to stay with me for a couple of days...Ben will help you get your stuff from the WAC and drop you by my place. You still have a key. I’ll be home after while... then we’ll have dinner.”

  “Thanks, Andy, we need to talk and don’t worry, the booze will be safe. I’m sticking to soft stuff.”

  “That’s good to hear, buddy, see ya’ after while.”

  Washington, D.C.

  Neil Klein was relieved to hear the feisty attitude in Andrew Kincaid’s demeanor. He trusted Andrew to do exactly what he promised. He would go after the truth regarding Coleman and Neil knew he would leave no stone unturned. That was somewhat unsettling for Neil as it related to Paul Thayer.

  He had called Fred Wellman earlier; now his secretary buzzed him that Wellman had returned his call.

  Picking up the phone he said, “Fred how soon can you meet me in the code room? I’ve thought about Little Red Riding Hood and I have an idea.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as possible...has something happened?” Fred asked.

  “I had a call from Seattle last night; there was an attempt to kill Charlene Thayer and Andrew Kincaid.”

  “How?”

  “Some type of bomb,” Neil told him, “In broad daylight in a waterfront park.”

  “Are they all right?”

  “Kincaid is okay, Mrs. Thayer was more severely injured. Fred, I think I know who the Big Bad Wolf is,” Neil declared.

  “Okay, I’m on my way.”

  Neil was in his office when Fred arrived and wordlessly they proceeded to the code room.

  “Now,” Fred urged, “Did I hear you right? You think you know who BBW the Big Bad Wolf is?”

  “Yes,” Neil asserted, “I’m ninety eight percent certain; everything points to him.”

  “Who are we talking about, Neil?” Fred asked.

  “Better sit down, Fred, I believe BBW is General Bradley Coleman, Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency.”

  Fred whistled, “Neil, I know there’s no love lost, but Coleman?”

  Neil sighed, “I think Little Red Riding Hood fits, Fred. No, there is definitely no love lost, however, my dislike of Coleman has nothing to do with my conclusion.”

  “I’m not so sure; I will look at it again with him in mind. You obviously think he had something to do with the bomb in Seattle.”

  “Yes,” Neil said firmly, “I do...and if I’m right he was behind George’s murder. And now this Red Riding Hood thing is evident to me that George was trying to tell us that Brad Coleman is BBW—it has to be him.”

  “Okay,” Fred acquiesced, “As I said, I’m not altogether convinced of that; I will have another look, but Kelshaw could be telling us something else. What else do you need from me?”

  “Nothing right now,” Neil told him, “I’m going to do a little personal research on our friend Coleman and see what surfaces.”

  “All right, I’ll stick around and massage the data from Aunt Martha a while longer. I’ll yell if I find anything significant.”

  “Thanks, Fred,” Neil said leaving a somewhat troubled Fred Wellman looking after him.

  Chapter 16

  Tuesday, September 30, 1980

  Housekeeper, Irene Ridgeway, answered the telephone “Coleman residence,” she said crisply. It was 7:30 AM.

  “This is Neil Klein from the State Department; I need to speak with General Coleman.”

  “Just a moment, Mr. Klein, I’ll let the General know,” she said as she laid down the phone and hurried to the sunroom where Brad was drinking his coffee. “General, a gentleman from the State Department is on the phone for you.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Ridgeway, I’ll take it in the study.”

  “This is General Coleman.”

  “Neil Klein, General. It’s imperative that we meet—and not at your office.”

  “What’s this about, Klein?” Brad asked with mild irritation.

  “I’d rather discuss this in person,” Neil replied.

  “Why not my office? I’m really quite busy,” Brad told him.

  “This conversation had better be outside your office and as inconspicuous as possible. I’ll give you this much information; it’s regarding the past and the present. Let’s meet tonight at the Watergate in the main bar.”

  “What time?”

  “Eight o’clock,” Neil answered.

  “Fine, I’ll be there, but this had better not take much time. By the way, does this have anything to do with Evan Scott?”

  Neil smiled, “Definitely. We’ll discuss it when we meet.”

  ✽✽✽

  The Watergate was bustling with new arrivals for an international trade conference scheduled to begin the next day. Neil arrived at 7:30 and threaded his way past the crowd into the bar and obtained a table in an out-of-the-way corner.

  Brad was punctual. Settling into a chair opposite Neil he asked, “What’s this about Klein?” his hostility was evident. “You said the past and the present. As far as I can tell, you and I ‘were’, and still ‘are’, on opposite sides of nearly every issue so what is in the past remains in the present and the future. Is there anything else?” Brad asked smugly.

  “This is about Seattle. You’ve been a busy man, General. I don’t suppose the names Charlene Thayer or Andrew Kincaid mean anything to you...,” he saw Coleman stiffen slightly, but remained stoic.

  “Get to the point, Klein.”

  “My point is this; your visit to Seattle did not go unnoticed. And funny thing, Coleman, your visit happened within a week of the murder of George Kelshaw. You remember George Kelshaw don’t you, General?” Neil watched Brad’s face and body language. He could see that Coleman was uncomfortable and working hard to contain his anger.

  “I suppose your information came from Evan Scott,” Brad said sarcastically, not answering the question.

  “Yes,” Neil said calmly, “As A matter of fact the information did come through Evan Scott.”

  “Who is Evan Scott?” Brad demanded.

  “He works for me,” Neil replied.

  “Why can’t we find him?”

  “Why are you looking for him?” Neil queried.

  “Well ah I...” Brad stammered struggling to regain his self assurance.

  “Let’s talk about George Kelshaw; I think that you were afraid that George carried some information that could be damning to you and you somehow arranged his death.

  “Then there is the matter of Charlene Thayer, the widow of one of your closest friends; you lied to her...trying to convince her that the letter from Paul Thayer that George Kelshaw carried was a hoax. You lied about knowing George and you tried to intimidate Mrs. Thayer when she threatened to have the body in Paul Thayer’s grave exhumed. It might have worked, but you didn’t count on a Seattle newspaperman who had a few questions of his own.

  “If what I have just recounted wasn’t bad enough, on Sunday there was the attempt to kill Charlene Thayer and Andrew Kincaid that I think you orchestrated. How do you sleep at night,
Coleman?”

  Brad glared at Neil, “Aside from the fact that I was at home in Alexandria on Sunday and could not possibly have done anything to Charlene Thayer or Andrew Kincaid in Seattle, I’m afraid I can’t help you, Klein. You have a lot of theories and I find all of them uncomplimentary.

  “What possible motive would I have to do any of the egregious acts that you have just described? As for wishing Charlene Thayer any harm, you must be aware that I have offered to help her in any way that I can. If Evan Scott is your source for information perhaps you should employ someone else.”

  Neil continued, “I know that you personally did not place the bomb that injured Charlene Thayer and Andrew Kincaid, but I am sure that you ordered it. I don’t know why you would go after any of these people except that one way or another it has something to do with George Kelshaw and the information he carried. And there is the fact that Charlene Thayer wants to know what happened to her husband.”

  Brad saw an opening, “Really, Assistant Secretary Klein,” he said maliciously, “I don’t think your skirts are exactly clean in that matter since we both know that you had a major hand in the disappearance of Paul Thayer. Have you told Charlene Thayer that you helped with the cover-up? Does she know that you set Thayer up?”

  Neil sidestepped Coleman’s ploy to put him on the defensive, “She knows that Paul Thayer was on a special ops mission to get Chernakov; there was no set-up or cover-up. It was a wartime assignment and you well know that families are never given the details of such missions.”

  A twinge of guilt hit Neil; it was true that families were not given details of black missions; on the other hand he remembered the March night in 1970 that he, Kelshaw and Thayer had rendezvoused before Kelshaw and Paul had left for Udorn to wait for the last instructions to get Chernakov. When Kelshaw and Thayer were given the details of the mission and were told that it could take as long as six months and that there would be no contact with family, Paul protested being incommunicado for an extended length of time. Neil convinced Paul that the defection itself held priority and assured him that it might not be that long.

  He remembered how the car bombing of which Paul was ignorant had played into the mission plans. Neil also remembered thinking that in a few short months Charlene Thayer would be thrilled to learn that her husband was not only alive, but had a heroic part in a major political rescue.

  It angered Neil that Coleman now knew and had used that knowledge to inflict his conscience. With renewed ire he continued, “The plan to get Chernakov would have worked and one of the most important defections of the Cold War would have occurred, but someone sold them out! Someone leaked information and the arrow points straight at you, Coleman. We both know you were having an affair with a known Soviet Agent.”

  Brad turned pale, “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Lia Dupre`” Neil answered. “Even when you were warned, you continued to see her...and now the cat’s out of the bag and it’s all coming home to you.”

  Angrily Brad said, “It sounds as though you are accusing me of treason, Klein. Be very careful in your accusations. Lia Dupre` got no information about anything or anyone from me. Not after...” he stumbled, “I didn’t know anything about Chernakov.”

  “If the shoe fits, Coleman; Dupre’ got information from someone she was sleeping with in the intelligence community,” Neil replied.

  Brad drew a sharp breath, “It had to be Perkins,” he said.

  “No, Coleman, you know it wasn’t Perkins; he had been shut out of the loop. None of the information regarding the Chernakov defection came close to Perkins. That leaves you,” Neil told him emphatically.

  Brad was vehement, “It wasn’t! I didn’t even know Thayer was still alive. Lia said...” Brad stopped.

  “Go on, what did Lia say? Neil urged leaning forward looking squarely into Brad’s eyes. “So you talked with her about Thayer?”

  “No! Nothing, nothing,” Brad stated getting to his feet. “And that’s what you’ve got, Klein, nothing. And now, I am leaving. I’m bored with your conspiratorial theories and that’s all that they are. We’ve about covered all the past, present and the future I can handle for one night.”

  Neil looked at him and said quietly, “The information George Kelshaw carried reached its destination, Brad, and shortly there will be much more to talk about. As soon as all of it is examined I will be meeting with a key Senator who has worked with us on the prisoner of war and MIA investigations. There is more here than conspiratorial theories, General; your career is about to undergo a significant examination.”

  His face contorted with rage, Coleman spun on his heel and strode out of the bar into the night.

  Klein remained at the table soberly finishing his drink; he knew he had struck a nerve and said under his breath, “That’s one for you, George.”

  ✽✽✽

  After his meeting with Neil Klein, Fred Wellman had spent the better part of Monday afternoon revisiting the Red Riding Hood story that Neil felt was the key to the strange coded message in the Kelshaw packet. “What else could Kelshaw be trying to tell us?” he said to himself.

  He took up the task again late Tuesday afternoon.

  Dismissing the two computer technicians in the code room who had assisted them with the first dissection of the story, he settled in to tear the Little Red Riding Hood story apart again.

  Out loud to himself he said, “Let’s see, first the line up of characters in order of appearance, there’s Mother, Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf and Grandma and finally the Hunter.” Fred was drawing lines and writing names on a large work board.

  “Okay,” he muttered, “What else do we have? Locations ...and objects; mmhmm, first the woods, no, that’s not right,” he erased ‘woods’ as he verbally corrected, “It’s the ‘village’. Red comes from the village and it’s a half an hour distant to the woods/forest and to Grandma’s house.” Fred was thinking rapidly now. “That means that when Red was in the village and she was surrounded by ‘friendlies’...there was no danger there; the danger lay ahead in the woods. That was where Red would encounter the Big Bad Wolf.

  “Then there’s the basket of goodies, the path and three big oak trees.”

  Fred quickly looked at the notes that he had made with Neil tentatively identifying Little Red Riding Hood LRRH as a possible designation for Paul Thayer. “In the story Red is described as ‘innocent’, meaning she was a good and trustworthy person. That would fit Paul Thayer.

  “She is sent off by Mother to take a basket of wine and cakes as nourishment to Grandma who is sick and ‘Vulnerable’. That would definitely describe Chernakov, who would be vulnerable as a defector. As soon as Red RH leaves the village to go into the forest where Grandma lives, she is in enemy territory.

  “Red RH is met by Big Bad Wolf in enemy territory-in the woods. He pretends to be friendly-wants to know what she is carrying under her apron. Could be he’s looking for information about her mission. What does the wolf say? That he has to be crafty in order to catch both Red and Grandma. He creates a distraction—pointing out the flowers along the path etcetera— and then the wolf goes on ahead and deceives Grandma by using a disguise that he also uses with Red.”

  Fred scratched his head and looked at the story saying, “I think this is the right track with Thayer as LRRH and Chernakov as Grandma, but I don’t think Big Bad Wolf can be Coleman...Coleman would qualify as being in the village, as a ‘friendly’. The wolf is headquartered in the woods or enemy territory and he uses distractions and disguises to get at Red and Grandma--- he is someone in disguise! Someone who is not who he pretends to be!”

  Now Fred sat back and looked at the rest of the coded message which was a biblical reference; Proverbs 26: 24-26. Fred reached for a Bible lying on the shelf above his head, opening it to Proverbs 26, he read, ‘A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his he
art. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.’

  Fred looked in another translation of the same Proverb. The second one read much as the first, ‘Where hatred is there are dissembling lips, but deep within lies treachery; do not trust him if the man be fair of speech, since in his heart lurk seven abominations. Hatred may well disguise itself with guile, only to unmask its spite before the community’. “BBW is someone who is not who he pretends to be!” Fred repeated out loud.

  Although it was after 11:00 PM, Fred picked up the telephone and dialed the Klein residence; “I think I’ve had a gestalt, Neil. I’m booking a flight to Phoenix to talk with T.R. Perkins...I’d like you to come along.”

  “After George’s service tomorrow, Fred, remember 1:00 PM ...I think he’d like you to be there,” Neil iterated gently.

  “Of course I will be there; how about Thursday?” Fred persisted.

  “Yes, I’ll clear my calendar. I’m very interested in this breakthrough; what do you expect to get from T.R.?”

  “He may be able to answer a couple of questions that some information in the packet raised,” Fred explained. I think some pieces that are beginning to make sense. In the meantime I’m going to run a couple names through Interpol.

  I’ll see you tomorrow, Neil,” Fred said soberly.

  ✽✽✽

  Seattle, Tuesday Evening

  Jack and Andrew had finished dinner and as Andrew began to clear the table, Jack offered pleasantly, “Let me help Andy, I’m pretty good at the scullery ‘stuff’.”

  Commenting, Andrew said, “I note that you’re obviously feeling better since your time with Ben. Sorry, I’m not trying to pry...”

  Jack cut him off saying, “It’s okay, Andy. You were right about Father Ben. He and I did have a good session; I’m ready now to tell you the rest of the story about my time with George Kelshaw.

  Jack began, “When we met with Vang Pao the information George got about the rogue agent answered a lot of the questions he had about what had happened to Thayer and Chernakov.