gives things away. In this case, your concern is not necessary. Colonel Stevens knows all about the African flight. To answer your question, yes, the Navy plane is the backup aircraft for the African mission. As soon as you land in England, it will be taken to a guarded hangar and stripped of its seats, the way the Pan American plane has been. We hope that de Gaulle will believe the airplane has been reserved for the admiral’s exclusive use and put in a hangar to await his pleasure. De Gaulle’s been after Eisenhower to get him a personal C-47, and Eisenhower hasn’t elected to give him one. We think de Gaulle’s monstrous ego will be bruised.”
“You are a devious man, Captain Douglass,” Canidy said, chuckling.
“Somehow, that sounds like a compliment,” Douglass said. “I guess around here it really is.”
“Right up there with chicanery, fraud, and false pretense,” Canidy said.
“There’s one thing,” Douglass said, “that I don’t want you to think of as simply another stage prop in this scenario.”
“What’s that?”
“We have arranged for a battalion of infantry to guard Whitby House,” Douglass said.
“There are twelve hundred men in a battalion!”
“I thought a battalion was a bit excessive,” Douglass said. “But Eisenhower overruled me. He seems to feel that de Gaulle couldn’t help but be impressed with the admiral’s importance if we chose to guard him with that large a force.”
“I could use maybe a company,” Canidy thought aloud. “The others could just be there and do what they normally do.”
“Rather than make an issue of it, I decided just about the same thing,” Douglass said. “But I’d like to make the point that you’re really going to have to guard him, Dick.”
Canidy looked at him curiously. “You’re suggesting something,” he said.
“The admiral didn’t pose a real and present danger to de Gaulle so long as he was in New Jersey,” Douglass said. “He will at Whitby House. You’ll have to keep that in mind. More important, you will have to impress it upon the commanding officer of the infantry battalion.”
“This Brigadier de Gaulle seems to be a charming fellow,” Canidy said.
“I think he really believes God appointed him to save France,” Douglass said. “People who take their orders directly from God are often difficult and dangerous.”
“How much of this can I tell Whittaker, Martin, and Fulmar?” Canidy asked.
“When you think Whittaker should know, you are authorized to tell him there is a bona fide threat to Admiral de Verbey’s life.”
“And the others?”
“I’ll leave it up to you, but I can think of no reason they have to know.”
“Then why are you sending them along in the first place?” Douglass and Stevens exchanged glances.
“Tomorrow morning,” Douglass said, “Chief Ellis will deliver to Colonel Stevens a small suitcase. It will contain a little over one million dollars in American, English, French, and Swiss currency. Most of it will be used for other purposes by the London station, but possibly two hundred fifty thousand dollars of it—Murphy is still negotiating with Sidi el Ferruch—will be sent to Morocco. Fulmar and Martin will take it in.”
Canidy looked at Douglass for a long moment considering that. The money didn’t surprise him. Fine was carrying a hundred thousand dollars in cash. Something else bothered him.
“And you’re not going to tell me, are you,” he asked, “why you just don’t send it in the diplomatic pouch?”
“Not in specifics,” Douglass said.
“How about philosophically?” Canidy asked.
“Before you ask someone to do something important, it’s often necessary to ask him to do something somewhat less important, to see how he handles it.”
“You mean to see if he can be trusted,” Canidy said, and then he understood. “You’re not talking about Fulmar,” he said. “You’re talking about von Heurten-Mitnitz. You’re going to put Fulmar on his plate like a bone in front of a dog, and see if he can resist it.”
“That’s your scenario,” Douglass said.
“Oh, Christ!” Canidy said. But that was all he said.
Donovan was right, Stevens decided. Canidy is, where it counts, a very good man.
3
THE HOUSE ON Q STREET, NW
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1730 HOURS
AUGUST 5, 1942
Charity Hoche came to the door when the security man rang the bell. Taking one look at Ann, she announced, “You’re not supposed to be here, Ann, and you know it.”
“She’s got a press card, and she said she had an appointment with Miss Chenowith,” the security man said.
“Do you?” Charity challenged.
“Yes,” Ann said. “Ask Cynthia.”
Charity knew Ann was lying, but she still said, “Just a moment, I’ll check,” and closed the door.