Lovers and Liars (56 page)

other occasion: he had looked like this during that brief final rview with her and her father in the Hotel Ledoyen in Beirut. ere was the same mixture of contained loathing and contempt his eyes, and the same fury in his voice.

,‘Who is that manT He slammed his hand down on the table. o is it? Is it Hawthorne? I can’t tell - can you recognize the iceT

‘IdNo, I can’t. I don’t think it’s Hawthorne. I’m not sure .

“You should never have discussed that telephone sex story with

- never. What were you thinking of! Why did you do thatT ‘Pascal, he asked me what I was working on. I couldn’t say him,

Id I? I had to think fast. I just blurted it out. Then I thought it d be useful. To see how he’d react … ‘

‘Oh for God’s sake.’ He gave a gesture of despair, then controlled anger. ‘Never mind, never mind. It’s too late to undo it. If it t Hawthorne, then who is it? Romero? Could it be him?’

‘I don’t know’ Pascal. But I’m sure Romero is involved. He was on ve the weekend we went to Venice. He could have been there. sure the buttons on his blazer were identical to the one you nd. He’s worked for the Hawthorne family for years. He served er Hawthorne in Vietnam, and - what’s the matter, PascalT

‘Nothing. Wait. I’ll explain later.’ I-fis face took on an odd and sed expression. ‘Go on. Tell me what happened yesterday - up and including the dinner for Hawthorne … ‘

Gini gave him her account of that day, of her conversation with c ullen’s former tutor, Dr Anthony Knowles, of her discoveries the escort agency, Jason Stein’s remarks, the presence of S. S. wthorne at the dinner, and his son’s speech on that occasion. ‘And he mentioned Vietnam, during that speech? Jenkins told What did he say exactlyT

Gini told him. She gave Pascal a puzzled look. ‘And so he said the reporting of that war helped to end it. He said it changed America … Pascal, what is this? Why are you harping on Vietnam? It’s twenty years since the war ended, it can’t have any relevance to this.’

‘Maybe not.’ Again his face took on that guarded expression. Gini did not prompt, but continued her story, stopping just short of her return to her flat, and her discovery of Napoleon. She did not want to re-experience that.

‘And so/ she said finally, ‘I’m sure it was McMullen in the park and in the museum. I think he had hoped to speak to me, but Frank Romero was there too. The number he gave me is an Oxford number. For a moment I thought it was the number I called for Dr Knowles. But it wasn’t. I checked this evening. Two different digits. I wish I could understand these messages he’s been sending, the books, that postcard. But I can’t. Still . she paused, ‘we can call that number tomorrow at noon. I’m sure we’re close to finding McMullen, Pascal - or he’s close to contacting us. That’s progress, at least.’

Pascal frowned. ‘Oh, you’ve made a lot of progress, I think. I’m beginning to see a pattern at last, in all this. Or perhaps two patterns, one the true one, and the other a reflection, designed to trick us, mislead us perhaps.’ He rose and looked down at her thoughtfully, then held out his hand. ‘Come upstairs/ he said. ‘Let’s sit by the fire there, and I’ll tell you my side of things. It won’t take long, and I don’t want it to take long. You look exhausted. But if there’s any chance that we really are close to McMullen at last - that we might actually get to speak to him, there’re some things you should know first.’

‘He isn’t the man we took him for?’

Pascal shook his head. ‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘No, I think not. Some of the information Jenkins obtained may be misinformation

- it’s hard to know. But one thing does seem dear. McMullen isn’t just Lise Hawthorne’s self-appointed protector. He lied to Jenkins - or lied by omission anyway. McMullen could be much more dangerous, and much more devious than we thought.’

Upstairs, Gini sat quietly and listened. Pascal spoke for several minutes. When he had finished, Gini gave a sigh.

‘I begin to see,’ she said. ‘That fool Jenkins. Why wasn’t he straight with us from the first?’

Pascal shrugged. ‘Come on, Gini. You know what he’s like. As

A matter of fact, I revised my opinion of him this morning. I may :pot like him any more than I ever did, but he is tough, and he’s

t a fool either. Though I think he’d better watch his back.’ right, I was wrong. He’s not the lackey I thought he was. ‘put even so, why the hell couldn’t he admit that it was Appleyard

o first gave him the tip? I even asked him, straight out and still went on denying it.’

‘Well, in his view, it wasn’t an outright he.’ Pascal gave a dry .e. ‘When he talked to Appleyard first, back in the autumn year, all Appleyard had done was pick up on some of that shington gossip. He’d heard Lise Hawthorne’s health might cracking up. He’d gone snooping around her London doctors got nowhere-!

‘That isn’t all, Pascal/ Gini interrupted. ‘James McMullen had Ily contacted Appleyard. It was Appleyard’s story. He was se enough to mention it to Jenkins, and Jenkins stole it. It s straightforward theft—2

‘Of the kind that goes on in newspapers all the time.’ Pascal’s .e broadened. ‘Come on, Gini. You know that. Anyway. Think. wasn’t as simple as that. All McMullen had done was tell pleyard that he should stop chasing Lise’s story, and take a d hard look at her husband. He’d hinted at infidelities, no re than that … ‘

‘Fine. Maybe I’m missing the point here. It still sounds like ft to me. Tell me again.’

‘Fine. This is the sequence. McMullen was playing Appleyard . He must have heard about the enquiries to the doctors, so nted to Appleyard, but told him nothing specific. It’s the first ation we have that McMullen isn’t nearly as nalve as Jenkins

ught. Then, unfortunately for Appleyard, he decided to pass tip to Jenkins. And he mentioned the name of his source.’ ‘At which point, Jenkins licked his lips. Because he actually ew this man. So he saw right away that he could get to the

0without Appleyard’s help. In other words, he could ease ppleyard out.’

‘True. But can you altogether blame him? Would you like to work on a really big story with Johnny Appleyard breathing down your eck?’

‘No, I wouldn’t. Especially if I were Jenkins. Jenkins would ant two things - first, he’d want an exclusive, and second, the story was strong, he’d want to syndicate - worldwide. eanwhile, Appleyard would be on the phone busily selling it

everywhere from Sydney to Toronto. That’s how he worked. It made him rich.’

‘Precisely. So Jenkins dispensed with his services. Apparently, it wasn’t difficult. McMullen and Appleyard had spoken several times by then, and McMullen hadn’t liked what he found. He was much happier to work with Jenkins, an Englishman, an ex-schoolfriend. So McMullen stopped returning Appleyard’s calls

- or so Jenkins thinks. We know differently. McMullen must have remained in touch with Appleyard. It was Appleyard who found Lorna Munro for him. And it was McMullen who organized the delivery of those first four parcels. So McMullen was playing some kind of double game from day one… ‘ He paused. ‘What’s more, I suspect Lise Hawthorne helped him, and is continuing to help him. Even now.’

Gini frowned. ‘Now? That’s not what she said to me. She said she hadn’t spoken to him since he left London. She was in tears, Pascal. She was shaking. She said we had to find him, and she didn’t even know if he was still alive or dead. I had the strong impression-!

‘Yes?’ ‘I thought she was afraid he’d been killed. And that Romero might have been used to kill him, that very weekend. It was only an impression … ‘

‘Then think about this.’ Pascal leaned forward. Use tells you she is not in contact with McMullen, yet she could have made a phone call from that wine bar, and she arranged to meet you this morning, in Regent’s Park. She never showed but McMullen did. Doesn’t that strike you as an odd coincidence? You think he’s been running in the park behind her house for the past three weeks? I certainly don’t. Come on, Gini. That meeting had to be set up.’

‘Not necessarily. She said she always used to meet him there, at that time. He might have gone there in the hope of seeing her … ‘

‘All right. Maybe. Not proven. But I know what I think. There’s collusion here.’

‘But we know that, Pascal - to some extent. We know Lise and McMullen are involved in this together. He’s trying to help her. You heard that first tape.’

‘Yes. McMullen the knight errant.’ He gave her a cool glance. ‘So the man is in love with her, obsessed with her, determined to free her from that sadist husband of hers. Well, maybe. I’m prepared to believe that. Except McMullen has conducted a campaign against

thorne before. A long time ago. A very very long time ago.’ rose. ‘Do you have that postcard you were sent, Gini? The one ed “Jacob”? Let’s just compare the handwriting, shall we, with photocopied letters I have here.’

‘Letters? What letters?’

Pascal had picked up the large manila envelope Jenkins had n him earlier that day. From it, he took a thick sheaf of papers, e of which, Gini could see, were press clippings. He extracted

single sheets of paper, and passed them across. Each was a of a neat, handwritten letter, sent from a London address. stared at them. They were addressed to John Hawthorne, were signed by James McMullen.

e dates.’ Gini looked up at him. ‘Nineteen sixty-nine. Ninen seventy. Nineteen seventytwo - that’s the year Hawthorne first elected to Congress. Pascal, what is thisT

u can see for yourself. They’re requests - markedly polite ests - for information about Hawthorne’s period of military e in Vietnam. It’s a matter of record anyway, and the letwere duly and politely replied to by one of Hawthorne’s taries. I have copies of their answers here, too.’

I don’t understand, where did Jenkins get thisT

‘From Melrose, s security contact. Which means they could have e from anywhere - American Security, British Security, or even n Hawthorne himself. They could be forgeries, of course. But match to the writing on your postcard is exact, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, yes, it is.’ Gini stared at the postcard, then the letters. ‘But I ‘t understand, Pascal. Why should he be making enquiries about t - and at that time? It’s - when? After he left Oxford-‘

“And before he joined the Army. Yes.’

I’In that missing period you mentioned? How strange. But why? t possible connection can it have with this story now? Apntments with blonde call-girls and the Vietnam War? It doesn’t ke sense.’

‘Not to us, perhaps, but I think it makes sense to McMullen. k at this, Gini.’ He passed her another sheaf of papers. ‘Those copies of letters McMullen sent to an American senator, in eteen seventy-one. A Senator Melville - he’s dead now. At time, he was head of the Senate armed services committee. was a well-known opponent of the Vietnam War, a dove from y back. McMullen bombarded him with letters and evidence. e letters mention enclosures, and none of the enclosures is here. st the letters. He’s trying to persuade the senator to launch an

investigation into the conduct of the American military during the autumn of nineteen sixty-eight, in particular to the events that took place in a small village … I Pascal hesitated, and again she saw that closed expression come into his face.

‘The name of the village was My Nuc.’

‘My NucT Gini looked up, and frowned. ‘That’s familiar, but I can’t remember why.’

‘That’s not surprising, Gini. You were two years old in nineteen sixty-eight. You were - what - seven or eight when the war ended? I was in my teens and when I saw this, the name meant nothing to me. But My Nuc was celebrated, briefly. It became one of the examples of American heroism. A platoon was cut off, and holed up under Vietcong fire, for nearly two weeks. One lieutenant particularly distinguished himself. He was decorated as a result of his actions there. His name was John Hawthorne.’

Again, Gini saw that closed expression come upon his face. She stared at him. When she saw the sympathy, and the hesitation in his eyes, she had a second’s foreboding.

‘I don’t understand - how do you know all this, Pascal?, ‘Because when McMullen started raising questions about what exactly had happened at My Nuc, when he started alleging that what actually happened there was very different from the official military accounts, the senator was able to give him a very straight and a very dismissive answer. The letter he wrote is there, Gini, in front of you. You see? It’s an angry letter. No rape, no pillage, no murder - and how can the good senator be so sureT

Pascal handed her a press clipping, a long article. ‘He can be sure that the military’s version was accurate because there was an independent witness, a journalist, who was with Hawthorne’s platoon the entire time. The journalist wrote up the events afterwards. It wasn’t the best of his despatches, nor one of his most famous ones, but along with many others written that year, it helped win him a Pulitzer prize.’

Gini stared at the papers in front of her. She closed her eyes. For a second, she heard Hawthorne’s voice just a few nights before: holed up in a fox-hole together for three days under fire; he ate my rations and I drank the contents of his whisky flask . I’m not sure if it was courage or blind stupidity …

She looked up, white-faced, at Pascal. She watched this story loop, re-shape, and close in on herself. She saw the concern and the anxiety in Pascal’s eyes. She threw the papers down on the floor.

‘Then McMullen’s a har/ she said. ‘I don’t give a damn what

alleged then - and I’m not sure I give a damn any more what Is alleging now. He’s suspect, Pascal. You said that yourself.’ ‘Darhng, that isn’t exactly what I said—2

x,`You just listen to me.’ She had risen, and was now trembling ith agitation, Pascal saw. ‘If McMullen was suggesting my father uld be party to any kind of cover-up in that war - he’s wrong, t’s all. I know you hate my father, I know what my father is. on’t have any illusions. I know he drinks too much, and he sts, and he got lazy later on. But when he was younger, even

… He would never lie, Pascal. He would never distort the .’ She hesitated. ‘He may not have been a very good husband Mary, or a very good father to me, but he was a fine reporter. best - he was the best!’