Call to Treason - Tom Clancy [44]
"Right."
"Did Wilson have a history of calling escort services?"
"Apparently," Tymore replied. "It was his way of keeping gold diggers out of his bed."
"What about last night?" McCaskey asked. "Do you recall which women he talked to?"
"He chatted briefly with Kendra and then Kat Lockley, who are on the senator's staff," he said. "He also talked with two congresswomen and a senator, Ken Link's daughter Jeanne, Wendy Fayette from the New York Times, and one of the waitresses. She's been cleared, though. She was still on cleanup detail when the woman arrived at the hotel. Now I have a question for you, Mr. McCaskey."
"Okay."
"What was General Rodgers doing there?"
"I don't know," McCaskey said. "That was a surprise to me. Why don't you ask Kendra?"
"I did. She wouldn't tell me. My guess is they want him to be involved in the USF Party in some capacity. Is that possible?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," McCaskey told him. "Off the record, I think he's looking to move on."
McCaskey felt a little deceitful not telling Tymore what he knew. But it was up to Rodgers or Hood to talk about the general's departure, not him. Trust was important, but it was trumped by loyalty.
"Now you tell me, Mr. McCaskey," Tymore said. "Why is Op-Center interested in this?"
"We are involved at the request of Scotland Yard," McCaskey told him.
"It's a common reciprocal arrangement among international agencies."
"Why you and not the Metropolitan Police or the FBI?" Tymore asked.
"I know the Yard people from my years with the FBI," McCaskey replied.
"It was just a favor. We did not expect to find anything."
"Can I quote you?"
"You can quote an unnamed source at Op-Center," McCaskey said.
Tymore agreed.
McCaskey obtained the phone numbers Tymore had collected. Though the reporter had already called the women who had talked to Wilson, McCaskey wanted to speak with them himself. They all denied having gone to see the billionaire, of course, though maybe they would tell McCaskey things they were unwilling to tell the press.
Rodgers phoned before McCaskey was able to place the first call. The general had just returned to Op-Center and was about to see Paul Hood.
He asked McCaskey to join them.
"Sure," McCaskey said. "What's up?"
"Paul said you're running the Wilson investigation," Rodgers said.
"Right "
"I want to talk about it," Rodgers said abruptly. "It could be a minefield."
Rodgers did not elaborate. McCaskey could not tell whether that had been a warning or a threat. He headed to Hood's office to find out.
Rodgers arrived moments ahead of McCaskey. Ron Plummer was just leaving. The silence exchanged by Rodgers and his replacement was actually heightened by the way they acknowledged each other, with a clipped first-name greeting and nothing more. The soldier and the diplomat never had much in common, but they had always gotten along.
This was sad, but what made it worse was that McCaskey expected things were about to deteriorate.
"Ron did not want the job," Hood said to Rodgers as McCaskey shut the door. "I just wanted you to know that."
"Did he accept it?" Rodgers asked.
"For the good of Op-Center, yes," Hood said.
"Of course. We're all so damn selfless," Rodgers said. He folded his arms tightly and looked at McCaskey. Both men had remained standing.
"Who are you working for now? The Yard?"
"Don't climb on my back, Mike," McCaskey said. "You know the drill. We help each other."
"We do?" Rodgers looked around. "I must have missed the lifeline you guys threw me."
This was a different Mike Rodgers than Darrell McCaskey had encountered that morning. Obviously, Rodgers had had time to think about what happened and was not very happy.
"Mike, those were my calls," Hood said. "Where to cut, who to shuffle, and who to help. If you want to vent, do it to me."
"It's not that clean, Paul," Rodgers said. "I've been offered a position with Senator Orr's new political party. The way this investigation is