Topaz - Leon Uris [118]
The slitted eyes of La Croix refused to give indication of the quick mind working behind them. “What about the actual identification?” he asked.
“Photographs taken by U-2 airplanes are from extremely high altitudes. Our experts conclude these photographs are highly questionable. They may have been pictures of American sites, or clever fakes, or the old surface-to-air towers.”
“But the missiles were also identified by personal observers.”
“No one has actually one of these missiles, Monsieur le Président. What was seen were tire tracks, towers, trailers, tail fins. In every event the actual tube was covered by canvas. Even when the American planes photographed them they only showed canvas-covered tubes lashed to the decks of the ships. No one ever boarded to inspect. In our opinion, they could have been papier-mâché or some other material. The reason they were able to make such deep tire tracks, in our opinion, is that the undercarriages of the trailers were weighted.”
“Would this not imply that Devereaux was consorting with the Americans?”
“It is our belief,” Rochefort said, “that he was tricked, duped, and used.”
La Croix’s fingers twitched slightly, and for the first time he showed emotion with a slight reddening of his cheeks. “What is your theory on Devereaux?” he demanded.
“In the beginning,” Brune said, “the Americans did not seek out Devereaux, although they relied on him heavily for information out of Cuba. Instead, they concocted and executed a brilliant plan with Devereaux as the foil. Why did the Cuban turncoat in the United Nations delegation in New York seek out the French? Because he was on the American payroll and his orders were to plant fake papers among authentic ones and let the French steal them. Devereaux’s own deputy in New York, Gustave Prévost, was suspicious of just this sort of thing and warned that we were being set up. But, nevertheless, Devereaux planned and executed an operation to steal copies of the Parra papers from the hotel in New York. Fakes had been planted among the real documents. The fakes aroused Devereaux’s suspicions of missiles. He then took information to the Americans that the Americans had planted in the first place.
“Now Devereaux was obliged by his own doing to go down to Cuba, even though Ambassador D’Arey objected. He saw what the Russians and Americans wanted him to see, no more, no less. No one, Monsieur le Président, can answer why the missiles were brought through Havana. Devereaux tells us it was a miscalculation on the width of the tunnel under the harbor. We say if they wanted secrecy they would have unloaded in a southern port. The so-called missiles were brought through Havana because they wished for Devereaux to discover them.
“Further,” Brune argued, “the Russians knew why Devereaux was in Cuba. He was French Intelligence, sympathetic to the Americans as a matter of record. Is it believable they would have allowed him to leave Cuba with such information unless they planned for him to carry it out?
“Now, with Devereaux completely fooled, the Americans cleverly request him to come to France to authenticate this to us. As a trusted and reliable official, his word would carry enormous weight.”
“I am certain that Devereaux does not endorse this report,” La Croix said.
“Naturally not. No official of his caliber would ever admit to such a blunder. Nevertheless, not making accusations, we have been very skeptical about intelligence on Cuba for a long time.”
“We may have been set up for months.” Rochefort added.
“And you conclude there were never any offensive missiles in Cuba?”
“That is correct, Monsieur le Président.”
“Thank you, gentlemen, good night,” the President said tersely.
They stood, bowed slightly and backed to the door.
“By the way,” La Croix called. “What further information do you have on the Topaz letter?”
“Our investigators are in Washington,” Brune answered, “but I begin to suspect it may all be part of the same Soviet-American plot.”
When they closed the door, Pierre La Croix put on his glasses