The Evening News (75 page)

When Partridge nodded, Sloane asked the other two, "Do you mind leaving?
We'll finish later
.”

Sloane waved Partridge to a chair
.”
You look serious. Is it bad news
?
”

"I'm afraid it is. We've established that your family is out of the
country. They're prisoners in Peru
.”

Sloane slumped forward, elbows on his desk; he rubbed a hand across his
face before responding
.”
I've been expecting something like this--or
rather, dreading it. Do you know who has them
?
”

"We believe Sendero Luminoso
.”

"Oh god! Not those fanatics
!”

"I'm leaving for Lima in the morning, Crawf
.”

"I'll go with you
!”

Partridge shook his head
.”
We both know you can't, that it wouldn't work
.
Besides, the network would never allow it
.”

Sloane sighed, but didn't argue. He asked, "Do we have any idea what those
Sendero jackals want
?
”

"Not yet. I'm sure we'll hear
.”

A silence followed, then Partridge said
,
"I've called a task force meeting for five o'clock. I thought you'd like
to be there. After that, most of us will work all night
.”

He went on to
describe developments during the day and the plan to broadcast all
information that they had on Friday
.”
I'll be at the meeting
,”
Sloane acknowledged, "and thanks
.”

Then as
Partridge rose to leave, "Do you have to go right now
?
”

Partridge hesitated. He had a great deal to do and time was short, but he
sensed a desire on the other's part to talk. He shrugged
.”
I guess a few
minutes won't make any difference
.”

There was a pause before Sloane said awkwardly, "I'm not sure I know how
to say this, or even if I should. But at a time like this you get to
thinking about all kinds of things
.”

Partridge waited, curious, as Sloane
continued
.”
Anyway, Harry, I've been wondering what your feelings are about
Jessica. After all, years ago you two were pretty close
.”

So that was it: A secret thought voiced after all this time. Partridge
chose his words carefully, knowing this moment was
important
.”
Yes, I do care about Jessica, in part because we were
close-as you put it
-years ago. But mostly I care because she's your wife and you're my friend. As for anything that once existed between Jessica and me, it finished the day she married

YOU
.”

"I suppose I'm saying this now because of all that's happened, but there
were times when I used to wonder about that
.”

"I know you did, Crawf, and there were times I wanted to tell you what
I just did; also that I never had any resentment, either about your
marrying Jessica or making it big at the anchor desk. No reason why I
should. But I always had the feeling that if I did say it, you wouldn't
have believed
.”

"You're probably right
.”

Sloane paused, considering
.”
But if it's of any
interest, Harry, I believe it now
.”

Partridge nodded. Enough had been said, and he needed to go. At the
doorway he turned
.”
I'll do my damnedest when I get to Lima, Crawf. I
truly will
.”

On reaching Sloane's office, Partridge had noticed the absence of FBI
Agent Otis Havelock, whose presence had been so prominent for a week
after the kidnapping. While pausing outside at the Horseshoe, where he
informed Chuck Insen of the task force meeting, Partridge asked about the
FBI man
.”
He's still around a lot
,”
the evening news executive producer said
,
"though I think he's following other leads
.”

"Do you know if he's coming back today
?
”

"I've no idea
.”

Partridge found himself hoping the FBI man would continue whatever he was
doing for the remainder of the day. If he did, it would be easier to keep
the knowledge of tonight's activity and Partridge departure tomorrow
restricted to a few people at CBA only. On Friday, of course, assuming
word was released in advance that CBA would have new revelations on its
evening news, the FBI would probably demand to know what was going on and
would have to be stalled until broadcast time. But Partridge would be in
Peru by then, and someone else would have that responsibility.
Just the same, he decided coping with the FBI was one more item to be
factored into plans for the next two days.

The five o'clock meeting in the task force conference room was well
attended. Les Chippingham and Crawford' Sloane were there. Chuck Insen
stayed for fifteen minutes, then left because the National Evening News
first feed was looming close, and another Horseshoe producer took his
place. Partridge was at the head of the long conference table, with Rita
Abrams beside him. Iris Everly, who had produced a kidnap segment for the
evening news-though it contained no
ne of that day's new material-ar
rived
several minutes late. Teddy Cooper was present, having spent the day with
the temporary researchers who were still visiting local newspaper offices
to review classified advertising-so far with no positive result. Minh Van
Canh came in, as did producers Norman Jaeger and Karl Owens. A new, face
at the table was Don Kettering's. Jonathan Mony had stayed on and was
introduced around. Various support staff members were in attendance
.
Partridge began with a summation of what had happened during the day, his
intention to leave for Peru early the next morning, and the decision to
broadcast everything they knew on Friday evening's news
.
Les Chippingham cut in
.”
I agree with everything you've said, Harry, but
I think we should go one step further and do a one-hour News Special, also
on Friday night, covering the whole kidnap sequence at length, including
the new material
.”

Around the table there were murmurs of approval as the news president
continued
.”
I remind you we have a prime-time news show already scheduled
for the nine o'clock slot which we can yank. You guys sound as if you have
plenty to fill an hour
.”

"Plenty and more
,”
Rita Abrams assured him. A short time earlier she had
screened the silhouette interrogation of Alberto Godoy and viewed Don
Kettering's interview with the American-Amazonas bank manager, Emiliano
Armando, which had just come in. She was enthusiastic about both
.
After the screening there had been a discussion between Rita, Partridge and
Kettering as to whether the funeral direc
t
or's identity should be protected after all, since during his an- tagonistic termination of the interview, Godoy voluntarily brought his face into light and camera range. There was a temptation to reveal his face on television since protecting Godoy's identity could clearly cause the network trouble. Yet because of the original agreement with him, some complex ethics were involved
.
In the end, it was decided that since Godoy had not known, technically
,
what he was doing, the original pact must be honored. To make sure the
decision was safeguarded, Partridge erased on an editing machine the
portion of tape showing Godoy's face, so it could not be retrieved with
outtakes later. At this point the erasure was not a legal offense, though
it would be if done after official inquiries were begun
.
Everyone at the conference room table realized the decision to have a
one-hour special was relatively easy since the primetime hour in question
belonged to the News Division anyway; therefore the network's programming
brass need not be consulted. The show originally scheduled for nine
o'clock Friday was "Behind the Headlines
,”
a newsmagazine on which Norman
Jaeger was normally a producer and to which he would undoubtedly return
when this present work was over. Chippingham. decided privately that he
need not report immediately to Margot Lloyd-Mason on the change, though
sometime during Friday he would advise her of what was coming up that
evening
.
From there, other decisions flowed
.
Partridge announce
d that Minh Van Canh and Ken O'Hara, the sound mail
who had been present at the Dallas
Fort Worth air crash two weeks ago
,
would accompany him to Peru
.
Rita, glancing down the table at Chippingham, added, "Les, the assignment
desk has chartered a Learjet for Harry and the others, out of Teterboro
at Six A.M. tomorrow. I need your okay
.”

"Are you sure Chippingham, conscious of mounting expenses, had been about
to continue, ". . . there isn't a commercial flight available,
“
when he
caught sight of Crawford
Sloane's steely eyes fixed on him. Changing his mind, the news president said tersely, "I approve
.”

Rita, it was decided, would remain in New York for overall supervision
of the Friday evening news report and one-hour special, with Iris doing
general production on the first, Norm Jaeger and Karl Owens on the
second. Then, during Friday night, Rita would follow Partridge and the
others to Lima, with Jaeger taking over in New York as senior producer
.
Partridge, who had discussed the subject earlier with Chippingham
,
disclosed that after his own departure, Don Kettering would head the
kidnap task force in New York. Temporarily, Kettering's business
correspondent duties would be handled by an assistant
.
However, Partridge pointed out, neither the National Evening News report
of Friday nor the one-hour special later-on both of which he would be
featured-should convey any hint that he had already left for Peru. In
fact, if it could be made to appear at some point that he was
broadcasting live-though without actually being deceptive-so much the
better
.
While other networks and the print press were unlikely to be deceived by
such tactics, anything that might lessen their own urgency in dispatching
reporting teams to Peru would be an advantage. From a practical point of
view, apart from competitiveness, Partridge stood a better chance of
making investigative headway alone, instead of amid a swarm of other
reporters
.
Which led to the question of security
.
Everything that would happen through that night and the next two days
,
Les Chippingham declared, must not be discussed, even with others in the
News Division who were uninvolved, and certainly not with outsiders
,
including families. The criterion for discussion was: Need to know
.”
And
that's not a request; it's an order
.”

The news president continued, looking in turn at everyone around the
table
.”
Let us not do or say anything that could release our news
prematurely and deprive Harry of the twenty
-
four hours' lead time he so
clearly needs. Above all, remember
li
ves are at stake"-he glanced toward Crawford Sloane,'very special lives, close and important to us all
.”