The Evening News (90 page)

But he restrained himself, knowing that any breaking
news would come to him speedily enough. Also, he realized, it was important to leave Partridge un
-
distracted and free to work in his own way. Sloane still had more faith in Partridge than anyone else who might have been sent on the Peru assignment
.
Another reason for holding back was that Harry Partridge had proved to
be considerate, calling Sloane at home in Larchmont during some evenings
or early mornings to fill him in on progress and background
.
It had been several days, though, since the last call from Peru and while
disappointed at not hearing, Crawford Sloane assumed there was nothing
to report
.
He was wrong
.
What Sloane did not and could not know was that Partridge had decided all
communication between Lima and New York-telephone, satellite or
written-was no longer secure. After the interview with General Ortiz
,
during which the chief of anti-terrorism police made plain that
Partridge's movements were being watched, it seemed possible that
telephones were tapped and perhaps even mail examined. Satellite
transmissions could be viewed by anyone with the right equipment, and
using a different phone line than usual carried no guarantee of privacy
.
Another reason for caution was that Lima was now crowded with
journalists, including TV crews from other networks, all competing in
covering the Sloane kidnap story and searching for new leads. So far
,
Partridge had managed to avoid the media crowd, but because of CBA's
successful coverage already, he knew there was interest in where he went
and whom he saw
.
For all those reasons Partridge decided not to discuss, especially by
telephone, his visit to the Huancavelica Street apartment and what he had
learned. He ordered the others in the CBA crew to observe the same rule
,
also cautioning them that the expedition they were planning to Nueva
Esperanza must be veiled in total secrecy. Even CBA in New York would
have to wait for word of that
.
Therefore, on Thursday morning in New York, knowing nothing of the
breakthrough in Lima the day before, Crawford
Sloane went to CBA News headquarters, arriving slightly later than usual at 10:55
.
A young FBI agent named Ivan Ungar, who had slept at the Larchmont house
the night before, accompanied him. The FBI was stifl guarding against a
possible attempt to kidnap Sloane and there were also rumors that anchor
people at other networks were being protected too. However, since the
original kidnappers had been heard from, the twenty-four-hour listening
watch on Crawford Sloane's home and office phones had been discontinued
,
FBI Special Agent Otis Havelock was still involved with the case, and after
Tuesday's discovery of the kidnappers' Hackensack headquarters had taken
charge of FBI search efforts there. Another subject of FBI scrutiny, Sloane
had learned, was Teterboro Airport because of its closeness to the
Hackensack locale. An examination of outgoing flight records was being
made, covering the period from immediately after the kidnap until the day
it was known that the kidnap victims were in Peru. But progress was slow
because of the large number of flight departures during those thirteen
days
.
At CBA News, as Sloane entered the main-floor lobby, a uniformed security
guard gave a casual salute, but there was no sign of a New York City
policeman, as there had been for more than a week after the kidnap. Today
the usual stream of people was moving in and out of the building and
although those entering were cleared at a reception desk, Sloane wondered
if CBA security had slipped back into its old, easygoing ways
.
From the lobby, accompanied by agent Ungar, he took an elevator to the
fourth floor, then walked to his office adjoining the Horseshoe where
several people looked up from their work to greet him. Sloane left the door
of his office open. Ungar seated himself on a chair outside
.
As Sloane hung up the raincoat he had been wearing, he noticed on his desk
a white Styrofoam package of the kind used by takeout restaurants. There
were several such establishments in the neighborhood which did a brisk
business at CBA, delivering snacks or meals in response to telephone calls
.
Since
Sloane had not ordered anything and usually had lunch in the cafeteria, he assumed the delivery was a mistake
.
To his surprise, though, he found that the package, tied neatly with
white string, had "C. Sloane
”
written on it. Without much interest, he
took scissors from a drawer and snipped the string, then eased the
package open. He pulled out some pieces of folded white paper before the
contents were revealed
.
After several seconds of staring in dazed disbelief, Crawford Sloane
screamed-a tortured, ear
-
splitting scream. Heads shot up among those
working nearby. FBI agent Ungar leapt from his chair and raced in
,
drawing a gun as he moved. But Sloane was alone, screaming again and
again, staring down at the package, his eyes wide and crazed, his face
ashen
.
Others jumped up and ran to Sloane's office. Some went inside, a dozen
or more blocked the doorway. A woman producer leaned over Sloane's desk
and looked into the white box
.”
Oh, my god
!”

she uttered, then, feeling
sick, went back outside
.
Agent Ungar examined the box, saw two human fingers, flecked with dried
blood, and, swallowing his revulsion, swiftly took charge. He shouted to
those in the office and crowding the doorway, "Everyone out, please
!”

Even while speaking, he picked up a phone, pressed the "operator
”
button
and demanded, "Security-fast
!”

When there was an answer, he rapped out
,
"This is FBI Special Agent Ungar and I am giving you an order. Advise all
guards that no one is to leave this building, as of this moment. There
will be no exceptions and if anyone resists, use force. After you've
given that order, call the city police for help. I am going to the main
lobby now. I want someone from Security to meet me there
.”

While Ungar had been speaking, Sloane collapsed into his chair. As
someone said later, "He looked like death
.”

The executive producer, Chuck Insen, elbowed his way through the growing
throng outside and asked, "What's all this about
?
”

Recognizing him, Ungar gestured to the white box, then instructed
,
"Nothing in here must be touched. I suggest you
take Mr. Sloane somewhere else and lock the door until I come back
.”

Insen nodded, by then having seen the contents of the box and noting, as
had others, that the fingers were small and delicate, clearly those of
a child. Turning to face Sloane, he asked the inevitable question with
his eyes. Sloane managed to nod and whisper, "Yes
.”

"Oh, Jesus
!”

Insen murmured
.
Sloane seemed about to collapse. Insen put his arms around him, then
still holding the anchorman, eased him from the room. Those at the
doorway quickly cleared a path
.
Insen and Sloane went to the executive producer's office; on the way
,
Insen fired orders. He told a secretary, "Lock Mr. Sloane's office and
let no one in except that FBI man. Then talk to the switchboard; there's
a doctor on call-get him here. Say Mr. Sloane had a bad shock and may
need sedation
.”

To a producer, "Tell Don Kettering what's happened and
get him up here; we'll need something for the news tonight
.”

And to
others, "The rest of you, get back to work
.”

Insen's office had a large glass window overlooking the Horseshoe, with
a venetian blind for privacy when needed. After helping Sloane into a
chair, Insen lowered the blind
.
Control was coming back to Sloane, though he was leaning forward, his
head in his hands. Speaking half to himself, half to Insen, he agonized
,
"Those people knew about Nicky and the piano. And how did they know? I
let it out! It was me! At that press session after the kidnap
.”

Insen said gently, "I remember that, Crawf. But you were answering a
question; you didn't bring it up. In any case, who could have foreseen
. .
.”

He stopped, knowing that reasoning at this moment would do no
good
.
Afterward Insen would say to others, "I have to hand it to Crawf, He has
guts. After that experience most people would have been pleading to do
exactly what the kidnappers wanted. But right from the beginning Crawf's
known we shouldn't, and couldn't, and has never wavered
.”

There was a soft knock and the secretary came in
.”
A doctor's on the
way
,”
she said.
The temporary ban on people leaving the building was lifted when everyone
inside or about to leave was identified and their presence accounted for
.
It seemed likely that the package with the fingers had been left much
earlier, and since restaurant service people came and left frequently, no
one had seen anything unusual
.
The FBI began an investigation at nearby takeout restaurants in an effort
to determine who might have brought the package in, but nothing resulted
.
And while CBA Security was supposed to check all delivery people's
identity, it was established that they did so
irregularly
and even then
in a perfunctory way
.
Any doubt about the fingers being Nicky's was quickly dispelled by an FBI
check of Nicky's bedroom in the Sloanes' Larchmont house. Plenty of
fingerprints remained there and matched those of the two severed fingers
in the package on Crawford Sloane's desk.

In the midst of the general gloom at CBA News, another significant delivery
occurred, this one to Stonehenge. Early Thursday afternoon a small package
found its way to Margot Lloyd-Mason's office suite. Inside was a videotape
cassette sent by Sendero Luininoso
.
Because the tape was expected-Thursday delivery had been stated in
Sendero's "The Shining Time Has Come
”
demand received six days
earlier-arrangements had been made by Margot and Les Chippingham for the
tape to be sent immediately by messenger to the CBA news president. As soon
as
Chippingham
teamed of its arrival, he called in Don Kettering and
Norman Jaeger and the trio viewed the tape privately in Chippingham's
office
.
All three noted at once the recording's high quality, both technically and
in presentation. The opening titles, beginning with "World Revolution:
Sendero Luminoso Shows the Way
,”
were superimposed over the visual
background of some of Peru's most breathtaking scenery-the brooding majesty
of high Andes mountains and glaciers, Machu Picchu in awesome
splendor, the endless miles of green jungle, the and coastal desert and surging Pacific ocean. It was Jaeger who recognized the majestic music accompanying the opening: Beethoven's Third Symphony, Eroica
.”
They had production people who know their business
,”
Kettering murmured
.”
I'd expected something cruder
.”

"Not surprising, really
,”
Chippingham said
.”
Peru's no backwater and they
have talent there, the best equipment
.”