The Sentinel (37 page)

"Flanagan has a recording of her with the President."

"You mean-?"

"He tricked Charlie Meriweather into wiring her room at the Waldorf Astoria when they were in New York for a UN social function."

She gave him a puzzled look, "Maybe she was trying to blackmail my husband. Maybe Flanagan was working for her."

"And now she wants to kill the President? It doesn't make sense."

She looked away. "Maybe you should speak with my husband," she said softly.

"What's on his schedule for the rest of the day?"

"Meetings in the House. He and I are scheduled to attend a stage play at the Kennedy Center tonight."

"Tell him it's too dangerous for him to leave the White House."

"You know how he is when it comes to public appearances. The Kennedy Center is prime-time national TV-"

"And tell him to put Wintergreen and Flanagan on the lie-detector immediately. I'm sure they'll show deception if asked about being part of a conspiracy. That will give the President enough to have them relieved of duty."

"I'll try-"

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen in a public place. The Kennedy Center is too dangerous."

"In the past, I've heard him say no terrorist was going to stop the President of the United States from going where he wants to go."

"And JFK said something like that before he went to Dallas. Eleanor, this isn't a security matter any longer. It is a survival matter. It's up to you now. You have to put your foot down. They will kill you if you are with him. This isn't a goddamn game."

"I hear you, Pete."

She glanced at her wristwatch. "I'd better get going. Will you be here if I have to reach you?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm terrified that you're going to go out there and something will happen. Please stay here where it's safe."

"Be forceful with him. Don't take no for an answer."

"I'd better go before Walter gets worried. I almost had to get in a screaming match with him to convince him to let me come up here alone. I told him my cousin didn't like agents." She took out a compact and checked her makeup. "I'd better get going."

"Will you-"

"Yes. I'll talk with him."

"Tell him I phoned you - that I got through to your office on a signal line. I'll call the Oval Office tonight at exactly four P.M. Have him tell his secretary to put me through."

"But they'll trace the call."

"I'll call through the signal board on a scrambled line. I have the code so I can get in that way. The signal will show I'm calling from New York. Eleanor, you have to convince him to listen to me with an open mind - that assassins don't call the people they are trying to kill. I know all of this sounds outrageous and weird. But the President is a reasonable man. I believe he will listen. He is in mortal danger and so are you."

She had a faraway look. "I was just thinking. If you and I hadn't ... I wouldn't have believed you. I would think you were guilty."

"And you would have been justified by the facts. But you would have been completely wrong."

"Pete, how is this going to end? How are things ever going to get put back into place now that all this has happened?"

"I don't know."

"Pete, it's too dangerous for you to be on the street. I want you to stay here until I can get you in to see my husband."

He nodded agreement.

"I'm not going to stand by and let some traitor do his thing," she said.

She brushed her lips against his cheek and left the apartment.

Garrison walked to the window. Below, she walked to the limousine with Sebastian at her side. He opened the door and she got in. The motorcade pulled away, turning the corner with a wide sweep. Wispy clouds extended west for as far as he could see. In the distance, the Washington Monument pointed toward the sky, a shiny, gray spear glimmering in sunlight.

****

CHAPTER 28

AT PRECISELY FOUR P.M., Garrison picked up his cellular phone and anxiously dialed the White House signal number. An operator came on the line. Garrison asked for the Oval Office. The President's secretary answered and he told her who he was. The line beeped twice.

"President Jordan speaking."

"Good evening, Mr. President. This is Agent Garrison.

"Good evening. Director Wintergreen and National Security Advisor Pierpont are here with me. I'm going to put you on the speakerphone."

"I need to speak with you in private."

"I want a witness to our conversation," the President said impatiently.

"This is about a threat to your life-"

"That's non-negotiable. You and I aren't going to have a private telephone conversation."

"Very well."

There was a brief humming sound as the President activated the speakerphone.

"Can you hear me, Garrison?"

"Yes."

"Agent Garrison, this is Helen Pierpont. Are you all right?"

"I don't have any bullet holes in me if that's what you mean."

"We want you to come in, Pete," Pierpont said as if she knew him.

"So you can lock me up without bail under the Anti-Terrorism Statute?"

"It's time to end all this foolishness," she said condescendingly.

"That is a meaningless statement," Garrison said. "And you don't have to talk to me like I am a child. I'm not insane and I am not an assassin. I'm being blamed for something I didn't do. Framed."

"I didn't mean to imply-"

"I have great interest in what you have to say, Pete," the President said. "But for security reasons we shouldn't be talking on the phone. If you expect me to believe you, you should be willing to look me in the eye, man-to-man."

"Mr. President, I will surrender if you will give me a half hour of your time so I can explain what I have learned concerning a threat to your life. Just you and I. Face-to-face."

"Surely you can't expect the Secret Service to abdicate its responsibility for Presidential security," Pierpont said. Garrison remained silent. "Pete?"

"I heard you."

"Well?"

"I will accept any and all security precautions the President deems necessary. I had nothing to do with the Marine One sabotage."

"I agree to meet with you if you will come to the White House unarmed," the President said.

From the President's tone of voice, Garrison tended to believe that he was telling the truth: that it wasn't just a ruse. But there was no way to know for sure. It all depended on Eleanor - on how successfully she had fought for him. Garrison told himself that from what he knew about their relationship, the President wasn't going to agree to accede to Eleanor's request to meet with him and then coldly ensnare him. At least he hoped not.

"Considering the situation as it stands, Mr. President, how do I make it there without getting killed?"

"I'll send an intermediary to escort him in, Mr. President," Wintergreen said. "How about Walter Sebastian, Pete? You trust him, don't you?"

Garrison closed his eyes to consider the offer.

"And he can accompany me to the meeting with the President?"

"Yes," the President said.

Garrison didn't trust either Wintergreen or Pierpont. But he was sure that Walter would never double-cross him. He realized he was at the point where his options were limited. He had the President's attention and he certainly wasn't negotiating from a position of strength.

"I'll agree on one condition: that Walter gets his orders directly from the President, not through any intermediaries."

"I will speak with him in person," the President said. "You have my word on that."

"I won't be arrested?"

"I give you my word that you and I will be able to talk alone," the President said after a brief silence. "If you aren't involved with the bombing, you have nothing to worry about. I will clear you."

Garrison shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Mr. President, if you're thinking about setting a trap for me, think again. What I have to say involves a mole in the White House who is involved in a conspiracy to assassinate you."

"If you convince me of that, I will personally take over the investigation," the President said.

Garrison's temples throbbed. The President could be lying. They could all be lying. But if he refused the offer and got caught, Garrison could end up dead or spending the rest of his life in prison for something he didn't do and the President might get assassinated.

"Okay. Let's do it."

"Be at the service entrance behind the Woodley Park Marriott Hotel exactly one hour from now," Wintergreen said. "Sebastian will meet you there."

Garrison wondered whether the two-hour wait was to give Wintergreen time to insert surveillance agents into the area.

"If I see anyone other than Walter there, the deal is off," Garrison said choosing to believe the President.

"Neither you nor I have anything to gain by playing games, Pete," the President said. "Stay cool. We'll resolve this."

Garrison pressed OFF. He dropped the phone on the bed and reviewed the conversation, mulling over every word, trying to detect a double cross. He decided he had to take the President at his word. Besides, Garrison knew the layout of the Marriott Hotel by heart from having written an advance security survey for a Presidential visit there. If the President or Wintergreen were laying a trap for him, he would be able to detect it.

In the Oval Office, Wintergreen lifted a two-way radio from his belt and pressed the transmit button.

"Wintergreen to Crown Control. Have Agent Sebastian report to the Oval Office ASAP."

A radio voice said: "Crown Control, Roger.

Wintergreen felt energized. He relished the middle of a crisis, the heat of battle.

The President stood at the window gazing out, looking distracted. He turned to Pierpont.

"What do you think?"

"If Garrison was innocent he wouldn't have run from the safe house," she answered.

"He could be telling the truth," the President said.

"We have mountains of evidence stacked against him," Wintergreen said, and clipped the radio onto his belt. "Mountains." Wintergreen considered the President to be the picture of mediocrity - a field commander frozen in the midst of battle.

"If he's guilty," the President said, "if he is responsible for the bombing, why would he go through this charade?"

"Maybe he figures he has nothing to lose," Pierpont said. "Maybe he figures it's just a matter of time. He probably wants to save his life. He'll try to convince you, then later he'll ask for a deal."

"I could flood the area with agents - drop a net on him," said Wintergreen.