New Year’s Eve, and who were at dinner last night.’
‘I was the only woman at dinner last night.’
Silence.
Summer nodded. ‘We know that. And we promise we can
keep the whole thing quiet, but first we need you to confirm
who you gave the briefcase to.’
The room stayed quiet. Norton looked at Summer like
she had told a joke with a punch line she didn’t quite understand.
‘You think I was sleeping with General Kramer?’ she said.
Summer said nothing.
‘Well, I wasn’t,’ Norton said. ‘God forbid.’
Nobody spoke.
‘I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,’ she said. ‘I’m seriously
conflicted. That’s a completely absurd accusation. I’m astonished
you made it.’
Nobody spoke for a long time. Norton smiled, like the main
component of her reaction was amusement. Not anger. She
closed her eyes and opened them a moment later, like she was
erasing the conversation from her memory.
‘Is there something missing from the briefcase?’ she asked
I didn’t answer.
‘Help me out here,’ she said. ‘Please. I’m trying to see the
point of this extraordinary visit. Is there something missing
from the briefcase?’
‘Vassell and Coomer say not.’
‘But?’
‘I don’t believe them.’
‘You probably should. They’re senior officers.’
I said nothing.
‘What does your new CO say?’
‘He doesn’t want it pursued. He’s worried about embarrass
m(nt.’
175
‘You should be guided by him.’
‘I’m an investigator. I have to ask questions.’
‘The army is a family,’ she said. ‘We’re all on the same side.’
‘Did Vassell or Coomer leave with this briefcase last night?’ I
said.
Norton closed her eyes again. At first I thought she was just
exasperated, but then I realized she was picturing last night’s
scene, at the O Club coat check.
‘No,’ she said. ‘Neither one of them left with that briefcase.’
‘Are you absolutely sure?’
‘I’m totally certain.’
‘What was their mood during dinner?’
She opened her eyes.
‘They were relaxed,’ she said. ‘Like they were passing an
empty evening.’
‘Did they say why they were at Bird again?’
‘General Kramer’s funeral was yesterday, at noon.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘I believe Walter Reed released the body and the Pentagon
handled the details.’
‘Where was the funeral?’
‘Arlington Cemetery,’ she said. ‘Where else?’
‘That’s three hundred miles away.’
‘Approximately. As the crow flies.’
‘So why did they come down here for dinner?’
‘They didn’t tell me,’ she said.
I said nothing.
‘Anything else?’ she asked.
I shook my head.
‘A motel?’ she said. ‘Do I look like the kind of woman who
would agree to meet a man in a motel?’
I didn’t answer.
‘Dismissed,’ she said.
I stood up. Summer did the same. I took Kramer’s briefcase
from the centre chair and walked out of the room. Summer
followed behind me.
‘Did you believe her?’ Summer asked me.
We were sitting in the Humvee outside the Psy-Ops building.
176
The engine was idling and the heater was blowing hot stale air
that smelled of diesel.
‘Totally,’ I said. ‘As soon as she didn’t look at the briefcase.
She’d have gotten very flustered if she’d ever seen it before.
And I certainly believed her about the motel. It would cost you a
suite at the Ritz to get in her pants.’
‘So what did we learn?’
‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘Nothing at all.’
‘No, we learned that Bird is a very attractive place, apparently.
Vassell and Coomer keep coming all the way down here, for
no very obvious reason.’
‘Tell me about it,’ I said.
‘And that Norton thinks we’re a family.’
‘Officers,’ I said. ‘What do you expect?’
‘You’re an officer. I’m an officer.’
I nodded.
‘I was at West Point for four years,’ I said. ‘I should know
better. I should have changed my name and come back in as a
private. Three promotions, I’d be an E-4 specialist by now.
Maybe even an E-5 sergeant. I wish I was.’
‘What now?’
I checked my watch. It was close to ten o’clock.
‘Sleep,’ I said. ‘First light, we go out looking for a yogurt
container.’
177
THIRTEEN
l
HAD NEVER EATEN YOGURT MYSELF BUT I HAD SEEN SOME AND MY impression was that individual portions came in small pots