Colfax reached for the horseradish and spread it lightly over the beef. It was with the second bite that Colfax knew something was terribly wrong. There was a sudden burning sensation in his mouth that seemed to shoot through his whole body. He felt as though he were on fire. His throat was closing, paralyzed, and he began gasping for air. The marine sergeant sitting across from him was staring at him. Thomas Colfax clutched his throat and tried to tell the sergeant what was happening, but no words would come out. The fire in him was spreading more swiftly now, filling him with an unbearable agony. His body stiffened in a terrible spasm and he toppled over backwards to the floor.
The sergeant watched him for a moment, then bent over the body and lifted Thomas Colfax’s eyelid to make sure he was dead.
Then he called for help.
60
Singapore Airlines Flight 246 landed at Heathrow Airport in London at seven-thirty A.M. The other passengers were detained in their seats until Jennifer and the two FBI agents were out of the plane and in the airport’s security office.
Jennifer was desperately anxious to see a newspaper to find out what was happening at home, but her two silent escorts denied her request and refused to be drawn into conversation.
Two hours later, the three of them boarded a TWA plane bound for New York.
In the United States Court House at Foley Square an emergency meeting was taking place. Present were Adam Warner, Robert Di Silva, Major General Roy Wallace, and half a dozen representatives from the FBI, the Justice Department and the Treasury Department.
“How the hell could this have happened?” Robert Di Silva’s voice was trembling with rage. He turned to the general. “You were told how important Thomas Colfax was to us.”
The general spread his hands helplessly. “We took every precaution we could, sir. We’re checking now to see how they could have smuggled prussic acid into—”
“I don’t give a shit how they did it! Colfax is dead!”
The man from the Treasury Department spoke up. “How much does Colfax’s death hurt us?”
“A hell of a lot,” Di Silva replied. “Putting a man on a witness stand is one thing. Showing a lot of ledgers and accounts is something else. You can bet your ass that some smart attorney’s going to start talking about how those books could have been faked.”
“Where do we go from here?” a man from the Treasury Department asked.
The District Attorney replied, “We keep doing what we’re doing. Jennifer Parker’s on her way back from Singapore. We have enough to put her away forever. While she’s going down, we’re going to get her to pull Michael Moretti down with her.” He turned to Adam. “Don’t you agree, Senator?”
Adam felt ill. “Excuse me.”
He quickly left the room.
61
The signalman on the ground, wearing oversized earmuffs, waved his two semaphores, guiding the jumbo 747 toward the waiting ramp. The plane pulled up to a fixed circle and, at a signal, the pilot cut the four Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines.
Inside the giant plane a steward’s voice came over the loudspeaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at New York’s Kennedy Airport. We thank you for flying TWA. Will all passengers please remain in their seats until a further announcement. Thank you.”
There were general murmurs of protest. A moment later the doors were opened by the ramp crew. The two FBI agents seated with Jennifer in the front of the plane rose to their feet.
One of them turned to Jennifer and said, “Let’s go.”
The passengers watched with curiosity as the three people left the plane. A few minutes later the steward’s voice came over the loudspeaker again. “Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disembark.”
A government limousine was waiting at a side entrance to the airport. The first stop was the Metropolitan Correctional Center at 150 Park Row, that connected into the United States Court House at Foley Square.
After Jennifer had been booked, one of the FBI men said, “Sorry, we can’t keep you here. We have orders to take you out to Riker’s Island.”
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