ceeding that of any other section of the country. It!s a startling pattern.
Since 1968, there’s been a systematic erosion of enforcement procedures….
Let me put it into perspective, geographically. In California, Ilhnois,
Louisiana, narcotics controls have improved to the point of at least
curtailing the growth curves. It!s really the best we can hope for until the
international agreements have teeth. But not in the New England area.
Throughout this section, the expansion has gone wild. Ies hit the colleges
hard.”
“How do you know that?’ asked Matlock.
“Dozens of ways and always too late to prevent distribution. Informers,
marked inventories from Mediterranean, Asian, and Latin American sources,
traceable Swiss deposits; that is restricted data.” Loring looked at
Kressel and smiled.
“Now I know you people are crazy.” Kxessel spoke disagreeably. “It seems to
me that if you can substantiate those charges, you should do so publicly.
And loud.”
‘We have our reasons.”
“Also restricted, I assume,” said Kressel with faint disgust.
“There’s a side issue,” continued the goverm-nent man, disregarding him.
“The eastern prestige earnpuses-large and small, Princeton, Amherst,
Harvard, Vassar, Williams, Carlyle-a good percentage of their enrollments
include VIP kids. Sons and daughters of very important people, especially
in government and industry. There’s a blackmail potential, and we think
it’s been used. Such people are painfully sensitive to drug scandals.”
Kressel interrupted. “Granting what you say is true, and I don1, we’ve had
less trouble here than most other colleges in the northeast area.”
3o Robert Ludlum
“We’re aware of that. We even think we know why.’
‘That’s esoteric, Mr. Loring. Say what you want to say.” Matlock didn’t
like the games some people played-
‘Any distribution network which is capable of systernatically servicing,
expanding, and controlling an entire section of the country has got to have
a base of operations. A clearing house-you might say, a command post.
Believe me when I tell you that this base of operations, the command post
for the narcotics traffie throughout the New England states, is Carlyle
University.”
Samuel Kressel, dean of the colleges, dropped his glass on Adrian Sealfones
parquet floor.
Ralph Loring continued his incredible story. Matlock and Kressel remained
in their cbairs. Several times during his calm, methodical explanation,
KXessel began to interrupt, to object, but Loring’s persuasive narrative
out him short. There was nothing to argue.
The investigation of Carlyle University had begun eighteen months ago. It
had been triggered by an accounts ledger uncovered by the French Suret6
during one of its frequent narcotics investigations in the port of
Marseilles. Once the ledgees American origins were established, it was sent
to Washington under Interpol agreement Throughout the ledger*s entries were
references to “C-22*-591” consistently followed by the name Nftnrod. The
numbered degree marks were found to be map coordinates of northern
Connecticut, but not decimally definitive. After tracing hundreds of
possible trucking routes from Atlantic seaboard piers and airports relative
to the Marseilles operation, the vicinity of Carlyle was placed under
maximum surveillance.
THE MAnOX PAPER 31
As part of the surveillance, telephone taps were ordered on persons known
to be involved with narcotics distribution from such points as New York,
Hartford, Boston, and New Haven. Tapes were made of conversations of
underworld figures. All calls regarding narcotics to and from the Carlyle
area were placed to and from public telephone booths. It made the inter-
cepts difficult, but not impossible. Again, restricted methods.
As the information files grew, a startling fact became apparent. The
Carlyle group was independent It had no formal ties with structured
organized crime; it was beholden to no one. It used known crin-Anal
elements, was not used by them. It was a tightly knit unit, reaching into
the majority of New England universities. And it did not-apparently-stop at
drugs.
There was evidence of the Carlyle unies infiltration into gambling,
prostitution, even postgraduate employment placement. Too, there seemed to
be a purpose, an objective beyond the inherent profits of the illegal
activities. The Carlyle unit could have made far greater profit with less
complications by dealing outright with known criminals, acknowledged sup-
pliers in all areas. Instead, it spent its own money to set up its
organization. It was its own master, controlling its own sources, its own
distribution. But what its ultimate objectives were was unclear.
It had become so powerful that it threatened the leadership of organized
crime in the Northeast. For this reason, leading figures of the underworld
had demanded a conference with those in charge of the Carlyle operation.
The key here was a group, or an individual, referred to as Nimrod.
The purpose of the conference, as far as could be determined, was for an
accommodation to be reached
32 Robert Ludlum
between Nimrod and the overlords of crime who felt threatened by Nimrod’s
extraordinary growth. The conference would be attended by dozens of known
and unknown criminals throughout the New England states.
“Mr. Kressel.” Loring turned to CarlyWs dean and seemed to hesitate. “I
suppose you have lisu-students, faculty, staff-people you know or have
reason to suspect are into the drug scene. I caet assume it because I don’t
know, but most colleges do have.”
“I woet answer that question.”
‘Which, of course, gives me my answer,” said Loring quietly, even
sympathetically.
“Not for a minutel You people have a habit of assuming exactly what you
want to assume.”
“All right, I stand rebuked. But even if you’d said yes, it wasn’t my
purpose to ask for them. It was merely by way of telling you that we do
have such a list. I wanted you to know that.”
Sam Kressel realized bed been trapped; Loring’s ingenuousness only annoyed
him further. Tm sure you do.”
“Needless to say, we’d have no objection to giving you a copy.”
“That won7t be necessary.”
“Yoere pretty obstinate, Sam,” said Matlock. “You burying your head?”
Before Kressel could reply, Loring spoke. ‘The dean knows he can change his
mind. And we’ve -agreed, theres no crisis here. You~d be surprised how many
people wait for the roof to cave in before asking for help. Or accepting
it.”
“But there aren’t many surprises in your organization~s proclivity for
turning difficult situations into
THE MATLOCK PAPER 33
disasters, are thereP’ countered Sam Kressel antagonistically.
“Wve made mistakes.”
‘Since you have names,” continued Sam, “why don7t you go after them? Leave
us out of it; do your own dirty work. Make arrests, press charges. Don~t
try to deputize us.”
“We doet want to do that Besides, most of our evidence is inadmissible.”
“Ilat occurred to me,” interjected Kressel.
‘And what do we gain? What do you gain?” Loring leaned forward, returning
Sam’s stare. ‘We pick up a couple of hundred potheads, a few dozen
speedfreaks; users and low-level pushers. Don’t you understand, that
doesn’t solve anything.”
“Mich brings us to what you really want, doesn’t it?’ Matlock sank back
into the chair; he watched the persuasive agent closely.
‘Yes,” answered Loring softly. -We want Nimrod. We want to know the
location of that conference on May 3Lo. It could be anywhere within a
radius of fifty to a hundred miles. We want to be prepared for it. We want
to break the back of the Nimrod operation, for reasons that go way beyond
Carlyle University. As well as narcotics.”
“How?” asked James Matlock.
“Dr. Sealfont said it. Infiltration…. Professor Matlocl; you are whats
known in intelligence circles as a highly mobile person within your
environment. You’re widely accepted by diverse, even conflicting factions
-within both the faculty and the student body. We have the names, you have
the mobility.” Loring reached into his briefcase and withdrew the scissored
page of filthy stationery. “Somewhere out there is the
34 Robert Ludluin
information we need. Somewhere theWs someone who has a paper like this;
someone who knows what we have to know.”
James Barbour Matlock remained motionless in his chair, staring at the
govermnent mwL Neither Loring nor Kressel could be sure what he was
thinking but both had an idea. If thoughts were audible, there would have
been full agreement in that room at that moment James Matlock’s mind had
wandered back three, almost four years ago. He was remembering a
blond-baired boy of nineteen. Immature for his ag% perhaps, but good, kind.
A boy with problems.
They’d found him as they’d found thousands like him in thousands of cities
and towns across the country. Other times, other Nimrods.
James Matlocles brother, David, had inserted a needle in his right arm and
had shot up thirty mg. of white fluid. He had performed the act in a
catboat in the calm waters of a Cape Cod inlet The small sailboat had
drifted into the reeds near shore. When they found it, James Matlock’s
brother was dead.
Matlock made his decision.
“Can you get me the namesr
“I have them with me.”
“Just hold it.” Kressel stood up, and when he spoke, it wasn’t in the tone
of an angry man-it was with fear. “Do you realize what you~re asking him to