no quarrel. You have an assignment. What can I do for you? I understand
it’s very little.’
‘Very little indeed, sir. Just have me- listed on the embassy index; any
kind of office space will do as long as it has a door and a telephone. And
I’d like to meet your cryp. I’ll have codes to send.’
‘My word, that sounds ominous,’ said Granville, smiling without humor.
‘Routine, sir. Washington relay; simple Yes and Nos.’
‘Very well. Our head cryptographer, is named Ballard. Nice fellow; speaks
seven or eight languages and is an absolute whiz at parlor games. You’ll
meet him directly. What else?’
‘I’d like an apartment 9
‘Yes, we know,’ interrupted Granville gently, snatching a brief look at the
wall clock. ‘Mrs. Cameron has scouted one she thinks you’ll approve … ~.
Of course, Washington gave us no indication of your length of stay. So Mrs.
Cameron took it for three months.’
‘That’s far too long. 1911 straighten it out…. I think that’s almost all,
Mr. Ambassador. I know you’re in a hurry.’
‘I’m afraid I am.’
David got out of his chair, as did Granville. ‘Oh, one thing, sir. Would
this Ballard have an embassy index? I’d like to learn the names here.’
‘There aren’t that many,’ said Granville, leveling his gaze at David, a
subtle note of disapproval in his voice. ‘Eight or ten would be those you’d
normally come in contact with. And I can assure you we have our own
security measures.’
David accepted the rebuke. ‘That wasn’t my point, sir. I really do like to
familiarize myself with the narnes.’
‘Yes, of course! Granville came around the desk and walked Spaulding to the
door. ‘Chat with my secretary for a few minutes.
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I’ll get hold of Ballard; he’ll show you around!
‘Thank you, sir.’ Spaulding extended his hand to Granville, and as he did
so he realized for the first time how tall the man was.
‘You know,’ said the ambassador, releasing David’s hand, ‘there was a
question I wanted to ask you, but the answer will have to wait for another
time. I’m late already.’
‘What was that?’
‘I’ve been wondering why the boys on Wall Street and the Strand sent you.
I can’t imagine there being a dearth of experienced bankers in New York or
London, can you?’
. ‘There probably isn’t. But then I’m only a liaison carrying messages;
information best kept private, I gather. I have had experience in those
areas … in a neutral country.’
Granville smile d once more and once more there was no humor conveyed.
‘Yes, of course. I was sure there was a reason.’
t
219
23
Ballard shared two traits common to most cryptographers, thought David. He
was a casual cynic and a fount of information. Qualities, Spaulding
believed, developed over years of deciphering other men’s secrets only to
find the great majority unimportant. He was also cursed with the first name
of Robert, by itself acceptable but when followed by Ballard, invariably
reduced to Bobby. Bobby Ballard. It had the ring of a 1920s socialite or the
name in a cereal box cartoon.
He was neither. He was a linguist with a mathematical mind and a shock of
red hair on top of a medium-sized, muscular body; a pleasant man.
‘That’s our home,’ Ballard was saying. ‘You’ve seen the working sections;
big, rambling, baroque and goddamned hot this time of year. I hope you’re
smart and have your own apartment.’
‘Don’t you? Do you live hereT
‘It’s easier. My dials are very inconsiderate, they hum at all hours.
Better than scrambling down from Chacarita or Telmo. And it’s not bad; we
stay out of each other’s way pretty much.’
‘Oh? A lot of you hereT
‘No. They alternate. Six, usually. In the two wings, east and south.
Granville has the north apartments. Besides him, Jean Cameron and I are the
only permanents. You’ll meet Jean tomorrow, unless we run into her on the
way out with the old
220
man. She generally goes with him to the diplobores.’
‘The whatT
‘Diplo-bores. The old man’s word … contraction. I’m surprised he didn’t
use it with you. He’s proud of it. Diplobore is an embassy duty bash.’ They
were in a large empty reception room; Ballard was opening a pair of French
doors leading out onto a short balcony. In the distance could be seen the
Nxaters of the Rio de la Plata and the estuary basin of the Puerto Nuevo,
Buenos Aires’ main port. ‘Nice view, isn’t it?’
‘Certainly is.’ David joined the cryptographer on the balcony. ‘Does this
Jean Cameron and the ambassador … I mean, are they … ?’
‘Jean and the old manT Ballard laughed loud and goodnaturedly. ‘Christ, no!
… Come to think of it, I don’t know why it strikes me so funny. I suppose
there’re a lot of people who think that. And that’s funny.’
GWhy?t
‘Sad-funny, I guess I should say,’ continued Ballard without interruption.
‘The old man and the Cameron family go back to the original Maryland money.
Eastern Shore yacht clubs, blazer jackets, tennis in the morning – you
know: diplomat territory. Jean’s family was part of it, too. She married
this Cameron; knew him since they could play doctor together in their
Abercrombie pup tents. A rich-people romance, childhood sweethearts. They
got married; the war came; he chucked his law books for a TBF – aircraft
carrier pilot. He was killed in the Leyte Gulf. That was last year. She
went a little crazy; maybe more than a little.’
‘So the … Granville brought her down here?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Nice therapy, if you can afford it.’
‘She’d probably agree with that.’ Ballard walked back into the reception
room; Spaulding followed. ‘But most people will tell you she pays her dues
for the treatment. She works damned hard and knows what she’s doing. Has
rotten hours, too; what with the diplobores.’
‘Where’s Mrs. GranvilleT
‘No idea. She divorced the old man ten, fifteen years ago.’
‘I still say it’s nice work if you can get it.’ David was thinking, in an
offhand way, of several hundred thousand other women whose husbands had
been killed, living with reminders every day. He dismissed his thoughts;
they weren’t his concerns.
221
‘Well, she’s qualified.’
‘WhatT David was looking at a rococo-styled comer pillar in the wall, not
really listening.
‘Jean spent four years – off and on – down here as a kid. Her father was in
Foreign Service; probably would have been an ambassador by now if held
stuck with it…. Come on, I’ll show you the office Granville assigned you.
Maintenance should have it tidied up by now,’ Ballard smiled.
‘You’ve been employing a diversion,’laughed David, following the cryp out
the door into another hallway.
‘I had to. You’ve got a room in the back. So far back it’s been used for
storage, I think.’
‘Obviously I made points with Granville.’
‘You sure did. He can’t figure you out…. Me? I don’t try.’ Ballard turned
left into still another intersecting hallway. ‘This is the south wing.
Offices on the first and second floors; not many, three on each. Apartments
on the third and fourth. The roof is great for sunbathing, if you like that
sort of thing.’
‘Depends on the company, I suppose.’
The two men approached a wide staircase, preparing to veer to the left
beyond it, when a feminine voice called down from the second landing.
‘Bobby, is that youT
.It’s Jean,’ said Ballard. ‘Yes,’ he called out. ‘I’m with Spaulding. Come
on down and meet the new recruit with enough influence to get his own
apartment right off.’
‘Wait’ll he sees the apartmentV
Jean Cameron’came into sight from around the comer landing. She was a
moderately tall woman, slender and dressed in a floorlength cocktail gown
at once vivid with color yet simple in design. Her light brown hair was
shoulder length, full and casual. Her face was a combination of striking
features blended into a soft whole; wide, alive blue eyes; a thin, sharply
etched nose; lips medium full and set as if in a half-smile. Her very clear
skin was bronzed by the Argentine sun.
David saw that Ballard was watching him, anticipating his reaction to the
girl’s loveliness. Ballard’s expression was humorously sardonic, and
Spaulding read the message: Ballard had been to the font and found it empty
-for those seeking other than a few drops of cool water. Ballard was now a
friend to the lady; he knew better than to try being anything else.
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Jean Cameron seemed embarrassed by her introduction on the staircase. She
descended rapidly, her lips parted into one of the most genuine smiles
David had seen in years. Genuine and totally devoid of innuendo.
‘Welcome,’ she said, extending her hand. ‘Thank heavens I have a chance to
apologize,before you walk into that place. You may change your mind and
move right back here.’
‘It’s that bad?’ David saw that Jean wasn’t quite as young at close range