“If it gets out, it will,” Donovan said. “Then, and for the first time, I am truly sorry,” Canidy said. “Shit! Why didn’t somebody tell me this?”
“You weren’t sorry before?”
“You want a straight answer to that?” Canidy asked. “Please,” C.
Holds worth Martin, Jr.” said. “It struck me as much ado about nothing,” Canidy said. Donovan coughed, as if he were trying in vain to dislodge something in his throat. Canidy waited for him to stop and then went on.
“All you have to do is tell Bitter and Doug lass to keep their mouths shut. To consider them security risks is patently absurd. So far as Whittaker and Martin are concerned, they don’t know anything, except who’s here in Deal. They also can be told to keep their mouths shut.
There is a problem with one of the women, Ann Chambers. She may look like she’s nineteen years old, but she’s a lot smarter than you’d think just to look at her. Last night she was pumping everybody.”
“You think she learned anything?”
“No,” Canidy said matter-of-factly.
“I’m sure she didn’t. But she’s smart, and we can’t afford to have her speculating in the newspapers.”
“Are you telling me that, with her exception, you don’t see any security problem?”
“I don’t suppose my opinion is worth much,” Canidy said, “but if you figure some way to shut her up, I don’t see a security problem, period.
I never did.”
“That’s very interesting, Canidy,” Donovan said.
“It is almost exactly the opposite of the opinion Baker holds. And he’s a professional.”
“I’m not exactly an amateur myself anymore, Colonel. I stopped being an amateur when the sub went off without me.”
“Not exactly an amateur, but not a professional either,” Donovan said.
“Okay, Canidy, that’ll be it. Thank you.”
“What’s my status, may I ask?”
“Mr. Martin and I are going to discuss that now. Until a decision has been reached, I think it would be best if you waited in your room.”
“Yes, Sir,” Canidy said. When he had gone, Martin said, “You’re not going to like this, Bin, but my vote goes to Canidy.”
“Oh, mine, too,” Donovan said.
“What you and I are going to have to do is come up with some way to stroke Baker’s ruffled feathers. He’s good, and we can’t afford to have him feeling that we’re pissing on him.”
“Piss on him a little, Bill,” Martin said.
“It’ll be good for him. He seems to think that he’s the spy master, and that’s your role.” Donovan thought that over a moment. “I’ll tell you what,” he said.
“I’ll send him in and you piss on him. Tell him you question his judgment about yelling “Fire!” so loudly.”
“Why me?”
“It was your idea, Holds worth,” Donovan said reasonably, and stood up.
“I’m going to go see Canidy and read the riot act again, and then I’m going to find out if he really has laid on a clambake. I haven’t been to one in years.”
TWENTY-ONE Summer Place Deal, New Jersey July 4, 1942
Colonel William J. Donovan was not surprised at Dick Canidy’s reaction when he went to Canidy’s room-actually a small apartment over the boathouse-and told him that he had decided it would be a mistake to put everybody on ice. From the tone of Canidy’s “Yes, Sir,” Donovan understood that Canidy had already put himself in Donovan’s shoes, considered the possible options, and reached the decision that Donovan would most likely come to. “That’s all you’ve got to say? No questions?”
“All sorts of questions,” Canidy said.
“How are you going to handle Baker? How are you going to handle the Chambers girl? And that bird brained friend of hers, Charity Hoc he?
Canidy is either more artfully deceitful than I believe or he really has no idea how Ann Chambers feels about him “I’ve spoken to the Chambers girl,” Donovan said.
“She’s very much like her father. Once she understands how important it is to protect the secrecy of what we’re doing, it wouldn’t enter her mind to endanger that by writing about it.”
“The Chambers newspapers ran Drew Pearson’s “Donovan’s Dilettantes’ column,” Canidy said.
“Brandon Chambers reserves the right to read Pearson’s columns before they run in his newspapers. He has killed dozens of them that I know about. I can only assume that Chambers decided that whatever I’m doing, I’m not providing a haven for well-bred draft dodgers, and thus there was no question of national security involved.”