“I’m so sorry,” Mary said again. Hopeless, inadequate words.
“Thank you. There is a cliche that time heals everything. I no longer believe it.” His voice was bitter.
Mary thought about Edward and how much she still missed him. But this man had lived with his pain longer.
He looked at her and said, “If you will excuse me, Madam Ambassador…” He turned and walked over to greet a group of arriving guests.
He reminds me a little of you, Edward. You’d like him. He’s a very brave man. He’s in a lot of pain, and I think that’s what draws me to him. I’m in pain too, darling. Will I ever get over missing you? It’s so lonely here. There’s no one I can talk to. I desperately want to succeed. Mike Slade is trying to get me to go home. I’m not going. But oh, how I need you. Good night, my darling.
The following morning, Mary telephoned Stanton Rogers. It was wonderful to hear his voice. It’s like a lifeline to home, she thought.
“I’m getting some excellent reports on you,” Stanton Rogers said. “The Hannah Murphy story made headlines here. You did an excellent job.”
“Thank you, Stan.”
“Mary, tell me about the attempted kidnapping.”
“I’ve talked to the prime minister and the head of Securitate, and they have no clues at all.”
“Didn’t Mike Slade warn you not to go out alone?”
Mike Slade. “Yes, he warned me, Stan.” Shall I tell him that Mike Slade told me to go home? No, she decided. I’ll handle Mr. Slade in my own way.
“Remember—I’m always here for you. Anytime.”
“I know,” Mary said gratefully. “I can’t tell you what it means to me.”
The telephone call made her feel much better.
“We have a problem. There’s a leak somewhere in our embassy.”
Mary and Mike Slade were having a cup of coffee before the daily staff meeting.
“How serious is it?”
“Very. Our commerce consular, David Victor, held some meetings with the Romanian minister of commerce.”
“I know. We discussed it last week.”
“Right,” Mike said. “And when David went back for a second meeting, they were ahead of us on every counterproposal we made. They knew exactly how far we were prepared to go.”
“Isn’t it possible that they just figured it out?”
“It’s possible, yes. Except that we discussed some new proposals, and they were ahead of us again.”
Mary was thoughtful for a moment. “You think it’s someone on the staff?”
“Not just someone. The last executive conference was held in the Bubble Room. Our electronics experts have traced the leak to there.”
Mary looked at him in surprise. There were only eight people allowed at the conferences in the Bubble Room, each an executive member of the embassy.
“Whoever it is is carrying electronic equipment, probably a tape recorder. I suggest you call a conference meeting this morning in the Bubble Room and have the same group in. Our instruments will be able to pinpoint the guilty person.”
There were eight persons seated around the table in the Bubble Room. Eddie Maltz, the political consular and CIA agent; Patricia Hatfield, the economic consular; Jerry Davis, public affairs; David Victor, commerce consular; Lucas Janklow, administrative consular; and Colonel William McKinney. Mary was at one end of the table, Mike Slade at the other.
Mary turned to David Victor. “How are your meetings going with the Romanian minister of commerce?”
The commerce consular shook his head. “Frankly, not as well as I had hoped. They seem to know everything I have to say before I say it. I come in with new proposals, and they’ve already prepared their arguments against them. It’s as though they’re reading my mind.”
“Maybe they are,” Mike Slade said.
“What do you mean?”
“They’re reading somebody’s mind in this room.” He picked up a red telephone on the table. “Send him in.”
A moment later, the huge door was pushed open and a man dressed in civilian clothes entered, carrying a black box with a dial on it.
Eddie Maltz said, “Wait a minute. No one is allowed in—”
“It’s all right,” Mary said. “We have a problem and this man is going to solve it.” She looked up at the newcomer. “Please go ahead.”