“Have you thought of getting married again?” She could not believe she had asked him that.
He shook his head. “No. If you had known my wife, you would understand. She was a remarkable woman. No one could ever replace her.”
That’s how I feel about Edward, Mary thought. No one can ever replace him. He was so special. And yet everyone needed companionship. It was not really a question of replacing a beloved one. It was finding someone new to share things with.
Louis was saying, “…so when I was offered the opportunity, I thought it would be interesting to visit Romania.” He lowered his voice. “I confess I feel an evilness about this country.”
“Really?”
“Not the people. They are lovely. The government is everything I despise. There is no freedom here for anyone. The Romanians are virtual slaves. If they want to have decent food and a few luxuries, they are forced to work for the Securitate. Foreigners are constantly spied upon.” He glanced around to make sure no one could overhear. “I shall be glad when my tour of duty is over and I can return to France.”
Without thinking, Mary heard herself saying, “There are some people who think / should go home.”
“I beg your pardon?”
And suddenly Mary found herself pouring out the story of what had happened in her office. She told him about the paint scrawl on her office wall.
“But that is horrible!” Louis exclaimed. “You have no idea who did this?”
“No.”
Louis said, “May I make an impertinent confession? Since I found out who you were, I have been asking questions. Everyone who knows you is very impressed with you.”
She was listening to him with intense interest.
“It seems that you have brought here an image of America that is beautiful and intelligent and warm. If you believe in what you are doing, then you must fight for it. You must stay. Do not let anyone frighten you away.”
It was exactly what Edward would have said.
Mary lay in bed, unable to sleep, thinking about what Louis had told her. He was willing to die for what he believed in. Am I? I don’t want to die, Mary thought. But no one is going to kill me. And no one is going to scare me.
She lay awake in the dark. Scared.
The following morning, Mike Slade brought in two cups of coffee. He nodded at the wall where it had been cleaned.
“I hear someone has been spraying graffiti on your walls.”
“Have they found out who did it?”
Mike took a sip of coffee. “No. I went through the visitors’ list myself. Everyone is accounted for.”
“That means it must have been someone here in the embassy.”
“Either that, or someone managed to sneak in past the guards.”
“Do you believe that?”
Mike put down his coffee cup. “Nope.”
“Neither do I.”
“What exactly did it say?”
“ ‘Go home before you die.’ ”
He made no comment.
“Who would want to kill me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mr. Slade, I would appreciate a straight answer. Do you think I’m in any real danger?”
He studied her thoughtfully. “Madam Ambassador, they assassinated Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Marin Groza. We’re all vulnerable. The answer to your question is yes.”
If you believe in what you’re doing, then you must fight for it. You must stay. Do not let anyone frighten you away.
24
At eight forty-five the following morning, as Mary was in the middle of a conference, Dorothy Stone came rushing into the office and said, “The children have been kidnapped!”
Mary jumped to her feet. “Oh, my God!”
“The limousine alarm just went off. They’re tracking the car now. They won’t get away.”
Mary raced down the corridor to the communications room. There were half a dozen men standing around a switchboard. Colonel McKinney was talking into a microphone.
“Roger,” he said. “I have that. I’ll inform the ambassador.”
“What’s happening?” Mary croaked. She could barely get the words out. “Where are my children?”
The colonel said, reassuringly, “They’re fine, ma’am. One of them touched the emergency switch in the limousine by accident. The emergency light on top of the limousine flashed on, along with an SOS shortwave signal, and before the driver had gone two blocks, four police cars closed in on them with sirens screaming.”