Because of the CIA’s worldwide and detailed use of Yuri’s material it was to be several months before a full assessment was finally compiled upon the success of the propaganda coup. But from the first day it was being likened to the brilliant use of Krushchev’s secret denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Party Congress in February 1956, which by coincidence was the comparison in that later, complete assessment.
As with the Krushchev speech, the Agency broke the story in the New York Times – which Yuri considered ironic, after the arrangement he’d made with Caroline – which ensured its global syndication as well as publication throughout America. NBC rushed out a television documentary which was again shown in every European and English-speaking country, and an author was commissioned through one of the Agency’s front publishing companies to write an instant non-fiction book which on publication week entered the bestseller lists of the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times on the strength of advanced publicity. The book got on to the bestseller lists in ten other countries but achieved its record in the New York Times which had made the initial disclosure, remaining in its charts for a total of fifty-six weeks. An independent company made a film from the book, which Warner Brothers distributed, guaranteeing constant embarrassment to the Soviet Union for almost two years.
The KGB’s internal investigation in Moscow was conducted in absolute secrecy – as was the actual trial of Panchenko and Kazin – and precise details never leaked out, although the GRU were successful with some planted stories, the majority of which were concocted but all of which were published, keeping the presses and the cameras turning. It was never discovered, for instance, that Kazin’s protests of innocence were destroyed by Panchenko’s production of the protective tapes he’d made. Or how Panchenko’s murder of Agayans was proved by ballistic tests upon the security chief’s pistol, which he was carrying at the moment of his arrest.
The executions were carried out on the same day as the verdicts were returned, in Lefortovo prison. Panchenko walked unaided to the post and refused to be hooded, standing upright and gazing defiantly at the firing squad. By then Kazin’s mind had gone completely; he had to be carried to the stand but just before the command was given he started to laugh hysterically.
The Crisis Committee were involved from the moment of the arrival at Langley of the translated dossiers, long before their publication in the New York Times. That first day Harry Myers rightly judged their propaganda worth: it was he who used the word dynamite in the promotion cable to Drew.
‘Who’s got whom by the balls now!’ demanded Norris when the success became more fully evident.
‘And Kapalet’s right there, in the centre of things,’ said Crookshank. ‘If this is his first shot what the hell is there to come in the future?’
‘You know what this means!’ demanded Myers, sniggering in his excitement. ‘OK, I know we’ve got a long way to go and the worm’s still in the apple here some place, but with this material we’ve drawn even.’
‘Better than even,’ disputed Norris. ‘John Willick’s story was a five-minute wonder, forgotten already. And only we know we’ve got an ongoing problem. We can keep this running for months; for years.’
‘Kapalet isn’t our only bonus,’ reminded the converted Crookshank. ‘Yevgennie Levin is our ace in the hole.’
‘And he’s already settling in,’ reported Myers, whose job had been saved by supposed reversal. ‘We’re going good: real good.’
The New York Times exposure was the first indication Yuri had that he might be safe and within twenty-four hours there was a personal message from Vladislav Belov, informing him of the arrest of Kazin and Panchenko. It said, further, that the recall order had been cancelled. With it came the assurance, following Yuri’s full report of his encounter with Petr Levin, that Natalia was soon to get her exit visa.
Yuri was determined to celebrate but could not give Caroline any explanation for it, so he said it was because he’d got a salary increase, which she seemed to accept. They went across into Brooklyn to the River Cafe where she had taken him that first night and then, the nostalgia established, to the same Mexican cafe. He was conscious of the mood, even before they left the restaurant, and when he made the approach in bed she held him off and said: ‘I want to talk, instead.’
‘What about?’
‘Us,’ she said. ‘I told you a long time ago that I loved you. Don’t you think I’ve been very patient?’
‘Yes,’ he agreed.
‘So?’
‘I think I love you too.’
‘What are we going to do about it?’
Did she love him enough to be told the truth? Absurd thought, more absurd than considering defection before he’d known what had happened to Kazin. He said: ‘What do you want to do about it?’
‘Just because one marriage didn’t work doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it another try.’
What sort of conversation was this! He said: ‘There are problems.’
‘Like the marriage you said didn’t exist? These absences are pretty damned odd, you know.’
‘I didn’t lie: I’m not married.’
‘What’s the problem, then?’
Could there be a way fully of adopting the William Bell identity? He said: ‘Let me try to work something out.’
‘How long?’
‘Soon,’ he promised. ‘I’ll try to make something work soon.’ What? he demanded of himself. What the hell could he do? Did he love Caroline as much as his forgiving father had loved his unfaithful mother? A pointless question, leading nowhere. The letters were still unread, in the safe-deposit box, he remembered suddenly.