For the hundredth time in the last hour, Scot glanced warily around the room to make sure they were not being overheard. André Martin’s story was absolutely incredible. Harvath now understood why Nat had brought André to him. Where else could the poor guy go? If what he was saying was true, no one would have believed him, and if Snyder wasn’t out looking for him already, he was going to be very soon.
The implications of what André was saying were staggering. Harvath probed for more details, needing to paint the most accurate picture possible.
“So based on all of this, you think the senator was somehow involved in the president’s kidnapping?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t know, André. There’s no question after what he did to you that the guy is one sick puppy, but do you really think he was going to kill you for what you overheard? I mean, from what you tell me, you don’t exactly have a smoking gun,” said Harvath.
“Exactly again. I didn’t see or hear anything that would ever stand up in court, but he still wanted me dead.”
“Are you positive he wanted to kill you and not just scare you?”
“Scot,” said André, having dropped the formality of calling him Agent Harvath over half an hour ago, “I’m a lawyer, and lawyers believe that what is not said is just as important as what is. Snyder had no idea what I heard or didn’t hear. All he knew was what I was saying or not saying.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“You were right, in part, that he was trying to scare me. He scared the shit out of me and he left me in that basement to do some very hard thinking. He planned to come back and when he did, he would want answers. He would want to hear what I hadn’t been saying. You follow me now?”
“Yeah, I do, but this is the part of your story that scares me the most,” said Scot. “What you are alleging is pretty serious, and from the look and the sound of it, you can back it up. If nothing else, it would be extremely embarrassing for the senator. You’re right, I don’t think you were ever meant to walk out of that house alive again.”
“So, you’re convinced?”
“Enough to know that Natalie did the right thing in calling me.”
“I knew you would help us,” said Natalie.
“Us? As in both of you? No way, Nat. You need to let me help André alone while you stay as far away as possible. This could be extremely dangerous.”
“Listen, Scot, I didn’t call you up so you could sweep in here and start giving orders. André called me because he didn’t know who else to turn to. Now that you’ve heard his story, you see why he couldn’t go to the police.”
“Yeah, but I’m here now, and we can help him, protect him.”
“Who’s ‘we’? The Secret Service? From what I hear around the White House, you guys have so many leaks Vice President Marshfield is even talking about suspending Secret Service protection and using FBI bodyguards.”
Scot’s blood pressure began to rise. “First of all, Vice President Marshfield doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. The Secret Service is charged with his protection as well as the safety and security of the White House and all those within it. We’re there to stay. You won’t be seeing any FBI protective details; that I can assure you. As far as any leaks are concerned, we’ve yet to nail that down, but there isn’t any reason the Service can’t put André into protective custody until we get to the bottom of this. It’s just going to take a little time.”
“Time? But I thought you said I was in danger?” said André.
“I believe you are, but it’s going to take me a couple of hours to set everything up and bring you in. While I do that, we need to get you someplace safe.”
“He can come back to my apartment,” said Natalie.
“Nat, I told you this could be dangerous, and I don’t want you involved. You did the right thing, and now I want you to walk away.”
“And I told you, Scot, that I am staying right here with André. He’s been extremely kind to my brother over the years, and I’m not going to repay that kindness by ditching him in his hour of need.”
Scot knew when he was licked. “Okay, have it your way, but I don’t want you going home.”
“Why not?”
“Because if Snyder’s out looking for André and he knows the connection between you two, he might go to your apartment. How much cash do you have?”
“About a hundred bucks, I think. I hit the cash machine after work.”
Harvath reached into his pocket and peeled off two hundred-dollar bills, “Now you’ve got three hundred dollars. I want you to get in a cab and head for Alexandria. Go to the Radisson Old Town on Fairfax and pay cash for a room for one night. Tell them you’re Triple A members, but your purse and wallet were stolen and you have no ID on you, that should knock the rate in half and stop them from asking any questions. Register under the name Cashman. Once you get inside, don’t call anyone. I’ll call you. You got it?”
“I still think going to my place is okay.”
“Nat, you asked me for a favor, and now I’m asking you for one. Go there and stay put.”
“Okay, we’ll do it, but make sure you hurry up.”
“I’ll get to you as soon as I can. Again, I don’t think you are in any immediate danger; we just need to be sure.”
Harvath extended his hand toward André. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, don’t worry.”
“I hope so,” said André, who stood and shook his hand. Natalie was putting on her coat. “You know, Scot, you asked me if there was anything else that seemed odd about the senator’s behavior recently.”
“Yes?”
“There was one other thing I forgot to mention, but it might not mean anything.”
“What is it?”
“Well, it was just another inconsistency in one of Snyder’s stories, but a pretty major one, I thought.”
Scot raised his eyebrows as if to say, Keep going.
“About a month ago the senator took off on an unplanned trip. We had plans and he canceled on me. He brought me back a bottle of dessert wine. He said it was a favorite of Napoleon or Josephine or something, but it didn’t make sense. The whole thing bothered me for a couple of reasons.”
“Why?”
“Well, he said he was called away on a World Bank economic development conference.”
“So?”
“Well, I specialize in international finance, and it wasn’t difficult to find out that there were no World Bank functions at that time.”
“Maybe he told you the wrong thing or you misunderstood.”
“I don’t misunderstand things that easily.”
“You said it bothered you for a couple of reasons; what’s the other?”
“He told me he had been in France for the conference, but there was a half-stripped Swiss Railways checked-luggage sticker on his suitcase.”
“That could have been from a previous trip.”
“I thought so too until I showed the bottle of wine to a friend of mine. He’s kind of a wine snob, and I wanted to impress him. I’d never had a dessert wine from South Africa before.”
“André, listen, you both need to get going.”
“Just let me finish. This friend of mine had heard of the wine. It has a very high sugar content, and its import is banned in the EU.”
“So?”
“So, France is part of the European Union. The senator couldn’t have possibly found this in some little French wine shop like he said.”
“I’m sorry, André, I still don’t get it.”
“Switzerland is not part of the EU, and they do allow this particular wine to be imported regardless of its sugar and alcohol levels. So, what was he doing in Switzerland that was such a big secret?”
“André, it might be something and it might not. I’ll look into it. Now, both of you get going.”
“What about Star Gazer?” prompted Natalie. “You said the whole thing wouldn’t work without Star Gazer.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot that one.”
“Who is Star Gazer?” asked Scot.
“I’ve got no idea. I overheard the senator mention that whatever he was doing wouldn’t work without Star Gazer. Does that make any sense to you?”
“Not much of any of this makes sense. Now, seriously, you have to get going.”
Harvath pushed the two toward the door and waited five minutes. He left two twenties on the table and exited J.R.’s through the back. A strange, yet all-too-familiar feeling began to creep over him in the murky D.C. night. As he turned up the collar on his trench coat once again, he wished he’d brought his pistol.