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Authors: Tom Grace
Tags: det_espionage
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his lips pursing tightly beneath his mustache. ‘Yeah, I know who he works for. The CIA.’
‘That’s where my concern lies, Mr Gerty. I investigate cases of espionage committed within the United States.’
‘Is Cole spying for someone?’
‘He’s one of several suspects in an ongoing investigation.’
‘Damn, I hate traitors.’ Gerty’s disgust was genuine. ‘I thought they cleaned the last of those rotten bastards out a couple years ago.’
‘Unfortunately, no, which brings us back to my request. I need to know what you know about Michael Cole.’
Gerty considered her request carefully, and Roe could almost hear the debate raging in his head.
‘I am sorry, Agent Ford, but I can’t help you. The court ordered that everything I found out about Cole be turned over to him as part of the settlement.’
‘I appreciate your position, but let me try to explain mine to you.’ Roe took a slow deep breath and steeled herself. ‘I am investigating a matter of national security. You are in possession of information that I believe is vital to that investigation. If you do not provide this information to me, you will be guilty of obstruction of justice. In connection with an espionage investigation, such a charge would require jail time in a federal penitentiary. I will have your cooperation in this matter; it’s your choice whether your cooperation is granted voluntarily or under the threat of legal action. With one phone call, I can have a search warrant delivered here in twenty minutes. So, are you sure that you turned over everything from your investigation?’
Gerty swallowed hard, his poker face cracking. ‘But what if Cole’s not the one you’re after? The things I found out about him weren’t criminal, just something that neither of the Coles wants aired in public.’
‘I assure you that ifMichael Cole is cleared as a suspect, whatever I learn about his private life will never see the light of day.’
‘This goes against what I feel to be right, but I don’t see that I have much choice.’
Gerty unlocked a high five-drawer file cabinet and pulled out a thick file.
‘Mrs Cole’s attorney asked me to stash this away for her, as an insurance policy should her client ever need it.’
Roe opened the file and skimmed over the investigation report. Gerty’s prose was clear, precise, and unemotional; it read almost like a legal document, except for the clinical descriptions of the sexual acts Gerty had witnessed. Cole’s secret finally sank in when she reached the exhibits marked A through H. The photographs depicted Michael Cole engaged in a variety of homosexual acts.
‘So that’s what she had on him,’ she mumbled to herself, ignoring Gerty’s presence.
‘Yes, she nailed him to the wall. The bastard didn’t even use a condom. Good Lord, with AIDS and who knows what else running around out there, I figure this guy just took double portions of dumb when they passed out brains.’
Roe closed the file and softened her stern, authoritative stance with Gerty. ‘Thank you. This is an immense help to our investigation.’
Roe slipped the file into her briefcase.
‘Say, aren’t you supposed to leave a receipt for that?’
Whatever consideration Roe had shown Gerty a moment earlier was now replaced with a withering stare. ‘Only if I was officially here, which I am not. This conversation never took place, Mr Gerty.’
Gerty understood the implied threat in Roe’s tone and nodded in agreement.
‘You said it yourself, Mr Gerty: According to the terms of the Coles’ divorce settlement, all materials from your investigation were to be turned over to Michael Cole. Officially, this file doesn’t exist, so there’s nothing for me to sign for. Good day, Mr Gerty.’
Roe’s visit left the grizzled private investigator seated behind his desk, speechless.
8
NEAR THE SOUTHERN COAST OF HAITI
December 6
Kilkenny checked his dive watch and punched a button on the global positioning
‘That’s where my concern lies, Mr Gerty. I investigate cases of espionage committed within the United States.’
‘Is Cole spying for someone?’
‘He’s one of several suspects in an ongoing investigation.’
‘Damn, I hate traitors.’ Gerty’s disgust was genuine. ‘I thought they cleaned the last of those rotten bastards out a couple years ago.’
‘Unfortunately, no, which brings us back to my request. I need to know what you know about Michael Cole.’
Gerty considered her request carefully, and Roe could almost hear the debate raging in his head.
‘I am sorry, Agent Ford, but I can’t help you. The court ordered that everything I found out about Cole be turned over to him as part of the settlement.’
‘I appreciate your position, but let me try to explain mine to you.’ Roe took a slow deep breath and steeled herself. ‘I am investigating a matter of national security. You are in possession of information that I believe is vital to that investigation. If you do not provide this information to me, you will be guilty of obstruction of justice. In connection with an espionage investigation, such a charge would require jail time in a federal penitentiary. I will have your cooperation in this matter; it’s your choice whether your cooperation is granted voluntarily or under the threat of legal action. With one phone call, I can have a search warrant delivered here in twenty minutes. So, are you sure that you turned over everything from your investigation?’
Gerty swallowed hard, his poker face cracking. ‘But what if Cole’s not the one you’re after? The things I found out about him weren’t criminal, just something that neither of the Coles wants aired in public.’
‘I assure you that ifMichael Cole is cleared as a suspect, whatever I learn about his private life will never see the light of day.’
‘This goes against what I feel to be right, but I don’t see that I have much choice.’
Gerty unlocked a high five-drawer file cabinet and pulled out a thick file.
‘Mrs Cole’s attorney asked me to stash this away for her, as an insurance policy should her client ever need it.’
Roe opened the file and skimmed over the investigation report. Gerty’s prose was clear, precise, and unemotional; it read almost like a legal document, except for the clinical descriptions of the sexual acts Gerty had witnessed. Cole’s secret finally sank in when she reached the exhibits marked A through H. The photographs depicted Michael Cole engaged in a variety of homosexual acts.
‘So that’s what she had on him,’ she mumbled to herself, ignoring Gerty’s presence.
‘Yes, she nailed him to the wall. The bastard didn’t even use a condom. Good Lord, with AIDS and who knows what else running around out there, I figure this guy just took double portions of dumb when they passed out brains.’
Roe closed the file and softened her stern, authoritative stance with Gerty. ‘Thank you. This is an immense help to our investigation.’
Roe slipped the file into her briefcase.
‘Say, aren’t you supposed to leave a receipt for that?’
Whatever consideration Roe had shown Gerty a moment earlier was now replaced with a withering stare. ‘Only if I was officially here, which I am not. This conversation never took place, Mr Gerty.’
Gerty understood the implied threat in Roe’s tone and nodded in agreement.
‘You said it yourself, Mr Gerty: According to the terms of the Coles’ divorce settlement, all materials from your investigation were to be turned over to Michael Cole. Officially, this file doesn’t exist, so there’s nothing for me to sign for. Good day, Mr Gerty.’
Roe’s visit left the grizzled private investigator seated behind his desk, speechless.
8
NEAR THE SOUTHERN COAST OF HAITI
December 6
Kilkenny checked his dive watch and punched a button on the global positioning
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