McCaskey felt a little deceitful not telling Tymore what he knew. But it was up to Rodgers or Hood to talk about the general's departure, not him. Trust was important, but it was trumped by loyalty.
'Now you tell me, Mr. McCaskey,' Tymore said. 'Why is Op-Center interested in this?'
'We are involved at the request of Scotland Yard,' McCaskey told him.
'It's a common reciprocal arrangement among international agencies.'
'Why you and not the Metropolitan Police or the FBI?' Tymore asked.
'I know the Yard people from my years with the FBI,' McCaskey replied.
'It was just a favor. We did not expect to find anything.'
'Can I quote you?'
'You can quote an unnamed source at Op-Center,' McCaskey said.
Tymore agreed.
McCaskey obtained the phone numbers Tymore had collected. Though the reporter had already called the women who had talked to Wilson, McCaskey wanted to speak with them himself. They all denied having gone to see the billionaire, of course, though maybe they would tell McCaskey things they were unwilling to tell the press.
Rodgers phoned before McCaskey was able to place the first call. The general had just returned to Op-Center and was about to see Paul Hood.
He asked McCaskey to join them.
'Sure,' McCaskey said. 'What's up?'
'Paul said you're running the Wilson investigation,' Rodgers said.
'Right '
'I want to talk about it,' Rodgers said abruptly. 'It could be a minefield.'
Rodgers did not elaborate. McCaskey could not tell whether that had been a warning or a threat. He headed to Hood's office to find out.
Rodgers arrived moments ahead of McCaskey. Ron Plummer was just leaving. The silence exchanged by Rodgers and his replacement was actually heightened by the way they acknowledged each other, with a clipped first-name greeting and nothing more. The soldier and the diplomat never had much in common, but they had always gotten along.
This was sad, but what made it worse was that McCaskey expected things were about to deteriorate.
'Ron did not want the job,' Hood said to Rodgers as McCaskey shut the door. 'I just wanted you to know that.'
'Did he accept it?' Rodgers asked.
'For the good of Op-Center, yes,' Hood said.
'Of course. We're all so damn selfless,' Rodgers said. He folded his arms tightly and looked at McCaskey. Both men had remained standing.
'Who are you working for now? The Yard?'
'Don't climb on my back, Mike,' McCaskey said. 'You know the drill. We help each other.'
'We do?' Rodgers looked around. 'I must have missed the lifeline you guys threw me.'
This was a different Mike Rodgers than Darrell McCaskey had encountered that morning. Obviously, Rodgers had had time to think about what happened and was not very happy.
'Mike, those were my calls,' Hood said. 'Where to cut, who to shuffle, and who to help. If you want to vent, do it to me.'
