He walked down to the deli just off Times Square and the old man nodded towards the bead curtains that separated the shop from the kitchens. Aarons walked through the curtains and the old man followed him wiping his hands on a greasy towel.
“He’s gettin’ scared because he couldn’t contact you four, five days. So he ring me here to contact you.”
“D’you know what he wants?”
“He say he wants to see you urgent but got to be weekend time.”
“OK. Phone him. Tell him I’ll see him next Saturday. Place number two, morning between ten and eleven. You got that?”
“I got it, chief.”
Aarons gave him an envelope and the old man squeezed it and then slid it into his back pocket.
Aarons took a taxi to the motel near the racetrack and booked in for two nights. There were photographs of the Preakness Stakes mounted in the lobby and a photograph of Native Dancer on the wall in his room. He unpacked and phoned Tania and looked at the titles of a dozen or so books on a shelf over a writing desk. He picked out Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby and John O’Hara’s Butterfield 8 and laid them on the small table between the two single beds.
Settling down in an armchair by the window he reached over and switched on the radio, turning the knob to find a sweet music station. When he landed on Fred Astaire singing “A Fine Romance” he left it on the station and turned to his briefcase. As he took out his notebook there was a soft knock on the door. When he called out Roger Cowley came in with a brown carrier bag which he tossed onto one of the beds.
He was wearing a cotton shirt with a yellow pullover and chinos. He had put on a lot of weight especially round his face.
“I got anxious about you, skipper. Couldn’t contact you. Thought the FBI might have collared you at last.”
“I was busy.” He pointed at one of the beds. “Sit down, Roger.” When Cowley was seated. “Don’t panic if you can’t contact me. I’ve got a lot of work and some of it takes me out of town.” He shrugged and smiled, “Like you today.”
“I got some stuff your people might find interesting. It’s bulky and I don’t like keeping it around at my place. They can search our houses without a warrant any time they like.”
“Have they ever checked you?”
“Not the apartment but I’ve had a couple of body searches at the guard-room.” He smiled and winked. “Never found nothing.” He paused. “They’ve just reorganised the two divisions that cover Soviet cryptanalysis. Made ’em into one with a new guy in charge. D’you reckon your people would be interested in the organisational plan for that?”
At first Aarons had thought that Cowley was teasing or joking and then he realised that he was actually too stupid to understand how important the material would be.
“Yes, they would be interested in that.”
“Would they pay a bonus d’you reckon?”
“What you got in mind?”
“Say five K.”
“When can I have it?”
“Tomorrow morning if you stay over.”
“OK. It’s a deal. I’d like to be gone before noon.”
“No problem. I’ll be here about ten.”
Aarons pointed at the bag on the bed. “Do you want the bag?”
Cowley looked at the bag, frowning, then back at Aarons. “Are you taking the piss?”
Aarons smiled. “You’re welcome if you want it. I don’t need it. I’ll use my own.” He pointed at the leather case on the bed beside him.
Cowley nodded, not entirely convinced. “See you tomorrow. Ten.”
When Cowley had gone Aarons looked at the file. The photocopying wasn’t good but everything was legible. The brief descriptions of the contents showed that all the reports were invaluable to Moscow. He wrote out a list of the items.
1.Report on patrols of Soviet ship Shokal’skiy used for hydro-meteorological research in South Pacific.
2.Report on series of meetings to discuss building an NSA navy for ship-based electronic surveillance in coastal waters. (See Sinai report.)
3.Technical evaluation of current sleeve monopoles and parabolic reflectors.
4.Estimated budget of proposed monitoring facility in Manhattan to cover international communications from commercial carriers.
5.Current evaluation of Operation Shamrock.
6.Criteria for adding additional “trigger words” to current list.
He had no idea of the real significance of the material but it was all headed “Eyes-only.”
Aarons went into Baltimore and looked around the bookshops. After a meal at a Jewish restaurant he looked through the amusement guide in the local paper and went to the cinema to see David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. Back at the motel he called Tania and heard that she’d been commissioned to do a book on the people of New York. She was still arguing about editorial control but she expected to get what she wanted.
Cowley came punctually at ten the next morning, he handed over the additional report and Aarons paid him the $5,000. Aarons decided to take the plane back to New York and Tania picked him up at the airport. Later that evening he put the parcel of documents in a locker at Grand Central Station. At the Post Office he sent the telegram to Toronto.
The reply came back three days later and he packed a bag, booked a flight to Toronto and told Tania that he would be back in five days.
There was a two hour wait at Toronto for the Stockholm plane and a four hour wait at Bromma for the SAS flight to Moscow.
CHAPTER 51
As the plane came in to Sheremetyevo Aarons could see that the snowploughs were still clearing one of the runways. He wondered who would meet him in now that Lensky was no longer in Moscow. It was nearly half an hour before the aircraft steps were in place and the passengers allowed off. On his way to the terminal building he stopped for a moment to
