CHAPTER 9
The 22nd of June 1941 was a Sunday and that was the day that the Germans invaded Russia. The following day Malloy was surprised to get a phone call from Hancox.
“Mr. Malloy, I wonder if you could spare me a few minutes of your time this afternoon. We could meet somewhere to suit you, but it would help me a lot if it could be somewhere in Manhattan.”
“My wife and I are going to the cinema to see Citizen Kane this evening. The second showing starts at 8.30. Just off Times Square.”
“How about we meet at six in the bar at the Waldorf. Would you mind if I asked if I could have half an hour with you in private?”
“I guess that’ll suit Kathy. OK, six o’clock in the bar.”
Hancox was waiting for him and waved to a waiter as Malloy sat down. “What’ll you have?”
“A scotch on the rocks, please.”
“Two.” Hancox said to the waiter.
“Are you busy at the union?”
“I’m beginning to get on top of it but there’s always plenty to do.”
The waiter brought the drinks and Hancox reached for the tab. When he’d paid he said, “How do you feel about the war in Europe?”
Malloy shrugged. “I guess it could go either way. I just hope Roosevelt doesn’t get us into it.”
“Why?”
“It’s not our war.”
“Not even if the Nazis win?”
Malloy frowned but smiled at the same time. “What is this? You’re trying me out about something.”
“We’re going to be in the war whether we like it or not, Malloy. That’s why I wanted to talk with you.” He paused. “Can this chat be confidential between you and me? Nobody else. Not even your wife.”
“Sure.”
“D’you know Washington at all?”
“Not really.” Malloy smiled. “A school visit and a couple of days doing research in the Congress building.”
“What kind of research?”
“I was checking out average pay for DAs in every State.”
Hancox smiled briefly. “You ever heard of an outfit called the COI?”
Malloy shook his head. “No.”
“The CIP?”
“No.”
“Are you bored with that union job yet?”
“In a way. It’s kinda repetitious. I promised my old man I’d do two years and then I’d do it my way and go to a law firm.”
“How long do you have before you finish?”
Malloy laughed. “Two months, three days.”
“How’d you like to join a special government organisation?”
“A law job?”
“No. The law’s good background but that’s all.”
“So why me?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“What is it? Why the mystery?”
“I’m not entitled to tell you. All I can say is that it’s very hush-hush and it’s an honour to be asked to join it.”
“Do you belong to it?”
“No. They asked me to find somebody suitable for interviewing. I put up your name. They looked into your background and they’d like to talk to you. Put you through some tests.”
“Sounds like some sort of intelligence job.”
“It would take three days—the interviews.” Hancox paused. “D’you want to think about it?”
Malloy shook his head. “No. When do you want me to go to Washington?”
“I’ll phone you at your home number. It’ll be next week. All your expenses will be paid. What will you tell your wife?”
“The truth. Just that I’m going to Washington.”
“Thanks for your time. I think you won’t have wasted it.”
“You didn’t tell me why me?”
Hancox smiled. “Two reasons. First of all the answer you gave me when I asked you what you’d do if you won the compensation case. You said you’d go out and get smashed. I’m sure you didn’t but it was a good answer. Both naive and refreshing.”
“The other reason.”
“If you’d said you needed time to think this over I’d have known I’d made a mistake.” Hancox stood up and held out his hand. “Good luck.”
A car picked up Malloy from the small Washington hotel where they had put him up, and took him to a house just off Connecticut Avenue. The guard at the door checked who he was and dialled a couple of numbers on the internal phone. A few minutes later Malloy was being welcomed by two men. Malloy guessed they were only a few years older than him and they were well-dressed and typical ex-college types. They introduced themselves as Jack and Homer. Homer was the fair one.
They chatted about the journey, his hotel, New York and would Ted Williams be the American League Home Run champion that year. Then they settled down around the table, Malloy on one side, the other two facing him.
They asked a lot of questions about his background but he sensed that they already knew the answers. And then Homer said, “How about religion?”
Malloy smiled. “How about it?”
“I guess you must be Catholic.”
“Why?”
“Irish. Father Catholic and Irish.”
“My father’s American.”
Homer smiled. “OK. Irish-American.”
“No. Not OK. He’s American-American and so am I. I’ve never even been to Ireland.”
It was Jack’s turn. “You ever seen a dead body, Bill?”
“Yes.”
“How’d it affect you?”
“It made me sad.”
“Why?”
“It was my mother’s body.”
“Would you kill somebody if otherwise he’d kill you?”
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“So think about it now.”
For a moment Malloy hesitated, then shrugging, he said, “I guess I would.”
“What kind of people do you hate?”
“You mean actually hate or just dislike?”
“I meant what I said.”
“I hate bullies.”
They both laughed and Jack said, “OK. We got the point—How’s your marriage?”
“Fine so far as I know.”
“You happy with it?”
“Yeah.”
“Ever heard of the COI?”
“Mr. Hancox mentioned it but he didn’t say what it is.”
“What do you think it is?”
“In view of all the fandango
