“To fund the operation.”
“How can I authenticate them?”
“In this envelope …” he handed the second envelope to Aarons “… all the receipts are from established and independent dealers in rare books and documents.”
“But they’re so Russian it will draw attention to me.”
“None of the authentication sources are in Russia. Two are in Paris, one in Vienna and another in Berne. The bills of sale are receipted and are all genuine.” He handed Aarons the third envelope. “Don’t bother to read it now but it’s a list of books that I shall give you. Rare books, first editions, signed by the authors. An expert in Moscow values the material at about one hundred thousand US dollars. It could be more.”
Aarons nodded. “I think it could be far more than that from what I’ve seen already.”
Yakov shrugged. “So that’s your basic fund for the operation. Buy your friend Cohen the radio man. But you’ll need others as well. There’s more back-up funds if you need them. But we must have results.”
“Tell me about the other reports that you’ve had.”
“There were only three. No more than you had had except that one source said that the site of the organisation was to be at Fort Meade in Maryland. Could be wrong of course.”
“What do they want to know?”
“Everything. Equipment, people, daily operations, scope, who’s in charge, what agency funds the operation. Nothing’s too small.”
“It’ll take me time to work out a system.”
Yakov shrugged. “It’ll take the Americans time to set it up too.”
“If Cohen won’t cooperate it will mean starting from scratch. It’s in a part of America that I don’t know at all. My operation is New York based. I can’t leave it to run itself.”
“Why not send Harris down there. Just on reconnaissance. If he does well let him stay.”
“He’s an American. I’d only trust a Soviet.”
Yakov smiled. “The men in Moscow would approve your caution, Andrei. But they’d take real risks to be able to penetrate this monitoring set-up.” He stood up. “But they’ll trust your judgement whatever you do.” He smiled. “And believe me there are not many men I could say that about, in or out of Moscow.” He waved to a side table. “The books are on there. I’ll have to go, my friend.” He smiled. “They keep a tight hold on Aeroflot cabin-crew.”
Back at his place Aarons looked through the rest of the material that had been given to him. It was incredible. Six volumes of La Fontaine inscribed by the author, three volumes of the first edition of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, all the volumes of the first edition of Tolstoi’s War and Peace each inscribed by the author, another copy signed by Stalin of Trotsky’s pamphlet The rôle and tasks of Trade Unions, and even an original lithographed plate of one of Verlaine’s poems illustrated by Bonnard. It was a treasure trove that was almost invaluable. Not only wealthy collectors but universities and museums would almost certainly be eager buyers. He wished that he had time to enjoy the dispersal of such wonderful material.
The only consolation that he had was that after Yakov had left he had talked for two hours with Harris and had made arrangements for him to go down to Maryland for a week to see what he could find out. He had the technical know-how and the perfect background for such an attempt.
Anna had insisted that they went in separate cars to City Hall. She said it was bad luck for the bride-to-be and the groom to go together. It was a Thursday and there were only two other couples to be married by the City Clerk.
As they sat waiting Anna looked at her brother. She had made him buy a new suit and had bought a white carnation for his buttonhole. She wondered if he was thinking of Chantal and that wedding in Paris all those years ago. He had been so eager to be married then but his enthusiasm for people and causes had drained away over the years. She had talked with Tania about him. It was obvious that she loved Andrei but she was very different from Chantal. Independent and not submissive. She understood how a girl like Tania could admire a man like Andrei, but she wondered what made her love him. When she’d asked, Tania had smiled and said she didn’t know. In a way it seemed almost a maternal love. And maybe that was what he needed.
She looked at the others. Serov and Angie had become a typical American couple and Malloy sat between Sam and Kathy. And Ivan sitting there with his latest girlfriend. Her vague worries lifted as she realised that none of the couples seemed obviously suitable for one another. Not even her and Sam. Maybe that was what made marriages work. Then the clerk was beckoning them inside his office.
They lunched at the Waldorf and in the afternoon they went to the cinema to see Gary Cooper in High Noon. They spent the evening at Sam’s club and he played “Love Walked In” for Tania and Andrei, “Manhattan” for Serov and Angie, “Twelfth Street Rag” for Ivan and his girlfriend, and “She’s My Lovely” for the Malloys. And to everyone’s surprise Andrei had bought a very beautiful diamond ring for his new wife. A good time was had by all, and only Anna’s mind went back to the days in Brighton Beach when only survival mattered, and a walk to Coney was a special treat.
CHAPTER 39
Hancox had listened to Malloy’s conversation with Serov without joining in but when they seemed to have finished he took over.
“Bill, you seem to be disagreeing with Mr. Serov about Aarons. Where does the difference lie?”
Malloy shook his head. “It’s not really a difference, just a different reading of Aarons’ character.” He pointed to Serov. “Igor sees him as an idealist, a man who is loyal to a lost cause, and maybe easy to influence.” He paused. “I’ve met Aarons a number
