He called out as he heard the knock on the door and Malloy came in, shedding his coat as he headed for the chairs in the window. Tossing his coat over the back of a chair he sat down, “I’m in a hurry, Andrei. Can we talk right now so that I can make a phone call?”
Aarons shrugged. “Of course. Carry on.”
“Truman spoke to Kennedy about our arrangement with you, and Kennedy didn’t hesitate. He wants to continue the arrangement and he’s ready to start immediately. He’s invited you and Tania to his place at Hyannisport this weekend.” He paused. “Will you come?”
“Where is it?”
“In Massachusetts. He’ll arrange for one of the family cars to pick you up.”
“What kind of man is he?”
“You’ll like him.” He smiled. “Like you he’s a dreamer of dreams. He’s a very shrewd politician but he wants to change things. Give it a try. He’s quite a charmer.”
Aarons smiled. “Seems to have charmed you anyway.”
“He has. I like him—a lot. I’ll be on his staff.” He smiled. “Unpaid, courtesy of Hancox.”
“Let me check that Tania doesn’t need to be in town.”
He spoke to Tania on the internal phone without telling her what it was about. When he hung up he said, “Yes, that’s OK, Bill.”
“Can I use your phone?”
“Help yourself.”
Malloy dialled a number, said “Yes,” and then just listened before saying “OK” and hanging up.
“A car will come for you both 9 a.m. Friday morning. It’s a longish journey but they’ll make you comfortable. The driver isn’t secure so far as this operation is concerned so don’t talk about anything confidential. And don’t talk about Kennedy or the family. OK? For the sake of your own security you’ll have a different name and you’ll be identified as looking over the Kennedy archives. We’ll keep you out of sight as much as we can.”
“Will you be there?”
“Yes. So will Kathy.”
They arrived at the Kennedy compound mid-afternoon. There had been several security checks but the letter that had been given to the driver cleared them through. They were shown to a pleasant cottage where Kathy was already waiting for them.
Bill Malloy came over in the early evening as the three of them were eating and had taken Aarons to another cottage which seemed to be used as a communications centre. President Kennedy saw them in a small room that had a log fire burning against the cool spring evening.
Kennedy shook his hand and pointed to one of the leather armchairs. When Malloy had introduced them Kennedy grinned and said, “They tell me I can’t use names because we don’t want them on the record. He tells me it’s OK to call you Andy, is that OK?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s cut out the formalities. You’re here as a friend who could help me to avoid mistakes with our friends in Moscow.” He paused. “I want to ask you something. A favour. If you don’t agree just say so and that’ll be the end of it.”
“What’s the favour?”
“It would help me a lot if we could expand our group. I’d like my brother Robert to be part of it and I’d like to suggest that Bill Malloy here should be part of the group too. I’d like us to discuss things, kick ’em around a bit. It’d make it more useful.”
“I think you’re right. Let’s do that.”
Kennedy looked across at Malloy, “Bobby’s with Art over in the boat cottage. Can you bring him over?”
When Malloy had left Kennedy said, “Bill tells me you got your interest in politics from your father just as I did.”
Aarons laughed. “Well, not quite the same way. I didn’t know there was anything other than Communism. It came as a surprise that you had to justify it.”
“They tell me that you were a great advocate for the Party when you were just a teenager.”
Aarons smiled. “I defended its stupidities from time to time.”
“Do you see us as enemies?”
“Oh no.” Aarons shrugged. “Just stupid like my lot in Moscow. The two biggest powers on earth who are so ignorant of the rest of the world and each other that it’s almost unbelievable.”
“When you’re in Moscow do you talk to them like this?”
“I talk like this to one man, he passes it on or uses it, and sometimes people take notice.”
“You ever meet Khrushchev?”
“A few times.”
“What’s he like? As a man.”
“He’s a peasant. Talks like a peasant and thinks like a peasant. Tough, shrewd and knows how to work the machinery.”
The door opened and Robert Kennedy came in with Bill Malloy. Aarons was introduced, there was some banter between the two brothers and then they settled down to talk.
They talked into the early hours of the morning and there was no apparent holding-back by either side. The President was eager to learn, particularly about how the seemingly ponderous machinery of Moscow worked. How you got to the top and how you stayed there. When Aarons explained the convoluted system of favours done and influence brokered Robert Kennedy had grinned at his brother and said, “Sounds just like Boston.” John Kennedy shook his head, “More like Washington.” Aarons was surprised and flattered that the talk was so open, more like locker-room gossip than political discussion, and was pleased when Kennedy suggested that they should meet regularly.
They spent the next day with at least a dozen Kennedys, adults and children, playing games, eating from a barbecue and generally relaxing. Kennedy had walked with the four of them the following morning to the limousine that would take them back to New York and it was obvious that his charm had worked on Kathy and Tania.
CHAPTER 46
Aarons and Malloy were sitting in the book-lined office drinking a mid-morning coffee.
Malloy smiled. “How did you like John F?”
“I liked him a lot. I read his inauguration speech again—there were some thoughts of
