‘Was Denis going to make any kind of allegation the day of the attack?’ asked Samson.
‘No, we’re sure of that. He didn’t have the back-up material in either briefcase. We had a guy in a chemical-warfare suit check what was in Steen’s before it was burned. There was nothing.’
Samson shot a look at Anastasia. ‘Then why didn’t you tell us this?’
Reiner rubbed a finger in the corner of his eye. ‘We were finding our way, just like you, I guess.’
Samson frowned. ‘When was your inquiry shut down? Who ordered that?’
‘Exactly five days ago – Wednesday last week – and it came direct from the White House. There was absolutely nothing we could do, but with you two taking the strain, we knew we still had a chance. All we needed was for you to get into that computer and appear in front of the committee.’
‘And Homeland Security?’ said Samson. ‘What was their role?’
‘They were on the other side in this war, working directly for the White House.’
‘But you couldn’t rig this all on your own,’ said Samson. ‘There were too many variables, too much that could go wrong, or that you couldn’t predict. Until I gave you the dossier there was so much you didn’t know and, besides, it didn’t contain anything about the East German witnesses, the DNA and the fingerprints on the old arrest sheet. You didn’t know that we could prove who she was. So, the idea that you were orchestrating all this doesn’t hold water.’
‘That was quite a coup,’ said Toombs. ‘We were greatly impressed by your work on all that.’
‘I repeat – you couldn’t have done this all on your own.’
Reiner looked at his watch and glanced at Zillah. ‘Perhaps we should all get another drink.’ He pushed a bowl across the table. ‘Potato chip? They’re excellent.’
Anastasia accepted a refill from Toombs, her eyes working furiously. ‘Are you going to answer Samson’s question?’
‘Nope,’ replied Toombs, and turned to the drinks tray. Samson watched as he poured rye whisky and red vermouth into a cocktail glass then searched the tray for a bottle of angostura bitters, discovering one at the back, together with a jar of maraschino cherries. The room was silent.
‘He’s here,’ said Zillah, looking up from her phone.
A few moments later, Matthew Corner opened the door, stepped aside to allow his boss, Warren Speight, through and closed it behind him.
‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!’ said Speight. He offered his hand to Samson, apparently the only person he didn’t know, and swept the room with a broad smile, which came to rest on Anastasia. ‘If I may say so, ma’am, you were truly magnificent this morning. Your poise was awesome – the perfect bridge partner.’
Toombs handed him the drink he’d mixed.
‘The best Manhattan in Fallujah! Thank you, Frank.’
‘You know each other,’ said Samson.
‘We go a long way back. We met when I was serving in Iraq.’ He placed the drink on a leather coaster and sat down.
‘You’re the friend Frank consulted about Elliot Jeffreys,’ said Samson.
‘Correct,’ said Speight. He stroked the table with his fingertips. ‘My role in this should never be spoken of outside this room. Is that okay with you, Mrs Hisami, and you, Mr Samson?’
They nodded.
‘I don’t have a lot of time, so maybe I should cover the main points and you can ask questions. My purpose was simple. I had to win your trust at the same time as keeping a line open to Mila Daus. A year back, I met with her and she tried to make me one of her people, as she did with every lawmaker. Jeffreys offered me help on data in my district, and money and support staff for my re-election campaign. I was invited to their places in Utah and at Seneca Ridge – in fact, I was at the Ridge just this last weekend. I went for lunch with two colleagues of mine. You saw them doing Daus’s bidding in the committee this morning – Congressmen Riven and Nolan. I wanted to get her to attend today, and those two gentlemen were very helpful in that endeavour. I couldn’t have done it without them.’ He squeezed his eyes at them and sipped the Manhattan.
‘That was Mila Daus,’ said Anastasia. ‘You had to get me into the room as well. Is that why you came to the hospital? Were you making some kind of assessment of me?’
‘Exactly right. I had no knowledge of you, though I learned from Frank that you had been through some tough times and that you were smart and resilient. But I didn’t know you and I wanted to get a sense of who you were.’
‘And you asked me to appear in front of the media at the hospital that day so Daus saw you were talking to me. Is that right?’
He nodded. ‘She was obsessed with you and Denis. It was her weak point. My task was to persuade her that, if she came to Congress, she’d see Denis’s reputation destroyed for ever. In fact, she provided me with some of the material about the incident in Iraq. Once she knew that Denis was dead and she thought Stepurin was responsible, she couldn’t resist coming to see it all play out. This was like her victory lap.’
‘So, her presence today had nothing to do with Martin Reid?’ asked Anastasia.
‘No, she used him to find out about Denis after the attack. That was all. Marty Reid had
