Arthur Hailey - Evening News

"I know you did, Crawf, and there were times I wanted to tell you what I just did; also that I never had any resentment, either about your marrying Jessica or making it big at the anchor desk. No reason why I should. But I always had the feeling that if I did say it, you wouldn't have believed.”

"You're probably right.” Sloane paused, considering.”But if it's of any interest, Harry, I believe it now.”

Partridge nodded. Enough had been said, and he needed to go. At the doorway he turned.”I'll do my damnedest when I get to Lima, Crawf. I truly will.”

* * *

On reaching Sloane's office, Partridge had noticed the absence of FBI Agent Otis Havelock, whose presence had been so prominent for a week after the kidnapping. While pausing outside at the Horseshoe, where he informed Chuck Insen of the task force meeting, Partridge asked about the FBI man.

”He's still around a lot,” the evening news executive producer said, "though I think he's following other leads.”

"Do you know if he's coming back today?”

"I've no idea.”

Partridge found himself hoping the FBI man would continue whatever he was doing for the remainder of the day. If he did, it would be easier to keep the knowledge of tonight's activity and Partridge departure tomorrow restricted to a few people at CBA only. On Friday, of course, assuming word was released in advance that CBA would have new revelations on its evening news, the FBI would probably demand to know what was going on and would have to be stalled until broadcast time. But Partridge would be in Peru by then, and someone else would have that responsibility.

Just the same, he decided coping with the FBI was one more item to be factored into plans for the next two days.

* * *

The five o'clock meeting in the task force conference room was well attended. Les Chippingham and Crawford' Sloane were there. Chuck Insen stayed for fifteen minutes, then left because the National Evening News first feed was looming close, and another Horseshoe producer took his place. Partridge was at the head of the long conference table, with Rita Abrams beside him. Iris Everly, who had produced a kidnap segment for the evening news—though it contained none of that day's new material—arrived several minutes late. Teddy Cooper was present, having spent the day with the temporary researchers who were still visiting local newspaper offices to review classified advertising—so far with no positive result. Minh Van Canh came in, as did producers Norman Jaeger and Karl Owens. A new, face at the table was Don Kettering's. Jonathan Mony had stayed on and was introduced around. Various support staff members were in attendance.

Partridge began with a summation of what had happened during the day, his intention to leave for Peru early the next morning, and the decision to broadcast everything they knew on Friday evening's news.

Les Chippingham cut in.”I agree with everything you've said, Harry, but I think we should go one step further and do a one-hour News Special, also on Friday night, covering the whole kidnap sequence at length, including the new material.”

Around the table there were murmurs of approval as the news president continued.”I remind you we have a prime-time news show already scheduled for the nine o'clock slot which we can yank. You guys sound as if you have plenty to fill an hour.”

"Plenty and more,” Rita Abrams assured him. A short time earlier she had screened the silhouette interrogation of Alberto Godoy and viewed Don Kettering's interview with the American-Amazonas bank manager, Emiliano Armando, which had just come in. She was enthusiastic about both.

After the screening there had been a discussion between Rita, Partridge and Kettering as to whether the funeral director's identity should be protected after all, since during his antagonistic termination of the interview, Godoy voluntarily brought his face into light and camera range. There was a temptation to reveal his face on television since protecting Godoy's identity could clearly cause the network trouble. Yet because of the original agreement with him, some complex ethics were involved.

In the end, it was decided that since Godoy had not known, technically, what he was doing, the original pact must be honored. To make sure the decision was safeguarded, Partridge erased on an editing machine the portion of tape showing Godoy's face, so it could not be retrieved with outtakes later. At this point the erasure was not a legal offense, though it would be if done after official inquiries were begun.

Everyone at the conference room table realized the decision to have a one-hour special was relatively easy since the primetime hour in question belonged to the News Division anyway; therefore the network's programming brass need not be consulted. The show originally scheduled for nine o'clock Friday was "Behind the Headlines,” a newsmagazine on which Norman Jaeger was normally a producer and to which he would undoubtedly return when this present work was over. Chippingham. decided privately that he need not report immediately to Margot Lloyd-Mason on the change, though sometime during Friday he would advise her of what was coming up that evening.

From there, other decisions flowed.

Partridge announced that Minh Van Canh and Ken O'Hara, the sound mail who had been present at the Dallas Fort Worth air crash two weeks ago, would accompany him to Peru.

Rita, glancing down the table at Chippingham, added, "Les, the assignment desk has chartered a Learjet for Harry and the others, out of Teterboro at Six A.M. tomorrow. I need your okay.”

"Are you sure Chippingham, conscious of mounting expenses, had been about to continue, ". . . there isn't a commercial flight available, “when he caught sight of Crawford Sloane's steely eyes fixed on him. Changing his mind, the news president said tersely, "I approve.”

Rita, it was decided, would remain in New York for overall supervision of the Friday evening news report and one-hour special, with Iris doing general production on the first, Norm Jaeger and Karl Owens on the second. Then, during Friday night, Rita would follow Partridge and the others to Lima, with Jaeger taking over in New York as senior producer.

Partridge, who had discussed the subject earlier with Chippingham, disclosed that after his own departure, Don Kettering would head the kidnap task force in New York. Temporarily, Kettering's business correspondent duties would be handled by an assistant.

However, Partridge pointed out, neither the National Evening News report of Friday nor the one-hour special later—on both of which he would be featured—should convey any hint that he had already left for Peru. In fact, if it could be made to appear at some point that he was broadcasting live—though without actually being deceptive—so much the better.

While other networks and the print press were unlikely to be deceived by such tactics, anything that might lessen their own urgency in dispatching reporting teams to Peru would be an advantage. From a practical point of view, apart from competitiveness, Partridge stood a better chance of making investigative headway alone, instead of amid a swarm of other reporters.

Which led to the question of security.

Everything that would happen through that night and the next two days, Les Chippingham declared, must not be discussed, even with others in the News Division who were uninvolved, and certainly not with outsiders, including families. The criterion for discussion was: Need to know.”And that's not a request; it's an order.”

The news president continued, looking in turn at everyone around the table.”Let us not do or say anything that could release our news prematurely and deprive Harry of the twenty-four hours' lead time he so clearly needs. Above all, remember lives are at stake"—he glanced toward Crawford Sloane,'very special lives, close and important to us all.”