Rita Brown - Whiskers in the Dark

Arlene’s back stiffened. “Paula was blue chip. She would never, never do anything to jeopardize our country.”

“Well, she’s dead. She must have figured out something, and now Jason and Clare are dead. Maybe there’s a political reason for that, too.”

“No doubt.”

“We should go to the sheriff’s department.”

“We should not.” Arlene reached over to scratch Pirate’s ears.

“Well, you need protection.”

“I do not. You’re jumping to conclusions. I am in no danger, not a bit. Your theory is interesting, but no one is going to listen to a ‘what if.’ ”

“We should at least go to Geoff and Jan Ogden. They’ll know what to do and they liked Paula.”

“They will know what to do, which is to stay quiet.”

“Aha. So you do think this has something to do with national secrets.”

A long pause followed this. Ruffy rubbed against Arlene’s leg. She felt a cool little puff of breeze.

“I do.”

“I knew it. I knew it.” Harry was triumphant as her animals looked up at her.

“Do you think murderers should be punished?”

“Of course I do.”

“All right. In the main I agree with you, but what if someone is killed to protect our country or to even the score.”

“Well—I don’t know.”

The animals could smell Arlene and knew that she knew something. People give off various scents. Sweat is obvious, but there are others. The one that amused the dogs and cats the most was when a human was attracted to another human. The scent changed. The other human might also be attracted but neither knew their noses were leading them to a possible union.

“I don’t know if you will correctly figure this out, but you’ll dog me, hound me, forgive the pun since we both hunt behind the hounds.”

“You do know something. You are in danger.”

“I am not in danger but yes, I do know something.” She opened her arm, moving it across the meadows, as it were. “I believe Paula is out there somewhere. I know she was killed. Ruffy, her shadow, never came home, so I think Ruffy was killed with her. I mourned her for a long, long time. I still pray for her. A devoted public servant deserves our memory. A woman who loved her country, she was a spy. Not a pretty word, but she was. Her work involved risk. Her cover was good but nonetheless.”

“Did she talk to you about what she’d seen and done?”

“Oh, some things. But let’s consider spying for a moment. It’s a ghastly game. Annually millions, possibly more, are spent on this. Money that might feed people. Even allies spy on one another. You can imagine what enemies do.”

“Meddle in our elections.”

Arlene shrugged. “Why is anyone surprised, really? And do we know all of what we’re doing? I’m not saying it’s moral, but I am saying it’s necessary.”

“Okay. But who do you think Jason, Clare, and perhaps Paula were close to exposing? Something or someone?”

“Jason and Clare were not. Paula was. Let’s think about spying again. Our Revolutionary War. If John André had not been captured, a man of great personal charm, we would not have discovered that Benedict Arnold was a traitor, ready to hand over West Point to the British. They would have controlled the Hudson. They were rich, had a professional army and navy, and they would have hanged many of us had they won. Spying is necessary and dangerous.”

“Nathan Hale, ‘I regret that I have only one life to give for my country.’ ” Harry recalled a bit of her schooling.

“Paula died for her country.”

“What?” Harry swiveled to look directly at Arlene.

“She slowly put the pieces together. The Russians wanted information about the Turks. They would pay for this. Clare could be helpful. She and Jason were not yet married, but they were getting close. She would not be selling them anything, but she could put the person she was talking to in contact with Jason. So in this way, the path was not direct, but Jason gave good information. He split the money with Clare. Over time they became even closer.”

“Does that endanger us?”

“Not necessarily, although it is a violation of everything one is taught in the foreign service and in the military. However, as time went on, Clare and Jason, who Paula believed concocted this in their time together in Paris, were offered quite large sums of money, ultimately a few million, if they would give information about our country once they returned, still in service, of course.”

“Like military stuff?”

“Not so much. The Russians study us more than we study ourselves. So do the Chinese and even our allies, the English, the French, the Germans. They realized the media was creating real problems, hatreds. Let me tell you something, Harry. No one turns off their TV or electronic device because they’re angry. They turn it off because they’re bored. Sell fear. Sell hate. People will be mesmerized, glued to the set. And the advertising budgets will soar, which is exactly what has happened. Doesn’t matter if you’re watching a talking head from the right or the left, the newscaster acting as though he or she is really giving you the news, those dreary talk shows on Sunday where pompous assholes, forgive my language, declaim what is happening in Washington. So-and-so of the Democratic Party will raise your taxes, destroy your wealth. So-and-so of the Republican Party will favor the rich while the poor go hungry. I could go on. But the electronic media makes so much money. Billions by now if you added it all up. Jason knew communication. He could direct our enemies to the correct formats. False news could be fed into people’s computers, their phones. For him, this would be easy. As for supplying the TV types, a piece of cake. It’s kind of like the corruption running all through our country. Everything is commercially driven. No one gives a damn about the people, about the country, as long as they make money. Paula did. So do I.”

Harry breathed deeply. “You’re telling me you killed Jason and Clare.”

“Ah, Harry, Smith College turned out a truly smart woman. Then again, you were smart or they wouldn’t have admitted you.”

“Did you?”

“The short answer is yes. The last time I spoke with Paula, we both met in Washington, one of those expensive but really good K Street restaurants. She laid out what she had uncovered. She didn’t have it all together, but she had it. She wanted the name of the Russian operative, the Turkish operative, too. She didn’t want to go to her old bosses and look a fool. If she had names, she’d be listened to. She didn’t need to show how much money it took to buy the dealership. That’s on record. Where the money came from, well, it’s clearly concealed as saved salary and investments. She also couldn’t trace the rest of the funds to Switzerland, but she was certain they were there. It’s where everything winds up.” Arlene half laughed.

“I don’t know if I would have figured it out correctly.”

“You were on a track. You could have endangered yourself, although the Russian, whoever he or she is, I doubt would worry about it. That person is probably back in Moscow or St. Petersburg or in a fabulous dacha. I am in no danger.”

“I can scratch your eyes out.” Pewter puffed up. “I am terrifying.”

“ Wait, ” Mrs. Murphy commanded.

“Am I?”

“Let me ask you this. Would you kill for your country?”

“I, yes, I think I would, but the damage was already done. You didn’t kill for your country.”

“No.” A long sigh followed this. “No. But Paula died for us. She was doing her duty. If she could have brought them to justice, had them arrested, we would know more and possibly be able to better safeguard America in the future.”