"After my security clearance came through, I was briefed on Mulberry and shown the actual plans."

"Why did they need you?"

"They wanted someone who'd had experience on large construction projects. My company had built some of the biggest bridges in the East."

"And what were your initial impressions?"

"I thought Mulberry was feasible technically, but I thought the construction schedule was a farce--far too optimistic. I could see right away that there would be delays."

"And what were your conclusions after the inspection you carried out today?"

"That the project is dangerously behind schedule. That the chance of actually completing the Phoenixes on time is about one in three."

"Did you share these conclusions with Catherine Blake?"

"Please. Let's not go through this again."

"You're not answering my question."

"No, I did not share those conclusions with Catherine Blake."

"Did you see her before we picked you up at Grosvenor Square?"

"No. I went to SHAEF directly from the construction sites."

Vicary reached in his briefcase and laid two photographs on the table, one of Robert Pope and the other of Dicky Dobbs.

"Have you ever seen these men?"

"They look vaguely familiar, but I can't tell you where I've seen them."

Vicary opened Jordan's file and flipped a page. "Tell me about the house you're living in."

"My father-in-law purchased it before the war. He spent a fair amount of time in London on business and pleasure and wanted a comfortable place to stay when he was in town."

"Anyone else use the house?"

"Margaret and I used it when we came to Europe on vacation."

"Did your father-in-law's bank have German investments?"

"Yes, many. But he liquidated most of them before the war."

"Did he oversee that liquidation personally?"

"Most of the work was done by a man named Walker Hardegen. He's the number-two man at the bank. He also speaks fluent German and knows the country inside and out."

"Did he travel to Germany before the war?"

"Yes, several times."

"Did you ever accompany him?"

"No. I have nothing to do with my father-in-law's business."

"Did Walker Hardegen use the house in London?"

"He may have. I'm not certain."

"How well do you know Walker Hardegen?"

"I know him very well."

"Then I suppose you're good friends?"

"No, not really."

"You know him well but you're not friends?"

"That's right."

"Are you enemies?"

"Enemies is a strong word. We just don't get along well."

"Why not?"

"He dated my wife before I met her. I think he was always in love with her. He drank quite a bit at my going-away party. He accused me of killing her to make a business deal."

"I think someone who made a remark like that to me would be my enemy."

"I thought about knocking the hell out of him at the time."

"Do you blame yourself for your wife's death?"

"Yes, I always have. If I hadn't asked her to come into the city for that goddamned business dinner she'd still be alive."

"How much does Walker Hardegen know about your work?"

"Nothing."

"He knows you're a gifted engineer?"

"Yes."

"He knows you were sent to London to work on a secret project?"

"He could probably deduce that, yes."

"Have you ever mentioned Operation Mulberry in your letters home?"

"Never. They were all cleared by the censor."

"Did you ever tell any other member of your family about Operation Mulberry?"

"No."

"Ever tell any of your friends?"

"No."

"This fellow Shepherd Ramsey. Ever tell him?"

"No."

"Does he ever ask about it?"

"All the time--in a joking manner, of course."

"Did you have plans to see Catherine Blake again?"

"I don't have plans to see her. I never want to see her again."

"Well, that may not be possible, Commander Jordan."

"What are you talking about?"

"In due time. It's late. I think we all could use some sleep. We'll continue in the morning."

Vicary rose and walked in where Boothby was sitting. He leaned down and said, "I think we should talk."

"Yes," Boothby said. "Let's go in the next room, shall we?" He uncoiled himself from his chair and took Vicary by the elbow. "You did a marvelous job with him," he said. "My God, Alfred, when did you become such a bastard?"

Boothby pulled open a door and held out his hand for Vicary to enter first. Vicary brushed past Boothby and stepped inside the room.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Winston Churchill said, "Hello, Alfred. So good to see you again. I wish it could be under different circumstances. I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Professor Alfred Vicary, meet General Eisenhower."

Dwight Eisenhower rose from his seat and stuck out his hand.

The room had been a study once. There were bookshelves built into the walls, a writing desk, and a pair of wing chairs where Churchill and Eisenhower sat now. A wood fire burned brightly in the hearth, but it had failed to take the chill off the room. A woolen blanket lay across Churchill's knees. He was gnawing on the damp end of a dead cigar and drinking brandy. Eisenhower lit a cigarette and sipped black coffee. On the table between them was a small speaker, which they had used to monitor the interrogation of Jordan. Vicary knew this because the microphones were still turned on and he could hear a scrape of chairs and a murmur of voices coming from the next room. Boothby glided forward and turned down the volume. The door opened and a fifth man entered the room. Vicary recognized the tall, bearlike build: Brigadier General Thomas Betts, the deputy chief of intelligence at SHAEF and the man charged with safeguarding the secret of the invasion.

"Is he telling the truth, Alfred?" Churchill asked.

"I'm not sure," Vicary said, pouring himself a cup of coffee at the sideboard. "I want to believe him but something is bothering me, and I'm damned if I know what it is."

Boothby said, "Nothing in his background would suggest he's a German agent or that he's willingly betrayed us. After all, we came to him. He was recruited recruited to work on Mulberry--he didn't volunteer. If he was an agent the entire time, he would have been banging on the door early in the war, trying to work himself into a position of importance." to work on Mulberry--he didn't volunteer. If he was an agent the entire time, he would have been banging on the door early in the war, trying to work himself into a position of importance."

"I agree," Eisenhower said.

"His background is sterling," Boothby continued. "You saw his file. His FBI background check didn't turn up a thing. He has all the money in the world. He's not a Communist. He doesn't bugger little boys. We have no reason to think he's sympathetic to the German cause. In short, we have no reason to suspect this man is a spy or has been coerced into spying."

"All true," Vicary said, thinking, When the hell did Boothby become chairman of the Peter Jordan fan club? "But what about this man Walker Hardegen? Was he checked out before Jordan came to the Mulberry team?"

"Thoroughly," General Betts said. "The FBI was concerned about his German contacts long before the War Department ever approached Jordan about working on Mulberry. They looked into Hardegen's background with a microscope. They didn't turn up a blessed thing. Hardegen is clean as a whistle."

"Well, I'd feel better if they took another look," Vicary said. "How in the bloody hell did she know to go after him? And how's she getting the material? I've been inside his house. It's possible she's getting into his papers without his knowledge, but it would be very dangerous. And what about his friend Shepherd Ramsey? I'd like to put him under surveillance and have the FBI look deeper into his background."

Churchill said, "I'm sure General Eisenhower won't have a problem with that, would you, General?"

"No," Eisenhower said. "I want you gentlemen to take whatever steps you feel are necessary."

Churchill cleared his throat. "This debate is very interesting, but it doesn't address our most pressing problem," he said. "It appears this fellow--intentionally or not--has delivered a very significant portion of the plans for Operation Mulberry directly into the hands of a German spy. Now, what are we going to do about it? Basil?"

Boothby turned to General Betts. "How much can the Germans discern about Operation Mulberry from that one document?"

"It's difficult to say," Betts said. "The document Jordan had in his briefcase doesn't give them a complete picture, just a damned important slice of it. There are many more components of Mulberry, as I'm sure you're well aware. This just tells them about the Phoenixes. If that document is really on its way to Berlin, their analysts and engineers are going to be poring all over it. If they're able to determine the purpose of the Phoenixes, it won't be difficult for them to unlock the secret of the artificial harbor project." Betts hesitated, his face grave. "And, gentlemen, if they're convinced we're building an artificial harbor, it's very possible they could make the leap and conclude we're coming at Normandy, not Calais."

Vicary said, "I think we should assume assume that is the case and proceed accordingly." that is the case and proceed accordingly."

"My suggestion is that we use Jordan to lure Catherine Blake into the open," Boothby said. "We arrest her, put her under the bright lights, and turn her. We use her to funnel smoke back to the Germans--confuse them, try to convince them that Mulberry is anything but an artificial harbor meant for Normandy."

Vicary cleared his throat gently and said, "I fully agree with the second half of that proposal, Sir Basil. But I suspect the first half wouldn't be quite as easy as it sounds."

"Your point, Alfred?"

"Everything we know about this woman suggests she is highly trained and thoroughly ruthless. I doubt we'd succeed in convincing her to cooperate with us. She's not like the others."

"It's been my experience that everyone cooperates when they're faced with the prospect of a hanging, Alfred. But what are you suggesting?"

"I suggest that Peter Jordan continue to see her. But from now on, we control what's inside that briefcase and what goes home into that safe. We let her run and we watch her. We discover how she's getting the material back to Berlin. We discover the other agents in the network. Then we arrest her. If we roll up the network cleanly, we'll be able to feed Double Cross material directly to the highest levels of the Abwehr--right up to the invasion."

Churchill said, "Basil, what do you think of Alfred's plan?"

"It's brilliant," Boothby said. "But what if Alfred's fears about Commander Jordan are correct? What if he truly is a German agent? Jordan would be in a position to do irreparable damage."

"That would be true under your scenario as well, Sir Basil. I'm afraid it's a risk we're going to have to take. But Jordan will never be alone with her or anyone else for a second. As of now he is under round-the-clock surveillance. Wherever he goes, we go. If we see or hear anything we don't like, we move in, arrest Catherine Blake, and do it your way."

Boothby nodded. "Do you think Jordan can pull it off? After all, he just told us he was in love with this woman. She betrayed him. I don't think he's going to be in any condition to continue carrying on a romantic relationship with her."

"Well, he simply has to," Vicary said. "He's the one who got us into this damned mess, and he's the only one who can get us out. It's not as though we could move the chairs around and slip a professional in there. They chose chose him. No one else will do. They'll believe what they see in him. No one else will do. They'll believe what they see in Jordan's Jordan's briefcase." briefcase."

Churchill looked at Eisenhower. "General?"