Page 43 of Safe Enough

“But?”

“Next step was to talk to his friends. Or listen to them, actually. To what they say, and what they don’t.”

“And what did you hear?”

“Not much, initially. Those type of people are very discreet. Very proper. They talked to me like they would talk to the mailman. They were polite and I was left in no doubt. I worked for a solid and useful organization, but they weren’t about to share confidences.”

“How do you get around a thing like that?”

“We tell part of the truth. But not all of it. I hinted there was a top-secret project. War work. National security. Concrete ships, I hinted, absolutely vital. I told them these days sharing confidences was a patriotic duty.”

“And?”

“They loosened up some. They like the guy. And respect him. Businesswise he’s a straight shooter. He pays his bills. He treats his people well. He’s very successful in a high-end niche.”

“All good, then.”

“There was something they weren’t saying. I had to push.”

“And?”

“Old Sherman is married. But there are stories about a piece on the side. Apparently he’s been seen with her.”

“Did you classify that as a blackmail risk?”

“I went to see Mr. Hopper,” I said.

“Who is, for posterity?”

“My boss. Director of Security. It was a big decision. Mr. Hopper especially liked the part about being a success in a high-end niche. He was thinking about making him a brigadier general, not a colonel. He was the exact type of guy we needed. To pass on him would be a big step to take.”

“Did Mr. Hopper think blackmail was likely?”

“Not really. But where do you draw the line?”

“Did you advise Mr. Hopper one way or the other?”

“I said we should get more information. I said we shouldn’t take a big step based on rumor alone.”

“Did Mr. Hopper listen to your advice?”

“Maybe. He’s not a stuck-up guy. He’s got time for us all. Or maybe he agreed with me anyhow. Or maybe he’s getting gun-shy about going to meetings and putting a wrench in their gears. Maybe he wanted to put it off. But whichever, he said he wanted more information.”

“How did you go about getting it?”

“There was nothing I could do for the first three days. Old Sherman wasn’t seeing either one of his women. He was stuck in a concrete boat conference. I mean, do you think they could possibly work?”

“Do I?” Slaughter said. “Concrete boats?”

“Sounds like a dumb idea to me.”

“I’m not a nautical expert.”

“It’s not like steel plate. They’d have to mold it real thick.”

“Can we stay on the subject?”

“Sorry. The guy was in the boat conference. He was working hard. He wasn’t spending the day between the sheets. But Mr. Hopper wanted to see it with his own eyes. He really liked the guy. Liked him for the job, I mean. He wanted no doubt about it. So we had to wait.”

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