Never Say Die / Presumed Guilty: Never Say Die / Presumed Guilty

“You mean no one has told you about the bounty?”

“Bounty for what?”

“For the arrest of Friar Tuck.”

She fell instantly still. An image took shape in her mind: words typed on a file folder. Operation Friar Tuck. Declassified. She turned to Guy. “You know what he’s talking about, don’t you. Who’s Friar Tuck?”

Guy’s expression was unreadable, as if a mask had fallen over his face. “It’s nothing but a story.”

“But you had his file in your room.”

“It’s just a nickname for a renegade pilot. A legend—”

“Not just a legend,” insisted Gerard. “He was a real man, a traitor. Intelligence does not offer two-million-dollar bounties for mere legends.”

Willy’s gaze shot back to Guy. She wondered how he had the nerve—the gall—to meet her eyes. You knew, she thought. You bastard. All the time, you knew. Rage had tightened her throat almost beyond speech.

She barely managed to force out her next question, which she directed at Alain Gerard. “You think this—this renegade pilot is my father?”

“Intelligence thought so.”

“Based on what evidence? That he could fly planes? The fact that he’s not here to defend himself?”

“Based on the timing, the circumstances. In July 1970, William Maitland vanished from the face of the earth. In August of the same year, we heard the first reports of a foreign pilot flying for the enemy. Running weapons and gold.”

“But there were hundreds of foreign pilots in Laos! Friar Tuck could have been a Frenchman, a Russian, a—”

“This much we did know—he was American.”

She raised her chin. “You’re saying my father was a traitor.”

“I am telling you this only because it’s something you should know. If he’s alive, this is the reason he may not want to be found. You think you are on some sort of rescue mission, Miss Maitland, but you may be sadly mistaken. Your father could go home to a jail cell.”

In the silence that followed, she turned her gaze to Guy. He still hadn’t said a word; that alone proved his guilt. Who do you work for? she wondered. The CIA? The Ariel Group? Or your lying, miserable self?

She couldn’t stand the sight of him. Even being in the same room with him made her recoil in disgust.

She rose. “Thank you, Mr. Gerard. You’ve told me things I needed to hear. Things I didn’t expect.”

“Then you agree it’s best you drop the matter?”

“I don’t agree. You think my father’s a traitor. Obviously you’re not the only one who thinks so. But you’re all wrong.”

“And how will you prove it?” Gerard snorted. “Tell me, Miss Maitland, how will you perform this grand miracle after twenty years?”

She didn’t have an answer. The truth was, she didn’t know what her next move would be. All she knew was that she would have to do it alone.

Her spine was ramrod straight as she followed Gerard back down the hall. The whole time, she was intensely aware of Guy moving right behind her. I knew I couldn’t trust him, she thought. From the very beginning I knew it.

No one said a word until they reached the front door. There Gerard paused. Quietly he said, “Mr. Barnard? You will relay a message to Toby Wolff?”

Guy nodded. “Certainly. What’s the message?”

“Tell him he has just called in his last chip.” Gerard opened the front door. Outside, the sunshine was blinding. “There will be no more from me.”

SHE MADE IT SCARCELY FIVE steps before her rage burst through.

“You lied to me. You scum, you were using me!”

The look on his face was the only answer Willy needed. It was written there clearly; the acknowledgment, the guilt.

“You knew about Friar Tuck. About the bounty. You weren’t after just any ‘live one,’ were you? You were after a particular man—my father!”

Guy gave a shrug as though, now that the truth was out, it hardly mattered.

“How was this ‘deal’ with me supposed to work?” she pressed on. “Tell me, I’m curious. Were you going to turn him in the instant we found him—and my part of the deal be damned? Or were you going to humor me awhile, give me a chance to get my father home, let him step off the plane and onto American soil before you had him arrested? What was the plan, Guy? What was it?”

“There was no plan.”

“Come on. A man like you always has a plan.”

He looked tired. Defeated. “There was no plan.”

She stared straight up at him, her fists clenching, unclenching. “I bet you had plans for that two million dollars. I bet you knew exactly how you were going to spend it. Every penny. And all you had to do was put my father away. You bastard.” She should have slugged him right then and there. Instead, she walked away.

“Sure, I could use two million bucks!” he yelled. “I could use a lot of things! But I didn’t want to use you!”

She kept walking. It took him only a few quick strides to catch up to her.

“Willy. Dammit, will you listen?”

“To what? More of your lies?”

“No. The truth.”

“The truth?” She laughed. “Since when have you bothered with the truth?”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. “Since right now.”

“Let me go.”

“Not until you hear me out.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?”

“Look, I admit it. I knew about Friar Tuck. About the reward. And—”

“And you knew my father was on their list.”