Insatiable Appetites

23

They settled into a banquette at Patroon and ordered their second drink.

“All right,” Stone said, “tell me about Deep... What do you call him?”

“I don’t know — Deep Tonsils?”

Stone laughed.

“Let’s just call him the Source.”

“That’ll do. Then we’ll never be heard mentioning his name.”

“Right, we can’t do that in public. The Source and I had another meeting, same place. The antiques shop is owned by a friend of his — probably a very good friend. They do make a handsome couple.”

“Is it a good shop?”

“It’s wonderful. I’ve already bought a couple of things, and I have my eye on an honest-to-God Tiffany lamp, which I can’t afford on my salary.”

“And what did the Source have to say?”

“He brought me a typed-up copy of his notes from the first meeting, and a list of everyone present.”

“Well, that will add credence to your story when it runs. When will it run?”

“There is now a team, two in Washington, two in New York, running a fine-toothed comb through the details, which is not as easy as it sounds. For instance, we’re trying to establish that every person there was not actually somewhere else, and we have to do that without asking the person or his or her staff. It’s not easy.”

“Have you developed another source who was at the meeting?”

“That’s even harder. Every one of them is a rock-ribbed right winger, and none of them is inclined to be interviewed by that Great Satan, the Times, unless it’s to defame the president or the president-elect. However, I’ve gotten chummy with that dazzling blond congresswoman from Georgia, Mimi Meriwether. She’s a first cousin to Senator Sam Meriwether, whom you know.”

“I do, and it’s hard to imagine that a cousin of Sam’s could be encamped on the Right. Where did she go wrong?”

“Runs in the family. Her father and his brother, Sam’s father, were both Dixiecrats in their day. It’s Sam who’s the black sheep of the family, not Mimi. Still, she’s a very smart lady, even if she does make some truly stupid public remarks. I have hope for her.”

“It sounds as though winning her over is a big leap, especially given your deadline. You do have a deadline, don’t you?”

“Not yet, and Mimi is the reason I don’t. She’s coming to dinner at my house tomorrow night, and I’ve invited her early for a drink, so that we can have a quiet chat. I’m not sure she’ll cop to having agreed to oppose Kate Lee on everything, before she knows what everything is.”

“Did you know that the Republicans have a history of that sort of obstruction, going back nearly a century?”

“I did not know that. Enlighten me.”

“It’s covered in Scott Berg’s biography of Woodrow Wilson, which I recommend to you. Wilson went to Paris twice to head up the negotiations for what became the Treaty of Versailles, which would officially end World War One.”

“That, I knew.”

“Wilson’s archenemy, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Senior, held a secret meeting of important Republicans, who agreed to oppose the treaty when Wilson brought it home — no matter what the terms were. Franklin Roosevelt, who was assistant secretary of the Navy at the time, was told about it by someone who was at the meeting, but too late for him to do anything about it.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“That’s how the Republicans came to oppose the League of Nations, which Wilson had proposed in his Fourteen Points, the heart of the treaty. The League was intended to nip future wars in the bud, and Wilson said that, if the Senate did not ratify the treaty, the former combatants would be at war with each other again in twenty years.”

“Which is exactly what happened.”

“Now, who knows if the League could have prevented World War Two? But they would certainly have tried.”

“I think we’ll need to get some opinions on that from a few eminent historians. Nice to have a historical basis for our story.”

“How would you like a nice, one-word title for your story?”

“Speak it!”

“CABAL.”

“Perfect! It’s wonderfully sinister! And appropriate in the circumstances.”

They ordered dinner.

“Now,” Carla said, “give me something from the inside of Kate’s transition team.”

Stone shrugged.

“I know you’re plugged in there. I know you’re a member of her Kitchen Cabinet, too.”

“Then you know I can’t discuss anything with you that I’ve discussed with Kate — or anyone on her transition team.”

“And I was hoping to corrupt you.”

“Well,” Stone said, “that’s not out of the question, but you and I have to be very careful with what passes between us. We don’t want to do anything that would damage your credibility as a journalist.”

“You’re right, of course, but it would have been fun.”

“There’s this, though. Kate will be president for a maximum of eight years.”

“I have to wait that long to corrupt you?”

“It pains me to say it, but yes.”

They had a good dinner, then he put her into a cab to her hotel. It was a nice night, and Stone walked home.