No decoding was necessary. It was all written in simple business language and easily understood when applied to the current situation. Canfield separated the pages. There were three.
SORRY TO INFORM YOU RAWLINS THOMAS AND LILLIAN IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT REPEAT ACCIDENT POCONO MOUNTAINS STOP BOTH ARE DEAD STOP KNOW THIS WILL UPSET YOUR DEAR FRIEND E S STOP SUGGEST YOU CARE FOR HER IN HER DISTRESS STOP TO WIMBLEDON BUSINESS STOP WE HAVE SPARED NO EXPENSE AGAIN SPARED NO EXPENSE WITH OUR ENGLISH SUPPLIERS TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM QUOTAS OF MERCHANDISE STOP THEY ARE SYMPATHETIC WITH OUR PROBLEMS OF SCANDINAVIAN EXPORTS STOP THEY ARE PREPARED TO AID YOU IN YOUR NEGOTIATIONS FOR FAIR REDUCTIONS ON MAXIMUM PURCHASES STOP THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD OF OUR COMPETITORS IN SWITZERLAND AGAIN SWITZERLAND AND THE COMPANIES REPEAT COMPANIES INVOLVED STOP THEY KNOW OF THE THREE BRITISH FIRMS IN COMPETITION STOP THEY WELL GIVE YOU ALL ASSISTANCE AND WE EXPECT YOU TO CONCENTRATE AGAIN CONCENTRATE ON OUR INTERESTS IN ENGLAND STOP DO NOT AGAIN DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNDERBID OUR COMPETITORS IN SWITZERLAND STOP STAY OUT OF IT STOP NOTHING CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED STOP
J. HAMMER WIMBLEDON NEW YORK
Canfield lit a thin cigar and placed the three pages on the floor between his outstretched legs. He peered down at them.
Hammer was Reynolds’s code name for messages sent to field accountants when he considered the contents to be of the utmost importance. The word again was for positive emphasis. The word repeat a simple inversion. It denoted the negative of whatever it referred to.
So the Rawlinses—Canfield had to think for a minute before he remembered that the Rawlinses were Boothroyd’s in-laws—had been murdered. Not an accident. And Reynolds feared for Elizabeth Scarlatti’s life. Washington had reached an agreement with the British government to gain him unusual cooperation—no expense spared—and in return had told the English of the Swedish securities and the land purchases in Switzerland, which were presumed to be related. However, Reynolds did not specify who the men in Zurich were. Only that they existed and three upstanding Englishmen were on the list. Canfield recalled their names—Masterson of India fame; Leacock of the British Stock Exchange; and Innes-Bowen, the textile magnate.
The main points Hammer made were to protect Elizabeth and stay out of Switzerland.
There was a light tapping on his door. Canfield gathered the pages together and put them in his pocket. “Who is it?”
“Goldilocks, confound you! I’m looking for a bed to sleep in.” The crisp British accent belonged, of course, to James Derek. Canfield opened the door and the Englishman walked in without further greeting. He threw a manila envelope on the bed, placed his bowler on the bureau, and sat down in the nearest stuffed chair.
“I like the hat, James.”
“I’m just praying that it may keep me from being arrested. A Londoner prowling around the Savoy at this hour has to have the look of immense respectability.”
“You have it, take my word.”
“I wouldn’t take your word for a damn thing, you insomniac.”
“Can I get you a whiskey?”
“God, no!… Madame Scarlatti didn’t mention a thing to you?”
“Nothing. Less than nothing. She tried to divert my attention. Then she just shut up and locked herself in her bedroom.”
“I can’t believe it. I thought you two were working together.” Derek withdrew a hotel key attached to the usual wooden identification tag. “I had a chat with the hotel bobby.”
“Can you trust him?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a master key and he thinks I’m covering a party on the second floor.”
“Then I’ll get going. Wait for me, please. Grab some sleep.”
“Hold on. You’re obviously connected with Madame Scarlatti. I should do the reconnoitering.”
The field accountant paused. There was merit in what Derek said. He presumed the British operative was far more adept at this kind of sleuthing than he was. On the other hand, he could not be sure of the man’s confidence. Neither was he prepared to tell him very much and have the British government making decisions.
“That’s brave of you, Derek, but I wouldn’t ask it.”
“Not brave at all. Numerous explanations under the Alien Order.”
“Nevertheless, I’d prefer going myself. Frankly, there’s no reason for you to be involved. I called you for help, not to do my work.”
“Let’s compromise. In my favor.”
“Why?”
“It’s safer.”
“You’ve won a point.”
“I’ll go in first while you wait in the corridor by the lift. I’ll check the rooms and then signal you to join me.”