Chapter 68

Chapter 68—Bob’s final words 

frighten Allison

12:30 p.m., Saturday, December 31

Allison recognized those words. She had thrown them in Bob’s face on numerous occasions in the past. She knew that Bob was not the least bit embarrassed about the planted rumor. He simply wanted to get a dig in. So she did not respond to his question.
Then Bob turned his attention back to the recordings and the transcriptions. “Let’s assume, for the sake of this discussion, that James was right, that Mossad is behind this. I would agree with James that this is actually quite likely, given the way it is being handled. Besides, I have a lot of confidence in James’ intellect. If he is convinced it is Mossad, it probably is.”
Bob paused to catch his breath,  and then went on. “Mossad would like to use their knowledge of these meetings for two things. First, I do think they would like to see an end put to this assassination thing. They abhor the unknown, and political turmoil. Even though they do not like this guy, the current President, they would rather see him voted out than killed. I think these tapes effectively have put an end to this notion. Right?”
Allison, by her silence, signaled her acquiescence on this matter.
“Then, if the plan is dead, they will back off, and that could be the end of it. But, in the future, you can expect to see them use the intel to leverage something out of you, or me—especially should you become President. We can count on their doing that.”
“That’s exactly what James said,” Allison added.
“Now,” Bob continued, “can I safely assume that there are no other recordings in your voice regarding those meetings? Would that be correct?”
“Not in my voice. One of the others might have made some after the fact recordings, or transcriptions, but they would not stand up in hearings.”
“You’re damn right about that. … And if this thing ever saw the light of day, quite a few things wouldn’t be standing up,” Bob said, again venting some anger. After a few moments, Bob continued, “so, what we’re left with are these transcriptions, … and these very mysterious recordings. … And, of course, this ridiculous rumor about your affair with James,” Bob said, making an attempt at conclusion.
“And the four other members of our group,” Allison added.
“Loose ends,” Bob said. “I hate loose ends.”
“They’re my friends, Bob.”
“Friends? They’re not friends. They’re all a bunch of jackasses. … That’s exactly what they are, a bunch of damn jackasses.”
Allison recognized that tone of voice. She feared heads were going to roll.