“There is an airstrip and a nice little house. Very romantic, Don Cletus. There is a very nice view of the hills. There is a waterfall, not a very big one, but a very nice one. And—”
“And nobody knows about this place?” Clete shut him off.
“No, señor. Only myself and Rodolfo. When El Coronel and Doña Claudia went there, he took with them only Rodolfo or me, and Mariana María Delores, may she be resting in peace.”
Frade’s mind flashed the image of Enrico’s sister, Señora Mariana María Dolores Rodríguez de Pellano, her throat slashed during the failed attempt to assassinate Frade.
When Clete didn’t reply, Enrico went on: “There are just a few servants there, Don Cletus. All of them my family. They know how to keep their mouths shut.”
“That sounds ideal, Clete,” Leibermann said.
“Can we get these people there without anyone seeing them?”
“In the back of a truck,” Enrico said.
“Honey, I really have to go,” Clete said. “If I’m late getting to Campo de Mayo, the first thing they’ll think is that I’m involved in this.”
Dorotea nodded.
“Call Casa Número Veintidós. Tell Chief Schultz to send Sergeant Stein here with a truck and a couple of Thompsons. Tell Stein to dress like a gaucho. And then, Enrico, truck these people out to this place in Tandil. Don’t let them be seen, and don’t let them near a telephone.”
“I will go with you, Don Cletus,” Enrico said softly.
Clete ignored him.
“I have no intention of riding in the back of a truck,” Dorotea said. “I’m pregnant, in case you haven’t noticed. Factor that into your planning, Napoleon.”
“What are you talking about?” Clete asked. “You’re not going to this place, wherever it is. Jesus Christ!”
“Permission to speak, Don Cletus?” Enrico asked.
When Frade looked at him, he saw Enrico was standing at attention.
Restraining a smile, Clete barked, “Stand at ease, permission granted,” and then glowered at Ashton, who was smiling.
“Señor, if I am not with you at Campo de Mayo, questions would be asked . . .”
“. . . but if Rodolfo were to drive Doña Dorotea in the Horch and the truck following them was carrying furniture, and provisions. . . .”
“Good idea, Clete,” Leibermann said. “Nothing suspicious about that. What do they call that? ‘Hiding in plain sight’?”
Clete considered that a moment, then agreed. “Yeah, it is. You sure you’re up to this, baby?”
“Of course I am. All I do is ride over there—I’ve never been to the estancia, but I’ve been to Tandil; I’d guess it’s about two hours from here—unload the provisions and the furniture, and ride back. As long as Rodolfo and Seigfried don’t hang out a sign, no one will suspect that we’re hiding a couple of Nazis in what is now
Clete was surprised at her use of the term
He turned to Leibermann.
"And you and Max head back to Buenos Aires and hope nobody saw you come out here.”
[THREE]
Office of the Ambassador Embassy of the German Reich Avenida Córdoba Buenos Aires, Argentina 1140 14 July 1943
“I suggest for the moment,” Ambassador von Lutzenberger said, “that we accept Sturmbannführer Raschner’s premise that Herr Frogger has chosen to desert his post—”
“What other reason for his disappearance could there possibly be?” von Deitzberg interrupted almost indignantly.
Von Lutzenberger ignored him and went on: “—which then poses the question of why.”
“He did not wish to go home, obviously,” Gradny-Sawz said.
“If so, wouldn’t that raise the question why?” von Lutzenberger said.
“Isn’t that equally obvious?” von Deitzberg said sarcastically. “He’s the traitor we’ve been looking for.”
Cranz had several thoughts, one after the other:
