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“How many squads did Von Leinsdorf tell you were working on this?”
“Five.”
“The men who took Von Leinsdorf had the corrected passes,” said Gra
“You’re saying that MP, those guys from Counter Intelligence-”
“They’re the fifth squad.”
A young lieutenant came out to escort them into the CO’s office. Gra
“Has a suspect in the Skorzeny case been brought in during the last hour?” asked Gra
“I don’t know-”
“Well, how fast can you fucking find out?”
The young lieutenant ran back toward his office. He returned at a trot leading his CO, a dyspeptic captain, who assured them that if any German operative in the Skorzeny case had been brought in, he would’ve been the first to hear about it.
“Is there anywhere else they would’ve taken him?”
“Maybe the SHAEF offices in Versailles.”
“I need to use your phone,” said Gra
Invalides Metro, Paris
DECEMBER 21, 11:00 P.M.
Ververt’s two men had been parked outside the Invalides metro station in an empty bakery truck for an hour when a black sedan with U.S. military plates pulled up alongside. Two men climbed out, one in the uniform of an MP, the other in civilian clothes, who brought along a suitcase he lifted from the trunk of the car. One of Ververt’s men opened the back panel door and they climbed inside. The black sedan sped off. Once the back panel of the truck rolled shut, the driver headed west toward the highway along the river, out of the city.
Paris City Morgue
DECEMBER 22, 12:30 A.M.
Inspector Massou was waiting for them at the front door. He led Gra
“This is the man who was wearing Be
He had taken four gunshot wounds to the chest. One had gone clear through. He’d died quickly. About Be
The coroner showed Gra
“This isn’t Be
35
Versailles
DECEMBER 22, 3:00 A.M.
Eddie dozed off in the back of the truck during the ride out from Paris, which was slowed by the snowstorm blanketing the city. Von Leinsdorf pretended to sleep, listening to the two men up front speaking in French. They said little, but he gathered enough to know they’d been given orders from Ververt to kill them as soon as the goods from the train were on board their truck.
Von Leinsdorf woke Eddie as they neared the supply depot in Matelot. Be
“What the hell,” said Be
“They had orders to kill us, Eddie,” said Von Leinsdorf. “I heard them on the drive.”
“What the fuck we supposed to do with Ververt now?”
“Live in hope our paths cross again so we can make it up to him. I’ve arranged for the men who helped us out of Paris to meet us at the drop. They’ll take the delivery off our hands and pay us on the spot. We’re done.”
Troubled that he still lacked a satisfactory explanation for exactly who those men were, Eddie followed Von Leinsdorf into the train yard. Eddie’s two contacts in the depot’s railway battalion were waiting, as instructed, inside the gate. Eddie sounded anxious, but they were used to that, and in the dark of the train yard they couldn’t see the sickly sheen of sweat on his face. The GIs led them to the Christmas train, waiting on a side track near the edge of the yards. Von Leinsdorf paid them out of Ververt’s advance, and beyond that they showed no interest in the aftermath of their transaction.
Von Leinsdorf helped Eddie up into the last boxcar holding the luxury goods, and the train rolled out of the yard just after twelve-thirty. Eddie propped himself up against a stack of whiskey boxes in the corner. He watched Von Leinsdorf set down and open his suitcase, turn on a flashlight, and go to work.
“How long to the drop?” asked Von Leinsdorf.
“An hour, maybe more, depending on the switches,” said Eddie. “Trouble you for a smoke?”
“A million cigarettes in this car and you’re bumming one off me?”
“Old habits die hard.”
Von Leinsdorf tossed a pack of Luckies over to him. Eddie fumbled through his pockets.
“Shit, sorry, you got a light?”
Von Leinsdorf moved over to him, taking out his lighter.
“This is a one-night career, Eddie. We collect our end, work our way down to Portugal, and buy passage home out of Lisbon.”
“I can’t wait to get back to New York. You can have fucking Europe, they’re all out of their minds. There’s some important guys I want you to meet in the city, Dick. Co
As Von Leinsdorf leaned down with the lighter, the car jolted sideways and he stumbled slightly and bumped into Eddie. When he straightened back up, Eddie was holding a pistol at his head.
“Now you tell me what the fuck is going on,” said Eddie. “Or you’re not leaving this car.”
“Eddie, Eddie, I thought we understood each other.
He sprinted across the road, used bolt cutters to hack a small opening through the lines of barbed wire, and slipped through it into the compound. He ran forward into the shelter of a stand of evergreens. The heavily falling snow quickly erased his footsteps as he headed deeper into the trees.
Versailles
DECEMBER 22, 5:20 A.M.
After clearing security, Gra
Appearing to take their report seriously, the two officers reassured Gra