Secret Honor (Honor Bound 3)

“There is a rumor that there is both a radio station and a radar station operating illegally on Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo.”

“I wonder how a rumor like that got started?”

“Who knows? But it is the sort of thing that I’m going to have to tell General Obregon, and it’s the sort of thing he’ll probably want to look into.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Bernardo. A radar station? I can’t think of any reason why there would be a radar station operating out there, except perhaps to look for German submarines being supplied in Samborombón Bay, and my government has your government’s assurance that has never happened.”

“From what General Rawson tells me, that sort of thing will never happen under his administration.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad to hear that. Neutrality is so important, isn’t it?”

Martín put out his hand. “So nice to run into you like this, Milton.”

“And it’s always a pleasure to see you, Bernardo,” Leibermann said. “Are you sure you won’t have another peanut?”

“No, but thank you.”

They smiled at each other, and then Martín walked away, more quickly now, down the winding path to the other end of the zoo, and pushed through the turnstile onto Avenida Libertador.

Next Saturday, he thought, we will meet in Recoleta Cemetery. And the week after that in the Café Colon.

He spotted the Dodge. It was parked, illegally, twenty-five meters down Avenida Libertador. A sergeant of the Corps of Mounted Police had just parked his motorcycle and was advancing on it with a look of righteous indignation on his face.

Martín stopped and took the Clarin from under his arm.

The policemen bent down to look at the driver, and a moment later straightened up, saluted, and walked back to his motorcycle. Martín waited until he had kicked it into life and ridden off before folding the newspaper again and walking up to the car. He got in the backseat.

“Any problems, Manuel?”

“No, Sir,” Manuel said.

“Let’s go to the office,” Martín said. “With a little bit of luck, we can both go home in about an hour.”

“Yes, Sir.”

[TWO]

Office of the Chief, Ethical Standards Office

Bureau of Internal Security, Ministry of Defense

Edificio Libertador, Avenida Paseo Colón

Buenos Aires

1620 1 May 1943

Coronel Bernardo Martín had just finished putting his uniform on and was examining himself in the full-length mirror on the back of his private rest-room door when there was a knock at his office door.

The uniform consisted of a brown tunic, a white shirt, a black necktie, light tan gabardine riding breeches, highly polished riding boots, a leather-brimmed high-crowned uniform cap, and a Sam Browne belt. The branch of service insignia was that of cavalry. He had once been a cavalry officer, and frequently wished he still was. The colonel’s rank badges on the tunic’s epaulets were brand new. He had been promoted to colonel only two weeks before, and had had the good luck to pick up the uniform with the proper insignia from the officer’s sales store just in time to have it ready for General Obregon.

He hoped that good luck was an omen.

He went into his office, crossed to the door, and opened it to find Mayor Gonzalo Delgano, Argentine Army Air Service, standing there.

He motioned him into the office and closed the door. He didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation.

Delgano was a short, muscular man in his early forties, and he too was in uniform. Martín saw that his insignia of rank was new, too.