The first was a NOTAM—Notice to Airmen—from the U.S. Army Air Force field at Puerto Allegre, Brazil, which was just across the border. Airmen bound for Europe were warned to expect “significant headwinds within five hundred miles of the South American continent from oh-six-hundred hours.” Cronley did the mental arithmetic and concluded they had to get as far away from the South American continent as soon as possible.
The second sheet of paper was a SIGABA message:
TOP SECRET–LINDBERGH
URGENT
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN
FROM: ASST DIRECTOR
TO: TEX
1—AS SOON AS EN ROUTE SIGABA CONTACT CAN BE ESTABLISHED WITH DCI-EUROPE FURNISH ETA RHINE-MAIN.
2—YOU WILL BE MET BY LTCOL WILSON WHO WILL TAKE YOUR PASSENGERS TO NUREMBERG.
3—ASAP AFTER PASSENGER TRANSFER RETURN TO WASHINGTON. ADVISE ETA.
SCHULTZ
END
TOP SECRET–LINDBERGH
Cronley looked across the room to Ginger. She was bouncing the baby against her naked bosom and looking at Cronley as tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Hey, not to worry,” he said with conviction, something he did not feel at all, as he went to her. “Clete’s a good guy. He’s not going to say anything.”
She nodded, and handed him the baby. She walked to her discarded clothing, quickly slipped into the dressing gown, and then motioned for him to give her the infant.
She met his eyes, shrugged, leaned up, and kissed him on the cheek.
She then chuckled, and said, “Is this the wages of sin that everybody’s talking about?”
She walked out of the room.
He hurriedly dressed, finished packing, and then went in search of Ginger.
* * *
—
As he and she started down the wide main stairs together, they immediately saw by everyone’s expression—particularly that of his mother, who glared at him, and that of Max Ostrowski, who was grinning broadly—that their secret was out.
“It wasn’t Clete,” Ginger said. “Dorotea went to my room, and I wasn’t there.”
* * *
—
“Well, let’s get loaded,” Cletus Frade said as they reached the bottom stair. “We have a headwind to dodge.”
As Cronley’s mother kissed him good-bye, she whispered, “How could you? What in God’s name were you thinking?”
[TWO]
Rhine-Main Airfield