“I was making the point,” Hessinger said, “that if we can’t tar Himmler with the brush of common criminal, and make the Germans accept that, he’s likely to be thought of as a martyr, and Castle Wewelsburg—”
“Will become his shrine,” Serov finished for him. “I’d love to have a look at that place.”
“Cronley’s going to fly me up there in the morning. Your Storch carries three people, doesn’t it, Jim? There would be room for Friend Ivan?”
I didn’t say I was going to fly up there tomorrow.
It was going to be sometime in the future.
With Janice.
Who will be highly pissed—at me, not Cohen—if she’s bumped by Serov.
So what do I do?
I go along with ol’ Morty, who has some kind of agenda vis-à-vis Serov.
“Sure,” Cronley said.
“Soldier’s Field at 0800?” Cohen asked.
“I’ll be there,” Serov said. “Thank you, James.”
“My pleasure.”
“And when do I get to see the Cathedral of Nazism?” Janice demanded.
Cronley’s mouth went on automatic: “All things come to he, or she, who waits.”
Janice gave him both the finger and an icy glare.
She really is pissed.
Guess who will sleep alone tonight in the Duchess Suite?
“Well, since I’ll be flying tomorrow morning, I can’t have any more to drink,” Cronley said. “I think I’ll go have a look at the Mansion.”
“What’s that?” Serov asked.
“Our newly assigned quarters, formerly the modest home of the local Gauleiter. I’m told it has twenty-eight rooms. We got it today, but I’ve never seen it.”
“And I, too, must take my leave of this company,” Serov said.
“Where do you live, Ivan?” Cronley asked.
“We have another requisitioned mansion, but like you, James, I have a room here.”
So you can keep an eye on me, and pick the right moment to kidnap me?
“Wonderful. We can have breakfast together at, say, seven? And then go to the airfield together. In my Horch. It used to belong to Colonel Mattingly.”
“How nice of Robert to turn it over to you,” Serov said, as he got to his feet. “I’m a little surprised, frankly. During our chats, I got the impression he didn’t like you very much.”
Robert? You sonofabitch!
Just in time, Cronley shut off his automatic mouth before asking, You mean the chats you had with him when you had him chained to a chair?
Instead he said, “See you here at seven, Ivan.”