“Perish the thought,” she said.
“I have jumped to the conclusion that everyone has read this morning’s Stars and Stripes,” Wallace said, making it a question.
Everyone nodded.
“Janice has told us (a) that her splendid story will already have made its way on the AP wire to all the world’s newspapers, including the Washington Star, which both the admiral and El Jefe read over their morning coffee, and (b) that the Washington Star will almost certainly run a story of great international significance, such as a WAC non-com blowing away four evil men intent on stealing her virtue with a .38 she carries around in her underwear.
“To that end, Freddy, get on the horn to the ASA in Fulda to make sure I have an encrypted voice line to El Jefe at noon. That will be 0700 in Washington, and with a little bit of luck, I’ll be able to talk to El Jefe before he or the admiral reads Miss Johansen’s article. I suspect both the admiral and his executive assistant will wish to chat with me about it. I would prefer to have that chat before they are enraged by it.”
“Yes, sir,” Hessinger said. “I’ll arrange the line.”
“I am now going to my room, where I will try to figure out what to say. Captain Cronley will bring you up to speed on this disaster. If Colonel Mattingly calls, tell him I’m skiing in the Alps.”
“Is Colonel Mattingly somehow involved in this?” Claudette asked.
Wallace hesitated before replying.
Finally he said, “Dette, would you be surprised to hear that once again Captain Cronley has grossly annoyed Colonel Mattingly and that as we speak the colonel is probably telling General Seidel why he is displeased?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s something else I fear I will have to discuss with our naval superiors. How am I going to talk them out of keelhauling our chief?”
“I see the problem,” Hessinger said.
“Good,” Wallace said, and walked out of the office.
Everybody looked at Cronley.
“While Freddy is talking to Fulda,” he said, “what I need from you, Tiny, is one of your troopers, a German speaker, to drive Miss Johansen to Pfungstadt, where he will spend several days becoming chummy with the Stars and Stripes delivery truck drivers.”
“Good idea!” Hammersmith said.
“I want him ready to go the minute Miss Johansen and I get back from Kloster Grünau.”
“What’s that about?” Hessinger asked.
“Miss Johansen is interested to see the man we reported as dead.”
“Resurrection always makes a good story,” Janice furnished.
“I won’t even get into that,” Claudette said. “But before you go out there, I think you’d better have a look at this.”
Cronley read the SIGABA printout she handed him:
Priority
Top Secret Lindbergh
Duplication Forbidden
From Polo
via Vint Hill Tango Net
2210 Greenwich 25 January 1946
To Altarboy