The Honor of Spies

"That probably has something to do with me marrying his daughter."

"His opinion of you doesn't seem to bother you much."

"It bothers me a lot, even when I think that a married man--married to a really great woman like Dorotea's mother--who had a mistress doesn't have a hell of a lot of right to ride up on the high horse of righteousness."

"You know the mistress? Ex-mistress?"

"Why does that make me think you know her?"

"I wouldn't know her, Cletus, if she walked into Dona Claudia's party on the arm of a diplomat."

Frade nodded at Martin. Somehow, the nod expressed thanks.

[FIVE]

Office of the Ambassador

The Embassy of the German Reich

Avenida Cordoba

Buenos Aires, Argentina

0930 20 September 1943

Major Hans-Peter von Wachtstein walked into the office carrying a thick sheaf of eight-by-ten-inch photographs. He was in civilian clothing. Gunther Loche, carrying a nearly identical stack of photographs, followed him.

Von Wachtstein laid the photographs on Ambassador von Lutzenberger's desk and motioned for Loche to do the same thing. Then von Wachtstein came to attention, clicked his heels, gave the Nazi salute, and said, "Heil Hitler!"

Loche tried and almost succeeded in doing the same simultaneously.

Ambassador von Lutzenberger returned the salute.

Commercial Attache Karl Cranz glowered at von Wachtstein.

Anton von Gradny-Sawz demanded, "Where in the world have you been?"

There was no expression on the face of the naval attache, Kapitan zur See Karl Boltitz.

Von Wachtstein pointed to the two stacks on von Lutzenberger's desk.

"Since six this morning, Herr von Gradny-Sawz, I have been up to my ears in chemicals in the photo lab. As you can see, there are a great many photographs."

"There were a great many photographs in the press, von Wachtstein," Cranz said. "Presumably you've seen them?"

"No, sir."

"Have a look, von Wachtstein," Cranz said, and pointed to the conference table. There were at least a dozen newspapers spread out on it. On the front pages of all of them were photographs--sometimes just one, more often two and even three or four--of what had happened at Aeropuerto Coronel Jorge G. Frade the previous afternoon.

Just about all of them had a photo of the SAA Constellation coming in for a landing. And there were shots of the Constellation as it taxied up to the hangar with Argentine flags flying from holders at the cockpit windows. Others showed Gonzalo Delgano saluting General Rawson, of Rawson embracing Delgano, of Rawson, hands on hips, looking up with admiration--maybe even awe--at the enormous airplane.

"Take a look at that one, von Wachtstein," Cranz said, pointing to a photo of a beaming General Rawson embracing Cletus Frade. He then read aloud the cutline under one of the photos:

" 'The President of the Republic embraces Don Cletus Frade, Managing Director of South American Airways. Frade is the son of the late and beloved Coronel Jorge G. Frade, whose monument is now the airport named in his memory, from which the new aircraft will soon begin to fly to Europe.' "

He paused, looked at von Wachtstein, and challenged, "Well?"

"Excuse me, Herr Cranz?"

"Wouldn't you say you've been wasting your time, 'up to your ears in chemicals ,' printing photographs that were already spread across the front page of every goddamn newspaper in Argentina?"

Von Wachtstein's face tightened, but his voice was under control when he said, "With respect, Herr Cranz, I don't think our engineers could do much with newspaper photographs of the Constellation."

"What did you say?" asked von Gradny-Sawz.

"I'm sure our engineers will be very interested in the photographs I took of the Constellation."

"Why?"

"Because it is the fastest, largest long-range transport aircraft in the world," von Wachtstein said.

"You're not suggesting that it is a better aircraft than our Condor?" von Gradny-Sawz pursued.

Help came from an unexpected source:

"Obviously, von Gradny-Sawz, it is," Cranz said. "Von Wachtstein is suggesting our engineers will want to know as much about it as they can learn."

"I didn't think about that," von Gradny-Sawz said.

"Obviously," Cranz said dryly. "And he's right. It is going to be a problem for us in several areas. Propaganda Minister Goebbels is going to be very unhappy when this story--these pictures--appears in newspapers all over the world. And the Americans will make sure that it does."

"But it's not a new airplane," von Gradny-Sawz argued.

"Yes, it is, you Trottel !" Cranz snapped. "And it has never before (a) been in the hands of anyone but the Americans or (b) used to transport people across the Atlantic from a third-rate country--"

"More people and faster," von Wachtstein interjected.

Cranz nodded and went on: "Suggesting that the Americans have so many of them they can spare some for Argentina."