the hands of a man still green with his own power.
Doval nodded to the man who had promised a perfect German, and the man picked up the telephone.
“Hello?” The man’s eyes darted as he listened. “Yes … slower please … yes … thank you … I can wait.” The eyes settled on the rind of cheese before suddenly refocusing. “One moment.” He cupped the receiver and looked at Doval. Doval looked across at Hoffner, and Hoffner said in Spanish, “You’re to tell the Herr Gruppenfuhrer that SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Nikolai Hoffner is in Zaragoza, Spain, at the Nationalist headquarters with a Captain Doval.”
Doval nodded to the man. The information was relayed in German and Hoffner watched as the man continued to listen. Either Prager would understand or Hoffner would be dead. It was as simple as that.
The man with the perfect German said in Spanish, “I think he’s asking why you’ve contacted him, Captain.”
Doval again looked at Hoffner, and Hoffner said, “You’re to say this and only this: ‘Braunschweig.’ ”
Doval again nodded and the man said hesitantly into the receiver, “Braunschweig.” There were several more seconds of darting eyes, and the man said in Spanish, “SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Hoffner has the Gruppenfuhrer’s complete authority. Contact is not to be made again.” The man listened for more and then said, “Hello?… Hello?” He held the receiver out to Doval. “The line has disengaged, Captain.”
Doval was looking across at Hoffner. “Set it down, Lieutenant. You’re dismissed.”
The man placed the telephone in its cradle, saluted, and moved to the door. Doval waited until they were alone.
“I’ve never heard of this Prager,” said Doval. His caution remained.
“No,” said Hoffner, “I’m sure you haven’t.” It was nice to know that two old bull cops could still wreak a little havoc. “The Gruppenfuhrer’s immediate superior is SS Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich. That, I suspect, is a name you’re more familiar with. We can put a call directly through to the Obergruppenfuhrer if you prefer.”
Doval had evidently spent time enough in the company of the SS not to give way to this kind of bullying. Instead he said, “Langenheim never mentioned Braunschweig.”
Langenheim, thought Hoffner. All the names from Georg’s wire were finding their way onto the table. Granted, Hoffner had no idea how Doval knew Langenheim-or who Langenheim might be-but at least they were heading in the right direction.
“No,” said Hoffner. “I’m sure not.”
“And the woman?”
Hoffner pulled out his cigarettes. This time he offered one to Doval. “The woman is no concern of yours.” Doval took one and Hoffner lit it. “She has a brother who fights for you. That should be enough.” He lit his own and sat back. “When was Bernhardt here?”
Doval was doing what he could to reassert control. He sat back as he stared across through the smoke. “He wasn’t,” he said.
Hoffner knew to tread carefully. Any moment this could all come crashing down. He began to feel a dull throbbing at the back of his neck. He took another careless pull on the cigarette and said, “Really?”
“But I would have assumed you knew that.”
Doval was proving surprisingly adept. Hoffner let the smoke trail from his nose. “Would you?” he said. His only choice was a quiet contempt. “And when would I have learned this, Captain, having been in Barcelona for the past four days? When I telephoned to Berlin from the Ritz? I’m sure no one at the anarchist telephone exchange would have thought to ask why.” And with no time for a response, “I need to know when Bernhardt was here. Do we understand each other?”
Doval might not have found the sweating German-with his half stories and vague papers-compelling, but Hoffner had brought something else with him: the aura of Nazi infallibility. It was enough to cut through any lingering concern.
“It was the nephew,” said Doval. “The boy from Barcelona. No doubt you’ve met him.”
Nephew, thought Hoffner. The drug addict was a nephew. Which meant there was a second, older Bernhardt. Hoffner had spent a career being told things he was meant to know. It made revelations like this quickly digestible.
Hoffner said, “I don’t trust anyone involved with that. Opium is a mind without control, too easily persuaded. When was he here?”
Doval flicked a bit of ash into the ashtray. “Six days ago. He said he was having trouble establishing contacts.”
“The Chinese were being less than accommodating?” Hoffner let this settle for only a moment. “As I said, I don’t trust any of it. I haven’t from the start.” Hoffner finally saw what he had been hoping for: an instant of mutual understanding. They would find common ground in their distaste for the drug lines. Hoffner said, “Bernhardt thinks he’s helping the nephew. I’m here to make sure he understands that’s no longer in his best interests. Where was the nephew heading?”
“South.”
“And the elder Bernhardt knew this?”
“I assume so.”
Hoffner decided to take a chance. “You assume so? You have wires to this effect?”
It was not a good choice as Doval looked momentarily puzzled. “I don’t think I follow.”
The throbbing became a dull ache. Hoffner retreated to frustration. “The elder Bernhardt. Did he communicate this to you?”
Doval was no less forthright. “He made it clear we were no longer to continue in this direction.”
“With the Chinese and the drugs?”
“Yes.”
“And the nephew knew this?”
“Yes.”
“He knew the guns were still coming from the south?”
Doval’s hesitation returned. The SS never asked; they gave orders. This was too many questions. Regardless, Hoffner had swum well beyond his limits; there was no point in worrying about getting back to shore now.
“The elder Bernhardt,” Hoffner pressed. “He made it clear that the drug lines were no longer a possibility, that the new routes were to go through Teruel.”
Doval showed a moment’s pause. This had struck a nerve.
Hoffner said, “I’ve said something that confuses you, Captain?”
Doval kept his eyes fixed on Hoffner. “No, Hauptsturmfuhrer, you haven’t.”
The answer was too weak, and with nothing behind it. “You’re aware of Teruel, Captain?”
“Yes,” said Doval. “Of course.”
“You’re not filling me with tremendous confidence. I need to see these wires.”
“You continue to refer to routes, Hauptsturmfuhrer.” Doval spoke with an unexpected resolve. “What routes would those be?”
The gaze across the desk showed none of the weakness of only moments ago. Mila had been right. These were not men to be underestimated. Hoffner wondered if this was where Doval had been leading him all along.
Hoffner waited. He took another pull on his cigarette. He let the smoke spear through his nostrils. And then he did what any good Nazi would do. He smiled.
“You don’t speak German,” said Hoffner. His voice carried a newfound respect. “Now I see why.” He leaned forward and slowly crushed out his cigarette. “Ambition is a far more vital quality.”
Doval showed nothing, and Hoffner knew it was only a matter of time before there would be a second telephone call to Berlin.
Hoffner continued. “Bernhardt chose not to tell you about the routes, Captain. I have to accept that. My mistake was assuming you knew, Teruel notwithstanding. If that means you take me outside and shoot me, so be it.”
Doval sat remarkably still. Hoffner returned the gaze and understood the reason Gabriel and his kind had taken no time for celebrations: if this was Spain’s future, there would be no Spain worth remembering.
Doval said, “I wouldn’t bother taking you outside, Hauptsturmfuhrer. The walls in my office are sturdy enough.”
