Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 03 - Secret Honor

"Was it your friend Colonel Almond?"

"Yes, it was. I spoke with him on the telephone. He was not willing to tell me how he'd gotten to Bariloche, or how he'd lost his identification."

"I wonder what he was doing in Bariloche?" Clete asked.

"I thought maybe he might be looking for Senor Gala had," Martin said. "And I thought maybe you dropped him off in Bariloche while you were flying around the country."

"Why would you think that?"

"A large red airplane was seen flying over Lake Nahuel

Huapi," Martin said. "In the belief that it might be landing, the Gendarmeria lieutenant drove to the airstrip. But there was no red airplane when he got there. He said he thought he saw a man who could have been Coronel Almond standing at the end of the runway, but he wasn't sure."

"I wonder who that could have been?" Clete asked.

"What I'm wondering is how Colonel Almond got to Bar iloche. There are only two buses a day, and he wasn't on either of them."

"Gee, that is puzzling, isn't it? Did you ask Colonel

Almond?"

"He did not wish to discuss the matter. He claimed the privileges of his diplomatic immunity."

"That wasn't very cooperative of him, was it?"

"I thought it was very uncooperative," Martin said. He exhaled audibly and shrugged. "Cletus, my friend, we're getting close to your house. Can we stop fencing?"

"Is that what we've been doing?"

"I have the feeling that you don't want Colonel Almond to find Galahad. True or false?"

"If I start answering questions, do I get to ask questions?"

"Within reason."

"Then I will answer questions within reason. First answer, true. You now owe me one."

"Does Coronel Juan Domingo Peron know the identity of

Galahad?"

"I'm sure he doesn't. Now you owe me two."

"Would you like Peron to know his identity?"

"I'll take my first question now," Clete said. "Why did you ask that question?"

"Peron asked the German ambassador for his help in getting someone back here from Germany. I thought it might be

Galahad."

"Got a name?"

"The German pilot Major von Wachtstein. That's your two questions."

"Alicia Carzino-Cormano is in the family way. Von

Wachtstein is the father."

"That's the truth?"

"Does that count as a question?"

"A small question."

"That's the truth. I got that from my wife, who said Peron is

'taking care of things.' I am not supposed to know either about the baby or Peron."

"OK."

"If I asked how you got von Wachtstein's name, would that be a small question?"

"It would be a very large question, which I can't answer."

"If I were in the intelligence business, I really would like to have someone in the Germany Embassy."

Martin chuckled.

"You know who Almond's looking for, don't you?"

"That would be a big answer, worth a big question from me."

"Agreed."

"Yeah, I know who he is. Will I give it to you? No. So don't ask."

"You don't want me to know, and you don't want Almond to know, and you don't want Peron to know."

"If that's a question, yes."

"It was a statement, but I'll give you a question."

"I'll swap all my questions for one favor," Clete said.

"I'll listen to the proposal."

"If you find out who Galahad is, would you tell me before you tell anyone else?"

"Why would you want me to tell you?"

"I'll throw that question in with the others," Clete said.

"Because at that time, I could tell you things I think would color whatever decisions you had to make."

"OK," Martin said. "I make no promises beyond telling you before I do anything with Galahad's identity."

"Deal. We're now even."

"I'll give you an answer without a question. Almond offered me twenty thousand dollars for Galahad's identity."

"I know," Clete said.

"Senor," Sargento Lascano said. "We are at Senor Frade's home. Shall I drive around the block?"

"No, just pull up in front," Martin ordered. He put out his hand to Cletus. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Don Cle tus."

"And you, Bernardo."

"One more question," Martin said. "If for some reason- suspicious behavior, for example, like his mysterious appearance in San Carlos de Bariloche-Colonel

Almond was determined to be persona non grata, would that please you?"

Clete hesitated a moment before saying, "No." "Because they would send someone with the same mission?" Clete nodded, and opened the car's door.

[THREE]

La Case Grande

Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo

Near Pila, Buenos Aires Province

2205 29 May 1943

Senora Dorotea Mallin de Frade was in the small sitting, knitting blue baby booties-she was convinced she was car rying a boy-when she heard the wheels of an auto crunching the gravel on the driveway.

This was followed by the slam of an automobile door, which made her suspect that it was her husband. He had never learned to close a door. He always slammed automobile doors as if he hated the cars they were attached to.

She rose from the chair in anticipation of having a word with her husband.

In a moment, the door to the small sitting opened.

Don Cletus Frade's heart swelled when he saw his wife, the picture of a young mother-to-be, actually knitting what ever they called those things they put on baby's feet. "Hey, precious," he said emotionally.

"You bah-stud," Dorotea said with precise English pro nunciation. "You miserable bah-stud!"

"It was too dark to fly it back here. We had to drive."

"You left here, you bah-stud, at the crack of dawn, telling me you were going to get a few hours' instruction in the

Lodestar. You did not tell me, you bah-stud, that you were going to fly the plane alone to Buenos Aires to get that instruction. You implied that Colonel Whatsisname was here."

"I said nothing of the kind."

"I quote you, Cletus Frade. A few hours from whenever the hell you got out of bed in the middle of the night-"

"It was after six. It was light."

"From after six, if you insist, a few hours translates to ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. I had luncheon prepared. You didn't arrive. I called El Palomar, where a very nice man at the petrol place told me that you had been there about seven, picked up Colonel Almond and Tony and Maxwell Ashton, and taken off about seven-thirty."

"Correct."

"You promised me you would not fly the aircraft by yourself until you were qualified to do so."

"That will never happen again, I promise you," Clete said.

"Why do I detect more deception in your tone of voice?"

"You're suspicious by nature?"

"You bah-stud!" she said, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

He smiled at her.

"Cletus, I have been sitting here the entire afternoon and the entire evening, knitting these damned booties, with visions of you crashed somewhere. Where the hell have you been?"

"You don't want to know."

"Oh, yes, I do!"

The telephone rang. Clete moved toward it.

"No. you don't! Someone will answer it. Where were you,

Cletus?"

"All over the country," he said.

"Specifically."

"Posadas, Cordoba, and Bariloche."

"My God!" Dorotea said. "I didn't know there was an air field at Bariloche. Damn it, Cletus, couldn't you have learned how to fly that aircraft without flying all over

Argentina? Is that why you lied to me, because you knew I would beg you not to?"

He saw the anger was gone, replaced by sadness.

"Baby…" Confirmation came when he saw tears form in her eyes.

"My God, you're about to be a father! Doesn't that mean anything to you at all?"

"I had a reason," he said. "I don't think you want to know what it was."

"Our understanding, Cletus, was that you were to share everything with me."