“Look, I’m trying to reach a man named Converse.”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Converse. He was here, sir.”
“Was?”
“I believe he left.”
“Where’s Leifhelm?” shouted Connal.
There was a pause before the German replied
coldly “Who should I say is calling General
Leifhelm?”
“Fitzpatrick. Lieutenant Commander Fitzpatricki”
“I believe he’s in the dining room. If you’ll stay
on the telephone.” The line was put on hold; the
suspended silence was unnerving.
finally there was a click and Leifhelm’s voice
reverberated over the phone. “Good morning,
Commander. Bonn has provided a lovely day, no?
The Seven Mountains are as clear as in a picture
postcard. I believe you can see them ”
“Where’s Converse?” interrupted the Navy lawyer.
“I would assume at Das Rektorat.”
“He was supposed to be staying at your place.”
“No such arrangements were made. They were
neither requested nor offered. He left rather late,
but he did leave Commander. My car drove him
back.”
“That’s not what I was toldl A Major Dunstone
called me around two this morning ”
“I believe Mr. Converse left shortly before then….
Who did you say called?”
“Dunstone. A Major Philip Dunstone. He’s
English. He said he was the senior aide to General
Berkeley-Greene.”
“I don’t know this Major Dunstone, there was no
such person here. However, I’m familiar with just
about every general officer in the British Army and
I’ve never heard of anyone named Berkeley-Greene.”
“Stow it, Leifhelml”
“I beg your pardon.”
298 ROBERT LUDLUM
“I spoke to Dunstone! He he said the right
words. He said Converse was staying at your
place with the others!”
“I think you should have spoken directly with
Herr Converse, because there was no Major
Dunstone or General Berkeley-Greene at my home
last night. Perhaps you should check with the
British embassy; certainly they d know if these
people were in Bonn. Perhaps you heard the words
incorrectly; perhaps they met later at a cafe.”
“I couldn’t speak to him! Dunstone said you
were out on the river in a boat.” Fitzpatrick’s breath
was now coming in short gasps.
“Now, that’s ridiculous, Commander. It’s true I
keep a small launch for guests, but it’s a well-known
fact that I am not partial to the water.” The general
paused, adding with a short laugh. “The great field
marshal gets seasick in a llatboat six feet from
shore.”
“You re Iying!”
“I resent that, sir. Especially about the water. I
never feared the Russian front, only the Black Sea.
And if we had invaded England, I assure you I
would have crossed the Channel in a plane.” The
Cerman was toying with him; he was enjoying
himself.
“You know exactly what I mean!” Connal
shouted again. “They said Converse checked out of
here at three-thirty this morning! I say he never
came back!”
“And I say this conversation is pointless. If you
are truly alarmed, call me back when you can be
civil. I have friends in the Staatspolizei.” Again a
click; the German had hung up.
As Fitzpatrick replaced the phone another
thought suddenly struck him. Frightened, he walked
quickly into the bedroom, his eyes instantly zeroing
in on the attache case. It was partly under the
pillow; oh Cod, he had been in such a sound sleep!
He yanked the case out and examined it. Breathing
again, he saw that it was the same case, the
combination locks secure; no amount of pressure on
the small brass buttons would release the plates. He
lifted the case and shook it; the weight and the
sounds were proof that the papers were inside and
intact, proof also that Converse had not returned to
the inn and checked out. All other considerations
aside and regardless of whatever emergencies that
might have arisen, he would never have left without
the dossiers and the list of names.
Connal carried the case back into the sitting room
trying
THE AQUITAINE PROGRESSION 299
to collect his thoughts, putting them in alphabetical
sequence so as to impose some kind of order. A: He
had to assume that the flag on Joel’s service record
had been lifted or the damaging information
unearthed in some other way and that Converse was
now being held by LeifLelm and the contingent from
Aquitaine that had flown in from Paris, Tel Aviv and
Johannesburg. B:They would not kill him until they
had used every means possible to find out what he
knew which was far less than they imagined and
could take several days. C: The LeifLelm estate,
according to his dossier, was a fortress; thus the
chances of going in and bringing Converse out were
nil. D: Fitzpatrick knew he could not appeal to the
American embassy. To begin with, Walter Peregrine
would place him under territory arrest and those
doing the arresting might put a bullet in his head.
One had tried. E: He could not risk seeking help
from Hickman in San Diego, which under different
circumstances might be a logical course of action.
Everything in the admiral’s makeup ruled out any
connection with Aquitaine; he was a fiercely
independent officer whose conversations were laced
with barbed remarks about the Pentagon’s policies
and mentality. But if that flag had been officially re-
leased whether with his consent or over his objec-
tions Hickman would have no choice but to call
him back to the base for a full inquiry. Any contact
at all could result in the immediate cancellation of
his leave, but if there was no contact and no way to
reach him, the order, obviously, could not be given.
Connal sat down on the couch, the attache case
at his feet, and picked up a pencil; he wrote out two
words on the telephone message pad: Call Meagen.
He would tell his sister to say that after Press’s
funeral he had left for parts unknown without
explanation. It was consistent with what he had said
to the admiral, that he was taking his information to
“the authoribes” investigating Preston Halliday’s
death.
F: He could go to the Bonn police and tell them
the truth. He had every reason to believe that an
American colleague was being held against his will
inside the gates of General Erich Leifhelm’s estate.
Then, of course, the inevitable question would arise:
Why didn’t the Lieutenant Commander contact the
American embassy? The unspoken would be just
below the surface: General Leifhelm was a
prominent figure, and such a serious charge should
have diplomatic support. The embassy again. Strike
out. Then again, if Leifhelm said
300 ROBERT LUDLUM
he had “friends” in the Staatspolizei, he probably
owned key men in the Bonn Police. If he was
alarmed, Converse could be moved. Or killed. G:. .
. was insane, thought the Navy lawyer as a legal
phrase crept slowly into his consciousness, suddenly
taking on a blurred viability. Trade-o~: It was a
daily occurrence in pretrial examinations, both
civilian and military. We’ll drop this if you accept that
We’ll stay out of this area if you stay out of that one.
Standard practice. Trade-off. Was it possible? Could
it even be considered? It was crazy and it was
desperate, but then nothing was sane, nothing held
much hope. Since force was out of the question,
could an exchange be made? LeifLelm for
Converse. A general for a lieutenant.
Connal did not dare analyze; there were too
many negatives. He had to act on instinct because
there was nothing else left, nowhere he could turn
that did not lead to a blank wall or a bullet. He got
up from the couch, went to the table with the
telephone and and reached for the directory on the
floor. What he had in mind was insane, but he could
not think about that. He found the name. Fishbein,
rise. The illegitimate daughter of Hermann Goring.
The rendezvous was set: a back table at the
Hansa-Keller cafe on the Kaiserplatz, the
reservation in the name of Parnell. Fitzpatrick had
had the presence of mind in California to pack a
conservative civilian suit; he wore it now as the
American attorney, Mr. Parnell, who was fluent in
German and sent by his firm in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, to make contact with one use Fishbein in
Bonn, West Germany. He also had the presence of
mind in Bonn, West Germany, to have managed a
single room at the Schlosspark on the
Venusbergweg and placed Converse’s attache case
where it would be safe for a considerable length of
time, a trail left for Converse should everything
blow apart. A trail he would recognize if Joel was
alive and able to hunt.
Connal arrived ten minutes early, not merely to
secure the table but to familiarise himself with the
surroundings and silently practice his approach. He
had done the same thing many times before,
walking into military courtrooms before a trial,
testing the chairs, the height of the tables, the scan
of vision of the tribunal on the dais. It all helped.
He knew it was she when the woman arrived and