The Honor of Spies

As Cranz opened his mouth, von Deitzberg went on: "Well, let me tell you why I am so interested in the Froggers: I am, of course, determined to comply with my orders from Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler to eradicate them wherever and whenever found.

"But there is more to it than that. One of the things I did in Montevideo was to shut down the confidential fund operation. I can tell you now that the Reichsfuhrer never knew anything about it.

"Both of you know the Reichsfuhrer well enough to guess how he would react to learning that some of his closest subordinates were involved. . . ."

"Jesus Christ!" Raschner blurted. "Himmler didn't know?"

"Do you think he will find out?" Cranz asked.

"One of the ways to make that less likely is to comply with his orders that the Froggers be eliminated," von Deitzberg said. "Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you say that should be our highest priority?"

"Von Tresmarck!" Raschner said. "That queer sonofabitch has to go! And that whore of a wife of his! She has to know a lot about the confidential fund."

"If you will do me the courtesy of hearing me out, Erich, I was about to get to the von Tresmarcks."

"Sorry."

"If von Tresmarck were to be eliminated, our colleagues in Germany would wonder why that was necessary under the circumstances. They would also wonder what was going to happen to their share of their assets in the confidential fund. . . ."

The doorbell rang.

"Ah, that must be our Kaffee mit schlagobers!" von Deitzberg said. "Be so good as to answer the door, Erich."

"I was thinking just before," von Deitzberg said as he set his coffee cup down, "in the Cafe Colon, when I had one of these, that it will probably be a very long time before Kaffee mit schlagobers is again available in Demel in Vienna. There might not even be a Demel in Vienna after the war. Or, for that matter, a Vienna--or a Berlin--that any of us would recognize."

He picked up and took a healthy bite from a jelly-filled roll sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

"Or one of these," he said. He paused. "Except, of course, here in Argentina." He took another bite of the roll, and when he had finished swallowing, said, "Erich, a moment before, you referred to Frau von Tresmarck as a whore."

"Isn't she?" Raschner replied.

"There are some things about her you didn't need to know. Until now. Were either of you aware that she is the widow of a distinguished brother officer of ours?"

He looked between them and, after both had shaken their heads, he said, "Obersturmbannfuhrer Erich Kolbermann, of the Waffen-SS, gave his life for the Fatherland in the east, shortly before von Paulus surrendered the Sixth Army at Stalingrad. You were not aware of this?"

Again, both shook their heads.

Like schoolboys, he thought, who don't have any idea how to spell "potassium."

"Well, we didn't take advertisements in the newspapers, for obvious reasons, to remind people of this, but shortly after the death of her husband, the then Frau Kolbermann came to work for the Sicherheitsdienst. She mined the bars at the Hotel Adlon, the Hotel Am Zoo, and elsewhere, for matters of interest to us. She was quite good at it.

"And then when Obergruppenfuhrer Heydrich--I presume both of you know it was Reinhardt Heydrich's idea that the confidential fund be set up--"

This time Cranz nodded, and Raschner said, "I always thought it was Reichsfuhrer Himmler."

"It was Heydrich," von Deitzberg said. "And he gave me the responsibility of administering the program. We eventually realized we needed someone trustworthy to handle things in Uruguay. The obergruppenfuhrer thought that von Tresmarck was a likely choice; he was intelligent, he spoke Spanish, and he didn't want to go to Sachsenhausen wearing a pink triangle.

"But who was to watch von Tresmarck? The obergruppenfuhrer was familiar with Frau Kolbermann's work for the Sicherheitsdienst and suggested that it might be appropriate duty for her. Von Tresmarck needed a wife--we didn't want his sexual proclivities drawing attention to him--and who could better remind him of that than a 'wife' he knew was working for the Sicherheitsdienst? She could also keep an eye on the ambassador, on Hauptsturmfuhrer Forster, and, frankly, on the people in the embassy here."

He paused, chuckled, and said, "I'm sure you will be delighted to hear that Frau von Tresmarck had only flattering things to tell me about your performance of duty."

He paused again, then went on: "So when I came here this time, I naturally went to Montevideo and looked up Frau von Tresmarck. Before I told her the confidential fund operation was to be shut down, I received her report on how it was going.