Hitler's Finger

by PJ Skinner

  ‘Important enough to kill for. It must be related to those weird underground buildings we saw on the aerial photographs.’

  ‘I hope we’re not too late.’

  ‘I’m sure we’re on the right track.’

  ‘I don’t believe in God, but I’m doing a lot of praying.

  ‘I know what you mean.’

  ***

  The next morning, they ate breakfast at dawn. Despite the hour, Gloria was in a sunny mood for once. It didn’t do her much good as she started to retch when the scrambled eggs arrived and stumbled outside. Segundo grunted and reached over for her plate.

  ‘Waste not, want not,’ he said.

  Sam went outside where Gloria was smoking a cigarette.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine. I think I have some sort of stomach bug. Don’t worry about me.’

  ‘I’ll finish my breakfast before Segundo does. We should go as soon as we are ready.’

  ‘I’ll be right there.’

  Sam went back inside and sat opposite Segundo who was finishing Gloria’s breakfast.

  ‘What are we looking for when we get there?’ he asked.

  Sam reached into her rucksack and pulled out the aerial photograph of the hidden laboratory. She handed it to Segundo who glanced at it and threw it back.

  ‘It’s a hill,’ he said, ‘why’s a hill important?’

  ‘You see those figures?’ she said, pointing at the photograph. ‘They are wearing lab coats. That hill is on the far side of San Blas at the end of the road to the forest.’

  ‘I’ve been there before. I didn’t see any buildings then.’

  ‘We think it contains an underground laboratory. Why else is this truck parked here? Do you see that shadow? We think it is the door.’

  Segundo grunted. Whether in assent or disdain, Sam wasn't sure.

  ‘Alfredo may have stumbled across a drug laboratory, or something like that, and is being held captive inside the hill.’

  ‘Why would they keep him?’

  ‘We don’t know.’

  ‘You don’t know much, do you?’

  ‘There’s no need to be rude. I’m doing my best.’

  ‘I don’t know why they got a girl to do a man’s job.’

  To her surprise, Sam realised that he was jealous of her for doing his job, protecting the Sanchez family. She didn’t have time to argue.

  ‘I’m a woman not a girl, and without me, you wouldn’t have found anything. I don’t care if you like me or not, but we need to work together on this before it’s too late.’

  ‘Against my better judgment.’

  Sam let him have the last word and went to pay for the hostel. Gloria was revving the engine by the time she came out with her bag. There didn’t seem to be any ill effects from Gloria’s dodgy tummy. Segundo was sitting in the back, his hat over his face, catching a nap. Sam got into the car and shoved a random cassette into the player.

  ‘Let’s go, then. It should take us about five hours to get to the spot where the car crashed,’ said Gloria.

  ‘Is that at ludicrous, or ridiculous, speed?’

  ‘Shut up, gringa.’

  ***

  Even with Gloria at the wheel, the journey was long and slow. The rainy weather had made the roads worse and the potholes were disguised by their contents, making them perilous at any speed. They passed through a village where the local people were following a statue of the Virgin Mary around the streets which delayed them an hour. It was hard to be annoyed. Tiny people, slightly bigger than dwarfs, marched behind the Virgin, dressed in elaborate costumes. The women wore heavy felt skirts with multiple layered petticoats topped with white lace blouses. On their feet, they had espadrilles which did not seem to offer any protection against the weather. Most of the men wore trousers that looked like plus fours in shape, with multi-coloured waistcoats and baggy shirts. The adults were sporting bowler or trilby hats made out of felt. They chanted as they marched, in odd, high nasal voices. Behind them, a brass band with ancient battered instruments blasted out national favourites, sustained by a bottle of rum that was doing the rounds out of sight of the priest. Sam took surreptitious photographs out of the window, being careful that no one saw her. She knew from experience that mountain people in Sierramar didn’t like their photograph being taken.

  As they crawled out of town, a woman approached the car and asked for money. Gloria handed over some coins from the cup holder in the divider between the seats. The woman tried to grab her hand. She was insistent.

  ‘What does she want?’ asked Sam.

  ‘To tell my fortune.’

  ‘It can’t do any harm. Let her do it. At least it will feel less like begging if you have paid for a service.’

  ‘Honestly Sam, sometimes I think you're related to Mother Theresa,’ said Gloria, but she stuck her hand out of the window. The old woman gazed intently at it, tracing the lines with her forefinger and muttering invocations of some sort. She started talking, but not in Spanish.

  ‘Segundo? Do you know what she is saying?’

  ‘She’s speaking Quechua. She says that you will have a long life with children.’

  Gloria snatched her hand back, furious and upset, but the woman did not stop talking.

  ‘She is telling you to be careful. Great danger awaits in the mountains. You should turn back.’

  Sam felt a chill down her spine which spread to her arms. The hairs stood on end. If she had been superstitious, she would have taken the hint.

  ‘Silly old woman. Let’s go,’ said Gloria revving the engine. It cut out.

  ‘The spirits are trying to tell us something,’ said Sam, only half in jest.

  Gloria turned the key and restarted the engine. She sped out of town without a word. Sam felt terrible. It was so predictable and yet she fell right into the trap. She should have known that all fortune tellers predict happy marriages and children for women. Give the customer what they want. Damn! Gloria smoked three cigarettes in a row, lighting the next one from the embers of the last. She drove with grim determination alone with her thoughts, worry etched on her face. Alfredo must still be alive, he had to be. A double death would be too much for her to bear. Sam resisted the temptation to put her hand on Gloria’s shoulder and give it a squeeze.

  Finally, they reached the crash site outside Lago Verde. It could still be identified by the police tape which wafted in the breeze, tangled in the grasses on the roadside. There was a bulldozer working above the road. It appeared to be opening an entrance to a hacienda further up the hill. They got out of the car and approached the cliff edge. The burnt-out wreck of Alfredo’s car had been found on a rock shelf, supported by some bushes about fifty metres down. The cliffs were still blackened by the flames from the fire. The police had reported that the car was likely to have been pushed over the edge as there were no skid marks on the road to indicate an accident. The bushes had prevented the vehicle from plunging to the bottom of the cliff and remaining unreachable for days.

  ‘This doesn’t tell us much,’ said Sam.

  ‘Now there’s a surprise,’ said Segundo, turning away.

  Sam was about to reply when there was a roaring noise from above. They turned towards it and saw a landslide coming down the slope towards them. Sam threw herself to one side and Segundo and Gloria to the other. Gloria screamed as she was hit by a rock and she fell to the ground. Segundo rushed to help her move away. Material kept falling onto the road, separating them from Sam who was trapped on the far side.

  ‘Are you okay, Sam?’ said Segundo, who could no longer see her through the dust and dirt.

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

  Suddenly, there was the noise of a car sliding to a halt along the gravel on Sam’s side of the landslide and doors being opened. Segundo could hear Sam shouting. ‘Hey! Let me go. Help! Segundo, I am being kidnapped. It’s them. Do something.’

  But Segundo was more concerned about the possibility of Gloria being crushed by a rockfall. His first duty
was to Hernan Sanchez and he had to get Gloria to a hospital.

  ‘I’ll be back, Sam. Be strong.’

  ‘No, don’t leave me here.’

  But it was too late. A rough hand pushed a rag over her face and she went limp. She was bundled into a car and driven away. Gloria heard the engine and tried to stand up.

  ‘What’s wrong? Where’s Sam?’

  ‘Don’t you worry about her. I’ll be back to rescue both Sam and Alfredo.’

  ‘But Segundo, we can’t leave them here.’

  ‘You need to go to hospital. I think you have a broken arm. I must tell your father.’

  ‘What happened to Sam?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Someone took her away. I don’t think the landslide was an accident.’

  ‘They could’ve killed us. I don’t want to leave Sam with those people.’

  ‘We’ve got to get you to hospital. Trust me, Miss Sanchez. Everything will be fine.’

  ***

  Segundo strapped Gloria up with a towel and helped her into the front seat of the car. Once she was comfortable, he got in and drove to the main road. Every bump on the road made her grunt in pain but she did not complain.

  ‘Are you okay, Miss Sanchez?’ said Segundo.

  ‘Drive faster. You have to go back for Sam.’

  ‘I can’t drive fast. Your arm...’

  ‘Forget my arm. I’m ordering you to speed up.’

  Gloria was sick again on the way to the hospital but Segundo did not stop. He handed her a box of tissues without comment. Finally, they arrived at the nearest large town. It was on the main Andes corridor further south of Calderon. It had the advantage of having a local airport as well as a hospital so Hernan Sanchez could fly there without the discomfort of a long drive. Segundo drove up to the hospital and ran inside to get help. He was covered in dirt from the landslide and he had trouble convincing the paramedics to come outside. When they went to find Gloria, she had managed to slide out of the car seat and was smoking a cigarette with her good arm. Her bad arm hung by her side at a funny angle.

  ‘Stop fussing, Segundo,’ she said. ‘I’m perfectly fine.’

  ‘You need to put out that cigarette if you’re coming in,’ said the paramedic.

  ‘Have you got a private room?’

  ‘Yes, madam. Have you got a credit card?’

  ‘My father is Hernan Sanchez.’

  ‘We still need your card.’

  Once Gloria was taken into accident and emergency for treatment on her arm, Segundo rang Hernan Sanchez.

  ‘Hello Don Sanchez, it’s me, Segundo.’

  ‘Segundo, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon. Is there a problem?’

  ‘Not exactly, sir. There was a landslide in the road and Gloria was hurt.’

  ‘Hurt? How bad is it?’

  ‘Sir, she’s okay. It’s only a fracture in her left arm.’

  ‘Oh God, I knew it was too dangerous. I should never have let her go.’

  ‘Did you have any choice, sir?’

  Hernan laughed. ‘No, I guess I didn’t. She’s as stubborn as me. What about Sam?

  ‘I’m afraid the landslide was done on purpose. Sam was separated from us and taken away in a car.’

  ‘Was it them?’

  ‘I don’t know, sir, but it can’t have been a coincidence.’

  ‘This is terrible. Where are you? Is there an airport nearby?’

  ‘We’re in Llanos. The medics told me that there is a daily flight from Calderon at about midday. You could come tomorrow and visit Gloria, but I must go back today and look for Sam and Alfredo. I remember the lay of the land from when you and me built that road.’

  ‘That was a long time ago. I hope you can get there in time.’

  ‘If it’s okay with you, I’m going to set out now for Lago Verde. I need to do surveillance on the laboratory in San Blas, so that I can find out how many men are there and work out a plan. Don’t worry about me. Thirty men wouldn’t stop me from rescuing Miss Sam and Mr. Alfredo.’

  ‘Be careful, Segundo. You’re family to me. I’ll get the first flight out there tomorrow morning. Gloria will be fine until then, so please go and get the others.’

  ‘Thank you, Don Sanchez. I’m proud to work for you. You will not be disappointed.’

  Segundo hung up the phone and went in to see Gloria who was sitting up in bed with her arm in plaster. She had a purple bruise on her cheekbone.

  ‘Miss Sanchez, I’ve to go now. I won’t come back unless I have Dr Alfredo and Miss Sam with me. Your father will take the next flight. He should be here tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Segundo, don’t worry about me. Time is of the essence. Good luck.’

  CHAPTER 24

  Sam and Alfredo, September 1988

  Sam woke up in the back of the car as they were driving through San Blas. Her head was spinning and she wasn’t sure that she was awake. When she forced open her eyes, she thought that she was hallucinating. She saw what looked like dolls’ houses through the windows of the car. Trying to sit up, she attracted the attention of Boris Klein who shoved her roughly down so that she was prone on the back seat. Her arm felt sore, as if she had been vaccinated. Had a rock from the landslide hit her? The landslide! Where was Gloria and why was she in a car with people she had never seen before? What the hell was going on?

  ‘Where am I? Who are you?’

  ‘Shut up! Stay quiet and we won’t hurt you,’ said Frans Schmitt.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘The earth moved,’ said Boris Klein and laughed, an evil choking sound.

  She lay without moving, trying to check her limbs for damage. Reviewing her surroundings, she looked for a weapon or some form of escape. To her horror, there appeared to be blood in the stitching channel on the seat near her face.

  ‘Whose blood is this?’

  ‘It will be yours if you don’t keep quiet.’

  The men sniggered at Klein’s joke. Sam spotted her rucksack on the floor under the front passenger seat. Carefully she pulled it towards her and edged the zip open. She slipped her hand into the main pocket and searched for her penknife. At the bottom of the bag she felt a box. What on earth was that? And then she remembered. She took it out of the rucksack and removed the zapper, which she shoved down her sock. Putting her hand back into the rucksack she found the penknife which she put in the side pocket of her khaki trousers. She found some chocolate but she knew they would smell it if she unwrapped it so she left it in the bag.

  They drove out of town and stopped on the edge of a forest. Sam saw the trees and decided to make a run for it. She pulled hard on the door handle as they slowed down but the child locks were on. It didn’t stay shut for long. Boris Klein opened it and pulled her along the seat by her t-shirt which pulled up over her breasts exposing them to his lustful stare. She grabbed it and pulled it down again, her fury making her strong.

  ‘I wouldn’t bother,’ he said, ‘I can have you any time I want.’

  He put his hands under her arms and pulled her out onto the ground. The impact dispelled any illusions she had of escape.

  ‘Stand up,’ he said, ‘and go into that doorway.’

  ‘What doorway?’

  But now she could see a dark crack opening in the hill and fluorescent lighting in a passageway that led into it.

  ‘Can I bring my rucksack?’

  ‘Do you think I’m stupid?’ He grabbed it and shook out the contents, removing the camera and her passport and leaving her with the chocolate and teabags and some clean underwear.

  ‘Take it!’ He shoved her hard and she stumbled towards the door. The fact that they had been right about the secret building was no comfort as they entered and the door closed behind them.

  ***

  Segundo drove back to the place in the road that had been blocked by the landslide. His concern for Gloria, and his preoccupation with the fate of Sam and Alfredo was such, that he drove straight past it. This was facilitated by the fact that the blockage
had already been cleared and had been pushed off the road and down the same cliff as Alfredo’s car. It wasn’t until several kilometres down the road that he realised what had happened. This was Segundo’s first experience with German efficiency. But why had they cleared the road when the landslide was doing a great job of preventing people from going to San Blas? They must be planning to make a getaway in the near future or they would have left the blockage where it was. There was no other way in or out of the area. The Nazis must be aware that the people who were looking for them now knew where they were. It could not be long before they made a break for it. He had to move fast.

  The lights of Lago Verde were welcoming after two long days and he decided to get something to eat and go straight to bed. He headed for the inn where he had stayed years before and was relieved to find that it was still in business. He did not know when he would sleep again and he wanted to be rested before the final struggle. The owner took one look at him and served up a huge dinner with mountains of rice and chicken followed by big slices of banana bread and coffee. After he had eaten the food on the table, he went up to his room and shut the door. He lay in bed rubbing his distended belly and groaning with pleasure. He couldn’t escape feelings of guilt regarding his treatment of Sam. Having been rude to her because he felt usurped, he had not even acknowledged her efforts to include him in the mission. He resolved to be less hard on her when he rescued her. Don Sanchez was right, he was a caveman.

  ***

  Alfredo couldn’t believe his ears. He rushed over to the door of his room and put his ear against the metal.

  ‘Let me go, you arsehole. Where is Alfredo? What have you done with him?’

  ‘Sam?’ he said, and then louder. ‘Sam, is that you?’

  ‘Alfredo? Let go of me you bastard!’

  ‘Boris, let the woman see her friend. It may calm her down a bit.’ Dr Becker’s velvet tones seemed to have the required effect. Sam stopped shouting. There was the noise of a key in the lock of his door. Alfredo jumped backwards. The door swung open. Sam was standing there, dishevelled and furious, with her eyes blazing. She shook herself free of Boris Klein’s grip.

  ‘Alfredo! I thought you were dead. We did. I mean…’ Despite herself she burst into tears and stood sobbing in the passageway, arms hanging by her sides. Alfredo stepped out of his room and put his arms around her. Hot tears transferred to his cheeks.