The Aquaintaine Progession

by Ludlum, Robert

  and looked at his watch. It was nine-twenty; he hadslept for seven and a half hours, but theuninterrupted sleep seemed much longer. He got outof bed and took several steps; his balance was steady,his mind clearing. He looked at his watch again,remembering. The major named Dunstone had saidbreakfast at Leifhelm’s estate was served fromnine-thirty on and if the conference had moved to aboat on the river at 2:00 A.M. Converse probablywould not call before ten o’clock.

  Connal walked into the bathroom; there was aphone on the wall by the toilet if he was wrongabout the call. A shave followed by a hot and coldshower and he would be fully himself again.

  Eighteen minutes later Fitzpatrick walked backinto the bedroom, a towel around his waist, his skinstill smarting from the harsh sprays of water. Hecrossed to his open suitcase on a luggage rack andtook out his miniaturised radio, placed it on thebureau and, deciding against the Armed Forcesband, dialed in what was left of a German newscast.There were the usual threats of strikes in theindustrial south, as well as charges andcountercharges hurled around the Bundestag, butnothing earthshaking. He selected comfortableclothes lightweight slacks, a blue oxford shirt andhis cord jacket. He got dressed and walked out intothe sitting room toward the phone, he would callroom service for a small breakfast and a great dealof coffee.

  He stopped. Something was wrong. What was it?The pillows on the couch were still rumpled, a glasshalf filled with stale whisky still on the coffee table,as were pencils and a blank telephone message pad.The balcony doors were closed, the curtains drawn,and across the room the silver ice bucket remainedin the canter of the silver tray on the antique hunttable. Everything was as he had last seen it, yet therewas something…. The door! The door to Converse’sbedroom was shut. Had he closed it? No, he had not!

  He walked rapidly over and opened the door. Hestudied the room, conscious of the fact that he hadstopped breathing. It was immaculate cleaned andsmoothed to a fare-thee-well. The suitcase was gone;the few articles Converse had left on the bureauwere no longer there. Connal rushed to the closetand yanked it open. It was empty. He went into thebathroom; it was spotless, new soap in the re-ceptacles, the glasses wrapped in clinging paperready for incoming guests. He walked out of thebathroom stunned.

  There was not the slightest sign that anyone excepta maid had been in that bedroom for days.

  He ran out to the sitting room and thetelephone. Seconds later the manager was on theline; it was the same man Connal had spoken withyesterday. “Yes, indeed, your businessman was evenmore eccentric than you described, Commander. Hechecked out at three-thirty this morning, paying allthe bills, incidentally.”

  “He was here?”

  Of course.”

  You saw him?”

  Not personally. I don’t come on duty until eighto’clock. He spoke with the night manager andsettled your account before going up to pack.”

  “How could your man know it was him? Henever saw him before!”

  Really, Commander, he identified himself asyour associate and paid the bill. He also had hiskey; he left it at the desk.”

  Fitzpatrick paused, astonished, then spokeharshly. The room was cleaned! Was that alsodone at three-thirty this morning? "

  No, main Herr, at seven o’clock. By the firsthousekeeping shift.”

  But not the outer room?”

  The commotion might have disturbed you.Frankly Commander, that suite must be preparedfor an early-afternoon arrival. I’m sure the staff feltit would not bother you if they got a head start onthe task. Obviously, it

  Early afternoons I’m here!”

  And welcome to stay until twelve noon, the billhas been paid. Your friend has departed and thesuite has been reserved.”

  And I don’t suppose you have another room.”

  "I’m afraid there’s nothing available, Commander.”

  Connal slammed down the phone. Really,Commander . . . Those same words had been spokenby another over the same telephone at two o’clockin the morning. There were three directories in awicker rack by the table, he pulled out the one forBonn and found the number

  “Guten Morgen. Hier bei General Leifhelm. “

  “Herrn Major Dunstone, bitts. “

  THE AQUITAINE

  PROGRESSION 297“Wer2″

  “Dunstone,"’ he said, then continued in German,“He’s a guest. Philip Dunstone. He’s the senior aideto to a General Berkeley-Greene. They’re English.”

  “English? There are no Englishmen here, sir.There’s no one here that is to say, there are noguests.”

  “He was there last night! They both were. I spokewith Major Dunstone.”

  “The general had a small dinner party for a fewfriends but no English people, sir.”

  “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 repliedcoldly “Who should I say is calling GeneralLeifhelm?”

  “Fitzpatrick. Lieutenant Commander Fitzpatricki”

  “I believe he’s in the dining room. If you’ll stayon the telephone.” The line was put on hold; thesuspended silence was unnerving.

  finally there was a click and Leifhelm’s voicereverberated over the phone. “Good morning,Commander. Bonn has provided a lovely day, no?The Seven Mountains are as clear as in a picturepostcard. 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 wereneither requested nor offered. He left rather late,but he did leave Commander. My car drove himback.”

  “That’s not what I was toldl A Major Dunstonecalled me around two this morning “

  “I believe Mr. Converse left shortly before then….Who did you say called?”

  “Dunstone. A Major Philip Dunstone. He’sEnglish. He said he was the senior aide to GeneralBerkeley-Greene.”

  “I don’t know this Major Dunstone, there was nosuch person here. However, I’m familiar with justabout every general officer in the British Army andI’ve never heard of anyone named Berkeley-Greene.”

  “Stow it, Leifhelml”

  “I beg your pardon.”

  “I spoke to Dunstone! He he said the rightwords. He said Converse was staying at yourplace with the others!”

  “I think you should have spoken directly withHerr Converse, because there was no MajorDunstone or General Berkeley-Greene at my homelast night. Perhaps you should check with theBritish embassy; certainly they d know if thesepeople were in Bonn. Perhaps you heard the wordsincorrectly; perhaps they met later at a cafe.”

  “I couldn’t speak to him! Dunstone said youwere out on the river in a boat.” Fitzpatrick’s breathwas now coming in short gasps.

  “Now, that’s ridiculous, Commander. It’s true Ikeep a small launch for guests, but it’s a well-knownfact that I am not partial to the water.” The generalpaused, adding with a short laugh. “The great fieldmarshal gets seasick in a llatboat six feet fromshore.”

  “You re Iying!”

  “I resent that, sir. Especially about the water. Inever feared the Russian front, only the Black Sea.And if we had invaded England, I assure you Iwould have crossed the Channel in a plane.” TheCerman was toying with him; he was enjoyinghimself.

  “You know exactly what I mean!” Connalshouted again. “They said Converse checked out ofhere at three-thirty this morning! I say he nevercame back!”

  “And I say this conversation is pointless. If youare truly alarmed, call me back when you can becivil. I have friends in the Staatspolizei.” Again aclick; the German had hung up.

  As Fitzpatrick replaced the phone anotherthought suddenly struck him. Frightened, he walkedquickly into the bedroom, his eyes instantly zeroingin on the attache case. It was partly under thepil
low; oh Cod, he had been in such a sound sleep!He yanked the case out and examined it. Breathingagain, he saw that it was the same case, thecombination locks secure; no amount of pressure onthe small brass buttons would release the plates. Helifted the case and shook it; the weight and thesounds were proof that the papers were inside andintact, proof also that Converse had not returned tothe inn and checked out. All other considerationsaside and regardless of whatever emergencies thatmight have arisen, he would never have left withoutthe dossiers and the list of names.

  Connal carried the case back into the sitting roomtrying

  to collect his thoughts, putting them in alphabeticalsequence so as to impose some kind of order. A: Hehad to assume that the flag on Joel’s service recordhad been lifted or the damaging informationunearthed in some other way and that Converse wasnow being held by LeifLelm and the contingent fromAquitaine that had flown in from Paris, Tel Aviv andJohannesburg. B:They would not kill him until theyhad used every means possible to find out what heknew which was far less than they imagined andcould take several days. C: The LeifLelm estate,according to his dossier, was a fortress; thus thechances of going in and bringing Converse out werenil. D: Fitzpatrick knew he could not appeal to theAmerican embassy. To begin with, Walter Peregrinewould place him under territory arrest and thosedoing the arresting might put a bullet in his head.One had tried. E: He could not risk seeking helpfrom Hickman in San Diego, which under differentcircumstances might be a logical course of action.Everything in the admiral’s makeup ruled out anyconnection with Aquitaine; he was a fiercelyindependent officer whose conversations were lacedwith barbed remarks about the Pentagon’s policiesand 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 callhim back to the base for a full inquiry. Any contactat all could result in the immediate cancellation ofhis leave, but if there was no contact and no way toreach him, the order, obviously, could not be given.

  Connal sat down on the couch, the attache caseat his feet, and picked up a pencil; he wrote out twowords on the telephone message pad: Call Meagen.He would tell his sister to say that after Press’sfuneral he had left for parts unknown withoutexplanation. It was consistent with what he had saidto the admiral, that he was taking his information to“the authoribes” investigating Preston Halliday’sdeath.

  F: He could go to the Bonn police and tell themthe truth. He had every reason to believe that anAmerican colleague was being held against his willinside the gates of General Erich Leifhelm’s estate.Then, of course, the inevitable question would arise:Why didn’t the Lieutenant Commander contact theAmerican embassy? The unspoken would be justbelow the surface: General Leifhelm was aprominent figure, and such a serious charge shouldhave diplomatic support. The embassy again. Strikeout. Then again, if Leifhelm said

  he had “friends” in the Staatspolizei, he probablyowned key men in the Bonn Police. If he wasalarmed, Converse could be moved. Or killed. G:. .. was insane, thought the Navy lawyer as a legalphrase crept slowly into his consciousness, suddenlytaking on a blurred viability. Trade-o": It was adaily occurrence in pretrial examinations, bothcivilian and military. We’ll drop this if you accept thatWe’ll stay out of this area if you stay out of that one.Standard practice. Trade-off. Was it possible? Couldit even be considered? It was crazy and it wasdesperate, but then nothing was sane, nothing heldmuch hope. Since force was out of the question,could an exchange be made? LeifLelm forConverse. A general for a lieutenant.

  Connal did not dare analyze; there were toomany negatives. He had to act on instinct becausethere was nothing else left, nowhere he could turnthat did not lead to a blank wall or a bullet. He gotup from the couch, went to the table with thetelephone and and reached for the directory on thefloor. What he had in mind was insane, but he couldnot think about that. He found the name. Fishbein,rise. The illegitimate daughter of Hermann Goring.

  The rendezvous was set: a back table at theHansa-Keller cafe on the Kaiserplatz, thereservation in the name of Parnell. Fitzpatrick hadhad the presence of mind in California to pack aconservative civilian suit; he wore it now as theAmerican attorney, Mr. Parnell, who was fluent inGerman and sent by his firm in Milwaukee,Wisconsin, to make contact with one use Fishbein inBonn, West Germany. He also had the presence ofmind in Bonn, West Germany, to have managed asingle room at the Schlosspark on theVenusbergweg and placed Converse’s attache casewhere it would be safe for a considerable length oftime, a trail left for Converse should everythingblow apart. A trail he would recognize if Joel wasalive and able to hunt.

  Connal arrived ten minutes early, not merely tosecure the table but to familiarise himself with thesurroundings and silently practice his approach. Hehad done the same thing many times before,walking into military courtrooms before a trial,testing the chairs, the height of the tables, the scanof vision of the tribunal on the dais. It all helped.

  He knew it was she when the woman arrived andspoke to the mau^tre d’ at his lectern. She was talland heavy, not

  obese but fleshy in a statuesque way, conscious ofher mature sensuality but smart enough not toparade it. She was dressed in a light-grey summersuit, the jacket buttoned above her generous breasts,a wide white collar demurely angled over the fabric.Her face, too, was full but not soft, the high cheek-bones lending an appearance of character that mightnot otherwise have been there, her hair was darkand shoulder-length, with slight streaks of prematuregray. She was escorted to the table by the diningroom’s captain. Fitzpatrick rose as she approached.

  “Guten Tag, Frau Fishhein, ” he said, extendinghis hand. “Bitte, setzen Sie sich. “

  " It’s not necessary for you to speak German,Herr Parnell,” said the woman, releasing his handand sliding into the chair under the guidance of thecaptain, who bowed and left. “I make my living as atranslator.”

  “Whatever you feel most comfortable with,” saidConnal.

  “I think under the circumstances I should preferEnglish, and spoken softly, if you please. Now, whatis this incredible thing you alluded to over thetelephone, Mr. Parnell?”

  “Quite simply an inheritance, Mrs. Fishbein,”replied Fitzpatrick, his expression sincere, his eyessteady. “If a few technical questions can be settled,and I’m sure they can be, as a rightful legatee youwill receive a substantial sum of money.”

  “From someone in America I never knew?”

  “He knew your father.”

  “I did not,” said use fishbein quickly, her eyesdarting about at the adjacent tables. “Who is thisman?”

  “He was a member of your father’s staff duringthe war,” answered Connal, lowering his voice stillfurther. “With your father’s help certain contacts inHolland he got out of Germany before theNuremberg trials with a great deal of money. Hecame to the United States by way of London, hisfunds intact, and started a business in the Midwest.It became enormously successful. He died recently,leaving sealed instructions with my firm, hisattorneys.”

  “But why me?”

  “A debt. Without your father’s influence andassistance our client would probably have witheredfor years in jail instead of flourishing as he did inAmerica. As far as anyone was concerned, he was aDutch immigrant from the Netherlands whose familybusiness was destroyed in the war and who

  sought his future in America. That future includedconsiderable real estate holdings and a verysuccessful meat-packing plant all in the process ofbeing sold. Your inheritance is in excess of twomillion American dollars. Would you care for anaperitif, Mrs. Fishbein?”

  The woman could not at first reply. Her eyeshad grown wide, her full jaw slackened, her starewas trancelike.”I believe I will, Herr Parnell,” shesaid in a monotone, finding her voice. “A largewhisky, if you please.”

  Fitzpatrick signaled the waiter, ordered drinksand tried several times to make idle conversation,commenting on the beautiful weather and askingwhat sites he should see while in Bonn. It was nouse. Ilse Fishbein was as close to being in acatatonic state as Connal could imagine.
She hadgripped his wrist, clutching it in silence withextremely strong fingers, her lips parted, her eyestwo blank glass orbs. The drinks came, the waiterleft, and still she would not let go of him. Instead,she drank somewhat awkwardly, lifting the glasswith her left hand.

  “”What are these questions to be settled? Askanything, demand anything. Do you have a place tostay? Things are so crowded in Bonn.”

  “You’re very kind; yes, I do. Try to understand,Mrs. Fishbein, this is an extremely sensitive matterfor my firm. As you can well imagine, it’s not thesort of legal work American attorneys are too happywith, and, frankly, had our client not made certainprovisos connecting the successful completion ofthis aspect of his last will and testament to the fullexecution of other aspects, we might have “

  ".The questions! What are the questions?”

  Fitzpatrick paused before answering, thethoughtful lawyer permitting the interruption butstill intent on making his point. "everything will behandled confidentially, the probate court operatingin camera “

  “”With photographs?”

  "fin private, Mrs. Fishbein. For the good of thecommunity, in exchange for specific state and localtaxes that might not be paid in the event ofconfiscation. You see, the higher courts mightdecide the entire estate is open to question.”

  “Yes, the questions! What are they?”

  “Really quite simple. I’ve prepared certainstatements, which you will sign and to which I canswear to your signature. They establish yourbloodline. Then there is a short deposition required substantiating the claim. We needonly one, but it must be given by a formerhigh-ranking member of the Cerman forces,preferably a man whose name is recognizable, whomthe recent history books or war accounts establish asa working colleague of your natural father. Of course,it would be advantageous to have someone known tothe American military in the event the judge decidesto call the Pentagon and ask Who is this fellow?’ "