"You're to telephone a Monsieur S 'in Washington when it's convenient. You may use the phone here. All expenses are billed, naturally."
"Naturally, but it's not convenient at the moment. If he calls again, please tell him I left before you could give me the message."
"is that proper, monsieur?,)
"He'll thank you for not adding to his problems and personally approve your charges."
"I understand," said the doctor, his smile now appreciative.
"I don't," said Karin, her first words as they walked through the entrance of the medical building and up the concrete pavement toward the parking area.
"Don't what?"
"Understand. Why didn't you want to talk to Sorenson? I'd think you'd want his advice; you said you trusted him."
"I do. I also know that he basically trusts the system, he's lived with it for decades."
"So?"
"So he'd have trouble with what I'm going to do. He'd say it's the Agency's turf, the Agency's decision as to what happens next, not mine. Of course, he'd be right."
"If he's right, why are you doing it? .. . Sorry, don't bother to answer, it was a stupid question."
"Thank you." Latham looked at his watch.
Chapter Eleven
"It's nearly six o'clock.How's your hand?""I can't say it's terribly pleasant. The local anesthesia is wearing off, and thank God I couldn't see anything with my hand in that little cloth tent."
"An hour under the knife means a lot of cutting . Are 9 you sure you want to go with me to meet Witkowski?"
"My damn hand can fall off and you still won't stop me."
"But why? You're one exhausted lady and you hurt. I wouldn't keep anything from you, you should know that by now." :, They stopped at the car as Drew opened the "I do.
door; their eyes met.
"I know you won't keep anything from me, and I appreciate that. But perhaps I can add something, once I understand what you're really trying to do. Why don't you explain it to me?"
"All right, I'll try." Latham shut the door, walked around the Renault, and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine, maneuvered the car into the exit lane, and continued, aware that she was staring at him.
"Who's Gerhardt Kroeger and what hold did he have over Harry?"
"Hold? What hold? He's obviously a Nazi doctor, a skilled one apparently, whom your brother knew in the Hausruck. He probably treated Harry for some sort of severe trauma. One can appreciate even the enemy if he helps you, especially if it's medical."
"This Kroeger goes beyond normal gratitude," said Drew, studying the road signs for the one that would lead them to Paris's Montmartre.
"When I asked Harry who Kroeger was, he answered me with these words; they're exact and I don't think I'll ever forget them.
"Lassiter can tell you. I don't think I should." That's frightening, lady."
"Yes, it is-it was. But it was also consistent with his behavior.
The sudden display of emotion, the weeping, the cries for help.
That wasn't the Harry we both knew and described to each other, not the cool, analytical man, the dispassionate man we talked about."
"I disagree," said Latham quietly.
"Isolate those words, repeat them, and you'll hear the Harry we knew speaking, pondering an option, not prepared to make a decision until he thought it through.
"Lassiter can tell you. I don't think I should." Drew shuddered as he turned the Renault into the main highway toward the center of Paris.. "Gerhardt Kroeger is more than just a doctor he met in the Brfiderschaft valley. I called him a son of a bitch before, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's the one who helped my brother to escape.
Whoever he is, he can tell us what happened to Harry when he was there, how he got his hands on that list of names."
"You're saying that Kroeger may be an ally, not a neo, and that Harry in his psychological confusion is actually protecting him?"
"I just don't know, but I do know that he's more than a doctor who treated him for a bad cold, or the arthritis Harry was beginning to complain about. Gerhardt Kroeget was too important to my brother, I sense it; I'm convinced of it. That's why he's the key, and that's why I have to find him."
"But how?"
"Again, I don't know. Witkowski may have some ideas. Maybe we can enlist the Antinayous, they can spread the word that Harry's still alive. I simply don't know. I'm flying blind, but our. combined antennas will pick up things.. .. Sorry, Madame