Spy in a Little Black Dress - By Maxine Kenneth Page 0,68
he is by the people.”
Jackie smiled at that but wanted to know, “What’s it doing here?”
“I have a very bad feeling that we’re about to find out.”
As they watched, a touring car with its top up bumped over the tracks and stopped alongside the armored train car. Three people disembarked. One of them was Colonel Sanchez, descending from the vehicle with all the ceremonial pomp of a petty tyrant, which, come to think of it, he was. The other two were women. They were both dressed head to toe in black and wore black veils over their faces. They looked like mourners on the way to a funeral.
Now it was Jackie’s turn to shudder involuntarily. “The ‘sisters Death and Night,’ ” she murmured.
“Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass,” Emiliano said. “How appropriate.”
“Who are those women?” Jackie asked, almost afraid to look at them.
“I’ve heard of them, but I didn’t know they were real. I thought they were only a rumor. Or the kind of fairy tale used to frighten young children. They are Sanchez’s handpicked female agents. He uses them to infiltrate revolutionary groups such as Fidel’s. They are smart. And beautiful. And entirely deadly.”
“But why the veils?”
“So their identities will remain hidden in public.”
Through the compartment window, she and Emiliano watched as Sanchez and the sisters Death and Night, walking in lockstep, entered the armored train car. Finally, their locomotive began to pull out of the station, then stopped, and Jackie and Emiliano could feel a slight vibration from the rear of the train.
“That was the armored car being hooked on. So their destination is obviously Oriente,” Emiliano said.
“And what’s in Oriente?”
“We are. Or rather, we will be.” After a thoughtful pause, he added, “I think Sanchez must know about the treasure. That’s why he’s after us.”
“Suppose he decides to inspect the train?”
“Doubtful. He thinks we’re in a truck headed east. And he feels safe in that armored car, so that’s where he’ll stay until the train arrives at Santiago de Cuba.” Emiliano pursed his lips. “And if he knows about the treasure, then I’m sure others do too. Walker’s treasure and Metzger’s map must be the worst-kept secrets on this island.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a feeling they’re not going to be the only ones on this train coming after us. We’re going to have to be careful. Stay in this compartment as much as possible until we reach Santiago de Cuba.”
Several hours later, in darkness, the train passed over from Camagüey into Oriente.
They spent the night in separate berths. Emiliano took the upper and, ever the gentleman, offered the lower one to Jackie. Jackie was both relieved and disappointed to find that Emiliano made no attempt to steal into her berth in the middle of the night. They were exhausted from their journey to the village and were desperately in need of sleep.
The next morning, Jackie awoke to a growling stomach. In the upper berth, Emiliano was still sleeping, snoring mildly, which made her smile. The train had pulled into a station, and through the compartment window, she could see a vendor on the platform. Knowing that eating in the dining car was out of the question, she impulsively decided to go out and buy some breakfast food for herself and Emiliano.
Outside the train, the air was still relatively cool from the night before, but with just a hint of the daytime heat to come. Jackie approached the vendor and ordered two tostadas and two cafés con leche.
While the vendor was wrapping the tostadas, Jackie looked up the platform and was shocked to see someone she recognized—the Mambo King, Sam Giancana’s murderous henchman. He was flanked by two men who looked like they might have been participants in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Wearing sharkskin suits, all three seemed out of their element in this out-of-the-way train station. Hoping against vain hope that the gangster hadn’t caught sight of her, she quickly turned her head in the opposite direction, where she found another surprise waiting for her.
Down the platform, Larry, Moe, and Curly were stretching their legs. Before she could turn away again, Larry caught sight of Jackie and nudged his two compatriots.
Jackie quickly paid the vendor, gathered up the food, and fled back into the Pullman car, where Emiliano was just waking up. He looked at Jackie inquisitively. “What is it, Jacqueline?”
She put down the food, took a deep breath, and told Emiliano that the East German spies had seen her on the train platform. “Oh, Emiliano,