“Yes, Herr Generalmajor.”
“And where is your home?”
“Not far from here, Herr Generalmajor.”
“Very well,” von Deitzberg said. “Go with the Hauptsturmführer now, Herr Raschner. Take as much time as required. Telephone me here when you have something to say.”
“Jawohl, Herr Generalmajor,” Raschner said.
He made a gesture with his hand toward the door.
“Heil Hitler!” Forster said, giving the Nazi salute.
Von Deitzberg returned the salute with a casual movement of his right arm, but said nothing.
He waited until the door had closed, and then took the envelope Raschner had given him, found the number he wanted, and walked to the telephone. He dialed the number but got nothing more than a series of clicks and a dial tone. He dialed “O” and the hotel operator came on. She explained that it was not possible to dial directly from a telephone in the suite. Von Deitzberg wondered why they bothered to install telephones with dialing mechanisms if they didn’t work, but politely gave her the number he wanted.
A soft-speaking woman answered.
“Señora von Tresmarck, por favor.”
She came on the line a moment later.
“This is Generalmajor von Deitzberg, Frau von Tresmarck. How nice to hear your voice again.”
“What a pleasant surprise, Herr Generalmajor. Ambassador Schulker told me you would be visiting. Will I see you while you’re here?”
“That’s actually why I’m calling, Frau von Tresmarck,” he said. “I have a little time to spare. I was rather hoping you could give me a little tour of Montevideo, and afterward we could have luncheon.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Inge said. “You’re at the Casino?”
“In the General San Martín suite,” he said.
“How appropriate, Herr Generalmajor,” Inge said. “I can be there in half an hour. Would that be convenient?”
“That would be perfect,” he said. “How kind of you! I’ll be waiting for you outside.”
He broke the connection with his finger, held the button down for a moment, and then released it. He waited for the hotel operator to come back on the line, but she didn’t. After a moment, he dialed “O,” and she came on.
If you can dial “O,” why can’t you dial an entire number?
“Would you be good enough to send the waiter to my room, Señorita?” he asked politely.
When the waiter appeared, von Deitzberg told him, man to man, that he intended to entertain a lady at luncheon, and that while he wished to make it a very nice luncheon—“I think it would be best to chill at least two bottles of Champagne”—he didn’t want it interrupted by anyone after it had begun.
Under those circumstances, the waiter suggested a cold luncheon would perhaps be best. A selection of cheeses and meats and sausages, with a side of smoked salmon for the entrée, and for the postre, a selection of petits fours and other sweets.
“That’s what we’re after,” von Deitzberg said, and took a wad of money from his pocket and peeled off a very generous tip.
[FIVE]
When von Deitzberg went down to the entrance of the Casino twenty minutes later, Ingebord von Tresmarck was already waiting for him at the wheel of a yellow Chevrolet convertible. The top was down.
She really is an attractive female.
She waved cheerfully at him, and he smiled and walked down to the car, bent over, and kissed her on the cheek.
“You are quite as lovely as I remembered, my dear Frau von Tresmarck,” he said, then walked around to the passenger side of the car and stepped in.