The Day of the Generals
Chapter 14
The delivery van pulled to a stop. Actor had been partially paying attention to the route they seemed to be taking from Zurich, but mostly he had been keeping an eye on the Lieutenant. Earlier in the drive, Garrison had asked Actor if he knew where exactly they were going this time.
"Some empty villa or chateau in the country. There are many of them around here," Actor had told him. "Whatever resistance group Teresa is working with now has found a few of these secluded places that do not seem to have been in use for quite a while and are using them as safe houses."
The back door of the van opened, and two familiar faces looked in.
"Waddya do, take the scenic route?" asked Casino with a grin.
Goniff shook his head and reached for the handles of the stretcher. "Come on, Warden. The beds are real comfortable. You'll like it 'ere."
Once the Lieutenant was out of the van, Chief took the foot end and Casino the head of the stretcher. Goniff bounced ahead with the pair of wooden crutches, to lead the way.
Actor waited until the Lieutenant had been taken out before jumping down. A glance at the surrounding pine and yellow leafed woods tickled something in his mind. He brushed it off and turned to get ahead of the stretcher, keeping an eye on Garrison. A few steps later, he looked up at the austere building and stopped dead in his tracks, staring in disbelief.
Chief and Casino caught the stunned look on the Italian's face and stopped alongside him.
"Actor?" asked Craig curiously.
This was totally unbelievable. This entire mission had been bizarre, but this? THIS? Actor began to laugh. The laughter bubbled into a roar. He leaned against the side of the van and continued to laugh with his arms crossed in front of him. Every time he looked up at the building, he laughed harder.
The others stared at him. They had never seen the confidence man acting so uncharacteristically uncontrolled.
"Actor?" asked Craig again.
The big Italian tried to contain his mirth and looked down at the Lieutenant, tears in his eyes.
"Yes, Warden, you will most definitely like it here."
"You been here before, Actor?" broached Chief, not sure what to make of the chortling con man.
"Oh, yes, many times."
The van driver was watching the big man with concern. "But this place is owned by a German."
Actor got a bit more control over his mirth. "Yes, that would make sense."
"What is this German's name?" asked Garrison with a wondering thought in mind.
"Deitinger."
The two stretcher bearers and the Lieutenant now stared at the Italian in shock. They all recognized the name that Actor liked to use as an alias with the Gestapo.
Actor smiled reassuringly at the driver. "He was born German, but he is Italian," he said. "It makes sense he would inherit this place. He is my cousin. This was one of our family homes."
Chief broke into a grin. "So, Actor, all that stuff about you bein' aristocracy was true."
"I'm afraid so," replied the con man, getting himself under control again.
"Terrific," groused Casino from the head of the stretcher. "Now we'll never hear the end of it."
Garrison grinned. More pieces of the enigma that was the Italian confidence man.
Now Craig took a better look at the façade of the three-story chateau that belonged to Actor's family. It was built of gray stone blocks with a roof of brown shingles. There was a set of stone stairs leading up to the entrance. The entire building was nestled amidst the tall pine tree forest, with an interspersing of autumn leafed trees providing color. A neglected lawn extended from the front of the house to the driveway that had once been graveled.
From the stretcher, Garrison was not able to see the arches on the portico at the entrance or the ones above on the second floor. He was also not able to see the square tower to the right side of the building, that Chief had already decided would be a good place to explore. Nor could he see the tall craggy snow-capped alps behind the house.
Kelly and Carter were waiting with Goniff at the top of the steps. Once the stretcher had reached the portico. Kelly lightly grasped his older brother's shoulder and gave an affectionate squeeze.
"'Bout time you got here. We were beginning to wonder if Actor had found a woman for you and you decided to stay in town," teased Kelly. He didn't see the amused grin on the con man's face.
"And if he had, what would I do with her anyway, in the shape I'm in?" asked Craig banteringly.
Carter smiled down at him. "Where there's a will, there's a way, they say. Good to see you, Lieutenant."
"Good to see you too, Carter," said Garrison. He pushed to the back of his mind for now the knowledge of the amount of trouble these men were in because they had chosen to go back for him.
Once inside, Actor pointed down a hall. "There is a nice bedroom down there on the right that would be good for the Warden."
"We ain't dumb, Beautiful," said Casino smartly. "We already picked it out and got it ready."
Maybe he should have rested more before they left Zurich, thought Garrison. Casino was true to form in his belligerence.
Laying on the stretcher, looking up, Craig studied the crisscross vault ceiling of the hall. The architecture of the place was very old. He was taken into a bedroom that was easily twice the size of the one he had in the mansion. Its ceiling was made of a rich dark wood. The glimpse he got of the walls, showed the stone had been plastered and painted a tan color.
As careful as the men were in rolling him off the stretcher onto the bed, it still made him catch his breath at the pain in his posterior hip. Sinking down into the soft mattress eased the discomfort quickly. The stretcher was handed out the door to Lucas, their driver from the resistance, who took it and left. Actor and Casino made quick work of easing the unfastened pants down and off and removing the shirt, so Garrison was down to his singlet and shorts. After the pain of that endeavor, the injured man was finally able to relax. Actor, sometimes a mother hen, tucked the down comforter to Garrison's chin.
Actor stayed after Casino had gone out, to make sure Garrison did not need pain medication; as though the man would accept any.
"Actor, how big is this place?" asked Garrison, looking around the room.
"Huge would be an understatement," said the Italian. He reached back to see it in his mind's eye. "Three bedrooms, kitchen, formal dining room, living room, office, and ballroom on this floor." He frowned as he looked around. "Maybe not three anymore. That door wasn't there before. Perhaps Carlo added a bathroom."
He walked over and opened the door. It was indeed a shared bathroom, but not as large as the other two bedrooms were. He would have to check out the discrepancy in size. Actor eased a haunch down on the corner of the bed and continued. "There were five bedrooms on the second floor for the family, and another large living area. The servants' quarters were on the third floor. And the watchtower rises above the third floor, so the area can be viewed."
Garrison didn't know if he would get an answer, but the older man seemed to be in a nostalgic mood now.
"How long has it been since you were last here?"
Actor thought about it. "I would say 1916 or 17. I was fourteen, maybe fifteen. Probably 1916. Mammà died when I was sixteen, so that would have been 1918."
"Good memories or bad?" asked Garrison quietly.
"Oh, very good. Even with the Great War on, it was fine for us." Actor looked at Garrison. "Will you be all right for a bit if I go exploring?"
"Only if you come back and describe it to me," said Garrison, looking his second in the eye.
Actor nodded. "Only for you."
GGG
By mid-afternoon, they had all eaten lunch, missing Terry's cooking skills; and Actor had done his exploring, The con man had described the inside of the chateau to Garrison while sitting with him to eat. Sitting by the window, Chief almost called out there was a car parking in the driveway but recognized the visitor and said nothing other than call Actor.
The door opened and the woman stepped inside, still in dress and high heels, with makeup and hair perfectly done up. She looked around the room at the men, some of whom she did not recognize. "Hello, Boys."
"Hey, Duchess!" exclaimed Goniff in delight.
"Hello, Goniff," she grinned at him.
"Great," grumbled Casino to Actor. "Leave it to you to bring the dame."
The blond woman shook her head. "Jealousy does not become you, Casino."
Actor walked up to her and took her fur coat, hanging it on a coat tree, before standing beside her. He gestured toward the blond man.
"This is Carter, a confidence man. Carter, this is Duchess."
The younger confidence man eyed her with admiration. "The Duchess?"
"The Duchess," affirmed Actor.
"It's a pleasure, ma'am," said Carter with a smile.
"A pleasure to meet you too," said the woman.
Actor now introduced the younger blond boy who was watching with a smile. "And this is Kelly Garrison."
The careful mask Duchess wore with people she didn't know, dropped away and she stared. "You're Kelly? I've never even seen a picture of you. I'm Kat."
The smile on the boy's face dropped to a stunned expression with wide eyes. "Kat? Like Kat from Rome Kat?"
Duchess nodded emphatically. "That's me. I'm Kat to friends and relatives, but I still go mostly by Duchess. You can call me Kat if you wish."
"Boy, have I heard a lot about you," said Kelly, mouth curving up into a grin. "Didn't think I'd ever get a chance to meet you. Wish I'd been sent to Rome for the winter."
Duchess laughed. "You would have been disappointed. I left Roma several years ago." She studied the boy. "What are you now, fourteen, fifteen?"
"Fifteen, ma'am," answered Kelly.
"And over here."
"Yup, Craig, Terry, Chris and me."
The woman shook her blond head. "We must sit down and talk later." She looked up at Actor. "Where is Craig?"
The Italian nodded down the hall. "The door on the right."
After she passed him, Casino shot a look at Actor and mouthed "Craig?"
Actor gave him a crooked grin and a shrug of one shoulder. "You never got it, did you, Casino. She and the Warden were 'well acquainted' a long time ago."
"Oh, gentlemen, could somebody be so kind as to get my luggage from the car?" The voice called from down the hall.
Kelly, Carter and Goniff hurried to the door, jostling to get out.
Casino shook his head. "Boy, she is still one gorgeous dame. Her and Garrison?"
Actor nodded in amusement.
Casino stared at him. "You mean back at the Riviera, that was . . ."
"One big con job," said Actor admiringly. "The money, Bernardo, it was all planned. I always said the Warden was good."
"Yeah, and now we know why," laughed Casino.
Actor waited until Duchess's luggage had been placed in her bedroom before he tapped on Garrison's closed door.
"Come in," said Craig.
Actor entered and closed the door behind him. The con woman was sitting on the bed opposite the Lieutenant's injured hip.
"Duchess, your luggage is in the next bedroom," said Actor. "There is a connecting bathroom between the two bedrooms, so you should have some privacy."
"Thank you, Actor," smiled Duchess. "Oh!" She reached into her clutch and came up with a set of keys dangling between her thumb and forefinger. "Here. Take these."
Actor shook his head. "I can get them when I need them," he objected.
The perfectly penciled eyebrows rose. "I have no intention of going anywhere," the woman said firmly. "But I would appreciate if you would check on the casino when you do go into the city."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Just don't make it too pleasurable," she warned. "I don't want you winning all my profits. Remember, I've seen you playing Chemin de Fer."
The con man accepted the keys and put them in his pocket. "I have never cheated when playing in your establishment. I will not now."
"Thank you, caro. You can be such a dear."
"Oh, please," objected Craig. His smile offset his objection.
GGG
The next evening, Actor took Kat's little sports car and drove carefully back into Zurich, all the time watching for a tail. He stopped at Bernardo's casino first and played a few hands of poker, coming out just a little ahead without cheating. A brief talk with the manager satisfied him things were going well.
From there he walked in a circuitous route to his apartment, poured himself a cognac, and sat down with his pipe to make the long phone call to England. It still took an hour to go through.
"Blue Fox," said a Cockney voice.
"Good evening, Madge. How are things going? Any word?" asked Actor.
"Talk to her. She's sittin' next to me."
The radio operator handed the receiver to Terry. "Hi Actor," said Terry. "Did you get relocated?"
"Yes. It went fine. The Warden is resting comfortably."
"I assume Kat's with him," Terry didn't wait for an answer. "Chateau, huh?'
"Yes," smiled Actor, thankful she could not see the grin on his face. "Lovely accommodations. Very old building. But the inside has had some renovations done and is quite comfortable." He changed the subject. "Any news?"
"No," replied Terry with disappointment. "Still waiting."
Actor took a sip of cognac. "Are things getting better between you and your father?"
"No," replied Terry with a sigh. "I wish he'd go stay in London, or on the other side of the Atlantic. But Craig is his firstborn son. The General isn't going anywhere until Craig gets back."
Actor reached into the inner breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a scrap of paper, unfolding it, with the receiver tucked in his chin.
"Teresa, do you have paper and pencil?" asked Actor.
"Yes."
"Write this down," instructed the con man. He gave her a long number, followed by the bank name in Zurich. "I have obtained a Swiss account for you. It is linked to your account in Courrs."
"You what?" exclaimed Terry. "How? Don't you have to put money in it to open it?"
"Yes. I removed ten thousand Swiss marks from my account to open yours."
"How am I going to pay you back?" she asked worriedly.
"If we cannot go back to England," said Actor, "then considerate it a going away present from me."
"Vic . . ." she stopped, swallowing hard and tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'll give you some privacy," said Madge softly.
Terry looked up and mouthed 'thank you.'
"Teresa? Are you there?" asked Actor with concern.
"Yes, Vittorio, I'm here," said Terry, just loud enough for him to hear. "I'm sorry. I'm just not handling this well."
"I understand," said Actor gently. "Mia tesoro, listen. If I can't be there for you . . . to watch out for you . . . at least I can make sure you can live comfortably after the war. Allow me to do this."
"Oh, dammit, Vittorio," she said in a quiet, but emotional voice. "I know we're going to walk away from each other at some point, but I don't want it to be this soon."
"It's not over yet. The tribunal may rule in our favor again. And if not, and you return to your Montana, perhaps after the war, we can meet in some little café in Paris, or Roma, or Switzerland," said Actor soothingly.
"I'm going to hold you to that," said Terry firmly.
"You won't have to hold very hard, Little One," he smiled. "I mean, after all, The Duchess is with your brother. Sister Therese is with the convent. I'm just running out of decent confidence women."
It got the laugh he was after.
"Actor, you are so bad," she said.
"Funny, you seemed to think I was very good before," he said proudly.
"Culo," said Terry.
"Asino! Will you never get it right?" He became serious. "We should probably stagger the number of days between calls, just in case. Three days from now?"
"Fine," said Terry. "If something comes up, is there a way to get word to you?"
"Can Madge get hold of the radioman we had on the first calls?"
Terry turned to the woman who was watching from a distance, leaning against the brick basement wall, and asked her. Madge nodded.
"Yes," she assured him. "Oh, hey!" She had thought of something. "Kelly's met Kat, hasn't he?"
Actor chuckled. "Yes, he has. I believe they had a nice long chat."
"Wish I could have listened in on that one." Terry sighed. "I'd better let you go."
Actor heard the regret in her voice. He made a kissing sound so she could hear, to cheer her up.
"To you too," Teresa said.
They both hung up.
GGGGG
The call in three days did not work out. There was a lull in the battles and the tribunal resumed yet again.
They hashed over the circumstances leading to the men going after Garrison, and Terry's involvement. She refused to give up her contacts and location of the men and her brother. She was very adamant about not placing the resistance band and Craig's men in any more dangerous position than they were already in. The more talk there was of the resistance, the quieter General Garrison became and the more he stared at his daughter as though he did not know who this woman was.
Lt. Johnson did not say much either, but he wasn't in a position that he could. He was Army and did not have the leeway or the lack of respect for the officers' status Terry had. Now Major Howard put the pressure on the girl. Terry sat back and let Captain Newcombe do the countering. At one point he bent down and whispered to Randy and Terry not to worry because Gen. Hastings didn't have a leg to stand on and Major Howard was digging the hole he going to fall in even deeper. It was what Terry had heard happened at the North Africa tribunal of her brother. Even so, the day of court drama was taxing to both the girl and Lt. Johnson.
The third day looked like it might close in an executive session so the tribunal board could discuss the case and hopefully come to a verdict. Instead, the war reared its head again and closed the hearing for another indefinite period of time.
GGG
The drive back to the Mansion was just as trying for Terry. Her father had suspicions and wanted answers. It was pouring cold rain and with the cat eyes headlights, driving through the gloom was difficult and slower.
"Who are you working for?" demanded Gen. Garrison.
"Dad, I'm tired. Don't start this again," said Terry quietly.
"I want to know, and I want to know now," insisted Will.
"I told you before, I work with several resistance groups. Sometimes it's SOE, Free French, small groups along the Comet Line, and with a group in northern Italy that is supplied by Allied Command here in London."
Craig had come by his dog-with-a-bone attitude genetically. Will wasn't about to give up. "There's more to it than what you're telling me. You're working with someone besides those groups. Who is it?"
This tactic had worked before when used on Craig. Terry sighed, "All right, I'll tell you if you will leave me alone."
"That depends on who you are working for," persisted the general.
"I'm Jaguar."
Will stared at her. "And why wasn't I told? I sent you here to find out who Jaguar is."
"Yes, you sent me here for a lot of things. When I got here, I decided it wasn't in anybody's best interest to do what you wanted." She shot him a hard look. "Do you really believe I'm an underground leader? That's a little ridiculous, isn't it?"
Garrison eyed her. "You're smart, but you're not smart enough to run a resistance group."
"That's me," said Terry. "Dumb as a stump. I go in with Craig's group once in a while, otherwise I tend bar."
"And while we are at this, where is your sister?"
"Somewhere over on the Continent I assume," said Terry. "We don't discuss our little adventures. You know, that slogan "loose lips . . . ."
"Is she avoiding me?" demanded Garrison.
"Probably. She's probably afraid you'll ship her back to the ranch and it's dangerous crossing the ocean twice. German subs are hitting non-military ships besides military and merchant vessels."
"What do you mean twice?"
"She'll be right back here, just like I will if you hog-tie me and send me back to the ranch."
"What happened to you kids? You weren't like this before." Will had no understanding of his children.
"We got involved in a war. We grew up. And we're not afraid of you anymore." It was said in a flat voice.
Terry really wished she could drive faster. No, what she really wished for was that she could spend some time in her apartment alone. Or go to Switzerland for the duration with the guys.
Will tried to question her further, but she just plain refused to answer.