Winter's Bullet by William Osborne Page A

‘General Müller sends his compliments; he would have wished to be here personally if he could, Señorita Perón.’
    â€˜Duarte, I am Eva Duarte,’ she laughed back at him, a throaty laugh from cigarettes and singing. Wine too. ‘But I think soon my beloved general will make an honest woman of me, before he is president.’ She laughed again; it seemed to come easily to her. ‘And if all of this goes well, then that will be very soon.’
    She looked at Tygo now, and the steel box he was holding.
    â€˜Have you brought me something nice, young man?’ Krüger was amused to see Tygo blush. She used her indexfinger to draw him closer. ‘Come into my boudoir and we shall see.’
    They followed her from the first reception room to a second one, which seemed even larger, talking in Spanish as they went. Tygo might understand something of what was going on – but Krüger didn’t want him knowing everything.
    â€˜Open the case,’ he said to the boy in German, then handed the señorita a letter. She indicated that they should sit together on a large velvet sofa.
    Tygo unlatched the metal box and took out the attaché case, placing it on the glass-topped table in front of the woman. She put the letter down, then leant forward and unlatched the case. Reaching in, she pulled out the thick bundle of paper from within, fanning the sheets in her hands.
    â€˜United States treasury bearer bonds, each one for ten thousand dollars,’ said Krüger.
    â€˜Are they real?’ The same laugh.
    Krüger was offended, but covered it with a laugh of his own. ‘Not only real, but good in any country in the world. Better than cash itself.’
    The señorita put down the bundle and picked up the letter again. ‘Excellent – then I will write a receipt!’ She stood and crossed to a writing table. ‘Please assure General Müller that all arrangements have been made for the Führer and his party as agreed. After I have visited His Holiness, I will be returning to Buenos Aires by the sixteenth and I will be there with General Perón, ready and waiting.’
    She finished writing a short note and folded it into an envelope.
    â€˜There remains only one matter outstanding.’
    â€˜The Red Queen?’ Krüger pre-empted.
    The woman slipped the dark glasses down her nose for the first time, exposing hard black eyes.
    â€˜When General Müller first approached us many months ago,’ she said, ‘he asked me in private what the Führer could give me as a token for all our help and support. “Give me the Red Queen,” I said, and the good general just nodded and smiled, and then he said, “The day the Führer greets you in Argentina he will place the Red Queen around your neck, I give you my word.”’
    Krüger couldn’t resist using this moment as an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the woman; after all, her future husband would be running Argentina in a couple of months. ‘I hope you will not think I am being boastful, but I am the officer whom the general entrusted to find the stone.’
    â€˜You?’ Eva Duarte looked at Krüger with something approaching real interest now.
    â€˜Yes, in Amsterdam.’
    â€˜And you have it?’
    â€˜Yes,’ he lied.
    She clapped her hands together in excitement. ‘Is it as beautiful as they say?’
    â€˜More – it is like yourself, flawless.’
    â€˜You are a charming young man, Oberst.’
    Krüger smiled his most charming smile. ‘Please, I have my own little token for you.’
    He took out the small metal tin and handed it to the woman. She opened the lid and stared at the diamonds inside. After a moment or two she looked back at Krüger with fresh appreciation.
    â€˜Charming and generous, it would seem. I wonder perhaps if there is anything you would like in return.’
    â€˜Just the opportunity to serve