Blood and Honor Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Epigraph

  Foreword

  PART ONE

  I

  II

  III

  IV

  V

  VI

  VII

  VIII

  IX

  X

  PART TWO

  XI

  XII

  XIII

  XIV

  XV

  XVI

  XVII

  XVIII

  XIX

  XX

  XXI

  XXII

  XXIII

  XXIV

  XXV

  Priebke Gone, Hugs Cops, Latter in Trouble

  PRAISE FOR W.E.B. GRIFFIN’S ALL-TIME CLASSIC SERIES,

  THE CORPS

  W.E.B. Griffin’s bestselling saga of the heroes we call Marines . . .

  ‘‘THE BEST CHRONICLER OF THE U.S. MILITARY EVER TO PUT PEN TO PAPER.’’ —Phoenix Gazette

  ‘‘A BRILLIANT STORY . . . NOT ONLY WORTHWHILE, IT’S A PUBLIC SERVICE.’’

  —The Washington Times

  ‘‘GREAT READING. A superb job of mingling fact and fiction . . . [Griffin’s] characters come to life.’’

  —The Sunday Oklahoman

  ‘‘THIS MAN HAS REALLY DONE HIS HOMEWORK . . . I confess to impatiently awaiting the appearance of succeeding books in the series.’’ —The Washington Post

  "GRIFFIN’S BOOKS HAVE HOOKED ME . . . THERE IS NO ONE BETTER.’’ —Chattanooga News-Free Press

  "W.E.B. GRIFFIN HAS DONE IT AGAIN!’’

  —Rave Reviews

  ‘‘ACTION-PACKED . . . DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN.’’

  —Marine Corps Gazette

  Turn the page for reviews of W.E.B. Griffin’s other bestselling series . . .

  BROTHERHOOD OF WAR

  A sweeping military epic of the United States Army that became a New York Times bestselling phenomenon.

  ‘‘A MAJOR WORK . . . MAGNIFICENT . . . POWERFUL . . . If books about warriors and the women who love them were given medals for authenticity, insight and honesty, Brotherhood of War would be covered with them.’’

  —William Bradford Huie, author of The Klansman and The Execution of Private Slovik

  ‘‘Brotherhood of War gets into the hearts and minds of those who by choice or circumstances are called upon to fight our nation’s wars.’’

  —William R. Corson, Lt. Col. (Ret.) U.S.M.C., author of The Betrayal and The Armies of Ignorance

  ‘‘Captures the rhythms of army life and speech, its rewards and deprivations . . . A WELL-WRITTEN, ABSORBING ACCOUNT." —Publishers Weekly

  "REFLECTS THE FLAVOR OF WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL SOLDIER.’’

  —Frederick Downs, author of The Killing Zone

  ‘‘LARGE, EXCITING, FAST-MOVING.’’

  —Shirley Ann Grau, author of The Keepers of the House

  ‘‘A MASTER STORYTELLER who makes sure each book stands on its own.’’ —Newport News Press

  ‘‘GRIFFIN HAS BEEN CALLED THE LOUIS L’AMOUR OF MILITARY FICTION, AND WITH GOOD REASON.’’

  —Chattanooga News-Free Press

  BADGE OF HONOR

  W.E.B. Griffin’s electrifying epic series of a big-city police force . . .

  "DAMN EFFECTIVE . . . He captivates you with characters the way few authors can.’’ —Tom Clancy

  "TOUGH, AUTHENTIC . . . POLICE DRAMA AT ITS BEST . . . Readers will feel as if they’re part of the investigation, and the true-to-life characters will soon feel like old friends. Excellent reading.’’

  —Dale Brown, bestselling author of Day of the Cheetah and Hammerheads

  ‘‘COLORFUL . . . GRITTY . . . TENSE.’’

  —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  ‘‘A REAL WINNER.’’ —New York Daily News

  ‘‘NOT SINCE JOSEPH WAMBAUGH have we been treated to a police story of the caliber that Griffin gives us. He creates a story about real people in a real world doing things that are AS REAL AS TODAY’S HEADLINES.’’

  —Harold Coyle, bestselling author of Team Yankee and Sword Point

  ‘‘FANS OF ED MCBAIN’S 87TH PRECINCT NOVELS BETTER MAKE ROOM ON THEIR SHELVES . . . Badge of Honor is first and foremost the story of the people who solve the crimes. The characters come alive.’’

  —Gainsville Times (GA)

  ‘‘GRITTY, FAST-PACED . . . AUTHENTIC.’’

  —Richard Herman, Jr., author of The Warbirds

  Titles by W.E.B. Griffin

  HONOR BOUND

  HONOR BOUND

  BLOOD AND HONOR

  SECRET HONOR

  BROTHERHOOD OF WAR

  BOOK I: THE LIEUTENANTS

  BOOK II: THE CAPTAINS

  BOOK III: THE MAJORS

  BOOK IV: THE COLONELS

  BOOK V: THE BERETS

  BOOK VI: THE GENERALS

  BOOK VII: THE NEW BREED

  BOOK VIII: THE AVIATORS

  THE CORPS

  BOOK I: SEMPER FI

  BOOK II: CALL TO ARMS

  BOOK III: COUNTERATTACK

  BOOK IV: BATTLEGROUND

  BOOK V: LINE OF FIRE

  BOOK VI: CLOSE COMBAT

  BOOK VII: BEHIND THE LINES

  BOOK VIII: IN DANGER’S PATH

  BADGE OF HONOR

  BOOK I: MEN IN BLUE

  BOOK II: SPECIAL OPERATIONS

  BOOK III: THE VICTIM

  BOOK IV: THE WITNESS

  BOOK V: THE ASSASSIN

  BOOK VI: THE MURDERERS

  BOOK VII: THE INVESTIGATORS

  MEN AT WAR

  BOOK I: THE LAST HEROES

  BOOK II: THE SECRET WARRIORS

  BOOK III: THE SOLDIER SPIES

  BOOK IV: THE FIGHTING AGENTS

  SPECIAL OPS

  available in hardcover from G. P. Putnam’s Sons

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as ‘‘unsold and destroyed’’ to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this ‘‘stripped book.’’

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  BLOOD AND HONOR

  A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  G. P. Putnam’s Sons edition / January 1997

  Jove edition / November 1997

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1996 by W.E.B. Griffin.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in

  any form without permission.

  For information address:

  The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  Visit our website at

  www.penguinputnam.com

  eISBN : 978-1-4406-3012-5

  A JOVE BOOK®

  Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  JOVE and the ‘‘J’’ design are trademarks

  belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  I would like to thank Mr. William W. Duffy II, formerly of the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires, and Colonel José Manuel Menéndez, Calvary, Argentine Army, Retired, who both went well beyond the call of duty in helping me in many ways as I was writing this book.

  W.E.B
. GRIFFIN

  Buenos Aires, 13 December 1995

  Foreword

  Nation at a Glance San Carlos de Bariloche

  A federal court will decide this week whether or not former Nazi SS Erich Priebke will be extradited to Italy. A year ago, Priebke admitted to having participated in the murder of 335 civilians in the Ardeatine caves in Rome during World War II. San Carlos de Bariloche Judge Leónidas Molde agreed to Priebke’s extradition after Italian courts petitioned the Argentine government to send Priebke to Italy to face murder charges.

  Page 2

  The Buenos Aires Herald, Buenos Aires, Argentina July 4, 1995

  PART ONE

  I

  [ONE] Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila, Buenos Aires Province Republic of Argentina 2105 4 April 1943

  The concentration el Coronel Jorge Guillermo Frade was devoting to the inch-thick document on his desk was interrupted by what sounded like the death agony of a water buffalo being stomped by an elephant.

  Frade, a six-foot-one, 195-pound, fifty-one-year-old, still had all of his hair (including the full mustache he had worn since he was commissioned Sub-Teniente—Second Lieutenant —of Cavalry) and all of his teeth; but in the past five years he had found it necessary to wear corrective glasses when reading. He removed his horn-rimmed spectacles, sighed audibly, and looked across his study at the source of the noise.

  It came from the open mouth of a heavyset man in his late forties who was sitting sprawled in a leather armchair, sound asleep. He, too, wore a cavalryman’s mustache.

  He was Enrico Rodríguez, who had left Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo to enlist in the Cavalry to serve as Sub-Teniente Frade’s batman. They had retired together twenty- five years later as Colonel Commanding and Suboficial Mayor (Sergeant Major) of Argentina’s most prestigious cavalry regiment, the Húsares de Pueyrredón.

  During their long service together, el Coronel Frade had grown familiar with Suboficial Mayor Rodríguez’s snoring. Tonight’s was spectacular, which meant that Rodríguez had been drinking beer. For some reason wine and whiskey did not seem to affect Enrico the way beer did. Wine made Enrico mellow; whiskey very often sent him in search of feminine companionship; but beer—even two beers—made Enrico sleepy and turned on the snoring machine full blast.

  For a moment el Coronel Frade seriously considered picking up his metal wastebasket and dropping it on the tile floor of the study. That would bring Enrico out of his slumber—and the chair—as if catapulted.

  He decided against it. It had been a long day, and Enrico was tired.

  He looked at his watch, and at the inch-thick folder on his desk, and decided to hell with it. He too was tired, and they had to drive back to Buenos Aires.

  He slid his glasses into the breast pocket of his tweed jacket and stood up, then picked up the inch-thick folder and carried it to an open, wall-mounted safe. After placing the document on one of the shelves, he shut the door, then turned a chrome wheel that moved inch-wide steel pistons into corresponding holes in the frame; finally, he spun the combination dial.

  The safe itself was concealed from view by a movable section of bookshelves. When closed, these gave no indication that anything was behind them.

  Frade swung the bookcase section back in place and tip-toed out of the simply furnished study, so as not to wake Enrico. He then went down a long, wide corridor to his apartment. There he sat on the bed and with a grunt removed his English-made riding boots. That done, he removed the rest of his clothing and tossed it on the large bed.

  He went into his bathroom and showered and shaved. When he went back into the bedroom, Enrico was there.

  ‘‘There is an operation, I am told,’’ Coronel Frade said. ‘‘The surgeon goes in your throat—or maybe it’s the nose—cuts something, and then you don’t snore.’’

  Enrico looked uncomfortable.

  ‘‘I am told the operation is relatively painless,’’ Frade went on straight-faced, ‘‘and that you don’t have to spend more than a week or ten days in the hospital, and that you can eat normally within a month.’’

  ‘‘You should have woken me, mi Coronel,’’ Enrico said.

  ‘‘And disturb the sleep of the innocent?’’

  ‘‘I have fueled and checked the car, mi Coronel,’’ Enrico said, changing the subject. ‘‘Rudolpho and Juan Francisco will precede us in the Ford.’’

  ‘‘No, they won’t,’’ Frade said. ‘‘There is no need for that.’’

  ‘‘It is better, mi Coronel, to be safe than sorry.’’

  ‘‘We will go alone,’’ Frade said.

  "Sí, Señor,’’ Enrico said.

  ‘‘Have a thermos filled with coffee, please,’’ Frade ordered. ‘‘I don’t want you to fall asleep on the way to Buenos Aires.’’

  "Sí, Señor,’’ Enrico said.

  ‘‘Wait for me in the car,’’ Frade said. ‘‘I won’t be a minute.’’

  Enrico nodded and left the bedroom.

  The car was a black Horche convertible touring sedan, painstakingly and lovingly maintained by Enrico, often assisted by el Coronel. Some of the reason for their loving care was that parts for the Horche were not available at any price. The Horche Company was no longer making luxury automobiles, but rather tank engines for the German Army. And some of it was because el Coronel was extraordinarily fond of this automobile.

  He rarely let Enrico drive it. Tonight was to be an exception.

  ‘‘You drive, please,’’ el Coronel ordered as he walked quickly down the wide steps to the verandah. ‘‘I want some of that coffee.’’

  "Sí, Señor,’’ Enrico said.

  He opened the front passenger door, closed it after Frade stepped in, then went around the front of the car and got behind the wheel.

  ‘‘Pay attention to the road,’’ Frade ordered. ‘‘Stay well behind anything ahead of us until you’re sure you can pass without having it throw up a stone and hit our windscreen.’’

  Enrico had heard exactly the same order three or four hundred times.

  "Sí, Señor,’’ he said.

  Enrico drove slowly until el Coronel had poured coffee into a mug, closed the thermos bottle, and put it on the floor. Then he pressed more heavily on the accelerator.

  Two miles down the road—still on estancia property— his headlights picked up an object on the road. As he took his foot from the accelerator, el Coronel ordered, ‘‘Slow down, there’s a beef on the road.’’

  It was indeed a beef, lying crosswise in the center of the macadam.

  El Coronel swore. He could not have told anyone within five hundred head how many cattle roamed Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo, but he was always enraged to find one of them on the road, victim of an encounter with a truck.

  Enrico applied the brakes more heavily. The Horche took some time to slow from 120 kph. And he knew that if he went on the shoulder at any pace faster than a funeral crawl, el Coronel would have something to say.

  The roof was down, and as Enrico started to pass the beef, el Coronel stood up, supporting himself on the windscreen frame to take a good look at it.

  As he did this, Enrico noticed movement on the side of the road. He was wondering if somehow his headlights had failed to pick out more beeves when he saw the muzzle flashes.

  And then something hit him in the head and he fell onto the wheel.

  The Horche veered left, crossed the road and the shoulder, and then came to a stop against a fence post.

  Two men ran up to the car.

  El Coronel Frade was on his knees on the front seat, searching for the .45 automatic pistol he knew Enrico carried in the small of his back.

  One of the men shot him twice, in the face and chest, with both barrels of a twelve-bore side-by-side shotgun.

  El Coronel Frade fell onto Enrico’s back and then slid down it, coming to rest between Enrico’s back and the seat.

  The man with the Thompson submachine gun looked at the bloody head of Suboficial Mayor Enrico Rodríguez
, Cavalry, Retired, and professionally decided that shooting him again would be unnecessary.

  [TWO] Wolfsschanze Near Rastenburg, East Prussia 2130 5 April 1943

  The license plates of the Mercedes sedan bore the double lightning flashes of the SS. As it approached, a Hauptsturmf ührer (SS Captain), a Schmeisser submachine gun hanging from his shoulder, stepped into the floodlight-illuminated roadway and rather arrogantly, if unnecessarily —a heavy, yellow-and-black-striped barrier pole hung across the road—extended his right hand in a signal to stop.

  He wore a leather-brimmed service cap with the Totenkopf (death’s-head) insignia. Behind him, wearing steel helmets, their Schmeissers in their hands, an Unterscharführer (SS Sergeant) and a Rottenführer (SS Corporal) backed him up. Between two narrow silver bands around the cuffs of their black uniform sleeves, the silver-embroidered legend ‘‘Adolf Hitler’’ identified them all as members of the Liebstandarte (literally, ‘‘Life Guard’’) Adolf Hitler, Hitler’s personal bodyguard.

  The Hauptsturmführer approached the Mercedes, raised his arm straight out from his shoulder in salute—the passenger in the rear seat wore the uniform of a Standartenf ührer (SS Colonel)—and barked, ‘‘Heil Hitler!’’

  The Standartenführer raised his right arm, bent at the elbow, to return the salute, then reached in his pocket for his credentials, which he extended to the Hauptsturmführer.

  ‘‘Standartenführer Goltz to visit Partieleiter Martin Bormann, ’’ he announced. ‘‘I am expected.’’ (Partieleiter— Party Leader—Bormann, as Hitler’s Deputy, ran the Nazi party.)

  ‘‘Be so good as to have your driver park your car, Herr Standartenführer, while I verify your appointment,’’ the Hauptsturmführer said, as he opened the rear door of the Mercedes.

  Goltz stepped out of the Mercedes. Above the two silver bands on his tunic cuffs were the silver letters SD, identifying him as a member of the Sicherheitsdienst, the security service of the SS.