The Scarlatti Inheritance Read Online Free PDF Page A

eliminated … immediately. Speaking for this country, Kroeger made fools out of a lot of prominent men. Some of those distinguished gentlemen are at the policy level today. Others are manufacturing planes and tanks and ships. By identifying Kroeger as Scarlett, we move into a whole new set of questions. Questions our government won’t want asked now. Or perhaps ever.”
    He slowly unbuttoned his tweed overcoat but he did not want to take it off.
    “The Scarlatti lawyers have a letter which is to be delivered upon my death or disappearance to the most influential cabinet member of whatever administration is in Washington at the time. Scarlatti lawyers are good at that sort of thing … I knew the war was coming. Everyonedid. Remember, it was nineteen thirty-eight.… The letter directs that person to the file and the truth.”
    Canfield took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling.
    “As you’ll see, I outlined a specific course of action if we were at war and a variation if we weren’t. Only in the last extremity was your mother to be told.”
    “Why should anyone pay attention to you after what you did?”
    Andrew Scarlett was quick. Canfield liked that.
    “There are times when countries … even countries in a state of war have the same objectives. Lines of communication are always open for such purposes … Heinrich Kroeger is a case in point. He represents too great an embarrassment to either side.… The file makes that clear.”
    “That seems cynical.”
    “It is.… I directed that within forty-eight hours after my death, the Third Reich’s High Command be reached and told that a few of our top personnel in Military Intelligence have long suspected Heinrich Kroeger to be an American citizen.”
    Andrew Scarlett leaned forward on the edge of the chair. Canfield went on without apparently noticing the boy’s growing concern.
    “Since Kroeger consistently makes underground contacts with a number of Americans, these suspicions are believed to be confirmed. However, as a result of …” Canfield paused to recall the exact wording. “…  ‘the death of one Matthew Canfield, a former associate of the man known now as Heinrich Kroeger …’ our government has in its possession … documents which state unequivocably that Heinrich Kroeger is … criminally insane. We want no part of him. Either as a former citizen or as a defector.”
    The young man rose from the chair, staring at his stepfather. “Is this true?”
    “It would have been sufficient, which is more to the point. The combination is enough to guarantee a swift execution. A traitor as well as an insane man.”
    “That’s not what I asked.”
    “All the information’s in the file.”
    “I’d like to know now. Is it true? Is he … was he insane? Or is it a trick?”
    Canfield got up from the window seat. His reply wasbarely above a whisper. “This is why I wanted to wait. You want a simple answer, and there isn’t any.”
    “I want to know if my … father was insane.”
    “If you mean do we really have documented proof from medical authorities that he was unbalanced?… No, we do not. On the other hand, there were ten men left in Zurich, powerful men—six are still living—who had every reason in the world to want Kroeger, as they knew him, considered a lunatic.… It was their only way out. And being who they were, they made sure that was the case. The Heinrich Kroeger referred to in the original file is verified by all ten to be a maniac. A schizophrenic madman. It was a collective effort that left no room for doubt. They had no choice.… But if you ask me … Kroeger was the sanest man imaginable. And the cruelest. You’ll read that, too.”
    “Why don’t you call him by his right name?”
    Suddenly, as if the strain had become more than he could bear, Canfield swiftly turned.
    Andrew watched the angered, flushed, middle-aged man across the room. He had always loved him for he was a man to be loved.