Pitt lit a cigarette. Then he looked at von Till's old, but erect figure. "Thank you for a very concise and detailed account of Heibert's death. You omitted nothing."

"Kurt was a very dear friend," von Till said wistfully. "I do not forget such things easily. I can even recall the exact date and time. It happened at 9:00 P.M. on July 15, 1918."

"It seems strange that no one else knew the full story," Pitt murmured, his eyes cold and steady with purpose. "The archives in Berlin and the British Air Museum in London have no information concerning the death of Heibert. All the books I've studied on the subject list him as missing in a mysterious situation similar to the other great aces, such as Albert Ball and Georges Guynemer."

"Good God," snapped von Till, exasperated. "The German archives lack the facts because the Imperial High Command never gave a damn about the war in Macedonia. And the British would never dare publish one word about such an unchivalrous deed. Besides, Kurt's plane was still in the air when they saw it last. The British could only assume their insidious plan was successful."

"No trace of man or plane was ever found?"

"Nothing. Heibert's brother searched for him after the war, but Kurt's final resting place remains a mystery."

"Was the brother also a flyer?"

"No. I met him on several occasions prior to the Second World War. He was a fleet officer in the German navy."

Pitt fell silent. Von Till's story was too damn pat, he thought. He had the strange feeling that he was being used, like a wooden decoy on a flight of geese. A faint ominous tingling stirred inside him. He heard a tapping of high heels on the floor and without turning knew that Teri had entered the room.

"Hello everybody." Her voice was light and cheerful.

Pitt swung around and faced her. She was wearing a minidress, designed like a Roman toga, that swirled about her slender legs. He liked the color—a golden orange that complemented her ebony hair. She looked at Pitt, her eyes immediately drawn to his uniform. Her face paled slightly, and she raised a hand to her mouth in the same gesture he had noticed on the beach. Then she smiled thinly and approached, radiating a beautiful and sexy warmth.

"Good evening gorgeous creature," Pitt said lightly, taking her outstretched hand and kissing it.

Teri flushed, then looked up at his grinning face. "I was going to thank you for coming," she said. "But now that I've seen through the naughty little trick you've played on me, I've a good notion to toss you out on your bloody—"

"Don't say it," Pitt interrupted. His lips curved devilishly. "I know you won't believe me, but just this afternoon the base commander took me off the garbage truck, made me a pilot and promoted me to Major."