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Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

“Christ, Nic. It’s five thirty in the morning at your end. What the hell is up?”

Vargas took a moment before replying. “Troy, I’ve just spent the last seven hours examining the contents of Box 1321.”

Hembury switched on his sidelight and jumped out of bed. “Let me grab a coffee and then I wanna hear chapter and verse.”

Vargas spoke without interruption for the next hour while Hembury just listened and took in the enormity of the discovery.

“Troy, for the first time in my career, I’m not sure what to do. The implications of this case are huge. I don’t know who I can trust, and what’s more, is anyone going to believe me? And what if it’s all a fake? Do you remember the Hitler Diaries scandal in the eighties?”

Hembury let out a sarcastic laugh. “Nic, to the best of my knowledge, five people weren’t executed to keep that particular secret.”

“Okay, but we both know how powerful Franklin is in both our countries. Don’t forget the Franklin Corporation was founded here, and it must bring in millions of dollars in revenue to the government. He may live in San Francisco, but he still has incredibly powerful network contacts in Argentina. I’m not sure I won’t get the same reaction from my chief as you did from yours.”

“Nic, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about keeping all this to myself for now and not even telling my second in command. I want to fly to Santa Cruz and see what’s left of the farmhouse that was in the film. Find some locals who are still around from that time. Try and learn a bit more.”

Hembury took a swig of coffee and wiped his mouth before replying. “Nic, you need to be careful. That bastard Franklin is the most accomplished liar I’ve ever come up against. The direct line obviously belongs to him. He’s the one who’s been ordering the executions. He bullshitted me and then set me up for the arse-kicking I got from the chief. I owe him.”

Vargas could feel Hembury’s anger from six thousand miles away. “Troy, where are you heading with this?”

“Things are pretty quiet here at the moment and I’m due nearly three weeks’ leave. Why don’t I jump on a plane and we can take a trip to visit the Führer’s farmhouse together?”

“Troy, this is really not your problem.”

“Are you kidding? As things stand, the next president of the United States is set to be Adolf Hitler’s grandson.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

1 September 1969

San Francisco