Pedro was still planning the details for his next fishing trip as he opened the front door. His flat looked like a war zone and, instantly, his mind lurched back to reality as he found himself face to face with two armed men. He felt a sudden pain in his stomach that almost made him want to vomit as he recognised one of them as the detective who’d interviewed him at the police station. His brain froze but he knew he needed to unscramble his thoughts and compose himself for this confrontation. Detective Martin broke the silence. He took in the fishing rods that Pedro had now dropped onto the floor.

“Hello, Señor García. It’s good to see you again. How was your fishing trip?”

Pedro surprised himself by remembering the young detective’s name. He tried to maintain a poker face, even though inside he was squirming.

“Detective Martin, the trip was good. The dorado were biting. I was down at the Paraná River with my brother at a small lodge. But I don’t think you are here to discuss my hobby. How can I help you and why are your guns pointing at me?”

Torres lowered his weapon and indicated to Martin to follow suit.

“Señor García, I am Inspector Torres. You need to accompany us to the station headquarters. We have a great deal to discuss with you.”

Pedro continued to exude a calm persona and made his way over to the kitchen table, where he grabbed one of the wooden chairs and sat down. Torres moved across the room and perched himself at the end of the table so he was directly facing García.

“Señor García, you are an extremely fortunate man.”

“Why so, inspector?”

“Because it is Detective Martin and me waiting here to greet you, and not somebody else.”

Chapter Nineteen

20 April 1949

El Calafate

The guest list for Adolf Hitler’s sixtieth birthday party was truly astonishing. The headliners were undoubtedly the president and first lady of Argentina, Juan and Eva Perón. They were joined by a number of senior government officials and politicians, as well as elite figures from the worlds of industry and commerce. Bormann had chartered a private plane to transport the guests in style from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz, where a fleet of limos was on hand to complete the journey to El Calafate. In addition to Argentina’s finest, Bormann had invited three prominent Nazis who’d also fled Germany in the last weeks of the war. All of them were on the Israeli government’s priority search list and faced the death penalty if they were ever captured and extradited.