Nemo once again felt sidelined by Ruthie. He needed her, he knew, but all this chitchat frustrated him. Yes, he had disposed of Fritz and Franz, but that didn’t mean they should dawdle. It was only a matter of time before whomever had hired him and Fritz and Franz figured out where they were and sent a new, probably more competent, team after them. When Ruthie asked for a second cup of tea, he finally spoke up.

“We didn’t just come to chat and have a tour,” he said.

“I thought not,” said Alex. “But this is England, and a cup of tea before business is always in order.”

“We’ve had a cup of tea,” said Nemo.

“You’ll have to forgive him,” said Ruthie. “His social skills are somewhat lacking. But we do have a favor to ask.”

“Name it,” said Alex.

“I’d like to borrow one of your Enigma machines.”

“For Bletchley?” said Alex. He was not in the habit of loaning out items from his collection, but he supposed he might make an exception for the museum.

“No, I mean I need to use it,” said Ruthie. “I can do that here. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.”

“What are you doing,” said Alex with a laugh, “decoding a secret message?”

“None of your—” said Nemo, but this time Patton interrupted him.

“That’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“Then follow me,” said Alex. He led them down a long hallway and into a huge high room with a circular staircase in one corner and a balcony all the way around. Every wall was lined with glass cases displaying everything from uniforms and weapons to maps, books, china, typewriters, radios, medals, paintings, and more. “These are just a few of my nicer items,” said Alex.

Patton gave a whistle. “How big is this collection?”

“Too big if you ask most people, including the neighbors,” said Alex. “Just big enough, if you ask me at my more cogent moments. But I’ve lived long enough to know that the real answer is: not as big as it will be tomorrow.”

He led them to a case against the far wall that held his trio of Enigma machines. He had two three-rotor machines, like the ones used by the army, and one four-rotor Naval Enigma, each restored to shiny perfection.

“Those are beautiful,” said Ruthie.

“Few people would appreciate them as much as you,” said Alex. “I’m pleased you came to see them.”

“It’s an SS message,” said Ruthie, “so if I could use one of the three-rotor machines.”

“Absolutely,” said Alex. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the case, carefully lifting one of the machines onto the long table that stretched down the center of the room.