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Oskar could not recall the last time he had felt like this.

Such peacefulness. Such passion . . .

Then he felt the familiar stir in his groin.

Lucia became aware of the movement that followed, and slowly slid her hand down his belly—

And stopped when there suddenly was a knock at the door.

They broke off their kiss, then looked at the door, then at each other. After a moment, there came a heavy banging on the door.

Scheisse! Oskar Kappler thought as he reached to the bedside table and grabbed his Luger. Then he kicked back the bedsheet and pulled on his boxer shorts. As he started for the door, he heard the metallic sound of a key being slid into the lock.

“Was ist das?” he called out just as the door started to swing open.

Lucia screamed as Kappler raised his pistol.

Then Kappler sighed and lowered the weapon when he saw Vito the midget—and, towering behind him, Ernst Beck the Abwehr agent.

[THREE]

Hotel Michelangelo

Palermo, Sicily

0750 1 June 1943

Dick Canidy took the steps two at a time as he headed down to find Jimmy Skinny or, failing that, Vito.

Now that I know Shorty is nearby . . .

* * *

Canidy had carefully watched through the crack of his door as Vito and an average-looking dark-haired man in a sloppy suit had stood at the door to Room 802.

Canidy had had a sudden urge to ask Vito if he’d seen any of the Budas but knew that it probably wasn’t the best time for that conversation—especially with their language barrier.

There clearly had been no adequate response to the first knocks, and Vito had made a fist over his head and was hammering on the door.

A minute later, Vito looked up at the man in the suit, shrugged and made a face, then pulled out a huge ring of keys. He fed one into the door lock, turned the knob, and pushed the door inward.

A woman screamed.

Vito, standing his ground as he pocketed the key ring, exchanged words with whoever had opened the door, then gestured toward the man in the suit, who in turn then made what looked to be gracious gestures of apology.

Both men stood there for a moment without saying another word, then looked at one another, then turned their backs to the door of 801.

Canidy could not figure out what that had been all about, and why they stood there for almost five minutes, impatient, with their arms crossed. He was about to quit watching when a man’s arm appeared from inside the room and waved the man with the suit to come in.

Almost immediately after that, a nicely dressed beautiful olive-skinned full-figured young woman with rich wavy dark hair to her shoulders came out into the hall. Canidy saw that her warm dark eyes were sad, and that she was frowning.

Canidy smirked.

As the early Greeks here first said, “Coitus interruptus.”

Does Jimmy Skinny issue refunds for that?

Vito nodded at her, then turned and headed for the stairs.