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from the letter text. Then they—”
    Grebic again pulled the hand from his mouth. “How was it done?”
    â€œThe key was in the return address on the back of the envelope, in the numeral part of the address,” the dentist answered as he drilled. “If the address was 28 Ringstrasse, then the message was made up of the second word in the first line of the letter, the eighth word in the second line, the second word in the third line, the eighth word in the fourth line and so on. If the address began with an even number, then you started with the first line of the letter and worked down. If the address began with an odd number, then you began with the last full line, the bottom line, and worked up. Apparently the letter-to-the-commandant method of communication was used only by Spangler. The two Weeping Nun secretaries identified incoming Spangler mail by the names over the return address. ‘Tannen,’ ‘Heyman,’ ‘Warwick’ and ‘Harovatin’ meant the letter contained a secret message from Spangler.”
    The drill was replaced by the chisel. “Testimony at the council stated that the Weeping Nuns found out we were planning to free Vetter—”
    The dentist’s hand was again pulled away. “Were any names given?”
    â€œYes, comrade. Both ‘Kerensky Circle’ and ‘Kuprov’ were mentioned.” The mirror explorer and pick began probing the open mouth. “It was the Weeping Nuns who learned we were coming for Vetter. They contacted Spangler, and the intercept was arranged. The witnesses claimed that Spangler, or what they called the Spangler Group, was one of the three outside organizations they had contact with. They had never seen Spangler or any of his organization. They knew nothing about his operation other than that he contacted them through letter-messages. They claimed that Spangler was their only outside contact specializing in escapes. They said that three weeks prior to Vetter’s escape they received word from Spangler that he was interested in political prisoners. It was because of this that the Weeping Nuns notified him about our intention to bring out Vetter. The Weeping Nuns killed our man inside Gusen, replaced him with one of their own and convinced Vetter you were waiting for him beyond the fence. The Weeping Nuns claimed they had no part in the explosions of the guard towers. The witnesses stated they had no idea how it had been arranged.”
    The dentist switched back to the drill. “SD-Ausland was trying to use the Gusen letter to cross-identify a series of secret messages they had intercepted at Oranienburg in the last week and a half. Three messages were found. All were contained in newspaper crossword puzzles like the ones being sold on the camp black market. The puzzles were found in a drop at three-day intervals. SD-Ausland photographed each and returned them to their original hiding place. The messages were in simple cipher and read ‘Miss Aïda,’ ‘Long for Aïda’ and ‘Alert Aïda.’ SD-Ausland cryptologists interpreted these to mean ‘Am interested in Aïda,’ ‘Prepare Aïda’ and ‘Alert Aïda.’ All three messages were smuggled into Political Detention and delivered to Friedrich Tolan’s daughter, Hilka. SD-Ausland is certain that Hilka Tolan is Aïda and that Spangler is coming for her.”
    The patient jerked the drill away. “Is Tolan still alive?”
    â€œI have no idea, comrade,” said Sadarski, pushing the bit back into the cavity. “I can only pass on to you what Goliath relayed to me.” He pumped on the foot pedal, and the drilling resumed. “The problem with the Aïda messages is that no date for escape was given. Neither was there any identification in the messages’ text to prove who they came from. This is why a comparison was used.
    â€œThe three Weeping Nun witnesses testified