would make her mascara run for sure. There was a hole in her heart now that she knew that Eva would never be there to hold Denise in her arms again.

Gene Chaplin was shocked by the brightness of the girl's eyes. He quickly sent her back to her job so that she wouldn't cry in front of him. He despised weepy women and tears. He'd really have to keep this one at arms' distance distance from himself.

In the course of the morn- ing, the word about the blonde in Filing spread throughout the building, particularly after Lieu- tenant George 'Gabby' Perez's three visits to Records that mon- ing.

**

"Hey, sit over here!" Gabby jumped up to greet an uncer- tain Denise and lead her to his table in the crowded lunch room. The other two girls at the table, Americans and in uniform, eyed the file clerk suspiciously.

"Edna, Jody this is De- nise, Chaplin's new helper in Re- cords." Gabby broadcast the news across the room and several people looked up to give Denise a first, and then a second, look.

The other two girls regarded Denise with varied looks. Ed- na's smile of welcome might have been genuine but there was no doubt in the look of malice thrown at Denise by Jody Atwater.

"She thinks she owns mc,” had been Richard Simon's des- cription of Jody to Denise and the look spoke of that relation- ship and turned the thin, attrac- tive face into that of a shrew.

"Hi, Denise." There was even a brightness in Edna's greeting. Her light blonde hair was wavy and cut short, as she made no effort to be more than she was. She was a chubby girl, in her thirties, and,

"HELLO, I'M THE CLEANING WOMAN!"

again, in the Colonel's words, "too dumb to be in any thing phony all by herself."

Denise sat down in the chair a grinning Gabby held for her. She smoothed the tight skirt against the back of her soft slip and nylons. She liked the soft pressure of the garters on her thighs. Somehow, she felt more feminine. "Hello," she said in a soft, throat voice. "I'm Denise Colbert, a new file clerk here."

"We know!" If acid could have dripped from Jody's words, it would have.

Denise was saved from fur- ther reply by the arrival of an older man, a German, in a dark suit. He had fair, slicked hair and there was something militaristic in his manner. "Mademoiselle Colbert," he said very formally a touch of accent in his English. "We have met before at the Von Riffels. I am Heinrich Langer." Denise could not remember

the

man from one of Eva's 'soirees' where he must have seen her in the tiny black dress, ruffled short petticoats and fish-

30

net stockings. She did remember him from Simons's briefings, however. "We all have to have 'good' Germans, safe ones, in our offices," Simons had said. "It's more than P.R., too. It's a re- construction and a rebuilding of the anti-Communist alliance. Langer was a major for a long time, assigned to push pencils in Berlin. He's bitter enough to be the one to work for both sides in the future. I've wanted him out but the State Depart- ment likes his family a lot. He'd be my choice for our leak. "Mademoiselle," Langer's formal kiss on Denise's hand emused the neighboring tables of Americans. "If I can be any assistance to you in carrying out your duties here, please call on me."

"Why, Herr Langer," Denise gave him a pretty smile that even made Langer unfreeze a little. "How kind of you. I'll certainly cail on you if I need you."

Denise hardly noticed Jo- dy's disgusted manner because of Gabby's hustling to procure a