Luciano’s Luck

Jack Higgins

Luciano’s Luck

Dedication

for Sacha and George

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Publisher’s Note

Foreword

Sicily—1943

1

It was just before evening, when the jeep carrying Harry . . .

2

It started to rain as Carter went over the ridge, . . .

3

The JU52 which flew in from Rome with Field Marshal . . .

4

It was four weeks later when the jeep carrying Harry . . .

5

On his twentieth lap of the exercise yard at Great . . .

6

It was raining hard in Liverpool the following night when . . .

7

The old Dakota lifted off the main runway at Ringway . . .

8

The Avro Lancaster was the most successful Allied bomber of . . .

9

In the living room of his house at the back . . .

10

Vito opened the oven door of the boiler in the . . .

11

Pietro Mori had sent his wife to bed early and . . .

12

Luciano and Maria followed the same rough track for almost . . .

13

Koenig was standing at the window of his office at . . .

14

Padre Giovanni led the way down the winding stone stair . . .

15

They left just after nine the following morning in Barbera’s . . .

16

Detweiler’s body was racked by convulsions as he bucked and . . .

17

Flying at one thousand feet the view was spectacular in . . .

18

Luciano and Vito Barbera came out of the mortuary and . . .

19

And so, the Mafia card was played and played to . . .

About the Author

Other Books by Jack Higgins

Copyright

About the Publisher

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

LUCIANO’S LUCK was first published in the UK by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd in 1981 and later by Signet Books. This incredible novel has been out of print for some years, and in 2011, it seemed to the author and his publishers that it was a pity to leave such a good story languishing on his shelves. So we are delighted to be able to bring back LUCIANO’S LUCK for the pleasure of the vast majority of us who never had a chance to read the earlier editions.

FOREWORD

The Mafia, the Honoured Society, has always fascinated me. I first wrote about it in an earlier book, In the Hour before Midnight, and during the research came across the career of Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano, the famous American gangster. The legend that he was taken out of prison by American Intelligence and dropped into Sicily to prepare the way for the Allied invasion had been around for years, but was not taken seriously by most people. However, when I visited Sicily to do essential research for In the Hour Before Midnight, I actually met people who insisted that they had seen Luciano on the island before and during the invasion. It was enough for me. I stored the information until a more suitable time and so Luciano’s Luck was born.

In July 1943, American forces landed on the southern coast of Sicily and in an advance of incredible rapidity, reached Palermo in only seven days. That their success was due in no small measure to the co-operation of the Sicilian Mafia acting under the direct orders of Charles Lucky Luciano, then serving a sentence of thirty to fifty years in Great Meadow Penitentiary in New York State, is a matter of historical fact. What is particularly fascinating about this strange episode is that in Sicily to this day, there are those who insist that they saw Luciano in person with the American units during the early part of the invasion …

1

It was just before evening, when the jeep carrying Harry Carter turned in through the gates of the great Moorish villa called dar el Ouad outside Algiers, and braked to a halt at the ornate, arched entrance.

‘Wait for me,’ Carter told the driver and went up the steps past the sentries.

In the cool, dark hall inside, a young captain in summer uniform sat at a desk working on some papers. The plaque in front of him said, Captain George Cusak. He glanced up at Carter, noted the uniform, the crowns on his shoulder, the purple and white ribbon of the Military Cross with a silver rosette for a second award, and stood up.

‘What can I do for you, Major?’

Carter produced his pass. ‘I think you’ll find General Eisenhower is expecting me.’

The captain examined the pass briefly and nodded. ‘Ten minutes to go, Major. If you’ll take a seat, I’ll tell him you’re here.’

Harry Carter walked out on to the terrace through the open french windows and sat down in one of the wickerwork chairs. After a moment’s hesitation he took out an old silver case from his breast pocket and selected a cigarette.

He was forty-two, of medium height, a handsome man with a calm, pleasant face which always seemed about to break into a smile, but never quite made it. And he suited the uniform to perfection which was surprising for he was the second son of a prosperous Yorkshire mill-owner, a scholar by nature, educated at Leeds Grammar School until thirteen and then Winchester. From there he had absconded in 1917, joining the Army under a false age, serving the last eighteen months of the First World War as an infantry private on the Western Front.

Afterwards came Cambridge and a brilliant academic career which had included spells at Harvard as visiting Professor of Greek Archaeology, the University of Florence and then a return to Cambridge as a Fellow of Trinity and Claverhouse Professor of Ancient History at thirty-five.

Just after Munich, he had been approached by British Intelligence and had worked with Master-man at MI5, helping to destroy the German spy network in England. He then moved to Special Operations Executive, eventually transferring to Cairo to take responsibility for the Italian section. Sicily had come later, had never really been on the cards at all.

And it was beginning to show; in the weariness in the grey eyes, the flecks of silver in the dark hair. He flicked what remained of his cigarette out into the garden.

‘Careful, Harry,’ he said softly. ‘Next thing, you’ll be starting to feel sorry for yourself.’

There was a movement behind him and he glanced up as Captain Cusak appeared.

‘Major Carter, General Eisenhower will see you now, sir.’

The room was as ornate and Moorish in its furnishing as was the rest of the villa. The only signs that it was the nerve centre of the headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander for the North African Theatre were to be found in the maps of the Mediterranean pinned to one wall and the three trestle tables covered with more maps, which had been placed by the terrace windows to serve as a desk.

Eisenhower was standing outside on the terrace as they went in, smoking a cigarette, wearing boots and riding breeches for he rode most afternoons. He turned and walked in briskly, his face illuminated by that famous and inimitable smile.

‘Coffee, George,’ he said to Cusak. ‘Or maybe Major Carter would prefer tea?’

‘No, coffee would be fine, sir.’

Cusak went out and Eisenhower indicated a chair and opened a file on his desk.

‘And just how does a man with your background get by as a Sicilian peasant?’

‘Oh, you can thank the University Dramatic Society for that, General. There was a wild moment there when I was tempted to turn professional.’

‘You were that good.’

‘I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t, sir,’ Carter said calmly.

‘When SOE sent you out to Cairo to take charge of the Italian section I don’t think they envisaged your personal invasion of Sicily on…’ here he glanced again at the file, ‘…three separate occasions?’

‘I know, sir,’ Carter said. ‘But we didn’t really have any choice. When it came to Sicily, there wasn’t anyone else who knew the language or the people as well. I did a lot of work on archaeological digs there during the thirties.’

‘And now you’re going in again. Don’t you think you’re getting a little old for this sort of thing?’

Eisenhower pushed a document across the desk and Carter picked it up. It was a typical SOE operation order in sparse, no-nonsense Civil Service English.

OPERATION INSTRUCTION NO. 592

For Major Harry Carter

Operation: Swordarm

Field Name: FORTUNATO

Name on Papers: Giovanni Ciccio

1 INFORMATION

We have discussed with you the possibility of your returning to Sicily to finalize the mission you were originally given when you left for that island in February of this year; namely, to co-ordinate the organization of resistance groups in the general area of the Cammarata so that the maximum co-operation is available to Allied troops in the event of invasion. You have made it quite clear that in your view, nothing prevents you from returning to the same area to carry out this task.

2 METHOD

From Maison Blanche you will proceed to Sicily in a Halifax of 138 (Special Duties) Squadron and will land by parachute at a point 10 kilometres west of Bellona where you will be received by elements of the local resistance movement. You have been given a cover story and papers in the name of Giovanni Ciccio which will enable you to live a normal life in the field.

INTERCOMMUNICATIONS

Your channel of communication with the resistance movement in the Palermo area will be through the Contessa di Bellona who is at the present time in residence at her villa outside that town.

Your channel of communication with HQ will be by W/T radio transmission handled by Vito Barbera, coordinator, Bellona area.

WEAPONS

At your discretion, but only those you consider essential for hand-to-hand combat.

CONCLUSION

You are aware of the importance of this mission and nothing must take precedence over it. We anticipate completion in two weeks. Your return will be by submarine pick-up and details of this will be transmitted by radio in field-code at the appropriate time.

NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . .

Carter took a cigarette lighter from his pocket, flicked it with his thumb and touched the flame to the corner of the document. When it was well alight, he crossed to the empty fireplace and dropped it into the grate.

‘Even you shouldn’t have that, General.’

The door opened and Cusak returned with coffee on a brass Arabic tray. ‘Thanks, George, I’ll take care of it,’ Eisenhower said.

He poured the coffee himself and lit another cigarette. ‘I’d say it’s a reasonable assumption that you know more about what’s happening over there at the moment than anyone else in North Africa. So let’s talk.’

What would you like to know, General?’

‘I’d like you to explain the Mafia to me.’

‘You have a file on the Mafia connection, presumably?’

‘Yes.’

Carter lit a cigarette himself without thinking. ‘Mafia began as a kind of secret society during a period of real oppression. In those days it was the only weapon the peasant had, his only means of justice.’

‘Go on.’

‘You have to understand the landscape, sir. It’s another world. Sterile, barren, where the struggle is not so much for a living as for survival. A world where the key word is omerta which means manliness, honour, and never, never seek official help. If you have a problem, you go to the capo.’

‘The capo?’ Eisenhower frowned.

‘Capo means boss, chief, put it how you like. Wherever you go in Sicily there will be a capo mafia who rules the roost.’

‘And still does?’

‘Mussolini tried to crush the movement but it simply went under the surface. You can talk of Separatists, Communists and other political factions as much as you like, but in Sicily, it’s still the Mafia which has the real influence.’

Eisenhower sat staring into space, brooding.

Finally, as if coming to a decision, he tapped the brown manila folder in front of him.

‘This is the file you referred to as the Mafia connection. Are you familiar with an individual mentioned in it known as Lucky Luciano?’

Carter nodded. ‘A New York Sicilian gangster and probably the most important capo in American Mafia. He’s serving a thirty-to-fifty year sentence in Dannemora Penitentiary at the moment. I believe the charge was organized prostitution.’

‘Not now, he isn’t,’ Eisenhower said. ‘According to the file, he’s been moved to Great Meadow at Comstock. It seems that after the liner Normandie was burned out on the Hudson last year, Naval Intelligence became worried about increasing sabotage on the New York waterfront.’

‘I know, General, and when they approached the dockers’ unions, they discovered that the man to see was Luciano, inside prison or out.’

Eisenhower said, ‘Quite incredible. In the middle of the greatest war in history they have to go to a crook for help. As if that wasn’t enough, I now find that our people have been putting agents into Sicily for some time now, usually Americans with an ethnic Sicilian background. Were you aware of this?’

‘It’s a specifically American project, General, but yes, I did know about it. The aim is, I believe, to ensure Mafia cooperation in the event of an invasion.’

Eisenhower exploded angrily. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be fighting the same war, for God’s sake?’ He took another cigarette and struck the match so forcibly that it snapped. ‘They approached Luciano in the penitentiary again about giving his assistance. They seem to think he has some influence in Sicily also.’

‘Considerable, General. If he appeared in some of those mountain villages it would be like the second coming.’

‘Our Intelligence people certainly seem to think so. Apparently a yellow scarf with the initial L in black, which is Luciano’s calling card, will be dropped extensively in apropriate areas at the right time.’

‘And they think this will help?’ Carter asked.

Eisenhower turned back to the map. ‘The theory is sound enough. The terrain Patton and his army have to pass through to reach Palermo is a soldier’s nightmare. The area around the Cammarata particularly is a warren of ravines and mountains. It could take months to hack a way through it. On the other hand, if the Mafia used its power to promote an uprising of the people and to persuade Italian units to surrender, the Germans would have no other recourse but to get the hell out of it.’

‘Yes, General,’ Carter said.

‘You don’t sound too certain. Don’t you think the Mafia can deliver?’

‘Frankly, sir, not as the people in Washington who dreamed this thing up seem to expect. One major weakness. If you take the Mafia boss, the capo, in one particular district, you may find he doesn’t have much influence elsewhere. Another thing, your Intelligence people have been recruiting American service personnel with Sicilian or Italian ethnic backgrounds.’

‘And what’s wrong with that?’ Eisenhower demanded.

‘It’s better than nothing, of course, but being Italian doesn’t cut much ice in Sicily and as regards the language, there are at least five Sicilian dialects in Palermo alone.’

‘But surely the idea of using Luciano was to get over such difficulties by having someone whose name meant something to everyone.’

‘I don’t happen to think it’s enough.’

‘But Washington does?’

‘So it would appear.’

There was a brief silence, Eisenhower frowning down thoughtfully at the file, and then he looked up.

‘All right, Major, you’ve had one briefing. Now I’m going to give you another. I want the facts on this Mafia thing and straight from the horse’s mouth. When you return in two weeks or whatever, I want you back here Priority One with a first hand assessment of the situation in the field. You understand me?’

‘Perfectly, General.’

‘Good. You’d better get moving, then.’

Carter saluted. Eisenhower nodded and picked up his pen. As Carter reached the door and opened it, the General called softly, ‘One thing more, Major.’

Carter turned to face him. ‘Yes, sir?’

‘Leave the rough stuff to other people. I’d be considerably inconvenienced if you failed to keep our next appointment.’

2

It started to rain as Carter went over the ridge, a heavy, drenching downpour, sheet lightning flickering beyond the mountain peaks. He leaned the cumbersome bicycle against a tree and took the field-glasses from his pocket. When he focused them the houses of Bellona three miles away jumped into view. He followed the valley road to where it disappeared into pine trees, but there was no sign of life. Not even a shepherd.

He replaced the field-glasses in his pack, moved back through the trees to the other side of the ridge and looked down at the villa in the hollow below, quiet in the evening light, waiting for him.

He was tired and yet filled with a sudden fierce exhilaration, faced at last with the final end of things. He started down the slope through pine trees, pushing the bicycle before him.

He entered the grounds by a gate in the rear wall and followed a path round to the front of the house. The garden was Moorish, lush, semi-tropical vegetation pressing in everywhere. Palms swayed gently above his head and in the heavy downpour water gurgled in the old conduits, splashing from numerous fountains.

He emerged into the courtyard at the front of the house, leaned the bicycle against the baroque fountain, and went up the steps to the front door. There was already a light in the hall and he pulled on the bell chain and waited. There was the sound of footsteps approaching and the door opened.

The man who stood there was perhaps forty, his heavy moustache and hair already grey. He wore a black bow tie and alpaca jacket and looked Carter over with total disapproval.

‘What do you want?’

Carter removed his cloth cap and when he spoke, his voice was rough and hoarse, pure Sicilian. ‘I have a message for the Contessa.’

The manservant held out his hand. ‘Give it to me.’

Carter shook his head, assuming an expression of peasant cunning. ‘My orders were to deliver it personally. She’s expecting me. Tell her Ciccio is here.’

The manservant shrugged. ‘All right, come in. I’ll see what she has to say.’

Carter stepped inside and stood there, dripping rain on to the black and white ceramic tiles. The manservant frowned his displeasure, walked across the hall and went through a green baize door into a large kitchen. He paused just inside the door, took a Walther automatic from his pocket, checked it quickly then opened a cupboard beside the old-fashioned iron stove and took out a military field telephone. He wound the handle and waited, whistling softly to himself, tapping the Walther against his thigh.

There was the murmur of a voice at the other end and he said in German, ‘Schäfer – at the villa. Carter’s turned up at last. No problem. I’ll hold him till you get here.’

He replaced the telephone in the cupboard, turned and still whistling softly, moved back to the door.

Carter shivered, suddenly cold, aware for the first time that the rain had soaked through to his skin. Almost over now. God, but he was tired. In the gilt mirror on the other side of the hall he could see his reflection. A middle-aged Sicilian peasant, badly in need of a shave, hair too long, with sullen, brutalized features, patched tweed suit and leather leggings, a shotgun, the traditional lupara with sawn-off barrels, hanging from his left shoulder.

But not for much longer. Soon there would be Cairo, Shepherd’s Hotel, hot baths, clean sheets, seven-course meals and ice-cold champagne. Dom Perignon 35. He still had, after all, an infallible source of supply.

The green baize door opened in the mirror behind him and the manservant came through. Carter turned. ‘The Contessa will see me?’

‘She would if she could, only she isn’t here. We took her away three days ago.’ His right hand came up holding the Walther and now he was speaking in English. ‘The shotgun, Major Carter. On the floor, very gently, then turn, hands against the wall.’

Strange, but now that it had happened, this moment that he had always known would come one day, Carter was aware of a curious sensation of relief. He didn’t even attempt to play Ciccio any more, but put down the lupara as instructed and turned to face the wall.

‘German?’ he asked.

‘I’m afraid so.’ A hand searched him expertly. ‘Schäfer. Geheimefeldpolizei. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.’ He stepped back and Carter turned to face him.

‘The Contessa?’

‘The Gestapo have her. They’ve been waiting for you in Bellona for three days now. I’ve just telephoned through from the kitchen. They’ll be here in twenty minutes.’

‘I see,’ Carter said. ‘So what do we do now?’

‘We wait.’ Schäfer motioned him through into the dining room.

Carter paused, looking down at the open fire, steam rising from his damp clothes, and behind him Schäfer sat at the end of the long dining table, took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, then pushed the pack along the table. Carter took one gratefully and when he struck the match, his fingers trembled slightly.

Schäfer said, ‘There’s brandy on the sideboard. You look as if you could do with it.’

Carter went round the table and helped himself. The brandy was the local variety, raw and pungent, it burned as it went down and he coughed, struggling for breath. He poured himself another and turned to Schäfer.

‘What about you?’

‘Why not?’

Carter found another glass and moved to the table. ‘Say when,’ he said and started to pour.

Schäfer still covered him with the Walther. Raising the glass to his lips he said, ‘I’m sorry about this, Major. I don’t like those Gestapo bastards any more than you do, but I’ve got a job to do.’

‘Haven’t we all,’ Carter said.

He swung the decanter in an arc against the German’s skull, at the same time grabbing for the wrist of the hand that held the Walther, desperately trying to deflect it.

He swung the decanter again so that it splintered into dozens of pieces, brandy spurting across Schäfer’s head and face, mingling with the blood. Incredibly, Schäfer’s left fist managed a punch of considerable force high on Carter’s right cheek, splitting the flesh to the bone, before clutching him by the throat.

They fell across the table and rolled over the edge to the floor and Carter was aware of one blow after another to the body and the pistol exploding between them. Somehow, he found himself up on one knee, twisting the other’s wrist up and around until the bone cracked and the Walther jumped into the air, landing in the hearth.

The German screamed, his head going back, and Carter punched him in the open throat with knuckles extended. Schäfer rolled over on to his face and lay still and Carter turned and ran into the hall. He grabbed for the shotgun, slinging it over his shoulder as he made for the front door.

There was a dreamlike quality to everything. It was as if he was moving in slow motion, no strength to him, so that even opening the front door was an effort. He leaned against the balustrade of the porch, aware now that the front of his jacket was soaked with blood, not Schäfer’s but his own. When he slipped a hand inside his shirt he could feel the lips of the wound like raw meat where a bullet had ripped through his left side.

No time for that, not now for he was aware of the sound of vehicles approaching on the road, very fast. He went lurching down the steps, picked up the bicycle and hurriedly retraced his steps through the garden to the rear gate.