I had just wrapped up the first leg of a two-city reporting trip to Czechoslovakia for Business International. After spending the first four days of the trip November in Prague, I planned to spend the final two days in Slovakia. The trip, so far, had been a success. I reported on big stories, witnessed dramatic moments as thousands of East Germans streamed into Prague, and met interesting people, including an attractive American traveler named Gabrielle.
I was also happy to begin the long journey home toward Vienna. Those reporting trips across the Iron Curtain always wore me down. The next day, I would catch a train for the short hop over to Austria.
I imagine that -- as in Prague -- we would meet with officials to gauge the political mood given the anticommunist demonstrations then underway in East Germany. I had been in a good mood on the drive down, but looking back, Arnold must have been positively ecstatic — and not because of any jovial conversation or the relaxing ride.
Everything had been orchestrated to the last detail — and Arnold had put in some excellent work so far. Curiously, though, Arnold had been intentionally kept in the dark as to why he was bringing me to Bratislava. No matter. According to my file, ELZA was the informant who had kept such close watch over me at the hotel and even thoughtfully preserved, for posterity, my note to Gabrielle.
The question remains open, though, whether she was working for the CIA. It was a rare sight back then to meet American tourists anywhere in the Eastern bloc — and even rarer to find women traveling on their own.
