Fetch the Devil: The Sierra Diablo Murders and Nazi Espionage in America

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43 The Ranger may have been young compared to some of the grizzled professionals on the force, but he had the advantage of having recently been trained in interrogation techniques at the new FBI Police Training School.279 The gentleman in the hospital bed was trying mightily to mislead, if not deliberately lie. Pharies had already caught him in several “mistakes” but did not correct them, in order to keep the subject engaged and assure him the interview was going well. Since the man was becoming agitated, Pharies suggested a brief recess and offered to refill the water pitcher. When he declined, the Ranger asked him if he wanted something else to drink before continuing. He was about to open a line of questioning that might prove key to discovering if Frome was deliberately withholding information about some motive other than robbery, a motive closer to home. Frome seemed impatient to get the interview over and indicated he just wanted to proceed. “If someone had tried to stop them on the highway, what would they have done? For example, if some strange man had pulled across the road in front of them?” Pharies asked.280 “They would have tried to beat him to it and stepped on the gas,” said Frome. “WhenNancysawthismanwasinearnest,whatwouldshehavedone?” “I think my wife would have fought them off, but I have argued that with her many a time. On a holdup, she said she would have fought them off. I don’t know what Nancy would have done.” “Mr. Frome, what significance, if any, do you attach that both of them were lying on their faces?” asked Pharies. “Idonotseeanythingsignificantaboutthat.Ofcourseit’sPete’s[Ranger Crawford] idea, and I listened to him quite a bit, that those burns on Nancy were for identification. Pete’s idea is a dope ring. I don’t know. It might be that.” FrometoldtheRangerthatdeputiesatthescenesaidNancyfoughthard 252 fetch the devil and had some black hair in her hand. “This black hair looked like straight black hair from an Indian,” Frome said. “Mr. Frome, you think the scene [where the bodies were discovered] was laid?” “I think it was laid. They were followed to El Paso, and followed out from El Paso, and laid at the spot. I think they were followed from Juarez. Mrs. Frome still had her glasses on her, and Nancy still had the matches in her hand.” “Do you think after the murderers killed them they put the matches back in Nancy’s hand, and put Mrs. Frome’s glasses back on her?” the Ranger asked. “I don’t know. I see no point in their taking their dresses off and taking all their baggage,” said Frome. “Why do you think they left jewelry on Mrs. Frome and Nancy?” Frome surmised that perhaps the killers were afraid the jewelry might be identified. “Why do you think Nancy was tortured like she was?” “I don’t know. Nancy was tortured the way she was . . . the torture of Nancy to me, I think sometimes Pete’s theory of the job was right: they were torturing her to make her tell, and that’s the only thing I know.” “I would be fairly convinced of that if those burns were not in a perfect pattern,” Ranger Pharies added. Frome continued to speculate. “The only thing to me is that the way they tortured Nancy, Pete’s theory might be right. Here you have two welldressed women go to Juarez. I’ve gone to Juarez just to see what it’s like. It is a terrible place. They have a good-looking car. Good-looking rings. Someone in Juarez said follow them and get some money.” The Ranger did not point out that the women never took their car into Juarez and left their jewelry in the safe at the Hotel Cortez on trips across the border. At this point Pharies was hoping to get to some of the more controversial subjects in the investigation. He noticed Frome appeared worn out but planned to push him harder. That would not be easy, since the young Rangerknewhewasdealingwithapowerfulbusinessexecutive,whocould just as easily have kicked him out of the hospital room as answer another question. an enemy within 253 Since the family name was German, a number of tipsters had suggested there might be a Nazi spy angle in the case.281 Rumors had circulated for some time that the women were actually German agents tryingtoreachGalvestonwithacarloadofmilitary secrets...