Undercover in Chivilcoy

In Chivilcoy, Villarrubia and his cameraman continued to investigate who lived at La Solita. To do this, the pair used some innovative methods to track the activities of Peter Schmidt and his accomplice, Friedhelm Zeitner (alias Felipe). With the cameraman stationed in town and Villarrubia near La Solita, they spoke in code over the phone to signal the Germans’ comings and goings. They took turns following them by car, and soon patterns began to emerge. Anyone leaving the house for Chivilcoy, Villarrubia noticed, always followed a circuitous route, and their trips to town often included a stop at a phone center.

Villarrubia

But neither Villarrubia nor his videographer ever confronted the two men. It was unlikely that they would cooperate, and Villarrubia did not want to tip them off and make them flee La Solita—which was conveniently located near an airstrip. Moreover, Villarrubia knew that the two men were well-trained in martial arts and armed. This was a period of increased violence in the Argentine countryside; homicides and armed robberies were up sharply. Villarrubia did not want to run the risk of becoming just another data point.

On the other hand, how long could he secretly trail Schaefer’s bodyguards? His editors back in Santiago began to question whether this approach would ever bear fruit. It was already May, and Villarrubia had made several trips to Chivilcoy. He had ascertained many of the bodyguards’ habits, but had still not located Schaefer.