‘Liane?’ James asked, hardly able to speak above the beating of his heart. ‘Oh, my dearest, darling girl! You’re all right!’ He could not even reprove her for using an open-voice key.
‘That would seem fairly obvious. But I love you, too. We have problems.’
‘So I gather. But as long as you are back in command — ’ ‘I am in command of nothing, at this moment. Although 1 am hoping that will change. James, I am so sorry about Rachel.’ ‘What about Rachel?’
‘Did you not know she was taken by the Germans?’
‘Did you not know that she managed to escape?’
‘What? Rachel escaped from the Gestapo? How did she do that?’
‘We don’t know yet. What we do know is that she managed to reach Switzerland — ’
‘From Bordeaux? That is incredible.’
‘It does rather sound like it. She has refused to divulge to our people in Basle how it was done, but she did it. She is on her way home now, so we’ll be able to debrief her when she arrives. Meanwhile … ’
‘Is there any news of Joanna? I mean, now that America is in the war, I assume you have pulled her out.’
‘Ah, well, yes, that would seem to be the obvious thing to do.’
‘James! Something has happened. Tell me what it is.’ ‘Nothing has happened. Yet.’
‘You mean she’s back in Germany? Oh, my God! They’ll shoot her.’
‘I do not think the Germans are going to shoot Joanna,’ James said, speaking very carefully. ‘However, her situation is top secret and cannot be discussed, even with you, my dearest girl. Now, listen. You say you can get your Group back together.’
‘I think so. Most of them.’
‘Right. Then I want you to select a couple of good men and send them to Code Marker C 47 DF on your map. The code name is Rutter. We require up-to-date, accurate and detailed sketches of the harbour and its defences. We also need as much information as possible about the number of German troops in both the town and its vicinity, and their situation. Can you do this?’
‘I would say so. James, would I be right in supposing — ’ ‘Please don’t speculate, Liane. Have your people get that information and come back to me as soon as you can. And, Liane, I wish you to send people, not go yourself.’
‘Yes, sir. Over and out.’ Liane replaced the handset and looked at Anatole.
‘Is it something big?’ The baker had the map on the table. ‘Dieppe? Do you think it is the invasion? They said it would come this year.’
‘I would just forget about it, if I were you. Now, can you get in touch with Etienne?’
‘Etienne is dead.’
‘What did you say?’
‘He was captured by the Germans and executed, oh, last November. Soon after you left for Paris.’
‘Are you telling me that Etienne was another who just wandered across the border?’
‘He must have had a reason.’
‘I am sure he did,' Liane said grimly. ‘Well, where is Jules? Don't tell me he is also dead.’
‘I do not think so. I think he has gone to Arcachon. He was a fisherman before the war.’
‘I know. Well, send someone to Arcachon and tell him I wish to see him, urgently. Who else do you know how to get hold of?’ Anatole scratched his head. ‘Well,’ Liane said. ‘Dieppe. I know someone who knows Dieppe very well.’ James would just have to forgive her.
*
James was on the dock to greet Rachel when she stepped off the boat from Lisbon. He was in civilian clothes, so could embrace her and kiss her and frown at her.
‘You’ve changed your glasses.’
These are Swiss glasses,’ she explained. ‘Mine got broken.’ He escorted her to the waiting car. ‘We have a lot to talk about. But to have you back … ’ He settled himself on the rear seat beside her. ‘There was a moment when I had given you up for lost.’
The car moved away to commence the drive up to London. ‘Join the club. Only mine were several moments, fairly well separated. But for Joanna … ’
‘What? Joanna was there?’
‘She suddenly popped up to do her Scarlet Pimpernel stuff. I may never have liked that woman, but right now she is my favourite person in the world. But listen, I must tell you about Monterre. You remember Monterre?’
‘The Communist. You were telling me about Joanna.’ ‘Monterre first. You have to get a message to Anatole. Monterre is working for the Germans. It was he who handed me over. Oh, I know I was stupid. Incredibly naive. He found out where I was staying, came to see me in the middle of the night, told me he could take me to the de Gruchys, drove me to the border, and handed me over to the Germans.’
‘God Almighty! Didn’t you realize you were going to the border?'
‘Well, I did. But I trusted him. I mean, he had fought with us in the cave. It wasn’t until he tried to rape me that the penny dropped.’
‘He raped you?’
‘I said tried.’
‘But after you were taken by the Germans … ’
‘Nobody raped me,’ Rachel said, speaking very deliberately. ‘Would it have made any difference if they had?’
‘Of course not, my darling. I was thinking of you. Now, about Joanna … ’
‘I happened to run into a most perfect gentleman. A colonel named Hoeppner.’
‘Franz Hoeppner?’
‘That’s right. Do you know him?’
‘I’ve heard of him. He commands the Bordeaux District. Or he did.’
‘He still does. And like I said, he was a perfect gentleman. Oh, he had to lock me up. And he did say that if I wouldn’t co-operate he would have to hand me over to the Gestapo.’
‘And if you did co-operate?’
‘He could promise me a painless death. A bullet in the back of the head.’
‘As you say, a perfect gentleman.’
‘He was only doing his job. You would have done the same.’
James sighed. ‘You could be right. Now, about Joanna … ’
‘But then the Gestapo showed up, and things got very nasty. I have to say that they don’t really prepare you for that sort of thing in training school.’
‘You said you weren’t raped.’
‘Is that all you can think about? There are worse things than being raped, believe it or not. Have you ever had a lit cigarette pressed into your nipple?’
‘They did that?’
‘I’ll show you when we get home. It was a nasty little rat named Roess. But just as things were really getting grim, Joanna showed up.’
‘That’s what I wanted you to tell me about. What was she doing there?’
‘Well, you know she has this thing going with this very big wheel in the SD, which is actually superior to the Gestapo, so she informed this Roess character that 1 was to be taken to Berlin for interrogation. He didn’t like the idea one little bit, but she pulled rank. So I was placed on a train with her, suitably handcuffed, and when we got to Metz she turned me loose. Oh, we put up a bit of a charade. I tied her up and gagged her and left her in our compartment.’
‘She let you do that?’
‘It was her idea. Then I got off the train, and made my way across north-eastern France into Switzerland. That took some doing, I can tell you. Joanna had given me her money and a travel pass, and I had my papers, but I still had to walk most of the way. And, as I told you, I’d lost my glasses, and deciphering things like road signs was a tricky business. As for the places I had to stay! The Germans may not have got around to raping me, but some of those Frenchies certainly had a go.’ James held her hands. ‘Rachel, be a dear and concentrate. This is very, very important. Why did Joanna rescue you from the Gestapo?’
‘Because she was there, and I was there … What did you expect her to do? Stand there and watch them torture me to death?’
‘She knew you were there? She didn’t just happen on you?’ ‘Of course she knew I was there.’
‘How?’
‘Hoeppner must have told her. Th
ey were very thick.’ ‘And she came all the way from Berlin to rescue you?’ ‘No, no, no. She came from Berlin to assist in the search for the de Gruchys. She didn’t know I was involved until she got to Bordeaux.’
‘So rescuing you was a spur of the moment idea.’
‘Well, I suppose it was, yes. But thank God for it.’
‘She didn’t … well … you spent some time on the train together, didn’t you?’
‘All of one day and a good bit of a night.’
‘And she didn’t … ah … try anything?’
‘You must be joking. In my condition? Anyway, neither of us was in the mood.’
‘You do know her reputation.’
‘I have heard of it. Mainly from you. She was interested only in getting me out. What’s all this about, anyway? You think she was up to something? In my book, she’s a heroine. In any event, where was the point? She let me go. Just like that.'
‘I’m trying to work out why she did that.’
‘Surely because she is Pound Three and 1 am Pound Two. We’re in the same outfit, right?’
James studied her. ‘You do realize that since America entered the war, Joanna has become a traitor?’
Rachel frowned. ‘But you sent her back there. Didn’t you?’
‘No, we didn’t. We ordered her not to return. But she ignored our instructions.’
‘Then … ’
‘As I say, technically she is a traitor.’
‘But we know she’s not.’
‘Do we?’
‘She rescued me, for God’s sake.’
‘And we don’t know why. But we have to find out, and quickly.’
‘Is it that important?’
‘Yes. She doesn’t know it, but she is under sentence of death.’
Rachel stared at him with her mouth open. ‘What did you say?’
‘The brigadier has decided that while we do not know if she really is a traitor, we can no longer take the risk that she may be. So … ’
‘You mean the order has actually been issued?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘But it has to be rescinded.’
‘I’m afraid that’s impossible. The assassin has already left Basle, and there is no way of recalling him now.’
PART THREE
The Fellowship of Death
A living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecclesiastes IX
Chapter Seven
The Assassin
Unlike Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler was so mild-mannered as to be almost self-effacing, and Oskar Weber suspected that he actually thought of himself as the most tolerant and inoffensive of men. The rimless spectacles and the rather vacant, moon-like features helped. Only those who worked closely with him knew better. Oskar had never done that till now, but he had observed the great respect in which the police overlord was held by even so demonic a character as Heydrich, and there could be no doubt that, from the utterly flawless black uniform he wore, every belt polished to the highest of sheens, he held himself in considerable esteem. Yet his movements were languid, his hand seeming to droop from his wrist as he gestured Weber to a chair.
‘I have just returned from Russia,’ he remarked without preamble. ‘It is dreadful there. Quite dreadful.’
‘You have been to the front, Herr General?’ Oskar hated himself, but with this man it was necessary to be ingratiating.
‘No, no. That is not my province. We are policemen, you and I, Oskar. Our business is the keeping of the peace behind the lines, the ensuring of the flow of supplies to the front, which is actually far more important than squatting behind a wall with a rifle. But it also entails rooting out the subversives, the enemies of the Reich, the Communists and the like. And, of course, the Jews. You no doubt know that the Fiihrer has taken the decision that the only hope for the future of Europe is to eliminate that accursed race completely.’
‘Ah … I had heard a rumour … ’
‘It is supposed to be top secret,’ Himmler said mildly. ‘There must be no rumours. However, the policy — which was actually recommended by Heydrich, you know — is being put into effect, to begin with, in Russia. There are a great number of Jews in Russia, you know, Oskar.’
‘So I understand, sir.’
‘My people have been given the task of rounding them up, in their hundreds, their thousands, and disposing of them.’ ‘May I ask, sir, how does one dispose of a thousand people at a time?’
‘With difficulty, Oskar. With difficulty. They are first of all made to dig large ditches.’
‘You mean they are forced to dig their own graves, sir?’ ‘Well, they do not know it is their grave. They are merely told to dig a ditch. This could be for any purpose. Then they are made to undress. Men, women and children.’
‘They do not object to this?’
‘One or two hotheads do. But they are shot. The others … they do not seem to understand what is going on. Or what is going to happen. Even when, in numbers, they are made to stand on the edge of the ditch to be shot, they seem mesmerized, as if they cannot believe such a thing is happening to them. Have you ever attended a mass execution, Oskar?’
‘No, sir, I have not.’ Nor do I wish to, Oskar thought, it is horrible. It makes you want to vomit. But at the same time it stirs all the senses. All those naked bodies, about to be torn to pieces. Some of the females are quite attractive, you know. I remember one young female … my God she was well built. But there it is.’ Weber was slowly realizing that this man did actually regard the Jews as a different species entirely. ‘Anyway,’ Himmler went on, ‘we have been given a job to do, by the Fiihrer, and we must do that job, and all the other jobs we may be given, to the very best of our abilities, because we are German officers and gentlemen. Do you agree?’
‘Of course, Herr General.’ Weber braced himself; he had an idea what was coming next.
‘Before he went to Prague, General Heydrich left me a complete breakdown of his, and your, activities and problems. I have been reading it on the train.’
‘May I ask how General Heydrich is, sir?’
‘General Heydrich is very well, and he is doing his duty in stamping out Czech insurgency. Now, as regards you, I am concerned about this Bordeaux business. Last November a German officer was shot in broad daylight. It is now February and no arrest has been made. Yet we appear to know the name of the assassin.’ He opened the folder on his desk. ‘A woman named de Gruchy. As I understand it, she and her family have been on our most-wanted list since we took over France. Yet none of them has ever been arrested, at least not permanently. It appears that this very woman was once arrested, and then released. It also appears that her parents were also arrested and sent to a concentration camp, as they should have been — and then released! That is an intolerable situation.’
‘Those decisions were made by General Heydrich, Herr General, as part of a plan to capture the leader of the group, the woman Liane de Gruchy, who was wanted for every crime imaginable. Sadly, the plan miscarried. Still, we did eventually get her. She was shot by my people when we attacked the Group’s lair, last September.’
‘That is very reassuring. However, this sister of hers is setting up to be a new menace.’ Another glance at the folder. ‘It says here that Roess was placed in charge of the case. In December. Without results. I understood that he was a good man.’
‘He is, Herr General. But he … ah … met with an unfortunate accident on his way to Bordeaux, and has had to spend some time in hospital.'
‘What sort of accident?’
‘I believe he hit his head.’
‘Good heavens! You say he is in hospital? When will he be fit for duty?’
‘I believe very soon, sir. Meanwhile, Colonel Hoeppner, who is the Wehrmacht commander in Bordeaux, is continuing the search.’
‘What has he been doing?’
‘Well, sir, he has been interviewing people, offering rewards … ’
‘My dear Oskar, people who murder
German officers are not going to be enticed by offers of reward. They can only be cowed into surrender. That is what General Heydrich is doing so successfully in Prague. Has Roess taken any hostages?’
‘Yes, sir. The local commander took a hundred hostages before Roess ever got there.’ He felt it worthwhile to add, ‘That was on orders from me.’
‘Very good. I think it is time to shoot one or two.’
‘Ah … I’m afraid, sir, that they have all been shot.’
‘All of them? A hundred? You ordered that?’
‘No, sir. Roess ordered it on his own initiative.’
‘But that is brilliant. The man must be commended.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Oskar agreed doubtfully. ‘But shooting the hostages has not brought any results.’
‘How odd. These must be very strange people.’
‘The fact is, sir, that the de Gruchys have attained a sort of mythical status in the eyes of the French people.’
‘Even with this woman dead? And now this other woman has taken over her sister’s mantle, eh? Well, she must be brought to justice, even if it means shooting everyone in Bordeaux.’
‘I think there is a way to bring her out, Herr General. 1 suggested it to General Heydrich, more than once, but he felt it would not be acceptable to the Fiihrer.’ Himmler raised his eyebrows. ‘You are aware, I suppose, sir, that Amalie de Gruchy’s sister is living in Berlin?’
‘If you are speaking of Frau von Helsingen, then of course I am aware of it. 1 am also aware that she has entirely broken with her family. Or they with her.’
‘With respect, sir, I do not believe that is true.'
‘Explain.’
‘Well, sir, you know she visited her parents in Paulliac last September. That was my idea. We were seeking information on the whereabouts of her brother and sister, and we felt she might be able to unearth something.’
‘And it all went very wrong.’
‘Well, sir, we got the information we needed.’
‘From Frau von Helsingen? All that she accomplished was to be humiliated by her own family.’
‘I have always wondered how genuine that was, sir.
Legacy of Hate Page 15