‘Well, I suppose they knew what they were risking. What does Himmler make of it?’
‘He is furious. But not so angry as the Fiihrer. He is resolved to make the Czechs pay in blood. He is talking about destroying an entire town — men, women, and children. You will understand that we have a lot on our minds at the moment. So if you have called simply to say hello, I will say hello and goodbye.’
‘I called, in the first instance, to discuss Dieppe.’
‘What has Dieppe got to do with me?’
‘I have a suspicion that it is to do with all of us. A month ago I received information from a source I am bound to regard as reliable, that British agents were engaged in filing reports on the defences and military establishment of Dieppe.’
‘There are British agents in almost every seaport in France.’
‘As there were in St Nazaire? This was one of their best people.’
‘Very well. I assume you forwarded this information both to the commanding officer and to OKW.’
‘I informed Rinteler, certainly. As regards OKW, well, I am sure you know that I am not the most popular of their officers at this time. I am surprised that I am still in Bordeaux, and not in Russia.’
‘You are in Bordeaux because I wished you left there until this Amalie de Gruchy business has been sorted out. 1 presume you have still made no progress in that direction.'
‘Unfortunately, no. I received no reply from Rinteler,’ Franz went on, ‘so I took leave, and before coming back to Germany I visited the port. You know I commanded there immediately following the invasion?’
‘Yes,’ Weber agreed. ‘And even then you were interfering with the Gestapo.’
‘Who needed to be interfered with. I did not come here to discuss the Gestapo. I am here because, although I repeated my information to Rinteler, he pooh-poohed it. He insisted that there has been less enemy activity in the Channel than usual this year. He said that does not indicate the likelihood of an invasion. I would have said quite the opposite. However — ’ ‘Just one moment. Did you use the word “invasion”?’
‘I believe it could be that, yes. Dieppe is a seaport, reasonably close to England, and points like a dagger at the heart of France. And it fits in with the raid on St Nazaire, which was clearly a reconnaissance in force. Have your agents in England not turned anything up?’
‘I think you have been letting your imagination run away with you, Colonel. If I receive any supportive information I will look into the matter. However, thank you for bringing it to my attention. Have a pleasant holiday.’
Franz remained seated. ‘There is another matter.’
Weber raised his eyes. ‘Yes?’
‘I would like you to release Joanna from your employment.’ Weber frowned. ‘What interest have you got in Joanna?’
‘I wish to marry her.’
Weber stared at him for several seconds, then gave a shout of laughter. ‘Is she aware of this ambition?’
‘Yes, she is.’
Another stare, then a snap of the fingers. ‘Munich! You were with her in Munich! The bitch!’
‘There have been other occasions. We are in love. I know that is an emotion you will find impossible to understand, much less appreciate, Oskar. I know that Joanna has been your mistress … ’
‘Joanna is my mistress.’
‘But you do not love her. She is a beautiful woman, and she works for you. In that capacity she once saved your life. I am sure you are very grateful. Now you can show your gratitude by releasing her to make a decent life for herself.’
Weber continued to stare at him for several seconds. Franz could see no change of expression, but that went with such a cold-blooded creature. Yet he was taken by surprise when Weber suddenly smiled. ‘Of course, Franz. You are absolutely correct. I have had the best of her. You are welcome to take her over.’
‘That is very civilized of you, although I would have put it differently. I shall go and see her now.’
‘By all means do so. However, I am afraid I cannot release her right this moment. She has certain duties to perform, and I must find adequate replacements.’
‘How long?’
‘I should think a month will do.’
Franz stood up and clicked his heels. ‘Again, thank you for your co-operation, Herr Colonel.’
Weber watched the door close, and leaned back in his chair. The poor fool, he thought. But that bitch, betraying him time and again with that fop … He leaned forward again, frowning. Roess had said she was betraying him, had betrayed him from the beginning, and he had not been referring to any clandestine love affair. Well, if the pair of them assumed he was incapable of dealing with them, they were gravely mistaken. Between them, they had given him all the ammunition he needed. He picked up his phone. ‘Put me through to General Himmler.’
He had to wait for some time, but at last a woman said, ‘General Himmler’s office.'
‘Is the general available? This is Colonel Weber, and the matter is urgent.’
A moment later Himmler’s quiet voice was on the line. ‘Have you something for me, Oskar?’
‘I am calling about Hoeppner, Herr General.’
‘Hoeppner? Are you referring to General Hoeppner?’
‘No, no, sir. I am speaking of the general’s nephew, Colonel Franz Hoeppner, who commands the Bordeaux area.’
‘Oh, him. Don’t tell me he’s managed to crack the de Gruchy business.’
‘No, sir, he has not, and frankly, I do not believe that he ever will. His heart isn’t in it, he is against taking hostages, and I regret to say that he seems to have missed or overlooked several important leads. It is my opinion that he should be replaced as soon as possible.’
‘Hmm. I shall of course act on your recommendation, Oskar. I will speak with Haider.’
‘I think the transfer should be made immediately, Herr General.’
‘I have said that I will attend to the matter. Do you have a replacement in mind?’
‘That is a matter for the Wehrmacht. Anyone has to be better than Hoeppner.’
‘Very good. But you should brief the new man. I will keep you informed.’
Weber put the phone down and returned to his intercom. ‘Call the Albert Hotel,’ he told his secretary, ‘and tell Fraulein Jonsson that I wish to see her.’
‘Here, Herr Colonel?’ The woman was well aware that when her boss wished to see his mistress, he invariably called on her.
‘That is what I said, Fraulein.’ He had no wish to encounter Hoeppner again.
Franz was waiting in the hotel lobby when Joanna returned from Gestapo headquarters.
‘Franz!’ she cried. ‘What a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you were in Berlin, until Oskar told me just now.’
He embraced her. ‘You have been with Weber?’
‘He sent for me.’
‘To tell you what?’
‘Come upstairs.’ She led him to the lift. The reception clerk looked astounded, and somewhat apprehensive, but he was not up to date on the situation. The lift doors clicked shut. ‘He told me he had given permission for us to marry. Oh, Franz! I am so happy there has been no unpleasantness.’
‘I have to say that his reaction surprised me too. But do you mean he sent for you just to say that you could marry me?’ ‘Well, no. He has a job for me to do. A last job, and then I’m free.’
He followed her along the corridor. ‘What sort of job?’ Joanna unlocked the door of the suite and led him in, then she closed the door. ‘What the hell? As this is my last one. I told you, I’m his private courier. Because I can travel so freely, I take his messages to his various agents in the field, and I bring their replies back. It’s all very simple, really.’
‘So where is he sending you now?’
‘England.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I’ve been there often. Cognac?’ She poured two glasses. ‘You cannot go to England. You’ll be shot as a spy.’
She handed him his glass
, drank from her own. ‘There is no one in England who has the least idea that I am anything but the daughter of a Swedish diplomat. Believe me, Franz, I have done this often before, without the least bit of trouble. Well, now that we are officially engaged, would you like to come to bed?’
‘But why England, now?’
‘Oh, he seems to feel there could be something big on, and he wants to find out what it is.’
Franz snapped his fingers. ‘Dieppe!’
Joanna had kicked off her shoes. Now she turned to face him. ‘Say again?’
‘The official reason for my visit to Berlin is that I have obtained information that the British may be planning an attack on Dieppe.’
‘What sort of attack?'
‘I have no idea. But it could be a big one. It could even be the invasion.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Because they sent their leading agent to Dieppe, almost certainly to check out the port installations and the garrison dispositions. Do you know who that was? Your friend Liane.’ Joanna sat down on the settee, somewhat heavily. ‘Who told you all this?’
‘Monterre. I loathe the man, but he is a most fruitful source of information.’
‘And you believed him?’ Why isn’t Monterre dead? she asked herself.
‘Almost every thing he has told me in the past has been accurate.’
‘And what have you done about it?’
‘About Liane?’ He sat beside her, put his arm round her shoulders. ‘Nothing. I am not going to betray your secret, my dearest girl. But I had to do something about Dieppe. Only no one would listen to me, or at least they pretended not to listen to me. But Weber … he really is a devious character.’ ‘Yes,’ Joanna said thoughtfully. ‘And is he also taking steps to strengthen the defences of Dieppe?’
‘I have no idea. But it really isn’t his province. He can supply the Wehrmacht with information, but he cannot influence what they do with that information.’
‘Well, no doubt he will get his act together in due course. And you have done all you can. Let’s go to bed.’
Liane read the transcript of the coded message. ‘Oh!’ she said. ‘Oh, Pierre!’ She hugged her brother. ‘He’s coming himself.’
Pierre scanned the paper. ‘This is not very informative.’ ‘Well, of course he can’t be informative. It’s top secret. But we have our instructions. We are to be ready to move at the end of the month, and he will be coming himself to lead us. Into battle with the Bodies!’
‘At Dieppe.’
‘Sssh!’ She glanced at Anatole, who had done the decoding. ‘He has repeated twice that this is top secret. No one is to know of it outside the three of us. That includes Clotilde, Anatole.’
‘Of course, mademoiselle,’ Anatole agreed anxiously.
‘He says nothing about Amalie,’ Pierre commented morosely.
‘Of course he does. He says she is well and with Mama and Papa, but that for reasons he cannot at this moment divulge her presence in England cannot be publicized. I am as sorry about that as you, but I am sure they have their reasons. Why are you so grumpy? This could be what we have been waiting for for two years.’
‘I am remembering St Valery.’
‘These things happen. And it was the British who suffered, it was James who was wounded, not us and not you. Now I want no more defeatist talk. Our business is to alert each of our people that they must be prepared to move by May thirty-first. Right?’
Pierre looked at Anatole, who waggled his eyebrows.
‘Well,’ James said. ‘All correct?’
‘I have packed your gear, sir,’ Rachel said frostily. ‘Including a suicide capsule for when you are captured.’ ‘You really must try looking on the bright side. I shall be wearing uniform and will thus be a prisoner of war.’
‘And what about Hitler’s directive after St Nazaire that all Commandos are to be shot when captured?’
‘I am not a Commando. Now, you know that I’m going to be gone for several weeks. You’re sure you can manage? I gather that Jennifer is coming back as your assistant. Mind you only use the bed one at a time.’
‘Yes, sir. With the brigadier’s permission, of course.’ ‘Eh?’
‘You said I was to do nothing important without first referring to him, sir.’
‘Remind me, the moment I’m home, to put you across my knee.’
‘Do I have to wait that long?’
He took her in his arms, and was interrupted by a gentle cough from the doorway.
They turned together. ‘Good God!’ James cried.
‘Joanna!’ Rachel released him to run forward and embrace her friend. T never expected to see you again.’
Joanna kissed her and hugged her, then released her to look at James. ‘No welcome for the prodigal daughter?’
‘I’d like to know what’s going on. It’s been six months.’ ‘A long time. You guys got a drink?'
Rachel went into the flat and Joanna sat down. ‘As you can imagine, there was a bit of a flap after Pearl Harbor, so I was sidelined for a while. Now I’m back in business.’
‘How did you get in?’
‘I’m using my Swedish passport.’
‘And you’re again posing as a courier for Weber?’
Rachel returned with a glass.
‘I am Weber’s courier.’ Joanna sniffed the glass. ‘This is whisky.’
‘I’m sorry. It’s all we have in the alcohol line. It’s Johnnie Walker Black.’
Joanna made a face, but took a sip.
‘Of course we are very grateful for the help you gave Rachel,’ James said. ‘Does this mean you’ll be returning regularly from here on?’
i don’t know about that. I thought I’d been pulled out of this business for good, and would have to spend the rest of the war behind a desk … You guys are going to win, aren’t you?’
i don’t see how we can lose, with your people behind us. But there’s the point. There have been questions.’
‘From whom?’
‘Well, from your mother for a start. Seems she’s been in touch with your dad, but all he could tell her was that you’d gone back to Germany. Obviously she couldn’t get the US embassy in Berlin on to it, because they’d packed up and left. So she’s got the State Department working. She seems to think that you have been kidnapped, but why she cannot say.’
Joanna nodded, finished her drink, and held out the glass. ‘I know. Poor old girl. I’ll make it up to her when this is done.’
‘Do you realize that you are well on the way to becoming an alcoholic?’
‘Do you realize the stress under which I live? Stress created by you.’
‘Let’s get our facts straight. You volunteered. And I told you to pull out last December.’
‘I felt I had a contribution to make.’
‘What you mean is, you enjoy the life you are living, the glamour as much as the danger.’
Joanna took the glass from Rachel’s hand. ‘You could be right.’
‘What I am trying to tell you is, at the moment the State Department seem to be going along with your mother’s ideas, but they have their own people in Berlin, who pretty soon are going to discover that, far from being under duress, you are living high, wide and handsome, and even that you are Oskar Weber’s mistress.’
‘Not any more. I’m getting married.’
‘You?’ Rachel and James asked together.
‘Well, why not? You remember Franz Hoeppner, Rachel?’ Rachel sat down. ‘You intend to marry Franz Hoeppner?’ ‘He’s asked me, and I have agreed. Oskar has given his blessing.’
‘But … ’ James scratched his head. ‘Hoeppner is a German officer. A Nazi.’
‘I’m not sure about that. He’s a real nice guy. You remember that, Rachel.’
‘Yes,’ Rachel said absently. ‘He said he would shoot me in the back of the head rather than hang me.’
‘Well, he had to say that. You were a spy. And you agreed that James would have done the same thing.�
�� Both women looked at James.
‘There are times,’ he agreed, ‘when I feel like doing just that to certain women. You are, therefore, intending to become a Nazi.’
‘I am intending to become a German housewife.’
‘Which will be regarded as an act of treason to the United States.’
‘You’ll have to sort that out. I’m your baby, remember. You haven’t asked me why I’m here.’
‘I assume you are carrying a message to your friend Burton. Have you ever met him?’
‘Nope. And I don’t want to. It's the message that’s important.’
‘I thought you never knew what was in the messages,’ Rachel remarked.
‘I don't. They’re in a code for which I don’t have a key. But I have a pretty good idea what this is about. Dieppe.’ There was a moment of absolute silence in the office, then James asked quietly, ‘What about Dieppe?’
‘Oskar has the idea that you guys could be planning an attack on the port.’ She looked from face to face. ‘Don’t tell me you are!’
‘You think this fellow Burton is being instructed to find out what he can about a projected attack?’
‘I would say so, for me to be sent. Will he be able to find anything?’
‘I have no idea. 1 have no idea if there is anything to find.’ ‘Have it your way. Well, I’ll see you guys.’ She finished her drink and got up.
‘I’m afraid,’ James said, ‘that you will have to stay for a while. Only a week or so.’
Joanna sat down again. ‘So there is something planned. And you think I’d leak it? Shit!’
‘We just can’t take that chance. Not that you’d leak it, but that, supposing you were to fall out with your boss, he might just screw it out of you. Like I said, it will only be for a week or so.’
‘So it’s to go ahead right away. What are you scared of? The Germans could hardly react quickly enough now.’
‘I’m sorry. If it were ever to be discovered that I had allowed you to return to Germany with any knowledge about Dieppe, I would probably be shot. I would certainly be cashiered.’
‘And afterwards?’
‘You go back to Germany, if you wish. You were delayed, and thus any information Burton may be able to produce will be delayed also. That will just be bad luck for Jerry. These things happen.’
Legacy of Hate Page 21