Traitor's Gate

by Michael Ridpath

  On his desk was the report from the single Gestapo agent who had managed to stick to von Hertenberg two days before. Klaus suspected that the answer to one if not both his problems lay with the Abwehr officer. The agent had done well, but hadn’t seen von Hertenberg meet de Lancey or any of the possible conspirators. Von Hertenberg had visited Count Helldorf, the Chief of the Berlin Police and a good Nazi. That must certainly be on Abwehr business. He had also visited a young couple, the Wedemeyers, in Dahlem. Von Wedemeyer, like von Hertenberg, was the son of a Pomeranian Junker. He was a mild-mannered civil servant with a clean bill of health, but it might be worth doing more checks on him.

  There was a light tap on the door.

  ‘Enter!’

  The door opened and the mousy figure of Gertrude Lüttgen crept in. ‘Heil Hitler, Herr Kriminalrat.’

  Klaus smiled. ‘Heil Hitler. What have you got for me?’

  ‘It’s probably nothing, Herr Kriminalrat, but I was just wondering whether this report from a Blockwart in Dahlem might interest you.’

  Klaus replaced his glasses and quickly scanned the sheet of paper and grinned. He reached for the telephone. ‘Dressel? Get four men and meet me outside immediately. I think we have found de Lancey.’

  A number of small lakes were dotted around the Grunewald. At the edge of one of these, Conrad waited, sitting with his back against a tree just a few yards off the path. He hoped that he was inconspicuous without giving the impression to a passer-by who spotted him that he was actually hiding. Hans-Jürgen von Wedemeyer had arrived home from work the previous evening with a message from Theo that he wanted to meet Conrad at this spot rather than risk seeing him at the house again. Conrad was curious about why Theo wanted to see him. But his thoughts kept turning back to Anneliese.

  At one o’clock precisely Conrad heard some jaunty whistling in the distance. It was a tune he recognized, ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’, sounding so English in the middle of this German forest. He scrambled to his feet and when he emerged on to the path he saw Theo strolling along next to the tall, rangy figure of his sister.

  ‘Millie!’ He gave her a hug. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

  ‘I thought this was the perfect time for a holiday,’ said Millie. ‘What with no tourists around on account of the world war.’

  ‘Auf Deutsch,’ admonished Theo, but he was smiling.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Conrad in that language. There was no one else around, but Theo was quite right. And Millie’s German was almost as good as his. ‘But seriously, Millie, this is not a good time for an English girl to be in Germany.’

  ‘I know. When I got my visa from the German Embassy in London, I had to tell them I was visiting a very sick aunt in Hamburg. So I flew there and took the train. Aeroplanes are just as dreadful as I thought they would be. And do you know what they call the Hamburg to Berlin express? The Flying Hamburger. It doesn’t quite have the same ring as the Flying Scotsman, does it?’

  ‘Father sent you.’

  ‘That’s right. He would have come himself, but that would have been too obvious. But how are you? Herr von Hertenberg says you are on the run from the Gestapo?’

  ‘They haven’t caught me yet.’

  ‘Well, do be careful.’ Millie’s expression was full of concern. ‘Isn’t there any way you can get out of the country?’

  ‘I want to stay for a bit. There’s some business I have to sort out first. So what did Father want to tell me?’

  Millie glanced at Theo and blushed.

  ‘It’s all right, you can speak in front of Theo.’

  Millie smiled sweetly at Theo. ‘I’m sorry, Herr von Hertenberg, but my father was quite explicit. I must speak to my brother alone.’

  ‘I quite understand,’ said Theo with his most charming smile. ‘I’ll walk around the lake.’

  Conrad and Millie found a bench on a small patch of sand next to the lake and watched Theo stride out around the perimeter. The water was dark and silent, and the reflection of an old white hunting lodge glimmered dully near the far shore. Through the trees and the reed beds they caught glimpses of a couple of other walkers, but there was no one within earshot.

  ‘Father has been talking to his friends in Whitehall,’ Millie began. ‘He says that Chamberlain is determined to negotiate with Hitler, come what may, and to give away whatever is required to secure peace. Father says he can’t be dissuaded but he might be overruled.’

  ‘Overruled. How?’

  ‘In Cabinet. A majority of the Cabinet has been in favour of appeasement, but that majority is shaky. Some members are beginning to wonder whether Chamberlain’s trust in Hitler is misplaced. In particular, Father’s old friend Lord Halifax.’

  ‘I thought he was an appeaser through and through, just like Chamberlain?’

  ‘There’s no doubt he wants peace. But in the last couple of weeks he has been suggesting a tougher stand on Czechoslovakia. Two weeks ago, while Hitler was at the Nuremberg rally, Halifax persuaded the Prime Minister to allow him to send a strongly worded warning to Hitler that if Germany were to invade Czechoslovakia, war with Britain and France would inevitably result.’

  ‘Excellent!’ said Conrad.

  ‘I’m afraid it’s not,’ said Millie. ‘Apparently, when the message reached the British Ambassador to Berlin, a dreadful chap called Henderson, he refused to deliver it!’

  ‘I’ve met Henderson,’ said Conrad. ‘He is awful.’

  ‘He said Halifax’s message would tip Hitler over the edge. Chamberlain was all too happy to go along with Henderson. But Halifax is in two minds and Father believes that the rest of the Cabinet are looking to him for a lead. If he opposes Chamberlain, then they will too.’

  ‘Is there any chance of that?’

  ‘I don’t know if you have seen the newspapers, but Chamberlain flew to Bad Godesberg yesterday to talk to Hitler. Just as I was leaving London, Father was hearing rumours that the meeting had gone very badly. Hitler has been moving the goalposts; as soon as Chamberlain makes a concession, Hitler refuses to be satisfied and asks for more. This is causing some disquiet in the Cabinet.’

  ‘So it should,’ said Conrad.

  Millie glanced at her brother nervously. ‘Now, Father tells me that there is some secret plot to ditch Hitler.’

  ‘There is,’ said Conrad. ‘Theo is involved. He was in on it from the beginning.’

  ‘Well, our government doesn’t know what to make of this. Chamberlain doesn’t want anything to do with it, but Father believes that Halifax can be convinced that if Britain stands by Czechoslovakia, Hitler will be overthrown.’

  ‘What will it take to convince him?’

  ‘That’s why I’m here,’ said Millie. ‘All kinds of Germans have been talking to the British government at different levels, but they are all too junior. Father thinks that if one of the leaders of the plot spoke to Lord Halifax directly, in secret, then he might well be convinced. But it must be a leader. Someone with credibility, someone Halifax will have heard of, someone who is giving the orders, not another message boy.’

  ‘I’ll talk to them about it.’

  ‘Father says that if an unannounced aeroplane tries to land at Manston Aerodrome in Kent at night in the next week it won’t be shot down. If you can fix something up, get Warren Sumner to send him a telegram mentioning the day you expect whoever it is to arrive. But do it as soon as you can. There are some very important decisions to be taken over the next few days.’

  Conrad walked back through the forest towards the Wedemeyers’ house. He felt invigorated. It had been good to see Millie, and to hear the news from his father. He felt that he was once again contributing something to the effort, doing something for Anneliese. Theo was taking Millie back to the station so she could return to Hamburg. Her intention was to take the first flight she could back to London; if anyone asked, she would say that her aunt had staged an unexpected recovery. Theo planned to meet Conrad by the lake again at six o’clock to take him to see his boss, Co
lonel Oster. Conrad decided to risk sneaking back into the house during daylight, although Theo once again warned him to be careful.

  The warning worked. As Conrad drew near to the back fence of the garden, he thought he had better just check that the gardener wasn’t working there or in either of the neighbouring properties. The Wedemeyers’ house was clear, as was the house to the left, but as he crept along the trees to the right he heard a familiar voice.

  Klaus Schalke.

  Conrad didn’t stop to look. He just slipped away.

  He spent the afternoon lurking in the bushes by the lake, his thoughts lurching from Anneliese to Elsa and her husband and baby. He knew Elsa was in the house when he left; she would almost certainly have been arrested by now for harbouring him. He remembered what had happened to Joachim: they wouldn’t treat a pregnant woman like that, would they?

  Of course they would.

  How had they found out about him? Perhaps the notorious gardener had seen him after all. It was all very well putting himself in danger, but not the Wedemeyers: they were innocent people, brave people who had helped out a friend of a friend.

  Twice he saw Gestapo walk rapidly past; once he recognized the red hair of Dressel, Schalke’s sidekick. He felt safe in the bushes; it would take an infantry division to search the whole of the Grunewald. It was only after he had been sitting there smugly for two hours that the thought of dogs occurred to him. Fortunately he saw nothing more threatening than a couple of dachshunds out for their afternoon walk.

  Theo was furious when Conrad told him about the Gestapo. ‘I told you to be careful!’

  ‘I was!’

  ‘Then how did Schalke find you?’

  ‘How am I suppose to know? Perhaps he followed you to the Wedemeyers’ house.’

  ‘There was no one on my tail, I checked.’

  ‘You can never be sure of that.’

  ‘How do you know? Are you some kind of expert on surveillance?’ Theo realized he had raised his voice, and tried to control himself. ‘They will probably be in Gestapo cells as we speak. Elsa might lose the baby. Hell, she might lose her husband!’

  ‘I know,’ said Conrad. He took a deep breath. ‘Look. If it was me who gave them away, I’m very sorry, more sorry than I can say. I will always be grateful for their generosity and their courage.’

  Theo pursed his lips. ‘With luck, they’ll be all right. I told them if they were arrested to admit that I had asked them to hide you, and to say that they thought I was some kind of spy for the German government and so they thought they were helping the Reich. It has the merit of being the truth.’

  ‘Let’s hope it works.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Theo. ‘Follow me.’ They crept further into the woods, avoiding the paths, until they emerged at a bridleway. It was getting dark. Theo checked his watch.

  ‘Oster should be here in six minutes. We’ll wait a few metres off the path.’

  They found a thick bush, and squatted behind it.

  ‘We can’t see him from here,’ Conrad said.

  ‘We’ll hear him,’ said Theo. ‘He’s coming on horseback.

  They sat in silence for a minute, waiting.

  ‘The last time I saw your sister she was only fifteen,’ Theo said. ‘She was pretty then. But now... I love her accent, by the way.’

  ‘Careful,’ Conrad said. ‘She’s much too good for you.’

  ‘I’m sure she is,’ said Theo. ‘I expect she has men swarming around her like flies.’

  ‘She does rather,’ said Conrad. ‘But she does a good job of swatting them away.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  Conrad grinned. But he wasn’t sure about Theo wooing Millie. His friend had many good points, but Conrad didn’t like the way Theo took Sophie for granted, and although he would probably treat Millie with more respect because of her class, it was the kind of respect that was only skin deep.

  ‘What are you going to do with Hitler?’ Conrad asked. ‘When you have captured him.’

  In the grey light of dusk Conrad could see Theo smile. ‘There has been some discussion on that subject. Admiral Canaris is anxious that he shouldn’t be killed. And so are Generals Beck and Halder. They won’t countenance what they call murder. One of the Abwehr lawyers has been working on the legal case for the arrest, and Canaris’s plan is that once Hitler is captured he will undergo a psychiatric assessment by Professor Bonhoeffer. He’s the father of the pastor at that wedding in Pomerania we went to. He will certify him insane.’

  ‘But if he’s still alive then his supporters will try to free him, won’t they? You have to assassinate him, surely?’

  ‘That’s my view. And Colonel Oster’s.’

  ‘The others won’t listen?’

  ‘No.’ Conrad could feel as much as see that Theo wanted to say more. ‘So Colonel Oster and I have decided to make sure that he does die.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘The raiding party that will go into the Chancellery to grab him will be led by a man called Heinz. He’s a tough nut from the old Freikorps days.’ The Freikorps were gangs of ex-soldiers who had terrorized Germany in the years following the last war. ‘Colonel Oster has asked him to shoot Hitler in the panic immediately following his arrest. If for some reason Heinz can’t do it, I will. Canaris doesn’t know about this.’

  ‘That’s good,’ said Conrad.

  Theo cocked his head. ‘Here comes Oster.’

  Sure enough, Conrad could feel as much as hear a horse’s hooves approaching at a trot.

  ‘Stay here,’ said Theo, and he pushed his way past the bush towards the path. He returned a moment later with a slightly built, elegant colonel of about fifty, wearing an Iron Cross First Class and a Knight’s Cross on his impeccable uniform.

  ‘You must be Herr de Lancey,’ the officer said, holding out his hand. ‘I’m glad to meet you, finally.’

  ‘And you, Colonel Oster,’ said Conrad, shaking it.

  ‘Hertenberg tells me that your sister had some interesting information for us.’

  There, among the bushes, Conrad repeated everything Millie had told him, emphasizing the need to persuade Halifax and that only a personal visit by one of the leaders of the plot could achieve that.

  Oster frowned. ‘That will have to be General Halder. Admiral Canaris is no good; no one knows him.’

  ‘Will Halder do it?’ Theo asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Oster. ‘It’s difficult to ask a serving chief of general staff to fly to a potential enemy’s country in secret.’

  ‘What about General Beck?’ said Conrad. ‘I understand he has resigned, but he was the Chief of the General Staff for many years, wasn’t he? I’m sure he would impress Lord Halifax.’

  ‘And he would be more persuasive than Halder,’ said Theo.

  ‘Provided he doesn’t write any more of those damned memoranda,’ said Oster. ‘You’re right. I’ll ask Beck.’

  ‘My father says that an aeroplane arriving at Manston Aerodrome in Kent will be allowed to land. He suggested a nocturnal visit.’

  ‘How soon?’ asked Oster.

  ‘As soon as possible. If Halifax is to be persuaded, we should do it now, before Chamberlain has had a chance to tie Czechoslovakia up in a ribbon and hand it to Hitler.’

  ‘You mean this week?’

  ‘I mean tomorrow night.’

  Oster smiled. ‘I’ll go straight to Beck’s house now. It’s not far. And if he agrees, which knowing him I think he will, I’ll telephone you at home, Hertenberg, and you can arrange things. I don’t think General Beck speaks English. Could you accompany him, Herr de Lancey?’

  ‘With pleasure,’ said Conrad.

  ‘We should plan a very quick visit,’ said Oster. ‘Fly there, speak to Lord Halifax, fly back.’ He frowned. ‘But will there be time to make an appointment to see him? And will he want to see General Beck late at night?’

  ‘My father is an old school friend of Lord Halifax’s,’ Conrad said. ‘I’m sure he will get Halifax to see
us if we arrive on his doorstep.’

  ‘The famous English old-school tie,’ said Oster.

  ‘I used to hate it, but it does have its uses,’ said Conrad.

  ‘We will need to use an airfield somewhere near the North Sea coast. Hertenberg can drive General Beck and you up there tomorrow.’

  Theo nodded.

  ‘If we succeed, and the British government stands by Czechoslovakia, is there a chance that Hitler will back down?’ Conrad asked.

  ‘Very little,’ said Oster. ‘Hitler is determined to march into Prague ahead of his tanks and his flags and he doesn’t want Chamberlain to spoil his fun by meeting his demands, which is why he is making them more outrageous by the day. He wants a war.’

  ‘If we can just persuade Halifax to stand by Czechoslovakia, we’ll stop Hitler before he has a chance to start one,’ said Theo, a gleam in his eye.

  ‘Thank you for all you are doing to help us, Herr de Lancey,’ said Oster.

  ‘It’s a pleasure, believe me.’

  ‘Tell me,’ said Oster, his eyes sharp. ‘Why are you helping us? Are you doing it for your country? Or for our country?’

  Conrad was a little taken aback by the question, but it deserved a straight answer. ‘In a way, for both. It’s not really a question of obedience; as you know my government and yours are happily waltzing their way to a war and don’t want us to interrupt them. It’s just that I know that Hitler is wrong and he has to be stopped. And my government is wrong not to stop him.’

  On the path, through the bushes, they heard the horse utter a gentle whinny and stamp its feet. Oster smiled. ‘Good luck tomorrow,’ he said, and turned to go.

  ‘Herr Oster?’ Conrad said.