‘Do we have such an expert?’
‘Yes. You may leave it with me.’ Judith finished her coffee, squeezed Anna’s hand. ‘I have so enjoyed seeing you again.’
‘And . . .?’
Judith made another moue. ‘It should not happen again, at least until you return to Berlin. But I look forward to it.’
*
At last Anna felt she could relax; whatever her secret fears, Judith seemed to be in control of the situation. She returned to the Hradcany Castle feeling on top of the world. The business had been taken out of her hands, and she felt she could simply wait on events; she had no doubts as to Judith’s efficiency, as long as she kept her nerve, or the efficiency of the assassination squad sent from London. Even Himmler would have to be pleased if his arch rival was murdered by a bunch of foreign agents.
Her principal problem was that, at least during office hours, when Haussmann presumably had other duties, she did not have enough to do. To provide a reason for her being in Prague at all, she had been given an office of her own, with all the paraphernalia required – filing cabinets and a telephone and so on – but the filing cabinets were empty and she had no one to telephone. On the other hand, it was a sanctuary, a place where she was safe from even the constant chattering of Birgit, where she could await events . . . Her head jerked as there was a tap on the door. Some idiot unaware that the office was occupied, she supposed. ‘Come.’
The door opened. ‘Countess! I should have come to see you before.’
Anna studied the little man. Feutlanger had always reminded her of a ferret. Now his nose was positively twitching as he surveyed her in turn; she wore a dress, and although she was seated behind her desk, there was a knee-hole and her legs were visible. ‘I can’t imagine why,’ she remarked.
He came into the room, closing the door behind himself. ‘Well, it was discourteous of me, to say the least. When I remember how we worked together two years ago after that attempt to assassinate Herr Meissenbach . . . Is it true he has since been condemned for treachery?’
‘Herr Meissenbach is at present in a concentration camp,’ Anna agreed. ‘He attempted to betray me – that is, betray the Reich,’ she added for good measure, ‘to the Soviets.’
‘And you always get your man,’ Feutlanger said, in apparent admiration. ‘Or woman, as the case may be. I remember as if it were yesterday your interrogating that woman Hosek just before she committed suicide.’
Just before she used the cyanide tablet I had been able to get to her, Anna thought. Under your very eyes. ‘That whole incident was a foul-up by your people, who had not properly searched her.’
‘Oh, I agree entirely,’ Feutlanger acknowledged. ‘They were disciplined. And now you are back, and Prague is a brighter place. Tell me about the woman you had coffee with this morning.’
Anna was totally surprised, but she reacted strongly, if only to give herself time to think. ‘Have you been having me followed, Herr Feutlanger?’
‘It is my duty, and that of my staff, to keep an eye on our people, when they are outside of the castle grounds. It is for your own protection. You must know that these people hate us.’
‘And you think that I am incapable of protecting myself?’
‘If you can see your antagonist, or better yet, reach him, your record indicates that you can take care of anyone. But not even you, Fraulein, can do a lot about a bullet fired from a distance.’
‘And your man, lurking, would be able to prevent that happening?’
‘Probably not. But he might well be able to identify the assassin and avenge you.’
‘How terribly reassuring.’
‘You have not answered my question about the young lady.’
Anna had had time to determine how to handle the situation; she did not see how she could do better than continue the cover arranged in Madrid. ‘The young lady and I were at school together in Vienna before the war. She is now married to a Spanish nobleman. Her name is the Countess Judith de Sotomayer. She is in Prague on business, and we happened to encounter each other, so we had coffee together. You may put all of that in your file, and I am going to tell the Reich-Protector that I dislike being followed as if I were a common criminal.’
Feutlanger clicked his heels. ‘At the end of the day, Countess, even the SD needs the support and assistance of the Gestapo to carry out its duties. Heil Hitler!’
*
‘The poor fellow is only attempting to do his job,’ Heydrich explained. ‘And he is of course quite right; we do need them to do the spadework for us. But I will tell him not to be a nuisance as regards you.’
‘Thank you. I really do not enjoy having trench-coated heavies breathing down my neck wherever I go.’
‘Of course. It will not happen again. Now tell me, do you know this Countess well?’
Once again Anna knew that she had to be scrupulously accurate in what she told this man. On the other hand, she could not imagine Himmler confiding the Berlin incident. ‘I did once, Herr General,’ she said. ‘When we were at school together. But she was a year older than me, thus she left the convent in 1937, the year before the Anschluss. As you know, I was rather busy after that, so we did not keep in touch. And then, purely by chance, I encountered her in Madrid, with her husband, when I over-nighted there on my way back to Germany. I am sure Herr Essermann, who was escorting me, will remember it. I had dinner with them. The Count is a dreadful bore who actually tried to sell me real estate. Over dinner!’
Heydrich was a difficult man to distract. ‘If she left your convent the year before you, she must have been in a higher form. Is it usual for girls of different ages and in different forms to be close friends?’
‘Ah . . . we found we had a lot in common.’
‘I see. And now she has followed you to Prague.’
Once again, thin ice. ‘How can she have done that, Herr General? She did not know I was in Prague. She was as surprised as I when we encountered each other.’
‘You did not mention that you were coming here when you met in Madrid?’
‘I did not know I was coming here when we met in Madrid.’
‘Hmm. Still, I think it is not a bad idea for Feutlanger to keep an eye on her. In our business coincidences are always suspicious.’
Damnation, Anna thought. And there was no way she could contact Judith to warn her. While Judith would be setting up the assassination scenario with total confidence. She became more and more anxious as the day approached, and nearly jumped out of her skin when Heydrich entered her apartment early on the morning of the 15th.
‘I am leaving now, Anna. Be a good girl and when I come back we will celebrate together, eh?’
‘I am looking forward to that, Herr General.’
He peered at her. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Sir?’
‘You look breathless. Feutlanger has not been bothering you, has he?’
‘No, no. But I shall miss you.’
‘You have Haussmann.’
‘Not quite the same thing, sir.’
Heydrich smiled, and slipped his hand beneath the sheet to caress her naked thigh. ‘You are a treasure. But I am only going for three days.’ A squeeze. ‘And when I come back . . .’
The door closed, and she was left staring at it. Within the hour he would be dead! It was a quite overwhelming thought. Staying in bed was impossible. She got up, had a bath, then dressed and sat down to breakfast.
‘Countess?’ Birgit asked, serving. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Should I not be all right?’
‘You look, well . . .’
‘Oh, really, Birgit. Pour the coffee, do.’
She looked at her watch. Eight thirty. The train normally ran on time, so it would have left at eight sharp. It usually took about forty-five minutes to negotiate the immediate traffic before attaining any speed. So . . . it should be done now. She gulped at her coffee, and spilled some. Birgit hurried forward with a clean napkin, but preferred not to comment as
her mistress was clearly in a bad mood.
How would the news be broken? Right now, she supposed all would be pandemonium at the station; she was in fact surprised that they couldn’t hear the racket, or at least the sirens. But at any moment the castle would explode . . . A quarter to nine.
Anna got up and went to the window. As the apartment overlooked one of the inner courtyards of the castle she had no means of knowing what might be happening out front, but below her all was peace, with a solitary gardener prowling about the wintry flower beds. She could contain herself no longer, and went down to her office, which meant descending the main staircase and passing through the great entry hall. Sentries, guards and secretaries hurried to and fro. All greeted her, as all knew she was Heydrich’s protégée, but none of them gave any indication of crisis.
She closed the door, sat at her desk. How she wished he had some real work to do. The phone rang. She snatched at it. ‘Yes!’
‘Coffee! Ten o’clock.’
‘Oh, God! What has happened?’
‘Ten o’clock,’ Judith repeated. The line went dead.
Anna slowly replaced the receiver. There had been no time to warn her. But even if there had, they would still have to meet. Telephoning her was incredibly dangerous, for both of them, so something disastrous must have happened. She had to know what had gone wrong, and decide what needed to be done – if there was anything that could now be done. And Heydrich had promised that she, at least, would not be shadowed. A great deal would depend on whether Feutlanger was still after Judith. That she was still here more than a fortnight after their first meeting was unexpected, and apart from being risky in itself, would certainly activate the Gestapo if they knew about it.
So she had to go to the meeting. She felt as if she were riding a bicycle whose wheels had become stuck in a tramline and were carrying her towards an oncoming tram, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She returned upstairs. ‘I am going for a walk,’ she told Birgit.
‘It is very cold out, Countess.’
Anna put on her sable, added her fur hat, pulled on a pair of thick gloves. ‘I need the fresh air. I will be back for lunch.’
She walked as casually as she could, but still arrived at the coffee shop five minutes early, although Judith was already there. ‘This is very risky,’ Anna said, as she sat down. ‘The Gestapo are interested in you.’
‘Why?’
Anna waited while the coffee was served. ‘Simply because one of their people saw me talking with you the other day. I saw them off with the schoolgirl story, and explained that our meeting was entirely by chance. If they were to see us together again . . .’
‘Um. I think the best thing I can do is get out of here.’
‘What has gone wrong?’
‘Our people were in place, they had a perfect view of the train, and it even stopped, exactly opposite our window, with Heydrich sitting in his window, large as life and clear as day. But as our man was about to make the shot, another train pulled up alongside, and also stopped, blocking the view. He had to wait for it to move, but the Berlin train moved first, streaking away. There was nothing he could do.’
‘Shit!’ Anna muttered. ‘And our people?’
‘Oh, they are all right. No one knew they were there.’
‘So what happens now?’
‘It will have to be set up again.’
‘The next time he takes a train out of Prague, it will be to return to Germany as Hitler’s heir.’
‘He will still have to tidy things up here. You will have to arrange it.’
‘Me?’
‘As you say, it will be too dangerous for me to remain here any longer. I will leave on this afternoon’s train. Your contact from now on will be Professor Corda.’
‘Who is Professor Corda?’
‘He teaches music. What instrument do you play?’
‘I don’t play any instrument.’
‘Oh, come now. You must have played something at school.’
‘I used to play the piano at the convent. But I haven’t touched one since leaving.’
‘Then it is time you took it up again. Make an appointment to see Professor Corda, and he will set up a series of lessons. I am sure even Heydrich will approve: all Germans are musical. Now I must go.’ She reached across the table to squeeze Anna’s hand. ‘We must get together again when this is over.’
*
Anna felt a profound sense of loss as she walked back to the castle. Whatever her mental problems, Judith had been such a breath of confident fresh air. Now she was again on her own. As if she had not been on her own a dozen times before, she reminded herself. But she had always hated the sense of isolation that went with her job, her position. That was where her clandestine meetings with Clive, and with Joe in America, had been so important, reminding her that she was part of a team. Judith was another member of that team, and they had shared as much reassuring intimacy as she ever had with either of the two men.
Now, and for the foreseeable future, she was again bereft. And she was stuck with an even more difficult situation. If Heydrich returned as Hitler’s deputy, just to pack up his command before leaving Prague forever, all London’s plans would be negated. The best they would be able to hope for would be the extraction of their team before they were betrayed and rounded up. And once she moved into the front row, as it were, if they were betrayed, she would be too.
Therefore it made no sense for her to get involved until she had a better idea of what was happening. Even if London were to panic, she reflected, there was no way they could get in touch with her, unless they risked sending Judith back again.
She regained the castle, went up to her apartment, handed her coat and hat and gloves to Birgit. ‘Countess, are you all right? You are trembling.’
‘Well, it is very cold out there.’ Anna poured herself a schnapps, then sat down to get her thoughts into shape. But the more she considered the matter, the more impossible the situation appeared. She could do nothing now until Heydrich returned. But she could do even less if, as she anticipated, he returned merely to prepare to depart again, for good. Unless she undertook the executive action herself. But not only had she been forbidden to do that, she was not in a hurry to sacrifice herself, and the thought of sacrificing her family was impossible. So . . . do nothing, think nothing, until Heydrich returned. Then pray for a miracle.
She did not feel like eating in the canteen, but their new apartment had a kitchenette as well as an extra bedroom, so she had Birgit prepare a light lunch, and was just sitting down when there was a knock on the door.
‘Get that, will you, Birgit,’ she said. ‘But I do not wish to see anyone at this moment.’
Birgit hurried to the door and opened it. ‘Oh!’ she said. ‘Ah! The Countess is lunching—’
‘This is important,’ Feutlanger said, pushing her aside.
‘Really, Herr Feutlanger,’ Anna protested. ‘You have no right to come barging into my private quarters.’
‘I have something to show you.’
‘Well, it will have to wait until after my meal.’
‘I think you need to come now, Countess. It affects someone who is known to you.’
A lump of lead suddenly formed in Anna’s stomach. ‘Who?’
‘The Countess de Sotomayer.’
‘What?’ Anna pushed back her chair. ‘Where is she?’
‘Waiting for you. Will you come with me, please? I will bring you back here after.’
‘You mean we are going somewhere?’
‘That is correct.’
‘To see the Countess de Sotomayer?’
‘That is correct.’
Anna stood up. Now the crisis had arrived, she was, as always, utterly calm. ‘If you have arrested the Countess de Sotomayer, Herr Feutlanger, you have seriously overstepped the limits of your authority. The Countess is a Spanish national, and is very well connected.’
‘I am sure you are right, Countess, and I have
not arrested her. But I think she would like to see you.’
‘You mean she is in your custody, but you claim that she is not under arrest.’
‘That is correct. Shall we go? It will not take long, and I am sure your maid can keep your meal warm for you. But you will need a coat; we are leaving the building.’
Anna put on her sable and hat. She would not have been able to eat anyway, without knowing what had happened to Judith. The thought of anything happening to Judith, whether from a professional or a personal point of view, was unacceptable. But Feutlanger looked neither triumphant nor apprehensive, merely watchful. Patience.
There was a car waiting, and they sat together in the back. ‘It is not far,’ he said reassuringly.
The lead was beginning to return to Anna’s stomach. Suddenly she knew what had happened. But how had it happened, if Feutlanger was so confident he, or his men, had not overstepped the mark?
The car stopped in front of the rather bleak-looking building. ‘These places are never very pleasant,’ Feutlanger remarked. ‘But you must have been in quite a few of them.’
‘I have never been in a morgue,’ Anna said.
‘I thought that killing people was your profession?’
‘Looking at their bodies afterwards is not. Why have you brought me here? If you have been responsible for the Countess’s death, you may be sure that I will report it to the Reich-Protector.’
‘That is why I have brought you here, Countess, so that you can report to the Reich-Protector exactly what you have seen.’
The door had been opened for her. Anna glanced at him, then got out of the car, and followed the attendant up the wide steps, Feutlanger behind her. They entered a lobby, and then an inner door was opened for her. Her nostrils dilated, although the only smell was one of disinfectant. A medical attendant, wearing a white coat, clicked his heels and indicated where she should go. There were a dozen raised concrete slabs, every one containing a long mound beneath a white sheet. The attendant carefully raised the sheet from one of them, then removed it altogether.
Anna caught her breath. Judith’s naked body was on its back, its head nestling on the mat of titian hair, its green eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. Her face was calm and relaxed; as she could have been dead only a couple of hours, rigor mortis had not yet set in. I will look like this, one day, Anna thought. Perhaps one day soon. Will I look as relaxed, as beautiful?
Angel of Vengeance_The thrilling sequel to Angel in Red Page 22