by Anne Barwell
Liang snorted and rolled his eyes. Ken gave him a surprised look and then glanced at Matt. Matt chose to ignore both of them. Liang’s gesture couldn’t be referring to Matt and Ken’s relationship—they’d been very careful. Besides, Liang wasn’t exactly beyond reproach, considering the good-bye kiss he and Juliane had shared before he’d left Berlin. Matt had almost walked in on them but doubted they’d noticed anything but each other.
“Sometimes you can only make the best of whatever situation you’re in,” Ken said. “We’ve all had to do that throughout this mission, and will continue to do so until it’s over.”
“When you work with someone long enough, it’s difficult not to become friends,” Sébastien said softly. “I think perhaps we are all guilty of that, oui?”
“I think perhaps we are,” Matt agreed, happy to follow that line of reasoning if Sébastien wanted to. “But we are digressing from the matter at hand. I still think this is as safe a place as any to stay the next few days. According to the paperwork the Oberscharführer saw, we are not stopping at Pont-Audemer or even going through it.”
“He knows we are continuing on to Bayeux,” Ken said. “If we do not report in at Caen, Holm may make enquiries at Bayeux. Michel and the others could be walking into a trap.”
“Can we get word to them to go a different route and meet us at Cyrville-sur-Mer instead?” Matt asked Sébastien.
Sébastien nodded. “They have a radio here. I can ask Jacques to give us access to it. Arlette will be checking in with a Resistance cell outside Lisieux. If we can get the message to them in time, they can take an alternative route and avoid Bayeux.”
“We should do that now.” Ken tilted his head toward Matt, as though asking permission.
“Good idea. Sébastien, take Ken with you,” Matt said. “Once you’ve gotten word through to Arlette’s next contact, Ken needs to contact London so they are kept apprised of our situation. It’s been too long since we’ve checked in.”
Although Matt doubted they’d have any problems finding a radio transmitter in Cyrville-sur-Mer, Ken had been on edge while they’d been out of direct contact with London. Better to make contact now and at least let them know they’d be in Normandy by mid to late May as they’d been ordered.
His team would be given very little notice about the specifics of their extraction until it was almost time to leave. Knowing about it now risked the entire operation if one of them were captured. Matt still suspected Kristopher would not be leaving France with them. It was a conversation Matt and Kristopher would have to have very soon, although there was still time for Kristopher to approach him about the matter first.
Although Ken had suggested it would be easier if Kristopher just disappeared, Matt had soon realized it would only complicate matters. Both sides needed to be convinced that Kristopher was no longer a threat. London might suspect he’d fallen into the hands of their enemies, as would the Nazis, if they could not produce evidence of his death.
Matt was working on that one. He hoped like hell Kristopher and Michel were too and had a better idea of how to go about it than he did. Evidence of a body aside, Matt and his team would still have to lie about the death of a friend, and he doubted they’d get away with it.
“WELCOME TO Caen, Oberscharführer Esser.” Holm gave the man in front of him a curt nod. “I hope you had a pleasant journey with no incidents.”
“A very pleasant journey, thank you, Standartenführer.” Esser seemed to hesitate for a moment. Holm waited for him to continue. “There were no incidents as such, but I did meet Hauptmann Steube at the checkpoint on the outskirts of Bétheny. A very pleasant man. I hope the prisoners he was bringing you for interrogation were helpful.”
Holm raised an eyebrow. “Prisoners?” He wasn’t expecting any prisoners.
“Yes, sir. His papers confirmed his story. Apparently they were prisoners you wished to interrogate personally.” Esser paled.
“Interesting.” Holm tapped his desk with his pencil, his curiosity piqued. It wouldn’t be the first time paperwork had gone astray, but surely if they were prisoners he wished to interrogate personally, he would know something about it. “Could you describe these men, please, Oberscharführer?”
“The prisoners or the men transporting them, sir?”
“Both,” Holm said. A suspicion began niggling at the back of his mind, but he did not dare give in to it just yet. Better to get more information first. He smiled. “Don’t worry. You are not in any trouble.”
Esser nodded, but hadn’t regained his color. “Thank you, sir.” He was quiet for a moment. A good sign that he was giving the matter some thought. “There were two men accompanying the prisoners, sir. Hauptmann Steube was a couple of inches shorter than I am. He had brown hair and blue eyes. Quite striking eyes, actually. I noticed them immediately.”
“Very good.” Holm allowed a slither of hope to surface. Esser’s description did match one of the men he was pursuing. If it was Bryant, he had to grudgingly admire the man’s nerve in passing himself off as a German officer. “And the one working with him?”
“Unteroffizier Raske, sir. The Hauptmann did most of the talking, although I did notice Raske seemed a little surprised when your name was mentioned. He covered it well, but I figured Steube had not given him all of the specifics of their mission.” Esser hesitated again. “It’s not unheard of.”
“No, it’s not,” Holm agreed. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder, then opened it and retrieved an old photograph. “Is this Raske?” he asked.
“May I examine it closely, sir?” Esser took it from Holm after he nodded and handed it over. “There are some subtle differences, but it is a good likeness.” He returned the photograph to Holm.
“You have good observation skills,” Holm said. The man would be useful. When Holm had first met Lowe, he’d been struck by how closely he resembled his father—the man in the photograph. It had been only after spending some time with him that he’d noticed the subtle differences between them. “This man is an Allied spy I have been hunting for some time.”
Esser lowered his gaze. “My apologies, sir. I should have asked more questions and taken them into custody.”
“Yes, you should have, but sometimes fate smiles on us,” Holm said. “We know they are in the area, and there are others working with them I need to find as well. This way we can use one group to track the other.” He smiled. Yes, this would do nicely. “Now, can you describe their prisoners?”
“Yes, sir. Both… appeared… to be Frenchmen, although I did question one of them about that.”
“Interesting,” Holm said.
“He looked Chinese, sir, but had a French surname. He explained that his mother was Chinese and his father French.”
“Very interesting,” Holm said. This man was most likely Herr Doktor Zhou. That accounted for three of the team, but what of the other two? He retrieved a photograph of Lehrer from another folder. “Was this the other man?”
“No, sir.” Esser shook his head. “He was dark-haired and much more heavily built than the man in the photograph.”
“About your height?” Holm asked, despite doubting it was Schmitz. Although a few centimeters taller, his build was similar to Lehrer’s.
“No, sir. Closer to the Hauptmann’s… the man masquerading as the Hauptmann, I mean.”
Ah, well. That would have been too much to expect. It seemed as though Bryant had split his team as Holm had first suspected. It was what Holm would have done—the sensible thing to do.
A knock at the door saved Holm the trouble of sending for Reiniger. “Please come in, Obersturmführer,” Holm said. “Obersturmführer Reiniger, this is Oberscharführer Esser. He will be working under you while he is assigned here.”
“Yes, sir.” Reiniger glanced at Esser, as though dismissing him as unimportant immediately. He still needed to learn that it was better to encourage loyalty in the lower ranks by treating them politely, but that was not Holm’s problem now. As lon
g as Reiniger got the job done, Holm would not interfere with his methods.
“Our fugitives have been sighted outside Bétheny. They could well be heading in our direction, but in the meantime, I want you and Esser to travel to where they were last seen and search the area. Take half-a-dozen men with you. If they are no longer there, widen your search.”
“Yes, sir. At once, sir.” Reiniger saluted, and a thin smile crossed his face before he turned and left the room.
Esser still stood to attention in front of Holm’s desk.
Holm glanced at him. “You’re dismissed, Oberscharführer. Unless you have more information I should know about?”
“No, sir. Thank you, sir.” Esser saluted. “Heil Hitler. It is a pleasure to serve under you, sir.”
Holm doubted Esser would feel that way after a few days taking orders from Reiniger, but that was not his problem. He picked up his telephone. “Could you please send Fräulein Huber in? I wish to speak with her.”
If Bryant and his team had already reached Bayeux, he wanted to ensure they would go no farther. Margarete had claimed to have connections with the Resistance in that area. It was time for her to make discreet enquiries. Between her and Reiniger, Holm doubted it would be long before he was face-to-face with his prey once more.
He smiled and steepled his fingers. He was very much looking forward to it.
“PLEASE, LEAVE me alone.” Germaine spoke in a whisper, but her voice still carried. “My father will be home shortly. It is better that you leave now.”
Matt paused on the bottom step of the stairs leading to the first floor. While he knew he shouldn’t reveal his presence, he had no intention of abandoning the girl if she needed help. Jacques and his wife had left for town a short time ago and wouldn’t be home for at least another hour.
“Nice girls don’t tease.” The man spoke in German, his voice slurred as though he were drunk. “And I asked you nicely.”
Germaine’s voice shook. “I haven’t teased you, Leutnant, I swear. I have done nothing to encourage you. Please let me go.” Her breath hissed. “Please. You’re hurting me.”
Matt sighed. He turned around and crept over the partially open door to peer through the gap so he could see what was going on. He’d come inside a few minutes before because he’d heard the sounds of a motorbike approaching. Germaine was a sweet girl, and only sixteen. She was also very polite and demure. He doubted she would have behaved in any manner that could be construed as teasing. Her father had warned them about his man, although he seemed to think the Leutnant had given up.
Unfortunately he was wrong.
The German officer had pushed Germaine against the outside wall. Not only that, but he had his mouth next to hers, as though about to steal a kiss. She looked terrified, frozen in place.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Matt strode over to the man and pulled him off the girl. The Leutnant lashed out with one hand. Matt ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding being punched. His opponent fell forward and hit the ground.
Germaine stared at him. She put her hand to her mouth yet didn’t move.
“Go inside and lock the door,” Matt told her. “Your father will be home soon. Stay inside until he is.”
The Leutnant—Jacques had told them his name was Beutel—growled and picked himself up off the ground. He eyed Matt up and down. “You have struck an officer of the Third Reich,” he said. His eyes were bloodshot.
“No, I didn’t. You fell because you tried to strike me. Not only that, but you’re a drunk and attempting to have your way with a young French girl. What would your superior think of that?” Matt stood his ground.
Although he didn’t know this man, he’d met men like him. There had been a couple of them he’d had to deal with in his unit before he’d shipped out on his first mission. However, he’d been their superior officer in that case, so they’d had to respect his authority. This man was German, and Matt was dressed as a Frenchman, although he was speaking German.
He’d have to think fast.
“It’s my word against yours, Frenchman.” Beutel spat his last word, then wiped his mouth. He smiled, looking pleased with himself. “Who do you think will be believed?”
“Let’s see.” Matt ignored how fast his heart was beating and kept his tone casual. “You’re drunk.” He leaned in closer as though about to impart a huge secret. “You’ve jeopardized an undercover operation that is so crucial to the war effort your superior isn’t aware of it. I outrank you, soldier. On your feet, and salute me. Now.”
Beutel paled. He shuffled to his feet and saluted sharply. “Forgive me, sir. I had no idea.”
“Obviously,” Matt said dryly. Now to move in for the kill. His mouth was dry, but he didn’t dare swallow and risk Beutel figuring out his bluff. “As I said, this operation is crucial. I can’t afford to draw attention to the fact I’m here or risk the locals discovering I am not who they think I am. You keep my secret, Leutnant, and this will go no further.”
“Yes, sir.” Leutnant Beutel saluted again. “Heil Hitler!”
“Heil Hitler.” Matt paused before continuing, just long enough until he saw the man’s relief start to slip. “If anything like this happens again, I will be contacting your superior. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Beutel stood still, unmoving. He didn’t offer his name or seem to notice Matt hadn’t asked for it. That suited Matt fine, as he had no intention of giving his own.
“You’re dismissed.” Matt waited until he heard the motorbike engine start, then leaned heavily against the wall. “You can come out now,” he said.
“You never could walk away from someone in trouble, could you?” Ken said softly from behind him.
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough to wonder if I’d have to step in and do something we would both regret,” Ken said. “The man was drunk. I hope he doesn’t look back on the situation more clearly once he’s sober.”
“At least this way we’ve bought some time.” If his ploy hadn’t worked, Matt would have had to pull a weapon on him. “Better this than having someone come looking for him.”
As much as he regretted letting Beutel go, at least this way they wouldn’t have to hide a captive or a dead body.
“As long as they don’t come looking for you.” Ken leaned one hand briefly against Matt’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Matt. Don’t ever change, but please don’t do that again.” He removed his hand. “Not until we get home, anyway.”
“You know I can’t promise that.” Matt also knew if the situation were reversed, Ken wouldn’t have stood back and done nothing either.
“I know.” Ken sighed. “We’d better warn the others. It looks as though we’ll be leaving here sooner than we planned.”
Chapter Nine
“THEY’RE HERE. I know it.” Reiniger growled low in his throat, ignoring the sideways glance Esser gave him.
“If they are, Hauptmann Gerstle doesn’t seem aware of it.” Esser snapped to attention when Reiniger glared at him.
They’d found the truck Bryant and his men had used outside Corneville-sur-Risle. Reiniger had sent men in several directions to cover whatever route his prey might have taken on foot. Freshly dug soil had revealed two buried German uniforms, hidden but not well enough. Tracking dogs had lost the trail near the Risle, and with night falling, Reiniger decided to spend the night at Pont-Audemer and continue his search in the morning.
“Did I ask for your opinion, Oberscharführer?” Reiniger asked. This new man was eager to help but hadn’t yet learnt his place. Reiniger sighed and massaged his temples. The scar tissue above his missing eye throbbed, as it tended to do when he was tired.
He missed Müller. He’d known how to follow orders without question, while Esser seemed to have an opinion about everything. Not only that, but Müller hadn’t been afraid to go that extra step to ensure success. Reiniger wasn’t sure Esser would… yet.
“No, sir. Sorry, sir,” Esser sa
id. While at least he finally seemed to realize his place, the demure tone suggested he had adjusted his behavior too far in the other direction.
Reiniger took a deep breath. Standartenführer Holm was relying on him, and he wasn’t about to let some eager-to-please junior officer jeopardize that. Besides, Esser did not have the knowledge or experience Reiniger did, especially about this mission and their prey.
“We have been tracking these traitors for some time, Esser. They are desperate men and not above using those who might be sympathetic to their cause. If it was that easy to discover their whereabouts, we wouldn’t still be looking for them months after our last encounter, would we?”
Although it had taken far too long to find Bryant and his team, a few extra hours would not hurt now. Reiniger smiled and allowed himself to contemplate—just for a moment—how much he would enjoy the interrogation he’d been promised. While Holm was focused on finding Lehrer and Lowe, Reiniger knew that the real way to get Lehrer to cooperate was to hurt Schmitz. Lehrer, after all, had been prepared to give himself up to save his friend in Berlin. Schmitz deserved everything he got. Not only had he pretended to be a loyal member of Reiniger’s unit at the institute, but Reiniger held him directly responsible for the loss of his eye.
While one might argue it had been the Allied pilot who had detonated the explosives, Reiniger would not have been there if he hadn’t been hunting Lehrer—and by extension Schmitz, the man who had helped him to escape. It wasn’t that much of a stretch of logic to place the blame squarely on the person who was really responsible.
Yes, Reiniger was going to very much enjoy reminding Schmitz why he deserved every bit of pain he was about to suffer.
The quiet knock at the door was followed by Hauptmann Gerstle’s entrance. Although he outranked Reiniger, Gerstle had offered him the use of his office while in Pont-Audemer. “I think I might have a lead for you, Obersturmführer,” Gerstle said. “A man matching one of the descriptions you’ve given us was seen yesterday on one of the farms on the outskirts of the town.”