Ill try to see that he doesnt. Chavasse nodded towards the American uniform. A neat touch, your disguise. After the crime, the criminal simply ceases to exist, eh?
Hardt nodded. Its proved its worth on several occasions, although the spectacles can be a bit of a nuisance. I cant see a damned thing in them.
He locked the door, pulled a stool from beneath the bunk and sat on it, his shoulders resting comfortably against the wall. Dont you think its time we got down to business?
Chavasse nodded. All right, but you first. How much do you know about this affair?
Before I start just tell me one thing, Hardt said. It is Muller who is dead, isnt it? I heard one of the other passengers say something about a shooting and then Steiner marched you along the corridor.
Chavasse nodded. I had a cup of coffee just before Osnabruck. Whatever was in it put me out for a good half hour. When I came round, Muller was lying in the corner, shot through the heart.
A neat frame on somebodys part.
As a matter of fact I thought it was your handiwork, Chavasse told him. What exactly were you looking for in my compartment?
Anything I could find, Hardt said. I knew Muller was supposed to meet you at Osnabruck. I didnt expect him to be carrying the manuscript, but I thought he might take you to it, even to Schultz.
And you intended to follow us? Chavasse said.
Naturally, Hardt told him.
Chavasse lit another cigarette. Just tell me one thing. How the hell do you know so much?
Hardt smiled. We first came across Muller a fortnight ago when he approached a certain German publisher and offered him Schultzs manuscript.
How did you manage to find out about that?
This particular publisher is a man weve been after for three years now. We had a girl planted in his office. She tipped us off about Muller.
Did you actually meet him?
Hardt shook his head. Unfortunately the publisher got some of his Nazi friends on the job. Muller was living in Bremen at the time. He left one jump ahead of them and us.
And you lost track of him, I presume?
Hardt nodded. Until we heard about you.
Id like to hear how you managed that, Chavasse said. It should be most interesting.
Hardt grinned. An organization like ours has friends everywhere. When Muller approached the firm of publishers youre supposed to be representing, the directors had a word with Sir George Harvey, one of their biggest shareholders. He got in touch with the Foreign Secretary who put the matter in the hands of the Bureau.
Chavasse frowned. What do you know about the Bureau?
I know its a special organization formed to handle the dirtier and more complicated jobs, Hardt said. The sort of things M.I.5 and the Secret Service dont want to touch.
But how did you know I was travelling on this train to meet Muller? Chavasse said.
Remember that the arrangement with Muller, by which he was supposed to contact you at Osnabruck, was made through the managing director of the publishing firm. He was naturally supposed to keep the details to himself.
Presumably he didnt?
Hardt nodded. I suppose it was too good a tale to keep from his fellow directors and he told them everything over dinner that same evening. Luckily one of them happens to be sympathetic to our work and thought we might be interested. He got in touch with our man in London who passed the information over to me at once. As I was in Hamburg, it was rather short notice, but I managed to get on a mid-morning flight to Rotterdam and joined the train there.
That still doesnt explain how the people who killed Muller knew we were supposed to meet on this train, Chavasse said. I cant see how there could possibly have been another leak from the London end. I dont think its very probable that theres also a Nazi sympathizer on the board of directors of the firm Im supposed to be representing.
Hardt shook his head. As a matter of fact Ive got a theory about that. Muller was living in Bremen with a woman called Lilli Pahl. She was pulled out of the Elbe this morning, apparently a suicide case.
And you think she was murdered?
Hardt nodded. She disappeared from Bremen when Muller did so theyve probably been living together. My theory is that the other side knew where he was all along, that they were leaving him alone hoping hed lead them to Caspar Schultz. I think Muller gave them the slip and left Hamburg for Osnabruck last night. That left them with only one person who probably knew where he had gone and whyLilli Pahl.
Ill go along with that, Chavasse said. It sounds reasonable enough. But it still doesnt explain why they shot him.
Hardt shrugged. Muller could have been carrying the manuscript, but I dont think thats very likely. I should imagine the shooting was an accident. Muller probably jumped the person who was waiting for him in your compartment and was killed in the struggle.
Chavasse frowned, considering everything Hardt had told him. After a while he said, Theres still one thing which puzzles me. Muller is dead and that means Ive come to a full-stop as regards finding Schultz. I cant be of any possible use to you, so what made you go to the trouble of saving my skin?
You could say Im sentimental, Hardt told him. I have a soft spot for people who are Israeli sympathizers and I happen to know that you are.
And how would you know that?
Do you recall a man named Joel ben David? Hardt asked. He was an Israeli intelligence agent in Cairo in 1956. You saved his life and enabled him to return to Israel with information which was of great service to our army during the Sinai campaign.
I remember, Chavasse said. But I wish youd forget about it. It could get me into hot water in certain quarters. I wasnt supposed to be quite so violently partisan at the time.
But we Jews do not forget our friends, Hardt said quietly.
Chavasse was suddenly uncomfortable and he went on hurriedly. Why are you so keen to get hold of Schultz? He isnt another Eichmann, you know. Theres bound to be an outcry for an international trial. Even the Russians would want a hand in it.
Hardt shook his head. I dont think so. In any case, we arent too happy about the idea of leaving him in Germany for trial for this reason. Theres a statute of limitations in force under German law. Cases of manslaughter must be tried within fifteen years of the crimemurder, within twenty years.
Chavasse frowned. You mean Schultz might not even come to trial?
Hardt shrugged. Who knows? Anything might happen. He got to his feet and paced restlessly across the compartment. We are not butchers, Chavasse. We dont intend to lead Schultz to the sacrificial stone with the whole of Jewry shouting Hosanna. We want to try him, for the same reason we have tried Eichmann. So that his monstrous crimes might be revealed to the world. So that people will not forget how men treat their brothers.
His eyes sparkled with fire and his whole body trembled. He was held in the grip of a fervour that seemed almost religious, something which possessed his heart and soul so that all other things were of no importance to him.
A dedicated man, Chavasse said softly. I thought theyd gone out of fashion.
A dedicated man, Chavasse said softly. I thought theyd gone out of fashion.
Hardt paused, one hand raised in the air and stared at him and then he laughed and colour flooded his face. Im sorry, at times I get carried away. But there are worse things for a man to do than something he believes in.
How did you come to get mixed up in this sort of thing? Chavasse asked.
Hardt sat down on the bunk. My people were German Jews. Luckily my father had the foresight in 1933 to see what was coming. He moved to England with my mother and me, and he prospered. I was never particularly religiousI dont think I am now. It was a wild, adolescent impulse which made me leave Cambridge in 1947 and journey to Palestine by way of an illegal immigrants boat from Marseilles. I joined Haganah and fought in the first Arab war.
And that turned you into a Zionist?
Hardt smiled and shook his head. It turned me into an Israelitheres a difference, you know. I saw young men dying for a belief, I saw girls who should have been in school, sitting behind machine-guns. Until that time my life hadnt meant a great deal. After that it had a sense of purpose.
Chavasse sighed and offered him a cigarette. You know, in some ways I think I envy you.
Hardt looked surprised. But surely you believe in what you are doing? In your work, your country, its political aims?
Do I? Chavasse shook his head. Im not so sure. There are men like me working for every Great Power in the world. Ive got more in common with my opposite number in Smersh than I have with any normal citizen of my own country. If Im told to do a thing, I get it done. I dont ask questions. Men like me live by one code onlythe job must come before anything else. He laughed harshly. If Id been born a few years earlier and a German, Id probably have worked for the Gestapo.
Then why did you help Joel ben David in Cairo? Hardt said. It hardly fits into the pattern you describe.
Chavasse shrugged and said carelessly, Thats my one weakness, I get to like people and sometimes it makes me act unwisely. Before Hardt could reply he went on, By the way, I searched Muller before Steiner arrived on the scene. There were some letters in his inside pocket from this Lilli Pahl you mentioned. The address was a hotel in Gluckstrasse, Hamburg.
Hardt frowned. Thats strange. I should have thought hed have used another name. Did you find anything else?
An old photo, Chavasse said. Must have been taken during the war. He was wearing Luftwaffe uniform and standing with his arm around a young girl.
Hardt looked up sharply. Are you sure about thatthat it was a Luftwaffe uniform he was wearing?
Chavasse nodded. Quite sure. Why do you ask?
Hardt shrugged. It probably isnt important. I understood he was in the army, thats all. My information must have been incorrect. After a moment of silence he went on, This hotel in Gluckstrasse might be worth investigating.
Chavasse shook his head. Too dangerous. Dont forget Steiner knows about the place. I should imagine hell have it checked.
But not straightaway, Hardt said. If I go there as soon as we reach Hamburg, I should be well ahead of the police. After all, theres no particular urgency from their point of view.
Chavasse nodded. I think youve got something there.
Then there remains only one thing to decide, Hardt said, and that is what you are going to do.
I know what Id like to do, Chavasse said. Have five minutes alone with Schmidtthe sleeping-car attendant who served me that coffee. Id like to know who hes working for.
I think youd better leave me to handle that for the moment, Hardt said. I can get his address and well visit him later. It wouldnt do for you to hang about the Hauptbahnhof too long when we reach Hamburg.
Then what do you suggest?
Hardt seemed to be thinking hard. After a while he appeared to come to a decision. Before I say anything more I want to know if you are prepared to work with me on this thing.
Chavasse immediately saw the difficulty and stated it. What happens if we find the manuscript? Who gets it?
Hardt shrugged. Simplewe can easily make a copy.
And Schultz? We cant copy him.
Well cross that bridge when we come to it.
Chavasse shook his head. I dont think my Chief would see things your way.
Hardt smiled coolly. The choice is yours. Without my help youll get nowhere. You see I have an ace up my sleeve. Something which will probably prove to be the key to the whole affair.
Then what do you need me for? Chavasse said.
Hardt shrugged. I told you before, Im sentimental. He grinned. Okay, Ill be honest. Things are moving faster than I thought they would and at the moment I havent got another man in Hamburg. I could use you.
The advantages to be obtained from working with Hardt were obvious and Chavasse came to a quick decision. He held out his hand. All right. Im your man. Well discuss the division of the spoils if and when we get that far.
Good man! Hardt said, and there was real pleasure in his voice. Listen carefully to what Im going to tell you. Muller had a sister. Now we know it, but I dont think the other side do. He always thought she was killed in the incendiary raids during July 1943. They only got together again recently. Shes working as a showgirl at a club on the Reeperbahn called the Taj Mahal. Calls herself Katie Holdt. Ive had an agent working there for the past week. Shes been trying to get friendly with the girl hoping she might lead us to Muller.
Chavasse raised his eyebrows in surprise. Is your agent a German girl?
Hardt shook his head. Israeliborn of German parents. Her name is Anna Hartmann. He pulled a large silver ring from the middle finger of his left hand. Show her this and tell her who you are. She knows all about you. Ask her to take you back to her flat after the last show. Ill meet you there as soon as I can.
Chavasse slipped the ring on to a finger. That seems to settle everything. What time do we get into Hamburg?
Hardt glanced at his watch. About two hours. Why?
Chavasse grinned. Because Ive been missing a hell of a lot of sleep lately and if its all right with you, Im going to make use of this top bunk.
A smile appeared on Hardts face and he got to his feet and pushed the mounting ladder into position. You know, I like your attitude. Were going to get on famously.
I think we can say thats mutual, Chavasse said.
He hung his jacket behind the door and then climbed the ladder and lay full length on the top bunk, allowing every muscle to relax in turn. It was an old trick and one that could only be used when he felt easy in his mind about things.
Because of that special extra sense that was a product of his training and experience, he knew that for the moment at any rate, the affair was moving very nicely. Very nicely indeed. He turned his face into the pillow and went to sleep at once as peacefully as a child.
4
Chavasse looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing a white Continental raincoat and green hat, both of which belonged to Hardt. He pulled the brim of the hat down over his eyes and grinned. How do I look?