Read Online Shadows of War by Michael Ridpath - Free Book Online Page A

were good friends at Oxford.’
    ‘You were seeing an enemy agent, de Lancey.’
    ‘I’d rather not say any more.’
    ‘In that case I’ll get Best to stop the car at the next railway station and you can take the train back to The Hague.’
    Conrad realized Stevens wasn’t bluffing. He would have to give him something. ‘All right. I saw Hertenberg when I was in Berlin last year.’
    ‘Is he an agent of ours?’ Stevens asked. ‘A double agent?’
    ‘No, he’s not,’ said Conrad. ‘I can’t tell you the details of our discussions. It was related to Schämmel.’
    ‘Look here, de Lancey. If we are going to work together, we are going to have to trust each other.’
    Stevens had a point, but then so did Theo. ‘Do you know the other British Passport Control Officers in Europe?’ Conrad asked.
    ‘Yes,’ said Stevens. ‘I visited a number of them last year before I took up this post.’
    ‘So you know Captain Foley who used to be in Berlin?’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘Ask him,’ said Conrad. ‘He can confirm my relationship with Lieutenant von Hertenberg.’
    Stevens stared at Conrad. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘That will do for now. But I will get in touch with Foley as soon as we are back in The Hague.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said Conrad.
    They drove on in silence for a minute or so.
    ‘Do you know Charles Bedaux?’ Stevens asked.
    Conrad shook his head. ‘No, I’ve never heard of him. Who is he?’
    ‘He’s an American businessman based in France with operations in Amsterdam. A distinctly shady customer. Hertenberg has met him at least twice since the war began – we don’t know why.’
    ‘I have no idea why either,’ Conrad said. ‘But if Hertenberg has been meeting him, it is probably as part of his work for the Abwehr. He is a loyal German.’
    ‘Yet you are talking to him?’
    Conrad nodded.
    ‘Well, if you happen to bump into your German friend again, could you ask him about Mr Bedaux? And tell me what he says? There’s a good fellow.’
    ‘I can ask him,’ said Conrad. Although that would mean explaining that Stevens had spotted Conrad with Theo, which would not please Theo at all. Things were getting complicated.
    Payne Best made such good time that they stopped for a quick lunch at a roadside café-restaurant near ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The atmosphere warmed over food, and the four men were in better spirits as they took to the road again. Stevens sat in the front with Payne Best, and they discussed what to do if the Germans invaded Holland imminently, an eventuality that Payne Best suggested was prudent to anticipate. Stevens jotted down a list of names of people to be evacuated to England. Conrad was a little surprised at their willingness to discuss the people working for them in Holland in front of himself and Klop. But he was also interested to note that Payne Best’s fears tallied so closely with Theo’s warning of an imminent offensive.
    Conrad had to get that information to Van quickly. If he couldn’t get back to England himself very soon, perhaps he could ask Payne Best for an unofficial way of communicating with London without using the embassy or the Passport Control Office. Payne Best gave the impression of operating with some degree of independence from Major Stevens and the Passport Control Office. Conrad was reluctant to trust him... but he might not have any choice.
    The clouds were thickening and it looked as if it would soon start to rain. They passed a road sign: nine kilometres to Venlo.
    Berlin
    Charles Bedaux stood outside the Adlon Hotel and breathed in the crisp clear Berliner Luft . Across the Pariser Platz, the weathered bronze chariot atop the Brandenburg Gate gleamed green in the low November sun. Bedaux liked Berlin. It was the most modern city in Europe, with its powerful motor cars, its sleek buildings, its swish department stores, its broad, clean streets and above all its air of bustle, energy and efficiency.
    Bedaux was the world expert on efficiency. He