“An intriguing story. Colonel,” Orsini said. “You may rely on my discretion in the matter. The last thing I would wish to do is embarrass Mademoiselle Latour in any way.”
“Good,” Martineau said. “I felt sure you’d understand.”
Back in his office at the Silvertide. Muller sat behind his desk thinking about things. After a while, he flipped the intercom. “Have Inspector Kleist and Sergeant Greiser come in.”
He went to the window and looked out. The sky was clear now, suddenly blue, and the tide, still advancing, blanketed the rocks on the shore with white foam. The door opened and the two policemen entered.
“You wanted us, Herr Captain?” Kleist asked.
“Yes, Willi.” Muller sat down, leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette and blew smoke to the ceiling.
“What is it?” the Inspector asked.
“Remember old Dieckhoff, Chief of Detectives in Hamburg?”
“How could 1 forget him?”
“1 always recall his number-one rule when I was a young detective. Dieckhof’f’s Law, he called it.”
“That it doesn’t matter how good an egg looks. If it smells, there’s something wrong,” Kleist said.
“Exactly.” Muller nodded. “And this smells, Willi.” He got up and paced around the room. “Nothing to do with evidence or appearance. Just every instinct I have as a detective tells me things aren’t as they seem. I’d like to know more about Standartenfuhrer Vogel.”
Kleist was obviously worried. “But, Herr Captain, his background is impeccable. You can’t very well ring up Reichsfuhrer Himmler and ask him to nil you in on his personal envoy.”
“No, of course not.” Muller turned. “But there is another possibility. Your brother used to work at Gestapo headquarters at Prince Albrechtstrasse in Berlin, Ernst?”
“Peter? Yes, Herr Captain, but now he’s at Stuttgart Headquarters. Criminal records,” Greiser said.
“He must still have connections in Berlin. Book a call through to him Ask about Vogel. I want to know how important he is.”
“Shall I telex? It would be quicker.”
“I want a judicious inquiry, you fool,” Muller told him wearily. “Not a public one.”
“But I would remind you, sir, thai calls for Germany are routed, as you know, via Cherbourg and Paris. They’ve been taking fifteen or sixteen hours recently, even at priority level.”
“Then book one now, Ernsl.” The young man went out, and Muller said to Kleist, “See about a Kubelwagen. Have it delivered to de Ville Place. Let’s keep him happy for the time being.”
In the kitchen, Helen was rolling out the pastry made from potato flour when Gallagher came in. “Good, you can clean the fish for me,” she said.
There were some plaice on the marble slab beside the sink. Gallagher took a knife from his pocket. The handle was of yellowing ivory. When he pressed one end, a razor-sharp double-edged blade sprang into view.
“You know 1 loathe that thing,” she said.
“When my old grandfather. Harvey Le Brocq, was twelve he made his first trip in a schooner, all the way from Jersey to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland for cod. This knife was his father’s gift to him. He left it to me in his will. Knives, guns-it’s how they’re used that’s important, Helen.”
“What do you want me to do, applaud?” she asked as he started to clean the fish. At that moment there was the sound of a car drawing up outside. “Probably Guido. I wonder what kind of a run they had?”
There were steps in the passageway, a knock on the door, and Guido came in carrying two suitcases. He put them down and straightened. “A good passage?” Helen asked.
“No, the Hugo was torpedoed. Savary missing, three crew members dead and four of my gun crew.” Sarah stepped in through the door followed by Martineau, and Orsini carried on, “This is Anne-Marie Latour. She was a passenger on the Hugo. We were in the water together.” He nodded to Martineau. “Standartenfiihrer Vogel.”
Helen looked bewildered. “What can I do for you?”
“Put us up, Mrs. de Ville,” Martineau spoke in English. “I’m in the island for a few days. We need quarters.”
“Impossible,” Helen told him. “This is a billet for officers of the Kriegsmarine only.”