“Your radio is just a receiver, then?” Evelyn asked, reaching for her beer. “You can only listen?”
His blue eyes sharpened and something like a grin pulled at his lips.
“Oh no. I can send as well.”
Evelyn felt her pulse leap and she forced her hand to remain steady as she sipped her drink. He had a wireless set that could send messages as well as listen to broadcasts. That was precisely what she had been hoping for.
“Can you?” Anna sounded suitably impressed. “And you made it? Who can you send messages to?”
“Anyone I want to. I have a friend in Sweden and we exchange messages several times a week. I can send a message to anyone if I know what frequency they’re on.”
Evelyn set her glass down. “And can you also intercept messages sent by others?”
Kristian nodded. “Yes.”
“Well no wonder you’re so fascinated with it!” Anna exclaimed. “It’s like having your own private way of communicating, isn’t it?”
“Not so private, but yes.” He looked from one woman to the other. “You’re both very interested in all this, but I don’t think it’s because of the technology, is it?”
Evelyn met his gaze and swallowed, then slowly shook her head.
“No.”
He nodded, unsurprised. “I didn’t think so.”
“I’m very interested to know what you’ve been listening to,” she said slowly.
“You want to know what I’ve been listening to?” he repeated, his brow furrowed. “Why?”
She took a deep breath.
“Because I think you’re probably hearing a lot more than you realize,” she said, “especially what’s coming out of Germany.”
“You want to know what I’ve been hearing from Germany?” When she nodded, he looked at her sharply. “Do you work for the Germans?”
“No.”
“The Russians?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“England.” Evelyn raised her eyes to his and took another deep breath, plunging in. “And we’re very interested in what you might be able to pass on to us.”
Chapter Eleven
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Kristian stared at Evelyn, his face a comedy of disbelief mixed with astonishment.
“You can’t be serious?”
“Yes.” She smiled faintly and reached for her beer again. “I’m very serious.”
“You work for the British government?” he asked skeptically.
“Yes.”
He blinked at her bluntness and reached for his beer. “This is unbelievable.”
“Not really,” Anna said. “Of course the Brits are going to have an interest in what’s happening. They’re at war, after all.”
“Yes, but they don’t normally send young women to fishing villages in Norway to recruit amateur radio specialists, do they?” he retorted. Then he paused comically and looked at Evelyn. “Do they?”
She couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled out. “Not usually, no.”
“There. You see?” He looked at Anna. “As I said. Unbelievable. Did you know about this?”
“It may have been mentioned,” she murmured.
“And you naturally thought of me.”
“Well, you are a wizard when it comes to wireless communication.” Anna grinned. “Besides, who else would I suggest? I know you’re a good man. I’m hardly going to offer up someone I don’t know, am I?”
Kristian ran a hand through his hair and finished his beer, signaling the waiter for another round.
“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, Anna, it doesn’t.” He sighed and looked at Evelyn. “You are serious? This isn’t some kind of joke?”
“No, it isn’t a joke.” She leaned forward. “We know that Hitler is planning something, and we believe that he will move against either Norway or Sweden, or both. If he does, the only chance we’ll have at gaining information is through people like you. People who are already in place and who have the skills and ability to get the information out.”
“You’re talking about more than one,” he said, lowering his voice. “You want to recruit multiple people in Norway?”
“I’m looking for a small number of key people who can be counted on to resist if, God-forbid, the Germans invade Norway and cut it off from the Allies.”
He studied her thoughtfully for a long while, then sat back as the waiter approached. He ordered a fresh round of drinks for all of them and watched as the man retreated again. Once he was out of earshot, Kristian returned his eyes to Evelyn’s.
“You’re going to have one hell of a time convincing people to help,” he told her. “Your government isn’t making life easy for us. They’re not honoring our neutrality, and now there’s talk of mines in the waters. If they do that, they’ll force Hitler to move whether he intends to or not.”
“Let me ask you this,” Evelyn said. “If Britain didn’t show an interest in Norway, but instead honored your neutrality, do you believe that Hitler will really continue to do the same?”
His eyes wavered and he shook his head. “Probably not,” he admitted.
“Then which is the lesser of the evils, us or the Germans? Because I can assure you that if the Germans come, the SS will not offer you a chance to keep your freedom and your radio. They will take your radio and shoot you for being a spy, even if you’re not.”
“And if I help you, and I pass on information that I gather, I will be shot anyway for being a spy.” Kristian sighed. “I suppose if I’m going to be shot, it might as well be for something I’m guilty of.”
Anna met Evelyn’s gaze across the table and a very faint smile curved her lips. They had him.
“This is all assuming that Hitler invades Norway,” Evelyn said. “He may not, in which case there is very little risk to yourself.”
“You don’t believe that or you wouldn’t be here having this conversation with me.”
“It really doesn’t matter what I believe,” she said with a shrug. “The only one who knows the Führer’s intentions are the German High Command, and I’ve heard that sometimes even they aren’t told what he has planned until the last possible moment.”
The waiter returned then with their fresh round of drinks, setting them down and asking if they were ready to order. After they placed their orders, he smiled and departed
