“Do you ever wonder if waiters listen to the conversations at the tables they serve?” Anna asked suddenly. “I mean, no one ever pays them any attention.”
“I’m sure they do,” Evelyn said. “That’s why you should always be mindful of where they are.”
“I’ve been watching for him ever since we began this conversation,” Kristian assured her. “He hasn’t heard anything.”
“I know.” She smiled. “I’ve been watching as well.”
“If I agree to this,” he said after a moment, “where would I send the information?”
“Because you come equipped with your own radio, you would send it directly to London,” Evelyn said. “You’ll be provided with codes and a schedule, and you would transmit anything to us directly.”
“No middle man?”
“Not unless you want one.”
He shook his head. “No. I’d rather it was just me. In fact, I’d rather no one in Norway outside of this table know anything about my involvement.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
He sighed heavily.
“You’re right about the Germans. They’re planning something,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve been listening to their traffic out of Poland and Germany now for over a month. I was listening before that, but it took some time to figure out their code.”
Evelyn raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You deciphered the German codes?”
He hastily shook his head. “No, no. Well, not in the sense that you think. I figured out the rudimentary code that they use for unclassified messages.”
“That’s still impressive,” she murmured.
“Perhaps, but not very useful in the end. They were mostly sending messages about the weather and updates regarding the amount of foodstuffs they were maintaining. For instance, they were running out of coffee a few months ago. So, as you see, nothing very exciting. But then, a few days ago, the code changed. Everything changed. The number of messages more than tripled, and now they’re all heavily encrypted. I can’t make head or tail out of them.”
“These are the ones coming out of Germany?” she asked sharply.
“Not just Germany, but also Poland. It’s like they’ve suddenly locked everything down.”
Evelyn’s lips tightened. “That’s not good.”
“No.”
“Have you told anyone about this?” she asked, shooting him a sharp glance under her lashes.
“No, of course not. No one knows I’ve been listening to the Germans. Even my friend in Sweden doesn’t know.”
“Good. I advise you to keep it that way.” Evelyn reached for her drink. “In the meantime, even though you can’t understand them, continue to monitor the signals. I’ll contact London and see what we can find out.”
“There’s more,” he said after a moment, and she raised her eyebrows. “I think there’s a build-up of ships happening in German ports.”
Evelyn stared at him. “What makes you think that?”
“After all the messages I’ve listened to, I’ve managed to pick up certain call signs and figure out where the transmitters are.” He drank some beer and lowered his voice even more. “Each branch has their own unique call signs. I’ve figured out the German navy and the Wehrmacht ones, but not the Luftwaffe.”
“You know who you’re listening to?” Evelyn demanded, her heart thumping. “You can actually tell where the messages are coming from and going to?”
He shrugged and nodded. “To a certain extent. I’ve learned just about all the navy call signs. I know when they are navy signals, but I can’t understand a thing they’re sending. I’ve learned most of the Wehrmacht signs, but again, I can’t understand what they’re sending.”
“What about the diplomatic messages?” Anna asked.
“Those are the easy ones. The embassies all have their own signs, and their messages were the ones I was able to decode. But, as I said, they’ve changed them now and I can’t understand them.”
“But you know when it’s a diplomatic message as opposed to, say, a navy one?” Evelyn asked.
“Yes.” Kristian smiled ruefully. “I suppose I should have told someone before now, but to be honest, I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”
“I’m very glad you didn’t!” she said fervently.
“I thought about telling Erik the last time I saw him,” he said, glancing at Anna. “But then something stopped me. I think I thought perhaps he would feel obligated to report it to his superiors, and then they would take my radio away.”
Anna bit her lip thoughtfully. “I don’t honestly know what he would say,” she said slowly. “He does tend to operate very strictly in accordance with the rules, but then sometimes he surprises me. I think you did the right thing in not telling him.”
Kristian looked at Evelyn. “And what will your government do with this information?” he asked. “Will they take my radio as well?”
“Goodness no,” she assured him. “I don’t know how they will want to proceed, but I can guarantee that they won’t take away your radio. What would be the purpose? If you don’t have it, you can’t pass on the information.”
“I can’t pass on the information now,” he muttered. “I don’t have any clue what they’re chattering about.”
“You’ve managed to gather much more than you think,” Evelyn told him. “I’m not even sure where to start with all of this. I’ll contact London first thing in the morning and find out how they want to proceed. I’ll forward on everything you’ve told me.”
“And then what?”
“Do you have a telephone?”
“Yes. That’s how Anna reached me.”
“I’ll phone you tomorrow and we’ll arrange something.”
Kristian made a slight motion with his head, his eyes over her shoulder, and Evelyn fell silent. A moment later, the waiter approached with two others and they began laying out their dinner. She watched as her dinner was set before her, her mind spinning. How on earth was she supposed to eat when her stomach was tied up in excited knots? She had never dreamed that she would hit a jackpot like this. When Anna said she knew someone who was an amateur radio operator, she certainly hadn’t been expecting this! She’d thought he might be listening to news out of Germany, but had assumed it would be the news broadcast by Goebbels’ propaganda ministry. While that still would
