“Fine!” said McFarlane, folding his hands together and resting on the table. “Let me put in my two penneth. I told you earlier that I had a little niggle. Your reports have turned that niggle into a gnawing doubt, and let me tell you why. Dan alluded to it in his report. It’s the pictures, or rather the lack of them. If the Russians had found Hitler’s body—burnt, charred or otherwise—they would have hung it up from the Brandenburg Gate, taken thousands of pictures and distributed them to every newspaper and magazine in the world. They would have filmed it and sent a copy to every newsreel company. No pictures, no newsreel. Why?
“I’m also puzzled by the behaviour of our friend Müller. If he was the mysterious man in the submarine, dropped off in Argentina, how and why did he suddenly reappear in Berlin five years later? If he could get into Berlin that easily, sitting as it does in the centre of a communist country, why did he need Manteufel’s help to get out again? He obviously wanted to go down the East German ratline. Why? Furthermore, I believe Müller is somehow tied into the apparent suicide in the bunker. Where was he on 30 April? Manteufel claims he wasn’t seen at all that day. The Führer is dead, and the head of the Gestapo is nowhere to be found? What on earth was going on? Yet we have reports that he was in the bunker on 1 May—in fact, he is thought to have been one of the last, if not the last, to leave—so where did he go on 30 April and why on that particular day?
“There are an awful lot of questions relating to the behaviour of Müller, and we need some answers. If Hitler did survive the bunker, it’s a solid bet that Müller was involved in his escape. We have to find him and bring him in again. Dan, you mentioned in your report that there might be a way of getting down the East German ratline. Can you fill us in on that?”
Kelly nodded. “Certainly. However there are some issues that need exploring. Manteufel is central to this. I asked him if he could make contact with his former associates in the Thule organisation to sound out if they would be willing to send a fugitive down the ratline. That fugitive would, of course, be me. My cover would be as a senior Ustase officer, wanted for war crimes and stranded in East Germany, but with a lot of money and valuables squirrelled away.
“It was a big ask. Manteufel was taking a hell of a risk, but he agreed and went into East Berlin in a battered old truck that the RASC had found for me from somewhere, complete with ladders, bricks, sand and bags of cement. He said it reminded him of old times. When he returned, it wasn’t entirely good news. Yes, if the price was right, they might help, but they were wary of dealing with the Ustase with whom they had no previous experience. The normal escape route for the Ustase was across the Adriatic direct to Italy. They specified they would help if, and only if, the fugitive had a ‘minder’ for the duration of his transit through Germany and Austria. The fugitive would be on his own once in Italy.
“Manteufel asked if they had someone who would act in the role of minder, and his contacts were quite unequivocal. Yes, they told him, Horst Manteufel! It seems that the organisation holds him in quite some degree of respect. Ex-Fallschirmjäger with whom they had successfully dealt previously, and the fact that he had spent time in prison only added to his credibility.
“I told Manteufel in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t going to happen, but he insisted that he owed me. I don’t see it that way—I believe I owe him. I have no doubt he saved my life during the incident when we first arrested Müller. He assured me he had talked it over with his wife and that she was in agreement, and in any case, he needed a break from driving three-ton trucks for the RASC!”
The others smiled at this.
“However,” continued Kelly, “he did specify two conditions. That his old job would be available when he returned, and that if anything happened to him, his wife and two children would be taken care of.”
“I have to say, Dan,” said McFarlane rubbing his chin, “that despite your misgivings, this sounds to me an altogether good option. Apart from the reservations you’ve already expressed, do you have any other reasons why you should not accept Manteufel’s offer?”
Kelly shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “No, Bob. He’s tough, resourceful, entirely dependable and can be utterly ruthless when he needs to be. I can think of no one better.”
“What do you two think of using Manteufel in this way?” asked McFarlane, looking round. “Billa?”
“I’ve only met him in a social context, but I would trust Dan’s judgement on this.”
“Jamie?”
“It strikes me, Brigadier, that Manteufel is probably Dan’s only chance of getting down that ratline.”
“That’s my feeling too. Who’s his commanding officer at the RASC squadron, Dan?”
“Major Jack Hemmings, really good man. He has, in the past, bent over backwards to give Horst time off when I’ve needed to talk to him. He’s an old warrior, served during the last war. He knows we’re up to something, but he’s too long in the tooth to ask questions.”
“I’ll speak to Major Hemmings,” said McFarlane. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of accommodation in respect of Manteufel returning to his job on completion of the mission, but what about pay, Jamie? We can’t expect Hemmings to pay his wages while he’s away.”
“We’ll have to take him on temporarily as an agent, Brigadier,” Farquharson replied. “I’ll see to it as soon as we return to London. Oh, and that would also meet his other
