In spite of himself, Rahn chuckled. He could get to like Maria Orsic.
“Well, gentlemen, and lady”—with a polite bow to Sybilla— “how can I help you? If you have come to discover the secrets of the mercury engine, you’re wasting your time, I won’t reveal them. Perhaps you wish to know how a plane can be made to land and take off vertically? The location of the Holy Grail will remain my secret, which I will take to the grave. If it’s rocket propulsion, you’re too late. Von Braun has already sold out to the Americans, and I’ll wager he did not accord me any credit! Maybe you’d like a description of the creatures that inhabit the fourth planet of the star Aldebaran?”
Kelly wondered if she was completely mad. There was no hint of humour in her voice or her demeanour; she seemed deadly serious. “As much as we’d like to discuss those issues with you, Frau Orsic, we’re here on a much more mundane quest. We’d simply like to ask you questions about some of your former acquaintances.”
Maria shrugged and looked disappointed. “Ask away.”
“In particular, we’re interested in Heinrich Müller.”
“Which one? I knew two Heinrich Müllers.”
“SS Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant der Polizei,” said Kelly, watching her face closely.
“Oh, yes, I remember Heinie!” Maria’s face betrayed nothing. “Just for interest, Colonel, the other was also an SS General, but I didn’t know him well, so he remained, rather formally, ‘Heinrich’. The one you mean I knew very well, and he became ‘Heinie’.”
“So, you knew him well?” asked Sybilla.
“Quite well; he was an absolute darling, a lovely man, and so intelligent! He was a terrific chess player—he lost a couple of matches to grandmasters, but against mere mortals, I only knew of one person who could beat him.”
Rahn, himself a keen chess player, his interest piqued, asked, “Who was that, Maria?”
“Oh well, oh well—me, actually.” Her voice and demeanour did not exhibit any hint of boastfulness.
“Do you know where he is now, Frau Orsic?” asked Kelly.
“That is something I cannot tell you, Colonel.”
“Cannot or will not?” Kelly persisted.
“Colonel, it is a matter of supernatural indifference to me which modal verb you choose, the outcome is the same. Anyway, what do you want with him?”
“He is a dangerous man, Maria,” said Rahn softly, “we want to bring him to justice.”
“PAH! Justice.” Maria spat the words out. “Victor’s justice is what you mean. How many innocent men and women have you strung up in the name of your justice? Men and women whose only crime was that they had the audacity to be born German. You want the real criminals? I’ll give them to you: Heinie Himmler is in an unmarked grave on Lüneburg Heath—do not let that impede you—I can give you the exact coordinates. Dig him up and hang him! Reinhard Heydrich is in the Invalids’ Cemetery in Berlin, his monument and grave marker removed by the spineless, pathetic bureaucrats who now rule that city, but again I can give you the location. Dig him up and hang him! Müller, Jodel, Keitel and the like were simply soldiers, following orders, doing their duty. They were no different to Montgomery, Eisenhower or Bradley.”
It was the first time they had elicited an emotional response from her. She was silent for a moment then added, the bitterness clear in her voice, “Don’t talk to me about justice. Why wasn’t Arthur Harris put on trial for war crimes?”
They allowed her to calm herself for a while before Sybilla asked softly, “Did you know Eva Braun, Maria?”
Maria smiled at her, grateful for her sensitivity. “I presume you mean Eva Hitler, yes, I met her a number of times—a rather frivolous young girl. Sadly, I think Eva must have been near the end of the queue when the fates were allocating intelligence, but she was a good German and fiercely loyal, dying alongside her husband in Berlin.”
“You really think so, Maria?” asked Rahn casually.
Maria turned her head sharply towards him. “Of course, it’s common knowledge.”
Manteufel, who until this point had been watchful but silent, suddenly asked, “Frau Orsic, are there any pig farms in the area?”
All eyes pivoted on Manteufel, astonished at the question, but quickly switched to Maria who suddenly flew back in her chair as if slapped. She swiftly regained her composure and, stammering slightly, answered, “Why, yes, I suppose so, this is after all a farming area. I imagine there are a few.”
Manteufel smiled but said nothing further.
Kelly rose. “Frau Orsic, thank you for accommodating our curiosity, but we have imposed on your patience long enough. We’ll see ourselves out.”
The others rose and, after thanking Maria, followed Kelly out. Maria waited until she heard the door close, then rose and surreptitiously watched the group from the window, conversing near their car. They were only a few metres away and Maria could make out every movement of their lips, easily understanding every word they were speaking. The fact that they were conversing in English was no impediment to the senior Vril Maiden, who, long ago, had learned not only English and French but also to lip read in order not to miss a word of any conversation in which she was not directly involved.
Kelly was speaking. “Come on then, Horst, you’ve got something, what is it?”
Manteufel smiled enigmatically. “Cast your mind back to when we went down the ratline to Austria. Do you remember Gerda Busch in Jena?”
Kelly nodded.
“She told me something that has stuck in my mind,” continued Manteufel. “She thought it highly amusing that one of the SS men who had come down the line had been sent to a pig farm as cover, and it occurred to me that might be the cover
