Routine, he was told in the officers’ billet to which he had been assigned. His fellow internees were mostly aircrew, pilots and one or two Norwegian MILORG Officers who had come overland from Norway after finishing a mission.
‘They’ll get us all back in time, never fear,’ one of the RAF types had told him. ‘Until then, just relax and enjoy life.’
But he could not. Memling was aware that time was running out. Bad weather would set in shortly over the Baltic, and when it did, the RAF would probably cancel all plans to bomb Peenemunde until spring. So he fretted and fumed and made a nuisance of himself at the administration centre trying to contact someone in the embassy.
The internees pretty much had the run of the camp, he discovered, but the perimeter was well guarded by armed sentries and dogs. The food was excellent, and the officers’ club functioned like its counterparts in Britain, even to mess bills. Nor was it difficult to obtain a pass into Korsnas, a village of a few hundred people, or even for a day trip around the countryside. But to obtain a pass, you had to give your parole and he had not been prepared to do that.
Fleming slowed the car and turned off on to a farm track that led back into a field. He kept on until the track bent double and disappeared into a grove of trees where he stopped the car. The naval attaché walked into the field towards the road to make certain they were concealed sufficiently, then strolled back.
‘How about a spot of lunch?’ Fleming opened the trunk, removed a wicker hamper, and spread a blanket beneath a massive beech. ‘Had the hotel put up a basket. Much more pleasant than a roadside cafe. And we can talk here.’
After years of wartime strictures, Memling was amazed at the variety of food that appeared from the hamper: sandwiches of all kinds, canapés, cheeses, sliced and potted meats, and sweets.
‘Had the devil of a time teaching the chef to make a proper sandwich,’ Fleming remarked, offering one. ‘Kept insisting it was sacrilege to put a slice of bread over the top.’ He produced a chilled bottle of wine and pulled the cork with a flourish. ‘A nice Chateau Margaux 1928. Bought several bottles from an old gentleman in Strangnas by the name of Iwan Morelius.’ He sniffed the cork and held the bottle up to the sun. ‘Not bad,’ he muttered, examining the colour with a critical eye, ‘for wartime.’
They ate in silence. The sun filled the glade with light, reminding Memling of his first week in the Mecklenburg forest with the strange Polish woodcutter. Insects droned lazily, and a light breeze rustled trees. A distant cicada thrummed; a small stream ran nearby, and the water chuckled over moss-covered stones. The sounds of summer, he thought.
Fleming glanced at his Rolex wristwatch and broke the silence. ‘I must apologise for taking so long to pull you out of there. The Hun is very well organised in Sweden, and he has a great deal of support from certain types. They know you are alive, and they seem to want you quite badly, which caused no end of furore at the Foreign Ministry. Seems Jerry claimed you were not a British citizen at all but a Belgian working on contract for them. Claimed you murdered some policemen, and wanted you returned to Germany for trial.’
Memling snorted, but Fleming held up a cautioning hand. ‘Wait. It was damned close. There is strong sentiment for Germany in certain quarters of the Foreign Ministry. The warrant had actually been issued, and several policemen and a German Gestapo official were already on their way when I found out about it. You may actually have seen him at the camp. He looks cadaverous.’
A sudden chill ruined the beauty of the day. Memling stared at the thin officer sprawled beside him. His coat had fallen open, and he saw that Fleming was wearing a chamois-skin shoulder holster and what looked to be a twenty-five-calibre Beretta. ‘Very thin? Gaunt actually. A face like a skull’s?’
‘Yes, that’s the one. There certainly can’t be two alike. Do you know him?’
‘Yes… I do.’
Fleming looked up sharply at the tone in his voice but asked no further questions.
‘Anyway, I got the ambassador to ring up the Justice Ministry and get you off the hook, but it was a near thing. If the camp commandant had not insisted on double-checking the warrant, you might be sitting in a Nazi concentration camp at this moment.’
Fleming sipped his wine and unwrapped another sandwich. ‘That’s why the government wants you out of Sweden today.’ He chewed with evident pleasure and swallowed. ‘My orders are to see you on to a plane for London as quickly as possible. An American transport leaves this evening for Iceland. You can transfer there for a flight to London. We don’t dare try and set it up from here because Jerry’s radio interception is excellent. But you should have no trouble finding a flight in Reykjavik. Dozens go out every day in both directions. Otherwise, there are plenty of British naval vessels in the harbour.’ He got up then and fetched a manila envelope from the Bentley.
‘Diplomatic passport and all that. You can read it on the way. Take good care of it as the FO gets quite upset if one is lost. They only agreed as you are an MI-Six reserve officer.’
Memling took the envelope and slipped it into his jacket pocket. ‘Thanks very much for all you’ve done. I…’
Fleming waved a hand. ‘All in a day’s work. Think no more about it.’
Fleming fetched another bottle from the Bentley, this time a fifth of Haig and Haig. ‘Just the thing with which to celebrate.’ He produced two small cups, filled them, and offered Memling a silent toast. ‘Now, tell me who the young woman was?’
Memling hesitated, then shook his head. ‘No, Commander. I don’t think I had better say anything at all.’
Fleming nodded. ‘Probably the wisest course. However, we have little choice in the matter. She is the only gap in the story, and the Swedes are pressing for an answer.’
Memling finished the Scotch and stared at the silver-plated cup. ‘Look here, she was a member of the German resistance assigned to help me. SD thugs tortured her, and, well, she contracted pneumonia and died. That’s all there is to it.’
Fleming gave him a level stare. ‘I see. I suppose the “SD thugs”, as you call them, are the four dead policemen?’
When Memling stared off at the forest instead of answering, Fleming nodded, laced his fingers behind his head, and closed his eyes. After a long while he murmured sleepily, ‘I suppose I should tell you they did let me in on the purpose of your mission. You might be interested to know that in 1939, shortly after the war began, our embassy in Oslo received a package containing a report that described much of Germany’s secret war research, including radar and rockets. The report was carefully studied, but no one could decide if it was a plant or not. So nothing was done. Seems there was something to it after all.’ Fleming was silent for a while.
‘London had given you up for lost, and Bomber Command laid on the Peenemunde raid a week ago. The official word is, they did one hell of a lot of damage.’
Memling was stunned by the news. Christ in heaven, it had all been for nothing, then, he thought. Francine’s death, everything they had gone through, his estrangement from Janet, all of it wasted.
‘How in… they must have known I was in Sweden…’
Fleming gave him a sympathetic nod. ‘Yes. We notified London that you were here but it looked as if the Germans might get you and the weather was deteriorating and someone decided they couldn’t wait any longer. But’ – he brightened – ‘you should be of immense help in interpreting the after-action damage photos, as you were there, on the ground, so to speak.’