‘Good.’ Eddie picked up a pair of binoculars and slung them round his neck. ‘Go on up, then,’ he said. ‘Up and change. Men to the left room, women to the right.’
They went upstairs. Frank and David and Ben changed into thick sweaters in a tiny bedroom, then heavy trousers, boots and peaked caps. When they were finished Ben put his cap at a jaunty angle, grinned at them, and said, ‘All right, me hearties?’ in a mock-Long John Silver accent. David managed the flicker of a smile. He looked at Frank. ‘We’re going to be all right. We’re almost there now.’
Frank nodded. ‘You haven’t said much since we arrived,’ David said. ‘Sure you’re okay?’
‘Yes,’ Frank answered quietly.
They went back outside. Eddie took the lead. They walked down the main street in silence, then at a signal from him they crossed the coast road, which ran at right angles to the High Street. There was a hotel opposite, a sign hanging from a pole creaking gently in the light breeze from the sea. Next to it a sharply angled stone path led down towards the water, between high concrete banks. They followed Eddie down. At the bottom of the path was a promenade, bounded by cliffs on both sides. Steps could be seen leading down from the promenade to the little beach. Eddie said, ‘Wait here a moment. I’ll look around. Get your eyes accustomed to the dark.’
He went forward, the rest of them standing at the end of the path, between the high banks. There was no light now, apart from the half-moon which made a long pencil of silvery light on the sea. Frank, looking at the others, felt a sudden sense of distance, as though none of this were anything to do with him any more. He thought suddenly of his flat in Birmingham. He would never see it again. He realized he didn’t care.
He heard Sarah speak quietly to David. ‘I was just thinking of Mrs Templeman. I don’t know why. I suppose I wonder what she’d think of it all.’
‘She’d think we were doing the right thing.’
‘And Charlie?’
‘A great adventure.’ There was a catch in David’s voice.
Eddie returned. ‘It looks all clear,’ he said quietly. ‘We’re going to cross the promenade and go down the steps to the beach. Come on now, follow me. Slowly now, one at a time, don’t rush.’
David watched as Ben followed Eddie out onto the promenade. Frank was next, then Sarah. He was about step forward himself when he felt Natalia’s hand on his arm. He looked round. He couldn’t see her face properly in the shadowed mouth of the pathway but it looked serious, grave.
‘Listen, David,’ she said quickly. ‘We’ve only a moment. I’m not coming with you.’
He stared blankly. ‘What do you mean? You must—’
‘I don’t want to go to America. That’s not where the struggle is. It’s here, in Europe, the climax is coming at last. I have to be part of it. I’m going back to London. And you – you belong with your wife.’
‘But why—’
She put her finger to his lips. It tasted of the salty air. Her brown hair stirred in the breeze. ‘Your friend Frank came to see me.’ She smiled wryly. ‘What he said tipped the balance. And – I could never settle to a safe life again, even with you. Every time I thought I had one, you see, it was taken away.’
Footsteps could be heard coming back from the promenade; the others would be wondering why they hadn’t appeared. Natalia said, ‘Ben is in charge from now on.’ She grasped David’s arms and kissed him quickly. He saw tears shining in those slightly slanted eyes. She said, quietly, ‘Ich hob dich lieb.’
He held her. ‘What did you say?’
‘It’s what your mother said to you. It means “I love you”. Forgive me for not telling you before. Ich hob dich lieb, David.’ And then she turned away and walked rapidly back up the path, disappearing from view quickly in her heavy dark clothes. Ben appeared beside him. One hand was in his pocket, where his gun was. ‘Whit the fuck’s gaun’ on?’ he hissed.
‘It’s Natalia,’ David said. ‘She’s not coming, she’s staying behind.’
‘Jesus.’ Ben hesitated for a moment, looking up the path.
‘She said you’re in charge now. Come on,’ David added, quietly, a catch in his voice. ‘I never even knew her last name.’
‘Naebody did.’
Then Sarah appeared at the mouth of the pathway, Frank and Eddie beside her. Eddie asked anxiously, ‘What happened?’
‘Natalia’s stayin’ behind,’ Ben answered.
Sarah looked at her husband. ‘Why?’
Ben said, ‘Never mind. She’s gone. I’m in charge now. Come on.’
The five of them crossed the promenade and descended a flight of stone steps, clinging to a slippery metal rail. The whispering line of the surf was surprisingly close, the tide high. Eddie pointed over to a large, dark, concrete groyne about twenty yards away. The moonlight cast a shadow beside it. ‘The boat’s over there,’ he said quietly. ‘Let’s go and get it upright. It’s gone a quarter past twelve.’
They walked the short distance to the boat, their feet crunching on the shingle. It was hard keeping their balance in the dark; Sarah almost slipped and David took her arm. She looked at him and nodded thanks.
Then all hell broke loose. The boat heaved up from below, knocking Eddie and Ben to the ground. A sudden blur of dark figures surrounded them and strong arms grasped David’s hands, pulling them behind him. Looking wildly to his left and right he saw that Sarah and Frank were similarly pinioned, held by men dressed in black clothes, with black balaclavas and blackened faces. A fourth man was dragging Eddie to his feet, while another struggled on the ground with Ben. Ben was strong but his assailant was stronger and a moment later he too was hauled to his feet, arms behind him.
There was a sixth man with them, stouter than the others. He stood by the boat, looking round. ‘There’s one missing,’ he said in a German accent. ‘The Resistance woman.’ He walked over to David, looked at him, nodded briefly. ‘Mr Fitzgerald. I recognize you from your photographs. Where is she?’
‘Who?’
‘The other woman who should be with you.’
‘She didn’t come,’ David said.
The German frowned, puzzled. He took off his balaclava. ‘Then who leads you?’
Ben said, ‘I dae, ye fuckin’ fat Nazi cunt.’ The tall thin man holding him twisted his arm violently, making him cry out. ‘Commie poof,’ the man spat, and David realized he was British. Eddie and Frank stood still, unmoving. Eddie’s eyes were full of rage but Frank’s were unfocused, looking straight ahead at the sea. David thought, it’s what he’s expected all along and he was right. We’re not going to be able to save him after all.
Sarah said, ‘That’s the man who interrogated me at Senate House. He’s dangerous, David!’
David looked into the man’s face. Under the streaks of charcoal it looked fat and puffy, but the mouth was a thin line and the eyes were clear and questing.
‘Who betrayed us?’ David asked.
The German smiled. ‘I tricked your friend Geoffrey Drax into letting some information drop. But mostly I worked it out myself, with the help of certain radio intercepts.’
‘Geoff? My God. He’s alive?’
‘No longer, I think. He was badly hurt. I am sorry, he was brave.’ He turned and went over to Frank. ‘Dr Muncaster?’ he asked quietly. ‘Remember me?’
‘Yes,’ Frank answered, just as softly.
Gunther nodded at the tall thin man holding Ben. ‘And you’ll remember Inspector Syme, who came with me to the hospital. You gave us a good run. This must have been a difficult time for you, a great strain.’ He spoke sympathetically. David thought, the bastard’s weighing him up for interrogation already.
Gunther sighed. ‘Well, it’s over now, Frank, you did your best. Relax, talk to us a little when we get you back to London, that’s all you need to do.’ He turned to the others and said, ‘Hold them while I search them.’ Methodically, he went through each of the prisoners’ pockets. He found Ben’s gun, and David’s, and handed them to Kollwitz and Kapp. He also dug out the suicide pills. He held them in the palm of his hand, then looked at Frank. ‘You do not have one?’ he asked.