He especially wondered how long before the Italian army doctor informed his fellow doctors, or how long before he needed their input to care for his patient. Mussolini had sent a division of infantry to help hold Canada and they had been an utter disgrace. Arriving a month before the start of the war, fully a third had deserted in the first few days and simply crossed the border. The joke went — if you seek the Italian army, check Manhattan. They were followed by even more of their compatriots to the point where only a couple of thousand were left and von Arnim had sent them to Ottawa, which was much farther away from the tempting American border.
Guderian wondered how resentful Rinaldi was that he was in a war in Canada and not home in Italy. He would arrange for a German doctor to take over caring for von Arnim.
“We cannot keep a secret,” Guderian said. “Koenig, draft an announcement to the army and I will prepare one to send to Hitler and the OKW in Berlin. The messages will simply state the truth — General von Arnim has been seriously wounded and it will be a while before he recovers. In the meantime, I will assume command over all German forces in Canada.”
Koenig nodded and started to leave. “However,” Guderian continued with a wry smile, “if those in Berlin think one of von Arnim’s subordinates is more qualified, I will step aside. Or, if they wish to send someone from Germany, like that arrogant jackass Rommel, they are welcome to try to run the blockade the Americans are setting up as we speak.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sam Lambert was exhausted by the time he finally arrived home. He lived in a small frame house a couple of miles north of downtown Toronto. It wasn’t a very nice house and it wasn’t in the best part of town, but it was what he could afford on a cop’s salary. He’d been saving up for a better place, but now wondered if that day would ever come.
He was distressed that his city was on the verge of chaos. Thousands of people had already fled Toronto on what they felt was the logical assumption that it would be a target for American bombers. Lambert wasn’t quite so certain. He thought the Yanks would be after military targets, rather than civilian ones.
Toronto was one of Canada’s largest manufacturing centers, if not the largest, but most of those businesses made goods for the civilian sector. Of course, he thought, they could be converted to military use in short order should the Germans demand it. They couldn’t make tanks, but they could make small weapons and ammunition.
The absence of so many people had led to a degree of anarchy among those who remained. Many of them didn’t have the resources to flee and had nowhere to go anyhow. There had been cases of looting and Lambert was sure that looting would only increase. The Black Shirts were having their own little party, robbing businesses and homes and breaking heads. Some of the fools were actually resentful when police intervened. They believed that the war rendered them immune from prosecution. He hoped they weren’t right.
Damn it, he thought as he took a bottle of Molson’s from the fridge. He would rest, try to unwind, and then go to bed. He had a feeling tomorrow would be as bad as today.
The knock on the door startled him. He got up and walked over warily, first making sure that his service revolver was tucked in his belt.
“Who’s there?”
“Sherry, now open up.”
Sherry? Who the hell was Sherry? Somewhat confident since it was a woman’s voice, he opened the door a crack. A short blonde woman about thirty stood before him.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
“Sorry, but I don’t. Should I?”
“I guess I’m not surprised. My name is Sherry Piper and the last time you saw me I had been beaten and raped, and was lying naked and bloody on a stretcher. My brother was even more terribly beaten as well. Now please let me in.”
Sam opened the door enough for her to enter, closing it quickly once she was in. Now he did recognize her, sort of. She had lost a lot of weight and had died her hair a gaudy blond that did nothing for her. There was a vivid white scar on her cheek, a reminder of the beating and worse she’d endured.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Why?”
He took a deep breath. That night had upset him terribly. “That we couldn’t get there in time. Our source in the Black Shirts couldn’t get us the info until the attack was about to happen. As it was, I could only get six guys together and only four of us had weapons.”
“But you did manage to kill two of them. Now I’d like to kill some more. First, however, get me one of those things in your hand.”
Lambert grinned. He’d picked up his beer when he closed the door. He got her a Molson and opened it for her. She declined a glass.
“Don’t tell me I’m looking well,” she said. “I can’t stand being patronized.”
“How’s your brother?”
Her expression changed to one of deep sadness. “He’s dead. He killed himself. He was filled with irrational shame that he was the cause of what happened to us, to me in particular. He kept telling me that he visualized me spread-eagled on the bed and being forced to watch while those bastards raped me. He felt it was his fault for getting involved with the printing operation, totally forgetting that I was the one who urged him to do it. Maybe the beating unhinged him. I just don’t know. He ate a whole bottle of aspirins one night and never woke up.”
“Can I say I’m sorry?”
“Sorry for what? You tried to help and you did help. Now you can help some more.”
Lambert was intrigued. He also realized that Sherry Piper was a very attractive woman, or would be if she did something about her hair. “How can I help?”
“Afterwards, we went to the states where we got medical help. I left Steve in a hospital outside Washington, which is where he got his hands on the aspirins, and went to look for the OSS. It was surprisingly easy to find and, after my brother’s funeral, I volunteered to come back here and feed them information about the Germans and the Black Shirts.”
“How will you do that?”
“You will help get me a job near the German headquarters. I brought a small radio with limited range, but good enough to reach the American side of Lake Ontario. Being a cop, you will be able to retrieve it for me and bring it here.”
“Here?”
Sherry smiled, this time with amusement and a degree of warmth. “Of course. I have to have someplace to stay and this is it. You don’t mind, do you? Besides, so far it is not illegal to have a short wave radio.”
Sam Lambert shook his head. No, he did not mind at all.
Admiral Vian was almost in tears as he sat across from Admiral Ernest King. “I am sorry, but I have my orders. Prime Minister Lord Halifax has ordered the Royal Navy to stand aside in this war between the United States and Germany.”
King nodded. “I understand his reasoning and almost agree with it. The issue is food.”
When the truce between Germany and Great Britain was informally agreed to, one of the conditions was that food shipments from Canada and elsewhere to the British Isles would be unimpeded. Without them, the people of England and Scotland would starve. As it was, they would be on short rations and were growing food on every available patch of land. The food issue was a Sword of Damocles hanging over the British Isles. Food rationing was already tight and any cut in imports could be disastrous.
Vian continued. “It will always be food, and even Churchill concurs. Until and if there are assurances that the U.S. Navy will protect food convoys to England, I cannot run the risk of cutting off Britain’s food supply by participating in this war.”
King understood, but didn’t like it. He wasn’t at all fond of the British, but that did not extend to starvation. The navy was about to begin blockading the port of Halifax when FDR had informed him that ships exiting Canada could be searched and seized only if they contained war materials and food was not on that list. Nor did it matter that much of the food might make its way to the Reich. His hands were tied, as were Vian’s. Nor could the Royal Navy move to the Pacific and aid in the war against Japan. Too risky, was the assessment, and, besides, it would be a logistical nightmare. For the time being, the Royal Navy was out of this war and this meant that additional warships needed to fight the Germans would have to come from the Pacific, thus weakening the American effort against the Japanese.