The Leader And The Damned

'We both get through or not at all,' she said fiercely.

'It's wartime. For God's sake, listen. The Allied Command want to know the location of the Fuhrer's secret headquarters. You can tell them that better than I can. The second thing they want to know is who is controlling the German war machine. Well, it's the Fuhrer himself…' He paused, wondering whether to go on.

"There's something else, isn't there?' she said quietly. 'About the Fuhrer

'Go on…'

'Ever since he returned from that trip to the Eastern front at Smolensk he's seemed different. I don't think other people have noticed because they're so frightened of him – including Keitel and Jodl. And ever since he arrived back he's either listened and said nothing – or else screamed at them. The way he walks isn't quite right. There are other things, little things only a woman would notice. It's uncanny – I've felt I was in the presence of his twin brother – except that he hadn't one..'

'You said hadn't – past tense. Your feeling must be strong. I notice you didn't mention Bormann when you referred to Keitel and Jodl…'

'Bormann has also been acting strangely since the Fuhrer's return. Every time during a military conference when I looked at the Fuhrer, trying to work out what seemed different, I found Bormann watching me like a cat – as though trying to make up his mind abbot something.'

'Something about the Fuhrer?'

'No! Something about me – whether I had noticed the change..'

' The change. Christa, you've put your finger on it. They've found a dummy Fuhrer – Bormann has, I'm certain. While at the Berghof the first time I witnessed a nightmare scene…'

He told her about the man gesturing and screaming at the top of his voice inside the circle of mirrors. Her fingers gripped his arm tightly as he went on. At one moment she had been stroking the edge of his jaw but now she was motionless.

'When was this?' she said eventually. 'I told you – that part of the Berghof was always sealed off by Commandant Mailer..

'When I saw the spit image of Adolf Hitler pirouetting inside the circle of mirrors at the Berghof, the Fuhrer was a thousand miles away at Smolensk..'

'There are two of them? How is that possible, Ian?'

'I don't know. All I know is that it is a fact. Now what you say confirms that the Hitler who boarded the plane for Smolensk was not the same man who stepped off it when the plane returned.

'Is it a plot?' she wondered aloud.

'People always think of plots, conspiracies – when so often the truth is quite simple. What holds up the entire edifice of the Nazi regime, stops the generals launching a military coup?'

'The Fuhrer

'So whatever happens there has to be a Fuhrer. Bormann, Goebbels, Goering, Ribbentrop and all the others – to say nothing of Keitel and Jodl, the whole SS and Gestapo apparatus – all of them depend for their continuing existence on the continuing existence of the Fuhrer !'

'You mean..

'Let me finish. If any one of those top people did suspect a switch had been made would they dare even mention it? They'd go along with the deception,,,'

'What about the generals who disagree with Hitler? Guderian, for example..'

'How often do men like that visit the Fuhrer these days now he's locked himself away at the Wolf's Lair with occasional trips to the Berghof?'

'Very seldom. They expect to see the Fuhrer Christa said slowly.

'So the fact that a substitute may have taken his place would never even cross their minds – especially if the double is convincing enough. And from what I saw during my first stay at the Berghof this unknown man has had plenty of time to perfect his act.'

'There's Eva Braun,' Christa reminded him. 'She's bound to detect the impersonation…'

'And how strong is her position without the Fuhrer? What's she like, incidentally?'

'Attractive and empty-headed. Spends most of her time at the Berghof making herself up and thinks of nothing except clothes. She's vain, often grumbles about the lack of attention paid to her by the Fuhrer

'So the dummy has been on the spot to entertain her during the Fuhrer's long absences. They could even have been carrying on an affair,' Lindsay suggested. 'What would her position be without the Fuhrer?' he repeated.

'She'd find herself in the gutter.' Christa's tone was unequivocal. 'She's hated by the wives of the other Nazis – Ribbentrop, Goebbels and so on. My God, I'm beginning to think you could be right. It would also explain why Commandant Muller sealed off that area of the Berghof..

'And why Commandant Muller had to have an "accident" just about the time the switch would be made by Bormann. I'm sure Muller was murdered – he wasn't the type to commit suicide – or fall over the edge of the Kehlstein parapet. Didn't you say there was a very loud explosion about the time the

Fuhrer's plane was due back from Smolensk?' 'It was like a bomb going off…'

'His plane must have crashed,' Lindsay conjectured. 'Who went to the airfield to meet the plane?' 'Martin Bormann:'

'The Brown Shadow. Always at his master's side – and, wielding immense power "by order of the Fuhrer". Only someone with that power could work the trick.'

'You think the plane crashed by accident?' Christa asked.

'What was the weather like?'

'Diabolical. The fog was at tree height. They said the plane had diverted to another airfield.'

'I'm a flier. I've seen that fog at the Wolf's Lair. Landing a plane under those conditions would be near-suicide…'

'The Fuhrer was always impatient. He probably over-ruled the pilot.'

'You realize what this means if we're right? Bormann will send out a horde of men to catch us with orders to shoot on sight.-We know too much to live.'

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was crisis Monday – the day of the rendezvous with Paco. The previous night Christa and Lindsay had slept inside the sleeping-bags in the attic, to protect Helga in case the SS arrived.

'It's a grey day – come and look,' said Christa.

She had pulled aside the curtain masking the tiny dormer window perched high on the top of the building. Lindsay joined her and peered out. Above nearby rooftops loomed two giant domes – once copper-coloured and now green with verdigris. Christa pointed to them.

'That's the Frauenkirche.'

'Close enough. According to the map I studied in London there's a large open space in front. At eleven o'clock will there be many people about?'

'Housewives going from shop to shop trying to find some place which has just had a delivery. Everything is whipped the moment it arrives. Do we walk together this time? You'll be in civilian clothes..'

'Yes.'

It wasn't the perfect arrangement – there would probably be patrols out looking for a man and a girl but he sensed her need for reassurance of his presence. Also he had no idea how Paco planned to get them away. If a vehicle was involved they wouldn't want to waste a second getting inside it.

By 10.30 am they had eaten the meagre breakfast Helga supplied, but she had generously reinforced it with two large cups of the Lyons coffee Sergeant Berg had given her.

'You're not wasting any time,' Lindsay observed.

Up early, Helga had spread the SS uniform out on another table and, using a pair of pinking shears, had cut it into small pieces ready for burning. She had removed the metal buttons and stored them in a small bag.

'They go down a drain three kilometres from here,' she remarked.

An old wooden chair stood near the stove with a large axe on the seat. Helga gestured towards it. 'I break that up – the wood will help to burn the cloth. The tray of cold ashes goes into another bag and will be dumped in a litter bin – again a good distance from my apartment.'

She provided Lindsay with a selection of shabby trousers, coats and jackets and he tried them on quickly. The trousers fitted him well but the jackets were tight and a little short in the sleeves.