The Unlikely Spy

She slipped down the side and sat down with her back against the large rock. Overhead the pines writhed with the wind, but Jenny was sheltered from the worst of it. She wished she could make a fire but the smoke would be visible from a long way off. She dug out her case from the bed of pine needles, took out the old woolen blanket, and wrapped herself tightly.

 

The warmth took hold of her. Then she started to cry. She wondered how long she would have to wait here until going for help. Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? A half hour? She wondered if Mary would still be at the cottage when she returned. She wondered if she would be hurt. A horrid vision of her father's dead body flashed before her eyes. She shook her head and tried to make it go away. She shivered, then clutched the blanket more tightly to her body.

 

Thirty minutes. She would wait thirty minutes. They would leave by then and it would be safe to return.

 

 

 

 

 

Neumann parked at the end of the track, grabbed his torch from the seat next to him, and climbed out. He switched on the light and walked quickly through the trees. He scaled the dunes and scrambled down the other side. He switched off the torch as he walked across the beach to the water's edge. When he reached the flat hard sand where the breakers met the beach he broke into a light run, head down to push through the wind.

 

He thought of the morning he was running on the beach and saw Jenny, emerging from the dunes. He remembered how she looked, as though she had slept on the beach that night. He felt certain she had some kind of hiding place nearby where she went when things were bad at home. She was frightened, on the run, and alone. She would flee to the place she knew best, the way children do. Neumann went to the spot on the beach that served as his imaginary finish line, then stopped and walked toward the dunes.

 

On the other side he switched on the torch, found a trampled footpath, and followed it. It led to a small depression, sheltered from the wind by the trees and a pair of large boulders. He shined his torch into the depression; the beam caught Jenny Colville's face.

 

 

 

 

 

"What's your real name?" Jenny said as they drove back to the Doghertys' cottage.

 

"My real name is Lieutenant Horst Neumann."

 

"Why do you speak English so well?"

 

"My father was English and I was born in London. My mother and I moved to Germany when he died."

 

"Are you a German spy?"

 

"Something like that."

 

"What happened to Sean and my father?"

 

"We were using the radio in Sean's barn when your father burst in on us. Sean tried to stop him and your father killed him. Catherine and I killed your father. I'm sorry, Jenny. It all happened very fast."

 

"Shut up! I don't want you to tell me you're sorry!"

 

Neumann said nothing.

 

Jenny said, "What happens now?"

 

"We're going on a trip up the coast to the River Humber. From there we take a small boat out to sea to meet a U-boat."

 

"I hope they catch you. And I hope they kill you."

 

"I'd say that's a very distinct possibility."

 

"You're a bastard! Why did you get in that fight with my father over me?"

 

"Because I like you very much, Jenny Colville. I've lied to you about everything else, but that's the truth. Now just do exactly as I tell you and nothing bad will happen to you. Do you understand me?"

 

Jenny nodded her head. Neumann turned into the Doghertys' cottage. The door opened and Catherine came outside. She walked to the van and looked inside at Jenny. Then she looked at Neumann and said in German, "Tie her up and put her in the back. We're going to take her with us. You never know when a hostage might come in handy."

 

Neumann shook his head, and replied in the same language. "Just leave her here. She's no use to us, and she might get hurt."

 

"Are you forgetting I outrank you, Lieutenant?"

 

"No, Major," Neumann said, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

 

"Good. Now tie her up and let's get the hell out of this godforsaken place."

 

 

 

 

 

Neumann walked back to the barn to find a length of rope. He found some, picked up the lamp, and started out. He took one last look at Sean Dogherty's body, lying on the ground, covered by the old sacking. Neumann couldn't help but feel responsible for the chain of events that led to Sean's death. If he hadn't fought with Martin, Martin wouldn't have come to the barn with a shotgun tonight. Sean would be going with them to Germany, not lying on the floor of his barn with half his chest blown away. He doused the lamp, leaving the bodies in darkness, and went out, closing the door behind him.

 

Jenny did not resist, nor did she speak a single word to him. Neumann bound her hands in front of her so she could sit more comfortably. He checked to make sure the knot was not too tight. Then he bound her feet. When he finished he carried her to the rear of the van, opened the doors, and lifted her inside.

 

He added another jerry can of petrol to the tank and tossed the empty container into the meadow.

 

There was no sign of life on the track between the cottage and the village. Obviously the gunshots had gone unnoticed in Hampton Sands. They crossed the bridge, swept past the spire of St. John's, and drove along the darkened street. The place was so quiet it might have been evacuated.

 

Catherine sat next to him, silent, reloading her Mauser.

 

Neumann opened the throttle, and Hampton Sands disappeared behind them.

 

 

 

 

 

56

 

 

LONDON

 

 

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