Artillery of Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

Allied bombing or French sabotage, or maybe non-aligned mice. “Sad indeed,” he said. “You are perhaps a relative?”
    â€œVery close. If you meet me beside the coffin in an hour perhaps we can discuss it.”
    Christian was waiting at the airport mortuary when Oster arrived. Oster took his hat off. “Might we be alone for a few minutes?” he asked the attendant. The man left them to their grief. “I hope you won’t be offended,” Oster said, “if I ask to see your papers.”
    â€œI can do better.” Christian unwound the bandages and gave his unshaven cheeks a vigorous massage. “Sorry about the stubble, sir,”he said. “Sorry about the secrecy, too. I’m afraid I didn’t completely trust your telephone.”
    Oster knew Christian; indeed he had recommended his promotion to brigadier. “I’m glad you’re not in this box,” he said. “I thought I recognized your voice. Now what’s going on?”
    â€œIt’s all rather squalid,” Christian said. “But in a nutshell, I believe that my
Abwehr
section has been infiltrated by the SD.”
    The SD was the intelligence and espionage arm of the SS, the Nazi security service, which Heinrich Himmler controlled. In theory the SS and the SD were responsible only for the internal security of the Third Reich; that was why Himmler also had charge of the Gestapo. Military intelligence was a totally separate area. That was the
Abwehr’s
responsibility. It was the
Abwehr’s
job to run spies in foreign countries and to collect military intelligence for the German armed forces. But Himmler was the most ruthlessly ambitious of Hitler’s ministers. He could never be satisfied with what he had. He wanted the
Abwehr
too. The rivalry between his SD and Admiral Canaris’s
Abwehr
was an open secret. It was a small war within the big war.
    Oster took a little stroll around the coffin and ended up where he began. “I’ve always assumed the SD are constantly trying to penetrate us,” he said. “God knows they hate our guts.”
    â€œHate is one thing. Attempted murder is another,” Christian said. “The man the SD put into my section was on the verge of destroying my top agent in Britain, Eldorado. When he realized I knew what he was doing, he tried to kill me. In fact, he thinks he succeeded.”
    â€œThis wouldn’t be Adler, would it?” Oster asked.
    â€œYes.” Christian, forgetting his stitches, scratched his head and winced. “How did you know, sir?”
    â€œWhy didn’t you have him arrested?”
    â€œI thought of it. Then I thought: No, far better to see what he does next. Give the SD plenty of rope and maybe they’ll hang themselves, and Adler too.”
    â€œMmm.” Oster, who was an inch or two shorter, stood on tiptoe to see the injury. “Nasty … Well, Adler’s beyond hanging, I’m afraid. Just after you phoned I had another signal from Madrid. Young Adler suffered a heart attack yesterday and passed away.”
    â€œHeart attack?” Christian said. “At thirty-one?”
    â€œHe was rash and impetuous. Perhaps he couldn’t wait. What’s in this box?”
    â€œSandbags. Good Spanish earth, soaked in good Spanish blood from the Civil War, I shouldn’t be surprised.”
    â€œI’ll have those. They’ll do my roses a power of good.”
    Christian went to
Abwehr
headquarters in Oster’s car, with the curtains closed. On the way they talked about how best to fight off the SD.
    â€œYou know, sir,” Christian said, “when I think of the sheer volume of intelligence we’ve been getting out of the Eldorado Network, and the shining quality, then I’m appalled the SD should try to destroy it. I mean, that’s nothing short of treachery.”
    â€œHimmler doesn’t think so. Himmler thinks our existence is a kind of