The Good Liar (32 page)

was, was over in a matter of seconds. The man seated at the desk

made a neat pile of her papers, stood and walked through the door

with his colleague.

‘
Mein Herr! Bitte schön
.’

Hans and his father heard the irritated tone of the man’s voice

206

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 206

05/05/15 5:32 PM

shouting at them and started in unison. They were being called for-

ward to one of the tables. The examination was brief and

peremptory. There was a railway timetable to be adhered to. There

was a delay to be made up. The officials were down a quarter of

their strength.

In less than two minutes they were walking back to the train in

silence.

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 207

05/05/15 5:32 PM

1

It was, he thinks as he tries with difficulty to guide the link through the first buttonhole of his right cuff, the first time he fully realized the potential of intrigue and surreptitious interventions. Until then he had not understood that convenient secret arrangements could

be arrived at between individuals just as between hostile states. He had come with this little enterprise to comprehend the power and

facility he held to nudge the planets into a constellation that coincided with his interests.

Weber had been relatively easy to play; Wolff, despite his intellect and academic achievement, was no more than a fool. There had

been lessons to learn, however. He had left himself far too much at the mercy of Weber’s honesty in completing his side of the deal.

There should have been checks and balances to make sure he deliv-

ered on his commitments. He had emerged wiser.

And of course his mother. Most unfortunate. At this distance it is

the only formulation that feels appropriate. Perhaps devoid of the

emotion that he should have lavished on the woman who had given

him life, but honest nonetheless. In truth he had been an inconvenience to her, shrugged absently out of her womb in the middle of

her theorizing and agitating. She had tried to educate him politic-

ally at an early age, without success. Konrad had been the more

romantic and traditional of the two. He had held the reluctant

Renate to him while she looked impatient; and he had cared for

little Hansi most of the time.

He is back on his feet now and relatively well. It was a close shave 208

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 208

05/05/15 5:32 PM

in the hospital and he had fully expected to be consigned to some

institution. In Betty’s shoes he would have shunted her off before

you could say Jack Robinson. Full marks to her, though. Even in

recovery his hands shake and he continues to fail to tease the pointed end of the cufflink through the eyelet that seems smaller today than it has ever been. He is becoming irritated.

He sighs: oh, what he has lived through, certainly in comparison

with the likes of Betty. His father had later discovered that Renate was arrested the day after they left Germany. Weber had adhered

strictly to the letter of their agreement. The rest was predictable: the show trial, the reports in the
Völkischer Beobachter
and the con-viction. Perhaps less obvious was the hardening of attitudes inside Germany in the period between her arrest and her sentencing. In

May 1939 she was executed by firing squad at the Spandau barracks.

What more was there to be said, or thought? It had been unfortu-

nate, but precipitated by his parents’ wilful stupidity. Now he has little trace memory of his mother.

He pulls off the shirt in frustration and throws it on to the bed.

By good planning he has another crisply ironed shirt on a hanger in the wardrobe, this one with buttons instead of the pesky double

cuffs. He stands for a moment in front of the mirror in his vest. Oh dear. The sagging dugs. The grey flesh of his biceps hanging like

flags from his arms. The redness of his face. The milk- yellow of his irises. The corn- like texture of the white hair. It is happening.

They had been taken to Scotland to a country house, where,

while his father was debriefed by Birch, the former second secre-

tary at the British Embassy in Berlin and now a middle- ranking

functionary in British intelligence, he was looked after by a kindly housekeeper. Eventually Birch had worked out what to do with

them and he was sent to boarding school in Herefordshire for

the beginning of the spring term. His father went to London to

write propaganda at the BBC and to swim in the sea of German

political and intellectual émigrés, looking among them for Nazi

spies. In the school holidays Hans stayed with his father in his small Putney flat.

209

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 209

05/05/15 5:32 PM

Albert Schröder’s arrest and trial also attracted press attention. It was announced that he had been found guilty and executed. Word

came through the émigré networks that his family had been taken

into protective custody, a well- understood euphemism. The next

events would have followed with cold inevitability. No one spoke

again of the Schröders, the favoured family with all the advantages who had somehow fallen foul of the regime.

He brings himself up again and puffs out his chest. He ties his tie carefully and brushes his hair. It may be near but he is still here, full of life and power. It is almost time to take the stage.

Following the outbreak of war Konrad Taub was classed as a cat-

egory C German, posing no security risk, and he remained in his job.

In 1940 the situation changed dramatically as Germany approached

the English coast and the Blitz began. All German nationals were

interned and Taub was no exception. Birch managed to ensure that

Hans remained at his school, and worked to overcome the bureau-

cracy and have Konrad released into his custody. Too slowly, however: Konrad committed suicide in October 1940, in despair and grief, it is to be presumed. The funeral was a difficult affair, attended by sundry émigrés and the solitary figure of Birch, who tried to avoid

talking to the other mourners. It was with Birch that he exchanged

those awkward condolences – it seemed that Birch was more

affected than he, who thought that his father’s suicide was a sign of weakness – and it was Birch who continued to pay the bills at his

school and later found him gainful employment as an interpreter.

He had then taken care to distance himself from the gaunt, sad old

bachelor with his drooping moustache.

The life he has led, he reflects as he makes his last preparations, splashing a little cologne over his cheeks. He is ready, spruce and alert, to face the moment.

210

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 210

05/05/15 5:32 PM

2

‘Sunday best, Roy?’ says Stephen, a smart- alec grin on his face.

‘Come now, Stephen,’ says Betty. ‘Best behaviour. We ancient

people always dress up when something important’s happening.

Can’t you see I’ve made an effort too?’

She is too indulgent towards the boy. ‘Some of us have certain

standards,’ he says caustically. He notices that Stephen is in his customary jeans and T- shirt, hair all over the place.

‘What time is Vincent due?’ asks Betty.

‘Should be here shortly,’ replies Stephen.

While Betty checks that the table is ready, with pens and teacups,

and that the tin is full of those expensive foil- wrapped biscuits, he stands, a little unsteady on his feet, and glares into Stephen’s eyes.

This takes the smile off his face.

The doorbell rings and Stephen lets Vincent in.

They seat themselves at the table, the two investors on one side

and Vincent and Stephen on the other, to commence their momen-

tous piece of business.

Vincent takes out a series of papers. He really is good at this theatre. The documents are professionally produced and have the right

language. Vincent walks them solemnly through the forms, care-

fully pointing out clauses and subclauses that may or may not be

relevant and explaining the legalese for Betty’s and, ostensibly, Roy’s benefit. They nod their heads periodically, though Roy is certain

that Betty has not followed matters at all. She is precisely where Roy and Vincent need her to be.

Stephen is a little more of a problem. Ineffectual he may be,

but Vincent has told him that the young man is bright and obser-

vant. He has followed the paperwork carefully and checked the

financial institutions. At one stage Roy and Vincent had con-

sidered creating a dummy account in a non- existent tax- haven bank so that Betty could happily deposit through a third party and Roy

could avoid the inconvenience of stake money – much less than

211

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 211

05/05/15 5:32 PM

Betty was being asked to stump up but a not insignificant sum

nevertheless. Owing to Stephen’s attentions they had judged this

too risky. Vincent regarded the traditional old go- to, the ubiquitous rubber cheque, as implausible in these connected times. There was

nothing for it, then, but to shell out. Against Roy’s instincts, but needs must.

‘All right, then,’ says Vincent. ‘Are we ready to sign the forms?’

He holds out his ballpoint pen. Roy shuns it, reaching into his

inner pocket for his expensive fountain pen.

‘A touch of style, I think, is required,’ he says.

‘Yes,’ says Betty, a broad smile on her face. ‘We must do things in style. We need to become accustomed to it.’

They each have their sheaf of papers to sign. Betty waits while he

works his way through his, his hand shaking, his signature unsteady and spidery. He hands Betty his pen when he has finished and she

signs with her neat hand. It is then Stephen’s turn, to sign as witness to the proceedings, and Vincent pores over the documents one

more time to check that there are no errors.

‘Good,’ he says finally. ‘Shall we effect the transfers?’

Vincent removes his laptop from his briefcase and switches it on.

Stephen fetches Betty’s laptop.

‘Have you both set up the transfers with your banks?’ asks Vincent.

‘Yes,’ they both reply.

‘Then all there is to do is to confirm them. They will take place

instantaneously.’

‘Shall I go first?’ says Roy, smiling. He knows that it will reinforce the genuine nature of the transaction if he puts his money in before her. ‘You know how to do it, Vincent?’

‘Of course. You’ll have to put in your passwords, but I’ll tell you which buttons to press.’

‘Hopeless, I am,’ he says. ‘You can’t teach an old dog.’

Watched closely by Stephen, Vincent navigates to the home

page of Roy’s bank. He carries his laptop to the other side of

the table. Betty, Stephen and Vincent avert their eyes while Roy

logs in and allows Vincent to navigate to the page they are looking for. Roy watches, grinning – he hopes sufficiently inanely – as 212

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 212

05/05/15 5:32 PM

Vincent says, ‘Right then, Roy. All you have to do is to go through this little menu.’

‘Menu?’ he says. ‘Ridiculous word.’

‘All right. Now. “Do you wish to make this transaction?” If you

do, put the cursor in the “yes” box and click.’

He obeys dutifully, moving the cursor with the mouse painfully

slowly and, he hopes, with evident lack of expertise.

‘Now. “Do you wish to confirm this payment?” Click “yes” again.

Or of course “no” if you have any last- minute concerns. This is the point of no return.’

Quickly, he clicks on “yes”.

‘All done,’ says Vincent, returning to his seat. ‘Now, Betty, would you like to do the same? Meanwhile, I’ll log on to the Hayes and

Paulsen site.’

‘Hayes and Paulsen?’ asks Betty.

‘The British Virgin Islands bank,’ says Stephen patiently.

‘Of course. My memory.’

She beckons Stephen over. Careful, thinks Roy. Mustn’t show too

much interest. No chance of that. Years of experience.

Betty points and clicks intently as she gains access to her own

bank account, with Stephen guiding her over her shoulder, and

eventually she has finished. She looks up expectantly.

‘Remember to log off,’ says Stephen.

‘Oh yes,’ she says in her ditziest voice. ‘Silly me.’

‘All right, then,’ says Vincent, standing again and placing his laptop on the table between Betty and Roy. ‘I’ll log on to Hayes and

Paulsen now.’ He plays with a little keypad, the size of a calculator, he has produced from his pocket. Betty looks at him quizzically but he ignores her.

‘Now then. You can see here the current balance at Hayes and

Paulsen.’ He clicks another link. ‘And here is the list of transfers into the account. You can see that both of your transfers are there.’

‘Oh, thank goodness for that,’ says Betty.

Roy observes her wryly.

‘You can both log into the account,’ says Vincent. ‘All I have to do is to take you through how to set up your logins.’

213

1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 213

05/05/15 5:32 PM

He takes two envelopes from his briefcase and hands one to each

of them. They contain a set of instructions and a keypad, which, he says, is central to the process. Roy has been taken through this several times already but acts suitably dumb as Vincent runs through it again, prompting him to think up and remember passwords as he

creates his online access.