The Titanic Secret (8 page)

‘So what are you saying? That Voss is prepared to commit America to joining forces with Germany, to fight a war against the British that Germany will inevitably start just so that he can get his hands on some South African mining concessions?’

Mansfield Cumming wrinkled his brow and frowned. ‘I suppose when you put it like that, it does all sound a bit far-fetched, but that’s what our information tells us is going to happen. Of course, we’ll need confirmation before we take any action, and that’s where you come in.’

Tremayne nodded. ‘I’d already worked that out for myself. So what do you want me to do? Go over to Germany and follow Voss, hoping he’ll say or do something that will incriminate him?’

‘Not exactly. As soon as it was obvious that he was a person of interest, I ordered surveillance to be started on him in Germany. He was in Berlin, of course.’

‘Was he in the city when Curtis was killed?’

Cumming nodded. ‘Yes, but we don’t think he had anything to do with his death, or not directly anyway.’

There was another knock at the door, and the same woman entered the office. She glanced down at the tray on the desk, and looked with displeasure at Tremayne, on seeing that his drink had been virtually untouched. Then she glanced across at Mansfield Cumming and from somewhere in her voluminous garments produced a buff envelope which she passed over to him.

Cumming took it with a nod. ‘Thank you, Mrs McTavish,’ he said to her retreating back as she left the room carrying the tray.

‘Who is that woman?’ Tremayne asked.

Cumming fixed him with a steely glint through his monocle. ‘Mrs McTavish,’ he intoned, ‘is one of my wife’s family’s retainers. The McTavishes have been employed by her family up in Morayshire as far back as anyone can remember. May – my wife – decided that I needed somebody here in London who was completely trustworthy to act as my assistant, and Mrs McTavish fitted the bill admirably. She is very competent, superbly loyal, completely immune to bribery and flattery, and utterly devoted to me. I don’t know what I’d do without her.’

Tremayne sat back in his chair. ‘Right,’ he said, and waited while Cumming sliced open the envelope with a paper knife in the shape of a miniature Scottish broadsword. He extracted a single sheet of paper, unfolded it and read the contents.

‘This is from Berlin,’ he said finally, ‘sent from the embassy, and it’s a complete list of everywhere Herr Voss has visited over the last two days. I’ve had a couple of my people working out of the embassy for the last month, and as soon as we had a possible identification of Voss from Curtis, I sent them out to keep tabs on him. Their instructions were to record where he went and who he spoke to. And it looks as if Voss has some rather unusual friends in Germany, if he really is just an American businessman.

‘The first unusual point is that Voss is staying in a very good hotel in Berlin, in a large room on one of the upper floors. He’s occupying the room alone, but he has also booked, and is paying for, the rooms on either side, and each of those is occupied by two men. They don’t look like business associates, they look like bodyguards, and he never leaves the hotel without them by his side. Sometimes they accompany him inside buildings, where he is presumably holding meetings, but on other occasions they don’t.’

Cumming looked at the large gold pocket watch which he always placed on the desk in front of him, then back at the sheet of paper. ‘Perhaps Gunther Voss’s most unusual visit was two days ago, when he walked into the Berlin headquarters of the
Preußische Geheimpolizei
and spent over two hours in the building.’

‘What would an American businessman want with the Prussian secret police? Unless he’d been arrested for something?’

‘No. He went there with two of his men in a horse-drawn cab. And that’s not all. The building is surrounded by a high wall and, once Voss went inside, obviously the only thing my men could do was stay out in the street, keeping out of sight of the bodyguards, who remained near the main door of the building. After about three-quarters of an hour, they heard a volley of rifle fire from the courtyard inside the headquarters. That could have been Klaus Trommler – the informer Curtis met – meeting his maker.’

‘Would the secret police have the authority to execute him without a trial?’

‘Probably, yes. From what little we know about it, the
Preußische Geheimpolizei
is very much a law unto itself. I doubt if they’d bother with anything as fair or democratic as a trial. They probably beat what they wanted to know out of him, then stuck him against a wall and shot him. Of course, we might be mistaken. It’s always possible Trommler was arrested by the regular police, and the other lot were just making sure their rifles worked. But somehow I doubt it.’

‘So if you don’t want me to go to Berlin and follow Voss around, what
do
you want me to do?’

Cumming paused, glanced down at the file again and then looked up at Tremayne. ‘I need to tell you something in the strictest of confidence,’ he said.

Tremayne shrugged. ‘I thought everything you told me was in the strictest of confidence.’

‘This is particularly sensitive,’ Cumming replied. ‘What I’m about to tell you must never be repeated to anyone.’

9 April 1912
London

For a few moments, Cumming didn’t continue, just looked across his desk at Tremayne.

‘What?’

‘I was just trying to remember how long we’ve known each other.’

Tremayne shook his head. ‘Too long, probably. You were still in Naval Intelligence, and we met in Germany. I can’t remember which year, but I do know what you were doing out there.’

Cumming allowed himself a rare smile. ‘Yes, and so do I. It wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.’

‘No. Driving around the country pretending to be a successful German businessman when you hardly spoke a word of the language wasn’t what I would call a well-conceived plan.’

‘It worked, though. I got some valuable intelligence information on that trip. And once you and I met at that hotel in Königsberg and teamed up, it was a lot easier.’

Tremayne nodded. ‘Yes, because I could act as your driver and assistant, and then you pretended you couldn’t speak because of laryngitis. At least that way one of us spoke German and it wasn’t quite so obvious you were an English spy. Still a bloody risky endeavour, though. If the authorities had twigged what we were doing they’d have locked both of us up straight away.’

‘But it worked,’ Cumming repeated.

‘True, but what’s that got to do with this situation?’

‘Nothing, really. I was just remembering that Germany was a thorn in our side then, and it’s just the same now. Whether this scheme Voss has cooked up works or not, I still think that, one way or another, we’ll have to face the Kaiser’s forces soon.

Cumming dropped his gaze to the papers on the desk in front of him, then looked back at Tremayne.

‘Now, we don’t know for sure who ordered Curtis to be shot,’ he continued, ‘but the balance of probability is that the man pulling the strings was Eberhard Neumann, the head of the
Preußische Geheimpolizei
in Berlin. That’s the first thing. Then, from the surveillance report I’ve already told you about, we knew that Neumann had spent time with Voss, and it seemed probable that Neumann was deeply involved in the conspiracy.’

Tremayne held up his hand. ‘I think I can see where you’re going with this one, Mansfield, but you’re wasting your time. I know of Eberhard Neumann by reputation, and if you’re thinking of trying to get him to betray Voss, he’ll never do it. He’s ruthless and he’s vicious, but he only ever serves one master.’

Cumming shook his head again. ‘You’re wrong, Tremayne. That wasn’t what I had in mind. In fact, I ordered my men in Berlin to detain Neumann and make him reveal everything he knew.’

Tremayne stared at him in disbelief. ‘But when you release him,’ he said, ‘he’ll know it was the British behind it. You’ll be lucky if the German government doesn’t shut down the British Embassy completely.’

Mansfield Cumming’s silence told its own story. After a few seconds Tremayne nodded.

‘I see. You’re not going to release him, are you? Is he already dead?’

‘Eberhard Neumann,’ Cumming said, ‘unfortunately did not survive his interrogation.’

‘You took a hell of a risk, you know.’

‘I do know, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Neumann was the most obvious source of information about this plot. We couldn’t touch Voss without showing our hand, and even if we took him off the streets, there would still be the other two men involved who we’d have to find. So snatching Neumann looked like the best idea. And, on a purely personal note, I liked David Curtis. We owed something to his memory, and somebody ought to be made to pay for his death.’

‘Then I just hope it was worth it,’ Tremayne said.

‘It was,’ Cumming nodded. ‘There are still a few holes in the story, but it’s clear that somehow Voss has found a way to make this alliance happen, but we still don’t know how. He seems to be working very closely with two wealthy bankers and, reading between the lines, it looks as if he’s discovered some dirty little secret, maybe something implicating the American president, some lever that will allow him to achieve his ends. I can’t stress this enough, Alex. We
have
to find out what Voss knows, and what he has planned, because quite literally the future of the British Empire is at stake here.’

‘And how am I supposed to do that? What, exactly, are you asking me to do?’

‘The most important thing is to stop Voss from getting to America. And that’s your first and most important job. He’s sailing from Cherbourg tomorrow, and I’ve already booked a passage on the ship for you and your wife.’

A long silence followed as Tremayne stared at Mansfield Cumming.

‘Unless you know something I don’t, Mansfield, I was under the impression that I was still a bachelor.’

‘For the purposes of this operation I decided that you needed a partner, and a married couple will always attract less attention than a single man, and especially than two men travelling together.’

‘Don’t I have a choice about this?’ Tremayne demanded. ‘You know I always prefer to work alone.’

‘No, you don’t have a choice,’ Mansfield Cumming replied. He reached forward, picked up a small brass bell and rang it sharply. ‘Just remember, by the way,’ he added, ‘that this woman is your wife in name alone. She’s a fellow agent and her job is to support you, to help you in situations where two pairs of eyes or hands will be better than one. I am not sending her with you for your entertainment or pleasure.’

Before Tremayne could reply there was a brisk double knock at the door. Then it opened and a woman walked into the office.

‘This,’ said Mansfield Cumming, with the air of a conjurer producing a rabbit from a top hat, ‘is Maria Weston. Maria, meet Alex Tremayne.’

Tremayne had stood up as the woman entered the office, and now he stared at the new arrival. She was tall for a woman, probably five feet seven or eight, and wearing a tailored blue suit, the skirt ending a little above her ankles. Her dark hair was parted in the middle and, in defiance of the prevailing styles, worn long and neither curled nor waved. Intelligent grey eyes framed a short, pert nose, and her wide and generous mouth had a hint of a smile playing over it as she stepped forward to greet him.

‘Mister Tremayne,’ she said, her voice low and husky, the New England accent unmistakable. ‘I’m pleased to meet you. Captain Cumming has told me a lot about you.’

‘Miss Weston,’ Tremayne replied, having noted the absence of a ring on her left hand. ‘You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told, and especially not by former officers in the Royal Navy. They’re notorious liars.’

The smile blossomed. ‘That’s a shame. He was really quite complimentary.’

‘You’re American,’ Tremayne said, stating the obvious.

Maria nodded. ‘Mansfield said you were observant, and I can see that he was absolutely right.’

The sarcasm was apparent. Tremayne looked over at Cumming. ‘A word, Mansfield, if I may.’

Cumming shook his head. ‘No, Alex. Let me explain, because this is really quite simple. This plot that Gunther Voss has conceived is designed to force America into an alliance that it doesn’t want, an alliance with Germany. If that alliance came to fruition, then the probability is that Britain and America would be at war with each other within months. I’ve discussed this with my opposite number in America, with the head of the new Bureau of Investigation, and he has assigned Maria here to work with us. It’s in the interests of both our countries.’

For a few moments, both Tremayne and Maria Weston remained looking at each other. Maria appeared amused while the expression on Tremayne’s face remained unreadable.

‘Sit down, both of you,’ Mansfield Cumming ordered. ‘Now, I’ve already explained to Tremayne what the situation is, and you, Maria, have been working with me for the last week, so you know as much about this as I do.’

‘I’m still not sure that it’s necessary to place Miss Weston in this position,’ Tremayne protested. ‘I’m perfectly happy to undertake this operation by myself.’

‘You may be happy, Tremayne, but I’m not,’ Cumming snapped, ‘and that’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned. This matter is far too important to be left to just one man, no matter how competent he may be.’

‘Just a minute,’ Tremayne said, as a thought struck him. ‘Miss Weston has been here a week?’

Maria nodded. ‘I’ve been here a lot longer than that, working at our embassy here in London. As soon as my boss heard rumours about this plot from Mansfield, he instructed me to act as his liaison officer. He thought that having one of his own people in the loop was a good idea.’

‘Now,’ Cumming went on, as soon as the other two had taken their seats in front of his desk, ‘we already know that Voss will be crossing the Atlantic on board ship, but we don’t yet know whether the other two men who are involved will be on the same vessel. Their names are Jonas Bauer and Lenz Kortig, and they’re both wealthy bankers and, just like Voss, although they’ve American passports, they were born in Germany. In fact, calling them “Americans” rather misses the point. These three men are really old-style, hard-line Prussians, despite the language they speak.