Page 77 of Resistance
‘She is in excellent health, fully compos mentis. We didn’t get on during the war, but we were able to put all that behind us and talk frankly, you know, about what we knew and endured… that type of thing. Slowly we were able to unravel some knots and discovered certain things about ourselves, and others.’
The crack when it came was like lightning, his words were preceded by an irritated sigh. ‘Is there a p-point to all this, Dottie, because I have rather a lot on. You said you had a gift, but I see nothing that would indicate that.’
Yes, the tide had turned, and Dottie knew he was rattled. ‘Oh yes, the gift. Silly me.’ She opened the clasp on her handbag and removed a box, no bigger than one that would contain a ring, decorated with a small red bow. She placed the package on her knee, clicked the bag shut and continued. ‘Now, where was I? Ah, Béatrice… but never mind her for now, let’s go back to Polo, the little boy you’ve forgotten but who remembers you very clearly. He can describe you in great detail, you know, and one night in particular has remained in his memory for all these years.’
‘I s-suppose you’re going to tell m-me which night.’
Dottie waited, held his gaze and noticed the beads of perspiration on his bald pate and how he’d swallowed, quite a gulp. There was a ticking clock somewhere in the room, behind her she thought, and she liked the dramatic effect it added to the moment. Tick, tick, tick, one more tick, then she spoke.
‘Yes, Hugh, or should I call you Claude, or your code name, Victor… it doesn’t matter really because you probably had another name known to the Hun. One I wish I’d known on the night you murdered Vincent.’
45
The Traitor
London, 2005
It was as though the air had left the room. Dottie suspected she had inhaled some of it as she waited for Hugh to react and when he did, she wished that the carbon dioxide that rushed from her lungs was red hot flames. Then she could have burned him alive and sent him to hell.
The slow clapping, like four sarcastic slaps in the face, for a moment managed to cut Dottie to the quick. His irreverence in the face of such a revelation made her thankful Konstantin was not in the room because she was sure that by now Hugh’s brains would be splattered across the wall behind him.
‘Well it seems that congratulations are in order. You finally worked it out but s-sadly, there is n-no way of proving anything. I take it the cripple is your only w-witness.’
And there he was, the real Hugh who’d given her the closest thing to a confession. It also proved another point, that as Konstantin had suspected, the room wasn’t bugged which meant that Dottie could finish what she had started, just as they’d planned.
‘Correct. He related the scene in great detail, but apart from that, I do have written evidence of your treachery and trust me, it is enough to prove you are a murderer and a collaborator.’ Dottie’s heart was beating so fast she thanked her doctor very quickly for prescribing a variety of preventative medications that she had fortuitously taken that morning.
‘And what do you plan to do with this so-called evidence, drag m-me off to the tower, have m-me hung for treason? Seriously, Dottie, do you think The Hague will r-regard me as a war criminal? Hardly. So why don’t you get it off your chest, whatever it is you’ve c-come here to say and then go. This little trip down m-memory lane is proving m-most tiresome.’
‘Why… that’s what I want to know. I suspect from looking into your family history that somewhere along the line their fascist tendencies and support of the Blackshirts evaded detection by SOE and you slithered your way in. Your father’s connection to Lord Rothermere and his propaganda machine atThe Daily Mailalso slipped under the net, am I correct?’
Hugh replied with a smirk. Dottie had more questions but also had a feeling they would go unanswered.
‘Maude never liked you and I wondered at the time why she’d taken against a vague acquaintance she’d spotted across a dining hall, but now I know why. She was always intuitive and from your social circle too, so I’m sure that’s why she was suspicious. Is that why you betrayed her? Or was she just the Abwehr equivalent of cannon fodder?’
When Hugh ignored the remark and flicked his wrist and checked the time a surge of rage coursed through Dottie’s body.
‘How dare you behave like this, Hugh, with such disdain and disrespect. I’m starting to believe you are inhuman and I am ashamed that I’ve regarded you as a friend for all these years. I have nothing left for you but hate and disgust. Those people you gave up, betrayed, they thought they were your brothers in arms. They trusted you and yet you sent them all to their deaths, for what? A lost cause, a twisted ideology because that’s what the Reich was, a failed, sick, perverted regime that you wanted to be a part of.’
A smirk played on Hugh’s lips as he spoke. ‘It was war, Dottie, and we both picked a t-team. Yours won, but p-people on both sides died and we both killed. Neither of us are without blood on our hands so p-please desist with the holier than thou routine. We are both murderers, Dottie. It’s as simple as that.’
‘No! I will never fall into the same category as you, Hugh, ever, so don’t even try to manoeuvre me that way. Yes, I have blood on my hands, but my acts were carried out in the pursuance of freedom, ending the war not perpetuating a warped, hateful despot’s sick dream.’
Hugh shrugged ‘On that we will have to agree to differ.’
‘Why did you remain my friend? Was it out of guilt or so you could keep an eye on me, control me like a puppet master?’ Hugh’s wry smile answered her question. ‘I see. You’re a fake. I despise you.’
Silence descended.
Dottie had had enough and felt sick to her stomach. Hugh would give nothing up, he had no remorse either. She knew that now.
‘You asked me what I intend to do with the information. Well it’s very simple, Hugh. I am going to expose you, take apart your whole life and watch it crumble. All this,’ she gestured with her hand, ‘is built on a lie. Just like your reputation. The books you’ve received accolades for will be derided. Your peers and learned colleagues will feel the stain of acquaintance, and then there’s your family, the muck will stick to them too. Once everything I know is handed over to the press you will be hounded, and when you seek shelter, doors will be slammed in your face.’
The explosion of anger made Dottie start inwardly, on the outside she remained like stone.
‘You have no proof!’ Hugh’s voice was riddled with anger and his face tinged with panic.
‘Oh, I don’t need proof, Hugh. All I need is to cast enough doubt, lots of circumstantial evidence and eye witness accounts. The night you murdered Vincent, you asked him if he had the documents from Estelle. Why did you want them so badly, Hugh? When he arrived in Nantes, Vincent was told of Estelle’s capture and that her network had been betrayed. You asked Béatrice where Vincent had gone, and she told you after eavesdropping on our conversation. You must have informed the Hun, after all, I more or less told you where Estelle was and I bet you hoped Vincent would be caught too. Polo saw you pick up a message and leave one for the SS officers; he was there at the chapel. Did the note tell you about the robbery in Nantes, what the documents contained? I think that’s why you wanted them back.’
