Page 28 of Echoes of Betrayal

She knocked, and Tom beckoned her inside. ‘Ah, good, there you are. They could come at any time, so we’re down to the wire on the last additions to the pouch. You said you had something you wanted to send to London?’

Lizzie nodded. ‘Yes, that’s correct. I need to retrieve it.’

Tom looked at her expectantly until what she meant dawned on him. He raised one eyebrow. ‘Oh, I see. Alright, well I must nip to the gentleman’s room. I shall be back in a few minutes to collect whatever it is you wish to include.’

Lizzie waited for the door to close and locked it for good measure before crossing to the painting on the wall by the window. In the space of just a few weeks, she noticed the pretty garden had transformed from a snowy scene to one of bright blossoming buds. She raised her hands, holding the painting in place with one and pulling it slightly off the wall with the other. Her fingers nudged the inside of the frame, dust tickling her nose as she did so. Releasing a sigh of relief, she withdrew the folded piece of paper, which was the precious copy of a page from Brunner’s bank ledger.

She had wanted to have more to send in the diplomatic bag, but espionage, as always, was proving painfully slow, so she must send what she had gathered so far. Her Baker Street experience in the cipher room told her that intelligence boffins often found vital information between the words, and it could be far more significant than it seemed on the surface. It wasn’t for her to play God and decide what went when, so she planned to include it in the pouch via Tom’s envelope for the Inter-Services Research Bureau, which was the dull cover name they used for the SOE.

The door handle moved, but the locked door didn’t open. Lizzie rushed to open it and let Tom in. They looked at each other like the co-conspirators they were.

‘Got it?’ he asked.

‘Yes, here it is. It’s safer for us all if you don’t read it. Please add it to your envelope.’

Tom nodded, his expression solemn. They were both well drilled in the security protocols of the SOE, and he knew that no matter how curious he might be, it was better for him in case he was arrested not to know what she was sending. ‘Very well, but I must warn you, it takes forever to get there these days. Before the Boche occupied Vichy France, there was a faster route, but since then it's been hit and miss.’

Lizzie’s head jerked up. ‘It’s too dangerous to keep another copy. What if it goes missing?’

Tom sighed. ‘It’s a chance you’ll have to take. The odds are reasonable it will get there, but I was just warning you. If it’s critical that the contents get through, I recommend you send a summary via radio, then at least there’s something recorded.’

Lizzie sighed. She could tell the SOE about the entries, but that would never hold the weight of tangible proof. Her goal was to show links from Brunner’s bank to the Swiss banking system that was suspected of laundering Nazi-looted gold and assets. The ledger entries were just a tiny piece of the puzzle, and talking about them wouldn’t help. ‘It’s alright. I’ll take my chances. It’s the documentation they need.’

Tom looked intrigued. ‘It all sounds very mysterious. I’ve been here for years and haven’t found anything that fascinating to include in the pouch. I must say I’m itching to know what you’ve discovered, but of course I will honour the protocol.’

‘Thank you, Tom. I wish I could share my findings, but that’s the way of things, isn’t it?’

Tom inserted the folded copy of paper into a large envelope marked ISRB and sealed it. ‘There we are. I’ll have it ready for when they call for it and let you know when it’s gone. Hopefully, it will find its way to London in the next few weeks, but it could take longer.’

Lizzie went back to work. It wasn’t long before her lunch break, so she tied up some loose ends and got signatures from Pemberton, who was in between meetings.

After he signed, he said, ‘Tomorrow, I have a meeting with Brunner at the bank. His secretary just called through and said it’s urgent. I’ll need you to come with me. Apparently, he wishes to make adjustments to a contract. Damned inconvenient, but the wheels of commerce wait for no man, so we’ll have to show up at 10 a.m.’

The development alarmed Lizzie, but it was an excellent opportunity to see Brunner again. She’d been wanting to know if he meant to deliver more information to her and if she could find a minute when Pemberton was distracted, perhaps she could ask him.

The following morning, they entered Brunner’s office, and he welcomed them in his usual friendly manner. Pemberton accepted the offer of a morning aperitif, but Lizzie opted for coffee. She needed a clear head, and she fixed Brunner with a subtle yet questioning look. They had progressed too far into treacherous waters for her to be coy. Whilst Pemberton fussed over his seat, Lizzie followed Brunner’s directions to a table on one side, where the contract awaited an amendment. Brunner glanced at Pemberton, who appeared to be enjoying his beverage, and the banker slipped a note out of his jacket sleeve onto the contract. She read the words written in black ink:

Tap the contract once if you received my package.

Lizzie pretended to study the top page of the document and tapped it once. She noticed Brunner relax visibly, and he permitted himself a small smile. Beneath that instruction it said:

If you did, I will leave another in the same spot this afternoon. Collect it as soon as you can. This must not fall into anyone else’s hands.

Lizzie’s heart pumped fast as she read the banker’s message, excited something was finally happening. She’d feared she would be at the Legation for the foreseeable future. Things had moved so slowly, and all she had were suspicions and no concrete evidence. She couldn’t return to London until she had enough to complete her mission, and it seemed like it would be a long, slow operation. Now she glanced at Brunner and nodded discreetly.

He withdrew the note and shoved it into his pocket with his back turned to Pemberton, who sat near the desk finishing his drink.

‘What are the changes?’ Pemberton called across to Lizzie in clipped English.

‘A minor change. I’m afraid I missed a spelling error in one of the company names and it’s been corrected. You can sign it now.’

Pemberton extracted his fancy ink pen and signed with a flourish as she placed it before him. He stood. ‘I can’t dally as I have another meeting to attend.’

Brunner said he quite understood and apologised for the inconvenience of calling him in at such short notice for a minor amendment. ‘It’s a slight change, but you know how accurate these contracts must be.’

Pemberton shook Brunner’s hand and signalled to Lizzie that they were about to leave.

Lizzie said, ‘Good day, Herr Brunner. Thank you for your attention to detail. It is much appreciated and sorry for the oversight.’