‘So I hear: the Germans escaped?’

‘Turns out the cellar of the guest house was linked to the cellars of neighbouring houses, and they got out that way. They must have made a telephone call, because they escaped in a stolen American army jeep.’

‘And one of them shot you, Prince?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Do we know whether one of the two was Friedrich Steiner?’

‘We know one of them was definitely the one-armed man who was followed from Frankfurt – Sorensen’s team had a good view of him. Hanne saw the other chap better than I did, sir.’

‘I spotted them when they emerged from the other house. They were across the road, so all I can say is that one of the men had one arm and the other was quite young, possibly late twenties or early thirties.’

‘Similar age to Steiner.’

‘Yes, sir. I had to look after Richard because I didn’t know how badly injured he was, and also I didn’t have a gun. If I had, I could have got closer to them.’

‘So it’s a fair assumption it was Friedrich Steiner?’

‘In so far as we established a link to the Kestrel Line, yes, sir. It’s not proven, of course, but if I were investigating this as a crime, I’d say he was a likely suspect.’

‘And he got away?’

‘Yes, sir, I’m afraid so. The jeep was found abandoned the following day in a town called Bad Kissingen, which is about fifty miles due east of Königstein. No sign of them after that.’

‘The Americans let stolen jeeps drive around their zone, do they?’ Tom Gilbey shook his head and then let it rest in his hands as he closed his eyes in thought, before standing up and walking over to the window, looking out of it as he spoke.

‘The problem I have is whether we can afford to carry on with what may well be a wild goose chase.’ He paused and turned round to face them, looking down at the carpet, his hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets. ‘I fully appreciate that I told you hunting down the Ferret was regarded as a debt of honour by my friend Charles Lean, and that I had assumed the obligation on his behalf, and you have done terribly well to establish that the Ferret is this Friedrich Steiner. But whether it is right to have you two continuing to run round Europe looking for him, I’m not sure…’

‘But he’s a war criminal, sir, surely?’

‘He is indeed, but I’m afraid Europe is teeming with them. There are literally thousands of former SS and Gestapo officers who did the most dreadful things, many if not most of them far more senior than Friedrich Steiner. Now, my superior, Roland Bentley, has caught wind of this, and while he fully understands my involvement, he does wonder if…’ He trailed off and turned back to the window.

‘Are you suggesting we drop the case?’

‘We have Friedrich Steiner’s name. It’s on our watch lists. Sooner or later we’re bound to find him. I’d love to get stuck into these Nazi escape lines, but I fear it’s not a priority at the moment.’