‘Oh, the farm is where my heart lies, but I like to keep my hand in, Horst, and so I have a little work to do here in the big city.’

‘Is there something I can help you with? You know I would always do anything in my power to assist an old Party comrade.’

Kalt adjusted his small round spectacles. ‘It’s true, I do have a favour to ask, Horst.’

‘Let us get to the point, then. No beating about the bush between old Party chums, eh?’

‘Very well. I want some information about an American diplomat named James Vanderberg. Do you know the name?’

‘You know, it’s possible I might have heard of him. What sort of information do you want – and why?’

‘I want to know who he has contacted in the past few months – here in Germany and abroad.’

‘And how would the SD come by information like that?’

‘The usual way.’

‘Ha! You are such a cynic, Otto. You think we spy on everyone, listen to their conversations, read their letters. Perhaps you think we listen to you?’

‘If you did, you would fall asleep from boredom.’

Kalt held out his empty glass for a refill, and Spahn obliged.

‘OK, maybe sometimes we listen in,’ he said, taking a sip of his Schnapps. ‘Maybe we even have ears in the American embassy. But you still haven’t told me why you want this information. What interest can Reichsleiter Bormann have in a diplomat who will soon be declared an enemy alien and interned?’

‘I don’t know, Horst, that is the honest truth. I am merely a servant doing my master’s bidding. I suppose he thinks Vanderberg is guilty of espionage against Germany.’

‘A diplomat spying? Who could ever imagine such a thing?’

‘Ah, you are having a joke at my expense. If I was able to tell you more about the reasons for Bormann’s interest in Vanderberg, then I would do so. But my master never reveals more to me than he considers necessary.’

‘And I am very happy to help you, Otto. But I need to know what I am getting in return. And I need to be sure that if I give you information it will not come back and bite me on the arse. So what are you offering me?’

‘I have nothing to offer.’

‘Then you will be in my debt, Otto. And you know what that means, yes? It means whatever I ask of you, you will provide.’ He rose from his chair. ‘Come on, old friend, let’s go and look at the files, see what we can find.’

*

Kalt pored over a series of files stamped Streng Geheim – Top Secret. There was a great deal for him to examine, but one name quickly stood out simply because it was not that of a State Department professional, nor the subject’s own family.