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Back The Counterfeit Candidate
Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

Hembury glanced over his right shoulder and saw Vargas crouched in a firing pose, the Beretta clenched in his right hand. As he stood, Hembury gave a nod of thanks to his fellow detective, walked over to the body of the slain guard and picked up the AK47. Vargas re-holstered his pistol and turned to Braun, who was now sitting back in her wheelchair. He perched himself on the bed next to her.

“Far too much blood has been spilt protecting your family secrets. It’s time to talk.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Eva Braun simply sat and listened as Vargas chronicled the information he had discovered in Box 1321. A few times, she closed her eyes and shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He showed her a number of photographs on his mobile, including her own forged death certificate. He really struck gold when he referenced the 8mm film of her son’s fifth birthday party. Having remained silent for a long period, she finally sparked back into life.

“I filmed most of that and edited it myself. You know, I was a trained photographer. That’s how I met the Führer …” she paused for a moment and then continued “… my husband. I was just seventeen and working as an assistant to Heinrich Hoffman, the Führer’s personal photographer. We started seeing each other secretly soon after that but, of course, our relationship had to be kept secret from the German people.”

Hembury kept solid eye contact with Braun as he reached for his iPhone and hit the video recording function. He glanced furtively down at the screen for a brief moment to check the framing. He nodded to Vargas, who could sense she was relishing the chance to finally tell her story. It was as if, for the first time in her life, the floodgates were well and truly open.

“Martin planned everything. He was a true genius. He first identified Argentina as a possible future base in 1943 and he invested heavily in creating foundations for us to live here in safety and comfort. He planned our suicides and the escape from Berlin.”

She paused for a few seconds and stared at the two detectives as if she were searching for their approval. Hembury was frustrated as he couldn’t understand Spanish, but he knew he was witnessing a sensational confession.

Vargas broke the silence. “Tell me about the Franklin Corporation.”