She beamed. ‘Standartenführer Boden? Oh yes, a wonderful man. A true German hero.’

‘And he was close to Hitler?’

‘The Führer had great admiration for him. He considered Boden the ideal German, an Übermensch. “Frau Schroeder,” he said to me, “if I had ten thousand Bodens, I could conquer the world.”’ She smiled at the memory. ‘Such a handsome man, and charming too. He would always have a kind word for me and the other secretaries and would kiss our hands like the gentleman he was. But tell me, Professor, why do you ask about him?’

‘Because he has escaped custody and we wish to find him.’

‘You think he has something to do with Adolf Hitler’s disappearance? That is crazy, Professor. The Führer has gone to a better world.’

‘Did you ever meet Boden’s mother?’

Her brow clouded. ‘Yes, I did.’

‘But you didn’t like her?’

She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. ‘She was not my sort of person. The Führer, however, had a lot of time for her. I believe they first met at the opera.’

‘Did he ever go to her home in Schwarzenkirche?’

‘That I couldn’t say.’

‘Can’t say, or won’t say?’

‘If he did, I cannot recall the occasion.’

There was a knock at the door. A young uniformed officer came in and honoured Wilde with an extravagant salute. ‘Lieutenant Witton, sir. We have received a radio message from Lieutenant Heck.’

Wilde turned to Christa Schroeder. He had no more use for her. The woman was no actress and unless he was badly mistaken, she was telling the truth. As far as she was concerned, Hitler was dead; if she believed for a moment that Adolf was still alive, she would sing it from the rooftops. ‘That is all, Frau Schroeder. Thank you for your time.’

He left her and followed the lieutenant from the room. ‘So what’s the message?’

‘He says the maidservant has been sacked by Mrs Boden. Sent packing in an old red German postal van. The Reichspost has been disbanded, so it shouldn’t be hard to spot the vehicle. The lieutenant says it’s likely to be taxiing her home to Innsbruck and we might do well to intercept her, for she may well have a grudge against her erstwhile employer. Also says he recognises the driver from Berlin.’

This was important news. A breakthrough. ‘Better get me a vehicle.’

The lieutenant grinned. ‘All our checkpoints have been alerted, sir, and we’ve already had a sighting. I’d be honoured to drive you there.’

‘Good man.’

‘Hell, I could do with the outing. Goddamn office work gets me down.’

*

The red Reichspost van was parked at the side of the highway in front of a checkpoint, within a couple of miles of the historic village of Oberammergau. The driver was lying flat on the road with a rifle pointing at his back.