Strasser coughed. Lockhart was merely stating the obvious.

“Now that you know my wife is dead,” Lockhart continued, “you’ve nothing to threaten me with. I suppose you could kill me, but when Leni hears about that, she’ll report your little indiscretions. That would be the end of you, Strasser, not just your career, but your life. They’d shoot you. So it wouldn’t be worth doing that. And you can’t really report what’s gone on, for the same reason. Whichever way you move, one of us will be waiting.”

“That bitch,” murmured Strasser under his breath. He felt resigned, broken.

“I’m sorry?”

“Nothing. So what do you want me to do, Lockhart? If you’re now in control, why not give me an order?”

Lockhart turned from the window and smiled at him.

“It’s very good of you to be so cooperative,” he said. “I was expecting you to be a lot more difficult than this.”

Strasser coughed again.

“I’d like things to continue as they are for the time being,” said Lockhart. “When we’re in public, I shall continue to obey you. I will tell the men nothing about this. I even want you to carry on with your preparations for our move to Dresden, although I have no intention of allowing myself or any of the men to go there. You are to give me free rein to come and go as I please, and when the time comes, I want you to be as biddable as possible.”

Strasser could barely speak.

“What…what do you mean, ‘when the time comes’?”

“When the time comes for me to carry out what it is I mean to carry out. That’s all you need to know, Carl.”

“But this is—”

“Intolerable? Ridiculous?”

Lockhart stood in front of Strasser’s desk, and leaned his fists on it.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” he said, “but you have little choice. And this is just the beginning. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to ask you for favors that really will seem truly ridiculous, and you’ll do them. Otherwise—well—you know what I’ll do.”

“What sort of favors?”

“All sorts, Carl, all sorts. I’ll be needing equipment, documentation, transport—just about anything you can think of. But in the meantime, you can just sit tight and carry on as normal.”

“So you’re planning to escape? Is that what you’re doing?”

Lockhart merely grinned. He stood up from the table and walked to the door.

“Where are you going?” asked Strasser.

“I’m going to have a bath, and then I’m going to bed.”

Lockhart turned the handle.

“Wait!” shouted Strasser, although it came out as a croak.

But Lockhart ignored him, walked out, and slammed the door shut. The waft of air sent a pile of papers onto the floor. Strasser couldn’t be bothered to pick them up. They could just stay there forever for all he cared.