Chapter 8: Trapped

When he arrived at the Café the door was locked, and as Tony wondered whether he should go to Carols apartment to see if she had gone home early. It was a cold night, and he did not want to spend another night with Rose, and he had just moved down the street to catch the underground train when he heard the Café door open, for some reason he decided to stand in the doorway of an adjoining shop. He saw Carol leave the shop, at first he hardly recognised her. She was dressed in a white rubber mackintosh, with a headscarf and carried an umbrella against the evening drizzle. She looked carefully up and down the street before she started walking quickly towards the nearest underground station...

Dressed as she was, it made it easy for Tony to follow. Her whole demeanor made Tony feel a little suspicious, so he decided to keep at a distance, expecting her to catch her usual train home. Several times she stopped if people were walking close behind her to look in a shop window and it was obvious she was ensuring that she was not being followed. She went by underground to Euston station, and then she walked the short distance to Russell Square where she sat on a bench and waited. It had stopped raining, and he could just see her shape as she sat on the bench as though she was waiting for someone. It was a typical bombers moon, and Tony had no doubt the Luftwaffe would be paying a visit before too long.

Then out of the gloom a man appeared and sat down beside her, and they talked, and she handed over a bulky envelope. They seemed to be arguing and suddenly there was a shot and Carol fell to the pavement. The man got up and just walked away. Tony hurried to her inert figure and had a close look at Carol and he could see that she was dead. He grabbed her handbag tucked it under his arm and he decided to follow the man. He had no thought of attempting to arrest an armed man, but at least he could find out where he lived.

It was difficult in the blackout, and Tony had to catch up with the man after his brief stop to look at Carols body, but eventually he managed to close the distance, but then he realised that they were back at the Embassy - the venue for the previous nights reception. Tony was now absolutely sure that the man who had a very upright bearing as he walked, was the Military Attaché who allegedly was Maria's father Senor Calverez and the husband of Izzie. Tony was surprised at the nonchalant way the man had walked, he had not hurried and Tony realised, that he thought he was safe and could not be arrested, because he had diplomatic immunity, or thought he had.

Stunned at the evenings events Tony decided to visit the Café and then Carols apartment. In the Café he found that the reserved tables for Ministry staff which were hanging up against the adjacent tables. In the kitchen on the other side, he could see that there were small holes in the wall so that any conversation in the café at the reserved tables could be overheard clearly by anyone listening closely in the kitchen.

Tony now sadly convinced of Carols duplicity decided to go to her apartment. A quick search revealed some notes of conversations that Carol had made, and some diaries. A quick glance though her diaries was damning and Tony had no option but to put a report in on his discovery. Tony however noticed that the rent on her apartment was paid up for a further three weeks.

The next day Tony reported his findings and he reported that he had witnessed Carols murder. Arthur was very non-committall and in the end he said.

"I think this has to be a political decision, we certainly don't want a war over this but I fail to see how we can let this pass without doing something about it. But you have a good contact with the woman Izzie and we should put that to good use.

"I wondered whether I should use Carols apartment for entertaining Izzie as the rent is paid up until the end of the month Tony suggested. " Arthur thought a bit and then said "That seems like a good idea and I think we shall have to provide you with some bait to keep her interest in you. Perhaps a brief case with some interesting papers might be an idea?"

That same Afternoon at the Embassy

Senor Clavarez the Military Attaché was furious with both Izzie and Maria for not consulting him before they went to met Commander Nash.

"You stupid fools." he screamed as he struck out at Izzie "You have messed everything up."

"No you did that." She said as she got between him and her mother.

Maria pushed him away. "No you are the stupid fool - we are salvaging the situation for you and we have arranged for him to meet mother again in a day or so, if he has not lost his job. I am going back to University and mother has agreed to meet him again soon for another tete a tete."

He seemed rather mollified as he left the room "Just tell me what you are up to in future slut." he screamed as he slammed the door behind him.

Maria put a cold cloth on Izzie's face and said. "Do you think we are working for the wrong side mother, everyone here is so nice to us and that man is evil?"

Izzie looked at Maria "I have thought that for some time, but what can we do?

"Anyway it's a damn good job that you never married him."

Maria grinned despite her pain. "He is a Nazi homosexual and he would not marry a woman anyway. We just have a forged marriage licence."

"Well mother we know most of what he does and where he does it, why don't we write a complete statement, and then apply for political asylum whatever they call it. The worst is that we will be interned but we are both Spanish citizens and we will probably be just deported."

"How do we do that Maria?" Her mother mumbled as she looked at her swelling face in a mirror.

"Well I can smuggle some of your clothes and jewellery away to University and when you meet Tony again he can find somewhere for you to hide, until he can arrange for us to give ourselves up. No-one will check on how much luggage I take with me to Uni."

Three days later

Tony had really been expecting a call from Izzie but not from Maria. "Can mother and I meet you for lunch somewhere quiet today and it is urgent, where we will not be seen and where we can talk." Maria asked. Tony did not query the request he just thought hard, and then he suggested why don't we meet at Kings Cross Station and I know several small Café's in the locality. He knew that they would have to come in to Euston on the underground and he could ensure that they were not being followed on the short walk between the two stations. He presumed that something unusual was happening and as a precaution he arranged discreet back-up for himself in case it was some sort of trap.

The arrangements went as planned and he took them to a small discreet Public House restaurant in a side street just off Euston Road. It was not busy and they had a corner table well away from other people. Both Izzie and Maria looked lovely, although he thought they both looked a little tense.

After they had ordered Maria said "We want to defect to Britain, and claim political asylum can you help us?"

"Yes but why?"

Then Izzie broke in to say "My so-called husband is a Nazi, he has fake naturalisation papers but he is a native German, a homosexual and a member of the Nazi party. I am being paid to act as his wife although we have never slept together. His name is Herr Dieter Neiumier and as you know the Germans have a lot of influence since the Civil War and the fact that he has diplomatic status allows him to wander reasonably freely around London."

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