take her straight back into East Berlin?' I said.
'In an ambulance? Very conspicuous. Even the Russians are not too keen on that sort of publicity. Snatching a prisoner from police custody and taking her across the wire would not look good at a time when the East Germans are trying to show the world what good neighbours they can be.' He looked at me. I pulled a face. 'It's easier this way,' added Werner. 'They got rid of her. They were taking no chances. If she had talked to us already, they'd be making sure she couldn't give evidence.'
'But it's a drastic remedy, Werner. What made them get so excited?'
'They knew she was handling the radio traffic your wife provided.'
'Right,' I said. 'And Fiona is over there. So why would they be worried about what she might tell us?'
'Fiona is behind it? Is that what you mean?'
'It's difficult not to suspect her hand is in it.'
'But Fiona is safe and sound. What has she got to worry about?'
'Nothing, Werner, she's got nothing to worry about.'
He looked at me as if puzzled. Then he said, The radio traffic then. What did Dicky think about the multiple codes?'
'Dicky didn't seem to be listening. He was hoping the Miller woman would just fade away, and he's forbidden me to speak with Stinnes.'
'Dicky was never one to go looking for extra work,' said Werner.
'No one is interested,' I said. 'I went down to talk to Silas Gaunt and von Munte and neither of them were very interested. Silas waggled his finger at me when I brought the matter up with von Munte. And he told me not to rock the boat. Don't start digging into all that again, he said.'
'I don't know old Mr Gaunt the way you do. I just remember him in the Berlin office at the time when your dad was Resident. We were about eighteen years old. Mr Gaunt bet me that the Wall would never go up. I won fifty marks from him when they built the Wall. And fifty marks was a lot of money in those days. You could have an evening out with all the trimmings for fifty marks.'
'I wish I had one mark for every time you've told me that story, Werner.'
'You're in a filthy mood, Bernie. I'm sorry you got this rotten job, but it's not my fault.'
'I'd really looked forward to a couple of days with the kids. They're growing up without me, Werner. And Gloria is there too.'
'I'm glad that's going well . . . you and Gloria.'
'It's bloody ridiculous,' I said. 'I'm old enough to be her father. Do you know how old she is?'
'No, and I don't care. There's an age difference between me and Zena, isn't there? But that doesn't stop us being happy.'
I turned to Werner so that I could look at him. It was dark. His face was visible only because it was edged with light reflected from the array of floodlights. His heavy-lidded eyes were serious. Poor Werner. Was he really happy? His marriage was my idea of hell. 'Zena is older than Gloria,' I said.
'Be happy while you can, Bernie. It's nothing to do with Gloria's age. You still feel bad about losing Fiona. You haven't got over her running away yet. I know you, and I can tell. She was a sort of anchor for you, a base. Without her you are restless and unsure of yourself. But that's only temporary. You'll get over it. And Gloria is just what you need.'
'Maybe.' I didn't argue with him; he was usually very perceptive about people and their relationships. That was why he'd been such a good field agent back in the days when we were young and carefree, and enjoyed taking risks.
'What's really on your mind? Code names are just for the analysts and Coordination staff. Why do you care how many code names Fiona used?'
'She used one ,' I snapped. 'They all use one. Our people have one name per source and so do their agents. That's what von Munte confirmed. Fiona was Eisenguss — no other names.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I'm not one hundred per cent sure,' I told him. 'Special circumstances come up in this business; we all know that. But I'm ninety-nine per cent sure.'
'What are you saying, Bernie?'
'Surely it's
'In an ambulance? Very conspicuous. Even the Russians are not too keen on that sort of publicity. Snatching a prisoner from police custody and taking her across the wire would not look good at a time when the East Germans are trying to show the world what good neighbours they can be.' He looked at me. I pulled a face. 'It's easier this way,' added Werner. 'They got rid of her. They were taking no chances. If she had talked to us already, they'd be making sure she couldn't give evidence.'
'But it's a drastic remedy, Werner. What made them get so excited?'
'They knew she was handling the radio traffic your wife provided.'
'Right,' I said. 'And Fiona is over there. So why would they be worried about what she might tell us?'
'Fiona is behind it? Is that what you mean?'
'It's difficult not to suspect her hand is in it.'
'But Fiona is safe and sound. What has she got to worry about?'
'Nothing, Werner, she's got nothing to worry about.'
He looked at me as if puzzled. Then he said, The radio traffic then. What did Dicky think about the multiple codes?'
'Dicky didn't seem to be listening. He was hoping the Miller woman would just fade away, and he's forbidden me to speak with Stinnes.'
'Dicky was never one to go looking for extra work,' said Werner.
'No one is interested,' I said. 'I went down to talk to Silas Gaunt and von Munte and neither of them were very interested. Silas waggled his finger at me when I brought the matter up with von Munte. And he told me not to rock the boat. Don't start digging into all that again, he said.'
'I don't know old Mr Gaunt the way you do. I just remember him in the Berlin office at the time when your dad was Resident. We were about eighteen years old. Mr Gaunt bet me that the Wall would never go up. I won fifty marks from him when they built the Wall. And fifty marks was a lot of money in those days. You could have an evening out with all the trimmings for fifty marks.'
'I wish I had one mark for every time you've told me that story, Werner.'
'You're in a filthy mood, Bernie. I'm sorry you got this rotten job, but it's not my fault.'
'I'd really looked forward to a couple of days with the kids. They're growing up without me, Werner. And Gloria is there too.'
'I'm glad that's going well . . . you and Gloria.'
'It's bloody ridiculous,' I said. 'I'm old enough to be her father. Do you know how old she is?'
'No, and I don't care. There's an age difference between me and Zena, isn't there? But that doesn't stop us being happy.'
I turned to Werner so that I could look at him. It was dark. His face was visible only because it was edged with light reflected from the array of floodlights. His heavy-lidded eyes were serious. Poor Werner. Was he really happy? His marriage was my idea of hell. 'Zena is older than Gloria,' I said.
'Be happy while you can, Bernie. It's nothing to do with Gloria's age. You still feel bad about losing Fiona. You haven't got over her running away yet. I know you, and I can tell. She was a sort of anchor for you, a base. Without her you are restless and unsure of yourself. But that's only temporary. You'll get over it. And Gloria is just what you need.'
'Maybe.' I didn't argue with him; he was usually very perceptive about people and their relationships. That was why he'd been such a good field agent back in the days when we were young and carefree, and enjoyed taking risks.
'What's really on your mind? Code names are just for the analysts and Coordination staff. Why do you care how many code names Fiona used?'
'She used one ,' I snapped. 'They all use one. Our people have one name per source and so do their agents. That's what von Munte confirmed. Fiona was Eisenguss — no other names.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I'm not one hundred per cent sure,' I told him. 'Special circumstances come up in this business; we all know that. But I'm ninety-nine per cent sure.'
'What are you saying, Bernie?'
'Surely it's
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