V2 A Novel of World War II - Robert Harris Page 0,73

his receiver. ‘One of our SS patrols has picked up a kid in the woods nearby. Claims to be the son of a farmer. They’re bringing him in for questioning.’

Huber grunted. ‘You think he’s responsible? A farmer’s son? It doesn’t seem likely.’

‘He was in the restricted zone.’

The colonel’s telephone rang. One of the staff officers moved quickly to answer it. He listened for a moment, then came to attention. ‘Yes, Herr Gruppenführer. I’ll put him on at once.’ He held out the phone to Huber. ‘It’s Gruppenführer Kammler, Colonel.’

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Huber regarded the receiver as if he were being offered a hand grenade with the pin removed. He tugged down on the hem of his tunic to straighten it, walked over to his desk and sat. He took the receiver and covered the mouthpiece.

‘Will you all leave the room, please?’ He waited until they had filed out. From the passage, Graf heard him say, ‘Yes, my Gruppenführer, it’s Huber here,’ and then the staff officer pulled the door shut after them. Klein gave Graf a grim look and passed his finger across his throat.

They wandered into the lobby. Klein flung himself down into an armchair and lit a cigarette. Graf took the chair next to him. He wasn’t sure what he was doing there. The two SS men went into the corner and stood in quiet conversation.

Graf said, ‘What does this all mean, do you think?’ He didn’t know Klein as well as he did the others, although he recognised his type – the mechanic, more at home with engines than people. He was said to be popular with his men.

‘Nothing good.’ Klein contemplated the end of his cigarette. ‘You know Kammler?’

‘Of course.’

‘Then you know that anything is possible. Did you ever hear the story of what happened to the regiment at Rijs?’

‘No.’

Klein switched his gaze from the cigarette tip to Graf, and took a moment before he spoke. ‘We were stationed there for about three weeks, while the fighting was going on at Arnhem. Kammler had pulled us out of The Hague, in case the Allies took it, which meant the rockets couldn’t reach London any more, so he told us to fire at eastern England instead. When he decided it was safe for us to come back, he said he was worried our security had been compromised in Rijs, because the local people had seen what we were doing.’ He stopped, frowned. ‘You’re sure you haven’t heard this before? I thought everybody knew it.’

Graf shook his head.

Klein glanced over at Biwack and Drexler, then he leaned forward, and said quietly, ‘Kammler ordered the colonel to round up every civilian in the area – that’s about five hundred people – and shoot them. His exact words were “Your men must finally learn to see blood flowing.” ’

‘Good God! What did Huber do?’

‘He ignored the order. We pulled out that night and came here under cover of darkness. The following day, the RAF hit the woods at Rijs. So maybe we were betrayed by the locals – who knows?’

‘Did Kammler ever say anything?’

‘Not a word, as far as I know. He probably just forgot all about it – you know how he is, leaping from one crazy impulse to another. But anyway, that’s why the colonel gets a bit jumpy around the SS, and our friend from the NSFO in particular.’

Graf looked over at Biwack. He was still conferring with Drexler, wagging his finger to make a point. Klein suddenly stubbed out his cigarette and gestured with his head. Huber had appeared in the passage. They both got to their feet.

Huber was rubbing his hands uneasily. ‘Drexler and Biwack – the Gruppenführer wants to speak with you. He’s still on the line in my office.’ The two men hurried away. Huber watched them go, waited until they were out of sight and the door had closed. ‘So, gentlemen, it turns out the Gruppenführer is in Holland. He’s at Hellendoorn, inspecting the SS 500.’

‘Ah,’ grunted Klein, with some contempt, ‘his favourites!’

SS Werfer Battery 500 had been set up as a rival to the Wehrmacht’s V2 regiments – ‘to show the army how it should be done’ – but had so far failed to fire as many rockets, much to Kammler’s irritation.

Huber continued, ‘He’s decided to pay us a visit and assess the situation for himself. He intends to address the men at the funeral tomorrow, to raise their morale, he says – that