A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr

Author:Philip Kerr [Kerr, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, Thriller, Historical
ISBN: 9780399160790
Amazon: 0399160795
Goodreads: 16280850
Publisher: A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
Published: 2013-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

• • •

BACK IN THE SIGNALS ROOM AT DNIEPER CASTLE there was a message for me from Berlin. Martin Quidde had already gone off duty and it was his junior signaler, Lutz—the man who Quidde believed was working secretly in the 537th for the Gestapo—who handed me the yellow envelope. He knew what the message said, of course, because it was he who had decoded it, but I could see he was keen to ask me a question and because when I can I like to keep the Gestapo as close as possible, I offered him a Trummer from my little cigarette case and acted as if I was happy to talk for a while. But what I really wanted was to have someone in the Gestapo looking out for me, and sometimes, when you’re looking for a man to cover your back, it’s best to recruit the very person whose job it might be to put a knife in it.

“Thanks very much, sir,” he said, puffing with obvious enthusiasm. “These are the best cigarettes I’ve tasted in a while.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Quidde says you’re not in the army at all but in the SD.”

“That should tell you something.”

“It should?”

“It should tell you that you can trust me. That you can be frank with me.”

Lutz nodded but it was plain I was going to have to let him have the run of the line for a while before I could land him at my feet.

“This is not something that would be true of everyone in the 537th,” I said carefully. “Not everyone is committed to the Party the way you and I are, Lutz. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, loyalty—real loyalty—is a comparatively rare thing these days. People say ‘Heil Hitler’ with alacrity but for most of them it doesn’t mean a damned thing.”

“That’s very true.”

“It’s just a figure of speech, a trope. Do you know what a trope is, Lutz?”

“I’m not sure I do, sir.”

“It’s a word or phrase that has almost become a cliché. It implies that for some people the words no longer mean anything very much, that the words have been turned away from their normal meaning. A lot of people say ‘Heil Hitler’ and make the salute merely as a way of ensuring that they don’t get into trouble with the Gestapo. But Hitler doesn’t mean much for these men, and certainly not what he means for you and me, Lutz. By which I mean SD men and Gestapo men. I’m right, aren’t I? That you’re with the Gestapo? No, you don’t need to answer that. I know what I know. But what I don’t yet know is if I can rely on you, Lutz. That I can count on you in a way I can count on no one else in this regiment. That I can talk to you in confidence, perhaps, and that you can speak to me in the same way. Do I make myself plain?”

“Yes, sir. You can count on me, sir.

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