The Oslo Affair

by CW Browning

  The waiter returned to set down a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass before Anna gave him their dinner order. He nodded and went away again and Anna looked across the table.

  “Do you eat out often?”

  “I don’t know if I’d say it’s often, but I do enjoy a good meal in town,” Evelyn said evasively. “Of course, I also count a nice pub in that.”

  “I think I’d enjoy England if I ever got the opportunity to visit,” Anna said thoughtfully. “Is it true that everyone carries an umbrella all the time?”

  Evelyn blinked and chuckled. “Well, yes, for the most part. There’s nothing worse than getting caught in the rain.”

  “Perhaps one day I’ll get to see London.”

  Evelyn sipped her wine. “Have you ever traveled?”

  “You mean aside from Sweden and Denmark? No, not really. We went to Finland once when I was very young, but I have no memory of it.”

  “Do you want to?”

  “Oh yes. I’ve always wanted to see Europe. Now I don’t suppose that will possible, at least until after the war.”

  Evelyn smiled dryly. “No. I wouldn’t advise it just now. France is safe enough at the moment, but if Hitler decides to move then that won’t last for long.”

  “Erik wrote in his last letter that he thinks the Germans will try to take France in the Spring. What do you think?”

  “I think your brother is right,” she said slowly. “If Hitler plans to attack France, he will wait until the winter is over. He can use the time to reinforce his army and air force.”

  “If he does, Norway and Sweden may become the safest places for you,” Anna said after a moment. “You should stay! I’m sure Daniel would love to have you in the embassy.”

  Evelyn laughed. “I don’t know if I’d like that much. It’s awfully cold here.”

  Anna waved that away. “You’d get used to it.”

  “I think I’d rather not find out. I enjoy my English weather, thank you.” Evelyn watched as Anna sipped her wine. “You’re bored with your work at the law firm, aren’t you?” she asked suddenly.

  Anna looked up in surprise, her eyebrows soaring into her forehead.

  “What? How did you know?”

  “It was something you said. You said it was a job, nothing more.” Evelyn tilted her head and considered the other woman thoughtfully. “That’s why you agreed to come with me, isn’t it?”

  After a second of hesitation, Anna nodded.

  “You have no idea how unbelievably dull it is,” she complained. “I feel as though I live for the times when Daniel asks for my help. At least with him I feel like what I’m doing is important. At the firm, all I do is translate boring documents into Norwegian and type memos. I don’t even get to deliver the documents to the firms in Oslo. We have a courier boy who does that.”

  Evelyn smiled sympathetically. Her hunch had been right. Anna was desperate to do something meaningful with her life, and secretarial work was not it.

  “I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way last year.”

  “And now you’re here.”

  Evelyn nodded slowly. “And now I’m here,” she agreed.

  Her eyes slid past Anna as something caught her attention. She wasn’t sure what had drawn her eye, but something had and Evelyn felt a strange shiver go down her spine. In an instant, she recognized it as the same chill she had felt in the street when she first caught sight of her Soviet friend.

  Her lips tightened and she looked past Anna at the tables filled with laughing guests. None of them were any different than they had been, and the waiters moving between them were unexceptional. To the right, midway between their table and the door, a white column was covered with mirrored glass, reflecting the restaurant back to itself. It was a stunning display, really, and Evelyn’s gaze rested on it for a long moment. Had something in the reflection caught her attention? If so, whatever - or whoever – it was was gone now. All she saw reflected were the tables and waiters between them.

  “Is everything all right?” Anna asked.

  “What? Yes! Yes, everything’s fine. I thought I saw someone I recognized,” Evelyn said easily, reaching for her wine glass. “Perfectly ridiculous, of course. I don’t know a soul in Sweden.”

  “Not even the person you’re meeting?” Anna asked, raising an eyebrow. “You know them, surely.”

  She mentally bit her lip. Anna was very quick, and she had been very careless to make that slip.

  “Yes, of course. I wasn’t thinking.”

  Anna nodded, her dark eyes seeing more than Evelyn wanted, and she resisted the urge to squirm in her seat.

  “When are you meeting them?”

  “I actually don’t know.” Evelyn forced a smile. “He’s going to contact me.”

  “Is that how this usually works?” Anna asked, lowering her voice. “Do you usually just wait for someone to contact you?”

  Evelyn swallowed. She had no idea how to answer that. This was the first time she’d done anything like this, but she wasn’t about to share that with the woman sitting across from her.

  “Not very exciting, is it? Are you regretting coming along now?”

  Anna grinned. “Not in the least. I think is all sounds thrilling! I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds. Oh look! Here’s our dinner.”

  Evelyn looked up as the waiter approached bearing a platter with their dinner and breathed a silent sigh of relief as Anna turned her attention to the food. As he laid out their plates before them, Evelyn felt that same chill go down her spine again and she looked around, scanning the restaurant casually. She might be new to this whole business, but something wasn’t right. She couldn’t see anything, but she could feel it.

  They were being watched.

  The hotel lobby was quiet when they emerged from the restaurant after a delicious dinner and dessert. They had lingered over the latter, neither woman in a hurry to go back to their room, as spacious and comfortable as it was.

  “Tomorrow I think I’d like to explore the city,” Anna said as they walked towards the lift. “If you haven’t heard from your friend, would you care to join me?”

  “If I can, I’d love to.”

  Evelyn smiled at the lift attendant as they approached and he nodded back. He was just closing the gates when she saw a tall man move across the lobby from the direction of the restaurant. He was walking towards the front desk and, as he passed into her line of sight, Evelyn’s stomach dropped and her gut clenched. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the nameless Soviet agent from Oslo cross the hotel lobby. It was him! There was no doubt in her mind and, as the lift churned into action, he turned his head and looked directly at her.

  Evelyn’s heart pounded in her chest and the blood rushed in her ears as she stared at the man through the ornate metal gate. Within seconds, the lift had passed out of sight of the lobby and she exhaled silently, her heart still pounding.

  Why? Why had he followed her? When she got into the taxi outside the boarding house, she knew he was watching. Yet, she assumed that when it was clear that she was leaving Oslo, that would be an end of it. Why would he pursue her beyond Norway? He had witnessed nothing to make her an object of interest. She had assured that by evading him for two days. And yet, here he was.

  Who was he? And why was he so interested in her?

  “Are you feeling all right?” Anna asked in concern, glancing at her. “You’re suddenly very pale.”

  Evelyn swallowed painfully and forced a bright smile.

  “Am I? How strange. I feel wonderful. Far too full of good food, but wonderful just the same.”

  Anna laughed and nodded, turning back to watching the floors roll slowly by. Evelyn gripped her purse in her hand, feeling the trembling in her fingers, and forced herself to take a deep, silent breath. Panicking was not going to accomplish anything. She had to find out who the man was and why he had followed her all the way to Stockholm.

  And then she had to find a way to get rid of h
im before meeting with Risto Niva.

  RAF Duxford

  Miles opened the door unceremoniously without knocking and strolled into the bedroom with his hat in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth.

  “What in blazes is taking you so long, Young Robbie?” he demanded. “We’ve finally got a night off and you’re wasting it. We’re supposed to have left half an hour ago!”

  Rob looked up from the desk where he had the evening’s post spread out, a letter in his hand.

  “Good Lord, I’m sorry,” he exclaimed, looking at the clock. “I lost all track of time! Are the others waiting?”

  Miles tossed his hat on the bed and dropped onto the foot of it, lounging back on his elbow.

  “They’ve gone on ahead. I told them we’d be along when you finally emerged from your closet. What’s so interesting that you forgot all about dinner in London?”

  Rob snorted and tossed the letter onto the desk with the others.

  “Hardly interesting. It’s all estate business. Well, except that one from my mother.” His eyebrows came together in a sudden frown. “I wish I could get a few days leave to go check on her.”

  Miles raised an eyebrow and sat up. He leaned forward with his cigarette and Rob obligingly held out an ashtray for him to put it out.

  “Everything all right? She’s not ill, is she?”

  “No, nothing like that. She’s fine.”

  “It’s not Evelyn?” Miles asked sharply, drawing a grin from Rob.

  “Fear not. As far as I know, Evie’s just fine as well.” Miles visibly relaxed and Rob chuckled. “Lord, she’s really got to you, hasn’t she? Never thought I’d see the day Miles Lacey fell like a rock. Haven’t you had a letter recently?”

  “No.”

  “Never mind. She’s insanely busy as well, by the sounds of things. My mother said she’s only had one letter from her herself.”

  “If no one’s ill, what has you so bothered?” Miles asked, returning to his lounging position across the foot of Rob’s bed.

  “It’s probably nothing,” Rob said, picking up the letter again. “She said there was a break-in at the house last week.”

  Miles’ eyebrows soared into his head. “What?”

  “Someone broke into the study,” Rob said with a nod. “I don’t know if you remember, but the study is on the ground floor.”

  “Yes. It faces the terrace at the back.”

  “That’s right. Thomas, our butler y’know, saw a light in the middle of the night and went to investigate. It was some ungodly hour and he assumed someone had simply left a lamp on. He turned it off and went back to bed. The next morning he saw the window had been forced.”

  “Good Lord. Was anything missing?”

  “That’s the strange part. Nothing was taken. They’ve gone through all the rooms on the first floor and absolutely nothing is missing. Mother even checked her and Evie’s jewelry upstairs and everything is accounted for.” Rob dropped the letter on the desk again and shook his head. “I can’t make head or tail of it.”

  “Could the window have been left open?”

  “No. The lock was broken. She’s had a locksmith out to replace it, and he replaced all the locks on the ground floor while he was at it. Most of them were older than all of us, so it’s just as well. Honestly, I think that’s the only reason she even told me about the whole thing. She knew I’d see the bill.”

  Miles sat up with a frown. “Have the police been notified?”

  “Yes, but they haven’t had any other incidents in the county. It’s all very strange. They’re saying it was probably some kids for a prank.”

  “Are those the kinds of pranks they get up to in Lancashire?” Miles asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “They never have before.” Rob sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I feel bloody responsible. With Dad gone, now it’s all up to me. I mean, they’re all alone there.”

  “It sounds as if this isn’t the norm. I wouldn’t worry too much unless it happens again. The police are probably right. It was probably just some kids on a prank. If the locks have been replaced and the servants are more mindful of keeping an eye on things, everything should be fine now.”

  “Mmmm.” Rob nodded reluctantly. “I suppose you’re right. I do wish Evie was still there, though.”

  Miles looked at him in surprise. “Evie? Why?”

  Rob glanced at him and Miles was astonished to see his face turn a dull red. He shuffled the letters on his desk together, turning his face away, and Miles’ curiosity grew.

  “Oh, well, she’d be company for Mum, y’know,” Rob muttered. “Kind of a moral support, if you know what I mean.”

  “How will that help against burglars?” Miles demanded bluntly.

  The color on Rob’s face increased and he shrugged, still avoiding Miles’ gaze.

  “She’s a bloody good shot, you know. Once hit a pheasant at nearly two hundred feet!”

  Miles pursed his lips skeptically but let the comment pass. While he had no doubt that Evelyn was a good shot, he had a hard time picturing her roaming the manor house with a rifle tucked under her arm. This was England, not the Wild West of America. But if Rob didn’t want to tell him the real reason Evelyn would be useful against potential burglars, he wouldn’t pry.

  Miles felt his lips twitch. He’d just have to discover the truth from Evelyn herself.

  “Well, are you coming to London or not? If not, I’m leaving and you can jolly well have beans on toast for your dinner,” he announced, grabbing his hat and standing.

  Rob choked back a laugh and turned to lift his coat off the back of his chair.

  “I’m coming!” he exclaimed, pulling it on and opening a desk drawer to pull out his wallet. “No need for threats.”

  Miles grinned and followed him to the door, noticing that the color in his friend’s face had returned to normal. Evelyn was getting more and more fascinating by the day. What was the big, juicy secret that made her brother turn the color of beets?

  And when the bloody hell was she going to answer his letters?

  At least now he knew she was as busy as they were. He supposed it stood to reason, especially if she really was training plotters. If he’d had time to think on it properly, he would have realized that himself. Instead, he’d sent off three letters and a gift, and had heard crickets in reply. And that was something he hadn’t been expecting.

  Miles Lacey was not used to having to work for his female friends. Yet he had the sneaking suspicion that that was exactly what he was going to have to do with Assistant Section Officer Ainsworth. The prospect didn’t bother him one bit, and he whistled jauntily as they went down the stairs and outside to his low-slung, two-seater Jaguar.

  Evelyn Ainsworth didn’t stand a chance.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Evelyn walked out of her room dressed in wide-legged trousers and a wrap blouse, her hair loose around her shoulders. Now that she’d changed from dinner and had had time to think, she felt calmer and more poised to take on this new challenge. There were ways around having a Soviet agent watch her every move. She just had to find them.

  Anna was lounging in one of the chairs, smoking a cigarette and flipping through the pages of a glossy magazine. As Evelyn walked in, she glanced up.

  “I wonder if the person who set that bomb in Germany was a communist,” she said. “What do you think?”

  Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “Why would you think that?”

  “The paper said it might have been politically motivated, and I can’t think of any other political party with the nerve to do it.”

  Evelyn dropped onto the love seat and thought for a minute.

  “It’s possible. If it was a communist, that won’t bode well for continued good relations with the Soviet Union. More than likely, though, it was simply another German who opposes the Führer. I’d imagine there are enough of them about.”

  “Do you think so?” Anna laid the magazine in her lap and looked at Evelyn. “I received the impres
sion from those two scientists the other night that most Germans are in agreement with the Nazis.”

  “Why? Because they won’t do anything to oppose the unfair treatment of the Jews?” Evelyn shook her head. “I don’t think that necessarily means they’re in agreement. I think they’ve been conditioned against opposing the government, but that doesn’t mean they all truly support it. Rather, I think it’s just like anywhere else. There are those who are Nazis, and there are those who are not.”

  “Erik says that to be complacent is to be complicit. I’m starting to wonder if he’s not onto something there.”

  “I think we should be careful not to hurry into judgment of people when we aren’t in possession of the full story,” Evelyn said with a frown. “For instance, Herr Mayer gave me the impression the other evening that he was disgusted by some of the things happening in his country. Yet he was frightened enough to cancel our dinner for fear of being caught speaking with a foreign correspondent. Does that make him complicit with what the Nazis are doing? Or does it simply make him fearful for his livelihood? Who are we to judge him?”

  “He canceled your dinner?” Anna sat up. “I didn’t know that. What do you mean he was afraid of being caught?”

  Evelyn shrugged. “He left a note at the desk. He said that he’d thought about it and decided that it would be unwise for him to meet with me without the approval of the Ministry of Propaganda.”

  “How strange! How would they know?”

  Evelyn thought of Herr Renner and his presence in Oslo, and the Hotel Bristol in particular.

  “Perhaps he thought he was being watched by the Gestapo.”

  Anna got up and walked over to the table between them, stubbing out her cigarette in the cut glass ashtray.

  “That’s a shame. So you didn’t get any information from the Germans after all.”

  Before she could answer, there was single knock on the door and a scraping noise. Both women started and turned to look at the door in surprise.

  “Who on earth is that?” Anna wondered as Evelyn got to her feet.