Eye of the needle

Eye of the Needle Ken Follett The Germans were almost completely deceived—only Hitler guessed right, and he hesitated to back his hunch… —A J P Taylor English History 1914–1945 Contents Epigraph Preface EARLY IN 1944 German Intelligence was piecing together evidence of… Part One IT WAS THE COLDEST WINTER FOR FORTY-FIVE YEARS Villages in… HENRY II WAS A REMARKABLE KING IN AN AGE WHEN… FABER…GODLIMAN…TWO-THIRDS OF A TRIANGLE that one day would… FOREIGNERS HAVE SPIES; BRITAIN HAS MILITARY Intelligence As if that… IT IS FOR PLACES LIKE THIS THAT THE WORD “BLEAK”… IT LOOKED LIKE A MANSION, AND, UP TO A POINT,… Part Two THE MESSAGE ANNOYED FABER BECAUSE IT FORCED him to face… I THINK WE’VE LOST CONTROL OF IT,” SAID PERCIVAL Godliman THE SUPPLY BOAT ROUNDED THE HEADLAND AND chugged into the… 10 GODLIMAN AND BLOGGS WALKED SIDE BY SIDE ALONG the pavement… 11 FABER HAD GONE FISHING 12 THE JU-52 TRIMOTOR TRANSPORT PLANE WITH swastikas on the wings… Part Three 13 FABER LEANED AGAINST A TREE, SHIVERING, AND THREW up Then… 14 FREDERICK BLOGGS HAD SPENT AN UNPLEASANT afternoon in the countryside 15 THE CARRIAGE WAS PITCH DARK FABER THOUGHT OF the jokes… 16 PERCIVAL GODLIMAN HAD BROUGHT A SMALL CAMP bed from his… 17 FABER CROSSED THE SARK BRIDGE AND ENTERED Scotland shortly after… 18 THE U-505 WHEELED IN A TEDIOUS CIRCLE, HER powerful diesels… Part Four 19 WHEN LUCY WOKE UP, THE STORM THAT HAD BROKEN the… 20 RERCIVAL GODLIMAN HAD BY NOW PULLED OUT ALL the stops 21 WHEN FABER WOKE UP IT WAS ALMOST DARK THROUGH the… 22 BLOGGS DROVE DANGEROUSLY FAST THROUGH THE night in a commandeered… 23 FABER WAS AWAKE HIS BODY PROBABLY NEEDED sleep despite the… 24 ERWIN ROMMEL KNEW FROM THE START THAT HE WAS going… Part Five 25 THE COTTAGE WAS TERRIBLY SMALL, LUCY REALIZED quite suddenly As… 26 SID CRIPPS LOOKED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND CURSED under… 27 CIGARETTE TOBACCO BURNS AT 800 DEGREES CENTIGRADE However, the coal… 28 PERCIVAL GODLIMAN FELT REFRESHED, DETERMINED, even—rare for him—inspired 29 LYING ON ITS SIDE, THE JEEP LOOKED POWERFUL BUT helpless,… 30 THE WIDE WHITE AUTOBAHN SNAKED THROUGH THE Bavarian valley up… Part Six 31 LUCY WOKE UP SLOWLY SHE ROSE GRADUALLY, languidly, from the… 32 THAT’S THE PLACE, NUMBER ONE,” THE CAPTAIN SAID, and lowered… 33 LUCY WAS BECOMING QUITE CALM THE FEELING CREPT over her… 34 LUCY’S DISTRESS CALL WAS HEARD BY THE CORVETTE 35 FABER CLOSED THE DOOR OF THE JEEP AND BEGAN walking… 36 PERCIVAL GODLIMAN HAD A HEADACHE FROM TOO many cigarettes and… 37 THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS, THEN AN EXPLOSION like an… 38 HITLER STOOD AT THE PANORAMIC WINDOW, LOOKING out at the… Epilogue WHEN GERMANY DEFEATED ENGLAND IN THE QUARTER-FINAL of the 1970… Acknowledgment About the Author Other Books by Ken Follett Copyright About the Publisher arms outflung, head at an impossible angle Something seeped out from inside him on to the stone, and Lucy turned away seemed to happen at once then There was a roaring sound from the sky and three aircraft with RAF circles on their wings flew out of the clouds and dipped low over the U-boat, their guns firing Four sailors came up the hill toward the house at a jog trot, one of them shouting, “Left-right-left-right-left-right.” Another plane landed on the sea, a dinghy emerged from inside it and a man in a life jacket began to row toward the cliff A small ship came around the headland and steamed toward the U-boat The U-boat submerged The dinghy bumped into the rocks at the foot of the cliff, and the man got out and examined Faber’s body A boat she recognized as the Coastguard cutter appeared One of the sailors came up to her “Are you all right, love? There’s a little girl in the cottage crying for her mummy—” “It’s a boy,” Lucy said, “I must cut his hair.” EVERYTHING the dinghy toward the body at the foot of the cliff The boat bumped against the rock and he scrambled out and onto the flat surface Die Nadel’s skull had smashed like a glass goblet when he hit the rock Looking more closely, Bloggs could see that the man had been somewhat battered even before the fall: his right hand was mutilated and there was something wrong with his ankle Bloggs searched the body The stiletto was where he had guessed it might be: in a sheath strapped to the left forearm In the inside pocket of the expensive-looking bloodstained jacket, Bloggs found a wallet, papers, money, and a small film can containing twenty-four 35mm photographic negatives He held them up to the strengthening light: they were the negatives of the prints found in the envelopes Faber had sent to the Portuguese BLOGGS STEERED Embassy The sailors on the cliff top threw down a rope Bloggs put Faber’s possessions into his own pocket, then tied the rope around the body They hauled it up, then sent the rope down for Bloggs When he got to the top, the sub-lieutenant introduced himself and they walked across to the cottage on top of the hill “We haven’t touched anything, didn’t want to destroy evidence,” the senior sailor said “Don’t worry too much,” Bloggs told him “There won’t be a prosecution.” They had to enter the house through the broken kitchen window The woman was sitting at a table with the child on her lap Bloggs smiled at her He could not think of anything to say He looked quickly around the cottage It was a battlefield He saw the nailed-up windows, the barred doors, the remains of the fire, and the dog with its throat cut, the shotguns, the broken banister, and the axe embedded in the windowsill beside two severed fingers He thought, What kind of woman is she? He set the sailors to work—one to tidy the house and unbar the doors and windows, another to replace the blown fuse, a third to make tea He sat down in front of the woman and looked at her She was dressed in ill-fitting, mannish clothes; her hair was wet; her face was dirty Despite all that, she was remarkably beautiful, with lovely amber eyes in an oval face Bloggs smiled at the child and spoke quietly to the woman “What you’ve done is tremendously important,” he said “One of these days we’ll explain, but for now I have to ask you two questions Is that okay?” Her eyes focused on him and after a moment she nodded “Did Faber succeed in contacting the U-boat by radio?” The woman just looked blank Bloggs found a toffee in his trousers pocket “Can I give the boy a sweet? He looks hungry.” “Thank you,” she said “Now, did Faber contact the U-boat?” “His name was Henry Baker,” she said “Oh Well, did he?” “No I short-circuited the electricity.” “That was very smart,” Bloggs said “How did you it?” She pointed at the empty light socket above them “Screwdriver, eh?” “No I wasn’t that smart Fingers.” He gave her a look of horror, disbelief The thought of deliberately…he shook himself, trying to put it out of his mind And thought again, What kind of woman is she?…“Right, well, you think anyone on the U-boat could have seen him coming down the cliff?” The effort of concentration showed on her face “Nobody came out of the hatch, I’m quite sure,” she said “Could they have seen him through their periscope?” “No,” he said “This is good news, very good news It means they don’t know he’s been…neutralized Anyway…” He changed the subject hastily “You’ve been through as much as any man on the front line More We’re going to get you and the boy to a hospital on the mainland.” “Yes,” she said Bloggs turned to the senior sailor “Is there any form of transport around?” “Yes—a jeep down in that little stand of trees.” “Good Will you drive these two over to the jetty and get them onto your boat?” “Surely.” Bloggs turned to the woman again He felt a tremendous surge of affection mixed with admiration for her She looked frail and helpless now, but he knew she was as brave and strong as she was beautiful Surprising her —and himself—he took hold of her hand “When you’ve been in hospital a day or two you’ll begin to feel depressed But that’s a sign you’re getting better I won’t be far away and the doctors will tell me I’ll want to talk to you some more, but not before you feel like it Okay?” At last she smiled at him, and he felt the warmth “You’re very kind,” she said She stood up and carried her child out of the house “Kind?” Bloggs muttered to himself “God, what a woman.” He went upstairs to the radio and tuned it to the Royal Observer Corps frequency “Storm Island calling, over.” “Come in, Storm Island.” “Patch me through to London.” “Hold on.” There as a long pause, then a familiar voice “Godliman.” “Percy We caught the…smuggler He’s dead.” “Marvelous, marvelous.” There was an undisguised triumph in Godliman’s voice “Did he manage to contact his partner?” “Almost certainly not.” “Well done, well done!” “Don’t congratulate me,” Bloggs said “By the time I got here it was all over, bar the tidying up.” “Who…?” “The woman.” “Well, I’m damned What’s she like?” Bloggs grinned “She’s a hero, Percy.” And Godliman, smiling on his end now too, understood 38 HITLER STOOD AT THE PANORAMIC WINDOW, LOOKING out at the mountains He wore his dove-grey uniform, and he looked tired and depressed He had called his physician during the night Admiral Puttkamer saluted and said good morning Hitler turned and peered closely at his aide-de-camp Those beady eyes never failed to unnerve Puttkamer “Was Die Nadel picked up?” “No There was some trouble at the rendezvous—the English police were chasing smugglers It appears Die Nadel was not there anyway He sent a wireless message a few minutes ago.” He offered a sheet of paper Hitler took it from him, put on his spectacles, and began to read: YOUR RENDEZVOUS INSECURE YOU CUNTS I AM WOUNDED AND TRANSMITTING LEFT HANDED FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY GROUP ASSEMBLED EAST ANGLIA UNDER PATTON ORDER OF BATTLE AS FOLLOWS TWENTY ONE INFANTRY DIVISIONS FIVE ARMORED DIVISIONS APPROXIMATELY FIVE THOUSAND AIRCRAFT PLUS REQUISITE TROOPSHIPS IN THE WASH FUSAG WILL ATTACK CALAIS JUNE FIFTEENTH REGARDS TO WILLI Hitler handed the message back to Puttkamer and sighed “So it’s Calais, after all.” “Can we be sure of this man?” the aide asked “Absolutely.” Hitler turned and walked across the room to a chair His movements were stiff and he seemed in pain “He is a loyal German I know him I know his family—” “But your instinct—” “Ach…I said I would trust this man’s report, and I shall.” He made a gesture of dismissal “Tell Rommel and Rundstedt they can’t have their panzers And send in that damned doctor.” Puttkamer saluted again and went out to relay the orders Epilogue WHEN GERMANY DEFEATED ENGLAND IN THE QUARTER-FINAL of the 1970 World Cup soccer tournament, grandpa was furious He sat in front of the color television set and muttered through his beard at the screen “Cunning!” he told the assorted experts who were now dissecting the game “Cunning and stealth! That’s the way to defeat the damned Germans.” He would not be mollified until his grandchildren arrived Jo’s white Jaguar drew up on the drive of the modest three-bedroom house, and then Jo himself, prosperous-looking in a suede jacket, along with his wife Ann and their children went in Jo said, “Did you watch the football, pop?” “Terrible, we were rubbish.” Since he’d retired from the Force and had more leisure time he had taken an interest in sports “The Germans were better,” Jo said “They play good football We can’t win it every time—” “Don’t talk to me about bloody Germans Cunning and stealth, that’s the way to beat them.” He addressed the grandson on his lap “That’s the way we beat them in the war, Davy—we tricked them proper.” “How did you trick them?” Davy asked “Well, see, we made them think—” his voice became low and conspiratorial, and the little boy giggled in anticipation—“we made them think we were going to attack Calais—” “That’s in France, not Germany—” Ann shushed him “Let your grandpa tell his stories.” “Anyway,” grandpa continued, “we made them think we were going to attack Calais, so they put all their tanks and soldiers there.” He used a cushion to represent France, an ashtray for the Germans, and a penknife for the Allies “But we attacked Normandy, and there was nobody much there but old Rommel and a few popguns—” “Didn’t they find out about the trick?” David asked “They nearly did In fact, there was one spy who did find out.” “What happened to him?” “We killed him before he could tell.” “Did you kill him, grandpa?” “No, your grandma did.” Grandma came in then, carrying a teapot “Fred Bloggs, are you frightening the children?” “Why shouldn’t they know?” he groused “She’s got a medal, you know She won’t tell me where she keeps it because she doesn’t like me showing it to visitors.” She was pouring tea “It’s all over now and best forgotten.” She handed a cup and saucer to her husband He took her arm and held her there “It’s far from over,” he said, and his voice was suddenly gentle They looked at each other for a moment Her beautiful hair was greying now and she wore it up in a bun She was heavier than she used to be But her eyes were still the same: large and amber and remarkably beautiful Those eyes looked back at him now, and they both were very still, remembering Until David jumped off his grandpa’s lap and knocked the cup of tea to the floor and the spell was broken Acknowledgment My thanks to Malcolm Hulke for invaluable help, generously given About the Author KEN FOLLETT’s career as a bestselling author has spanned more than two decades and has produced worldwide sales of more than ninety million copies He lives in England with his wife, Barbara Follett, a British M.P Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author OTHER BOOKS BY KEN FOLLETT Hornet Flight Jackdaws Code to Zero The Modigliani Scandal Paper Money Triple The Key to Rebecca The Man from St Petersburg On Wings of Eagles Lie Down with Lions The Pillars of the Earth Night Over Water A Dangerous Fortune A Place Called Freedom The Third Twin The Hammer of Eden Copyright Title page image unavailable for electronic edition This book is a work of fiction The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental EYE OF THE NEEDLE Copyright © 1978 by Ken Follett All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books Mobipocket Reader December 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-157263-0 10 About the Publisher Australia HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd 25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321) Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au Canada HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900 Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca New Zealand HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited P.O Box Auckland, New Zealand http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz United Kingdom HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8JB, UK http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com United States HarperCollins Publishers Inc 10 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com Table of Contents Epigraph Preface Part One Part Two 10 11 12 Part Three 13 14 15 16 17 18 Part Four 19 20 21 22 23 24 Part Five 25 26 27 28 29 30 Part Six 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Epilogue Acknowledgment About the Author Other Books by Ken Follett Copyright About the Publisher ... it: the importance of little things, the value of simply being clever, the meticulousness, the guesswork But he hated the blackmail, the deceit, the desperation, and the way one always stabbed the. .. vicar to have in the middle of a wedding The family on the other side of the nave had a certain look about them, too David’s father was a lawyer—his permanent frown was a professional affectation... discovered the record of his expenditure in the Pipe Rolls At the time his kingdom was under attack by his sons at its northern and southern extremes the Scottish border and the South of France