Stranger at the Gates (41 page)

‘I wish I could agree with you. I've been in love with your mother ever since I met her, but I know I haven't got a hope. I've learned to be content with being her friend. And as her friend I know she needs this other man to help her now. It will be ironic, don't you think, for me to bring them both together?'

‘He's probably married,' Sophie said angrily. ‘He won't care what happens to someone he knew all that time ago. Men aren't that faithful.' She had a painful memory of Gerard as she said it. He had left her life as abruptly as he had come into it. Without the courtesy of goodbye. She was not hurt, she insisted, only angry. He had also left her apartment in a filthy mess. Then she thought of something. ‘You'll never find him,' she said. ‘Roger Savage wasn't his real name. It was the name of Mother's cousin, who'd died.'

‘It was his wartime name,' Raoul said. ‘I have a very good friend in the State Department. I'm sure he could find him for me. He received a decoration for his work against the Germans. I think we'll manage it, between us. And in that case, I should go now. I'll put in a call to Washington when I get home; the time difference is about right.'

‘If he does come back,' Sophie said, ‘and he isn't married …'

‘I will lose what little of your mother I have now,' he said gently. ‘But if it saves her being hurt in any way, then it is worth it.'

Sophie stood up. She despised the social habit of kissing on the cheek; she held out her hand.

‘I take it back,' she said. ‘Some men are faithful. I suppose I've been picking the wrong ones.'

‘Go to Bonn and look after her,' Raoul Delabraye said. ‘And try not to worry. Say nothing to her about this. Just leave it with me.'

The court was full; when Louise, Sophie holding her arm protectively, came in to take her seat, there was a loud hum of interest; people turned to stare at her. The trial had been in progress for four days. On Kopner's advice, Louise stayed away until he decided it was time to call her evidence, and she was only too relieved not to be present. The newspapers and German Television carried daily reports. Minden's chances looked poor; the prosecution had made out a damning case against him. His participation in Brühl's hideous project was established earlier than the six months he had spent on the staff at Château Diane. He had been engaged on research work the previous year, although not part of the team which had operated in Auschwitz. His membership of the Nazi party was lifelong, his record of allegiance to it unswerving. For years he had lived in hiding, fully aware of his criminal record. The prosecutor was a flamboyant personality, who was presenting the court with a picture which Louise herself knew to be grossly exaggerated. The Minden she had known at St. Blaize bore no relation to the callous Nazi fanatic portrayed at the trial. On the morning when her own evidence was to be given, there was an early telephone call from Siegfried Kopner.

‘Just to assure you, Madame de Bernard,' his voice said briskly. ‘You needn't be nervous. I will see you in the court. My car will come for you at nine o'clock.'

Before she had time to ask any questions he had said goodbye and hung up. The court was a large one, decorated in pale green; the panel of three judges and six jurors sat on a raised platform at the far end. The chair for witnesses was to their left. It was the first thing she saw, apart from the crowded rows of seats. At the entrance to the Criminal Court itself, they had run a gauntlet of photographers; Sophie had swung her shoulder bag at one who tried to block their way. Shaken, Louise hurried into the building, where they couldn't follow her, and was met by one of Kopner's clerks. She took her place in the front of the court on the defence side. It was pointed out, politely, that Mademoiselle de Bernard would have to sit in the body of the court. Louise sat down, and immediately Siegfried Kopner came beside her. The same flowery toilet water smell enveloped her; she leaned a little away from him.

‘I open the defence this morning,' he said. ‘And you are my star witness. You mustn't be nervous. And answer my questions as fully as you can.'

‘It's going badly for him, isn't it?' Louise asked.

‘The prosecution has made a strong case,' Kopner said. ‘But they've said no more than I expected. You are his only chance, Madame.' For a moment the blue eyes were cold, the look of friendliness was gone. There was a suggestion in his tone that somehow she was to blame for something.

‘I'll do my best,' Louise said. The sensation of being stared at was overpowering; she lowered her head for a moment, seeking to hide from it. The feeling increased. She glanced towards the left of the dais, and recognised the prosecuting lawyer from his photographs. He looked at her with hostility. On an impulse, Louise turned round and found Ilse Minden seated behind her. There was no smile, no nod of recognition. She looked thinner, more lined, and there was a tense expression on her face. As her eyes met Louise's glance, there was hate in them. And expectation. Louise turned to the clerk beside her. The heat seemed overpowering suddenly …

‘Could I have a glass of water? Thank you.'

Two doors at the side of the raised platform opened; everyone stood up, with a regimented unanimity, and the three judges came in. They wore loose black robes and white neckties. The most senior took his centre seat as President of the Court. There was a command called out in German; the spectators sat down again, and through a second door, on the opposite side of the judges, Heinz Minden came into the court and took his place on the right.

He wore a dark suit and a white shirt, the collar of which stood away from his neck; it made him look old and pitiable. Kopner, who knew the value of visual impressions, had told his wife to bring a size larger than the normal. He didn't look at the judges; immediately he searched the front rank, and when he saw Louise, an expression of distress was clearly visible. She smiled at him, trying to show encouragement. In return he shook his head. Then he clasped his hands and stared down at them. Siegfried Kopner got up, pushing his chair back; the court was so quiet that it made a loud rasp on the floorboards.

He faced the judges, one hand tucked into his gown. ‘If it pleases you, Herr President, I shall open the defence case for Heinz Minden by calling my first witness. My only witness.' There was a sharp hiss of breath from behind him, coming from the tightly packed hall. ‘I shall call someone who has travelled from Paris at her own behest to speak on behalf of the man you have heard described by my learned colleague as an inhuman monster, a man who worked on an infamous weapon without a scruple of conscience for its effect upon helpless human beings. I call the Comtesse de Bernard to come before the court!'

There was a touch upon Louise's arm; one of the court officials had come up to her, and with an outstretched hand was showing her the way to the witness chair. As she walked the short distance, passing under the judges' eyes, there was a low murmur from the crowd. She took her place in the chair, and swore the oath. Kopner advanced towards her. He walked slowly, his gown swinging round his legs, his head thrust forward. He came to a stop in front of her.

‘Madame de Bernard, you are the widow of Comte Jean de Bernard, a hero of the wartime French Resistance, are you not?'

‘Yes, I am his widow.'

‘Would you tell the learned judges how you came to know the accused, Heinz Minden.'

‘He was billeted in our house, the Château de St. Blaize, at St. Blaize en Yvelines.'

‘During what period of time?'

‘About seven months; from November 1943 until June 1944.'

‘What was his attitude to you and to your family while he was living in your house?'

‘He was very friendly.'

‘What does “friendly” mean, in this context, Madame? Describe what forms this friendliness took, if you please.'

‘He used to bring us things—things we couldn't get. He got his batman to help in the house.'

‘When you say “things” I assume you mean food and drink? Luxuries, perhaps.'

‘Yes, that would be correct.' He wasn't looking directly at Louise, although she was impelled to watch him, trying to anticipate his questions. At present their purpose seemed confused. He moved about, shifting from one foot to the other, addressing his questions more to the judges than to her.

‘And you accepted these presents from Heinz Minden?'

‘My husband did.' It was said before she realised that she had made the distinction. Kopner paused, and looked at her.

‘Your husband accepted presents from Major Minden? Can I assume he wasn't in the Resistance at this time?'

‘No,' Louise said. ‘He wasn't.'

‘So up to June 1944, your husband, who was afterwards so heroic, was not engaged in any anti-German activity at all?'

‘No.'

‘Describe the relationship between you, and your family and Major Minden. Please address yourself to the judges, Madame, and not to me.'

She moved a little in the chair. Nervousness made the judges' faces seem a blur. She had said something which had put Jean in a false light, but how—what …

‘I will repeat the question.' Kopner raised his voice. ‘Did you and your family get on well with Major Minden? Did he take meals with you, for instance?'

‘He dined with us every evening.'

‘As a person, Madame de Bernard, how would you describe him?'

‘He was very quiet; he never intruded.'

‘He didn't force his company upon you then?'

‘No. He was invited.'

‘By your husband—they got on well, didn't they?'

‘Yes.'

‘The prosecution has described Heinz Minden as an ardent Nazi, a man without humanity. Was that your impression of him?'

‘No. He seemed perfectly ordinary to me.'

‘Perfectly ordinary,' Kopner repeated, raising his voice. ‘A typical German from a middle-class background, serving his country in a war. Would you agree with that description?'

For the first time Louise hesitated. ‘I can't say that exactly. I know nothing about typical Germans. I only knew Nazis occupying France.'

‘Nazis like Adolph Vierken, the S.S. commander who was sent on a punitive expedition against your village?'

It didn't seem to need an answer and she didn't say anything. One of the judges leaned towards her.

‘Please answer the defence counsel's question.'

‘I suppose so.'

‘A lot has been written about that incident at St. Blaize en Yvelines. It might be described as one of the most publicised Resistance operations in Europe. The battle with the S.S. The rescue of the children who were being deported.'

Deported. Suddenly she was stiff with alarm; her hands gripped the chair seat. He had said deported. It was a deliberate misrepresentation. The face looking down at her was harsh and full of enmity; the mask had been ripped away.

‘They weren't going to be deported,' Louise protested. ‘They were going to …'

‘The witness will confine herself to answering questions. She is not allowed to comment.' The President's voice cut across her reply. ‘Proceed, Doctor Kopner.'

‘Your Honours, members of the jury.' Kopner addressed the judges above him. ‘In order to establish the case for my client, I need to elaborate on the situation in which he found himself. I assure the court I have a definite point to put before you.'

‘Proceed,' the senior judge said again. Kopner turned back to Louise.

‘Heinz Minden was on General Brühl's staff at the Château de Diane when he was billeted with you. Were you aware of the nature of his work?'

‘No. God forbid.'

‘When did you become aware of it?'

‘When I was told what he was doing. In May.'

‘Until then he had impressed you as just another army officer? You had no suspicion that you were in fact entertaining in your family a fanatical Nazi scientist, bent on destroying the human race with a nerve gas?'

‘No.'

‘Up till that month of May, everyone at the Château and in the village itself had lived at peace with the occupying German forces, isn't that so?'

‘Yes, it is.'

‘Until just before the invasion, in fact. There was no sabotage, no outbreaks of violence against the army?'

‘Nothing. But then two years before …'

‘You have answered my question already,' Kopner interrupted her. ‘Nothing, you said, no resistance, no hostility to the German troops. They can hardly have been such brutal Nazis, can they? Any more than Major Minden, who was made so welcome in your house. Would you tell the court what changed this state of affairs, apart perhaps from the imminence of the Allied invasion …'

In the body of the court Sophie de Bernard watched her mother. At one stage in the questioning, Louise had flushed; now she was terribly pale. The atmosphere in the court was quivering with tension. It was obvious to those observing that Minden's counsel was treating Louise de Bernard as a hostile witness. And it was even more apparent to Sophie that his questions were taking a completely different direction to the one her mother had anticipated.

‘Why did Adolph Vierken come to St. Blaize?'

‘To punish the village.'

‘And what crime had this peaceful, might I say, collaborationist community committed, to bring the S.S. upon them?'

‘There had been two murders,' Louise said slowly. Her throat felt tight, and she swallowed. Now she was on guard, watching her answers, trying blindly to protect herself from a menace that she didn't understand. He wasn't defending Heinz Minden so much as attacking her. Attacking the people of St. Blaize. And Jean de Bernard.

‘Explain, if you please. Who was murdered, and by whom?'

‘General Brühl,' Louise said. ‘He wasn't murdered, that was the wrong word. He was killed, by an Allied agent. To stop the gas being made.'