Free The Titanic Secret by Jack Steel Page A

Cumming repeated.
    ‘True, but what’s that got to do with this situation?’
    ‘Nothing, really. I was just remembering that Germany was a thorn in our side then, and it’s just the same now. Whether this scheme Voss has cooked up works or not, I still think that, one way or another, we’ll have to face the Kaiser’s forces soon.
    Cumming dropped his gaze to the papers on the desk in front of him, then looked back at Tremayne.
    ‘Now, we don’t know for sure who ordered Curtis to be shot,’ he continued, ‘but the balance of probability is that the man pulling the strings was Eberhard Neumann, the head of the Preußische Geheimpolizei in Berlin. That’s the first thing. Then, from the surveillance report I’ve already told you about, we knew that Neumann had spent time with Voss, and it seemed probable that Neumann was deeply involved in the conspiracy.’
    Tremayne held up his hand. ‘I think I can see where you’re going with this one, Mansfield, but you’re wasting your time. I know of Eberhard Neumann by reputation, and if you’re thinking of trying to get him to betray Voss, he’ll never do it. He’s ruthless and he’s vicious, but he only ever serves one master.’
    Cumming shook his head again. ‘You’re wrong, Tremayne. That wasn’t what I had in mind. In fact, I ordered my men in Berlin to detain Neumann and make him reveal everything he knew.’
    Tremayne stared at him in disbelief. ‘But when you release him,’ he said, ‘he’ll know it was the British behind it. You’ll be lucky if the German government doesn’t shut down the British Embassy completely.’
    Mansfield Cumming’s silence told its own story. After a few seconds Tremayne nodded.
    ‘I see. You’re not going to release him, are you? Is he already dead?’
    ‘Eberhard Neumann,’ Cumming said, ‘unfortunately did not survive his interrogation.’
    ‘You took a hell of a risk, you know.’
    ‘I do know, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Neumann was the most obvious source of information about this plot. We couldn’t touch Voss without showing our hand, and even if we took him off the streets, there would still be the other two men involved who we’d have to find. So snatching Neumann looked like the best idea. And, on a purely personal note, I liked David Curtis. We owed something to his memory, and somebody ought to be made to pay for his death.’
    ‘Then I just hope it was worth it,’ Tremayne said.
    ‘It was,’ Cumming nodded. ‘There are still a few holes in the story, but it’s clear that somehow Voss has found a way to make this alliance happen, but we still don’t know how. He seems to be working very closely with two wealthy bankers and, reading between the lines, it looks as if he’s discovered some dirty little secret, maybe something implicating the American president, some lever that will allow him to achieve his ends. I can’t stress this enough, Alex. We have to find out what Voss knows, and what he has planned, because quite literally the future of the British Empire is at stake here.’
    ‘And how am I supposed to do that? What, exactly, are you asking me to do?’
    ‘The most important thing is to stop Voss from getting to America. And that’s your first and most important job. He’s sailing from Cherbourg tomorrow, and I’ve already booked a passage on the ship for you and your wife.’
    A long silence followed as Tremayne stared at Mansfield Cumming.
    ‘Unless you know something I don’t, Mansfield, I was under the impression that I was still a bachelor.’
    ‘For the purposes of this operation I decided that you needed a partner, and a married couple will always attract less attention than a single man, and especially than two men travelling together.’
    ‘Don’t I have a choice about this?’ Tremayne demanded. ‘You know I always prefer to work alone.’
    ‘No, you don’t have a choice,’ Mansfield Cumming replied. He reached forward, picked up a small