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did not name the man who represented the future of resistance radio technology—Duus Hansen. It would take more than a persuasive Danish policeman to extract the names of the key people Tommy had left behind, or indeed any confirmation that he had seen his wife during his mission. Odmar’s report added: ‘Sneum insists that no one—especially not his wife, his parents-in-law, his parents or other members of his family—had any idea that he had been back in Copenhagen, since he knew the police would look for him at family addresses.’

Only time would tell whether trading the old radio would help to win Tommy his freedom. Meanwhile, his wife Else was coming under almost as much pressure to talk at her parents’ house in Harald Jensensgade, Copenhagen. Thomas Noerreheden led the questioning again and, supplied with an up-to-date file by Odmar, he showed Else mugshots of Tommy, taken by the Swedish police since his capture and transfer to Malmo. ‘Is this your husband?’ the detective asked.

Else confirmed that it was. There was no point in denying the obvious.

Noerreheden closed in for the kill. ‘Else, enough is enough. The truth now. When was the last time you saw him?’

Else must have been very angry at the way she and Marianne had been abandoned, but the safety of her parents would also have come into the equation as she weighed up what her response should be. Finally, she delivered her answer: ‘June last year,’ she said defiantly.

On 31 March, Odmar and Noerreheden opened locker number thirteen at Copenhagen railway station. They were not disappointed by what they found. As Sneum had promised, inside a case were a primitive-looking radio transmitter and receiver along with some English-made headphones. On closer inspection, it became apparent that the radio crystals were absent, rendering the equipment useless. So the British frequencies would remain a mystery. But here was solid proof that the spy ring had existed. It was the sort of evidence which would make these two detectives look competent in German eyes. Odmar decided to search the surrounding lockers. In one he found a travel case containing various items of khaki uniform, which appeared to belong to a lieutenant in the Army Reserve. In another were a cap and riding boots belonging to the same man—Kaj Oxlund.

The following day Odmar authorized Noerreheden to hand over the most interesting items from the haul to the Abwehr, and Oberleutnant von Grene duly welcomed the Danish detective at the Hotel Cosmopolit. The English-made radio transmitter and receiver were said to be of particular interest. A delighted von Grene then informed his superior, Fregatten-Kapitan Howoldt, of the find. In time perhaps they could persuade the Swedes to hand back the original owners of this equipment, Thomas Sneum and Sigfred Christophersen. If that happened, Roland Olsen’s vision of Sneum being machine-gunned up against a wall would become reality.

Chapter 38

THE GAMBLE

THE SWEDISH AUTHORITIES were worried about sending British agents back to Denmark, when there was every chance that such a move could result in their torture or execution in Germany. The Danes were equally concerned about German reprisals if Sneum and his colleagues were allowed to reach Britain. So Tommy, Arne and Sigfred, each in his own cell, continued to suffer in Malmo Prison.

Meanwhile, Christian Michael Rottboell, the friend who had wanted to join Tommy and Kjeld Pedersen in the Hornet Moth, parachuted back into Denmark on behalf of SOE. Rottboell therefore effectively became Tommy’s replacement as Britain’s representative in Copenhagen. The Princes of Danish Intelligence were no happier about his arrival than they had been about the presence of his predecessors, Sneum and Christophersen. Hans Lunding thought he had persuaded Ronnie Turnbull to put an end to the night-time parachute jumps, but Turnbull really had no influence over such critical policies. It was his Danish Section boss in London, Commander Ralph Hollingworth, who insisted they should continue.

Once on the ground, Rottboell achieved one