The Hornet's Sting_ The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum - Mark Ryan [76]
‘Sir, my apologies for turning up without prior warning, but I am looking for Christian Michael,’ said Sneum.
‘He hasn’t been seen since July,’ replied Christian Michael’s father accusingly. ‘Don’t you know anything about his movements? After all, you promised me that you would look after him.’
Tommy wanted to explain about the Hornet Moth, the escape to Britain and his recent return. He wanted to tell the older man how he had ordered Christian Michael to stay put, at least until he could send a message from England about how a mass escape from Denmark might be organized. Instead, he just stood there silently.
Rottboell’s manners would not allow him simply to slam the door on a visitor, so he invited Sneum in and poured him a drink, then revealed that he was pretty certain Christian Michael had gone to Sweden. Again, Sneum said nothing. It wouldn’t have been so hard, the older man continued, because the family had plenty of connections there. Perhaps someone had helped him reach England? Tommy again resisted the temptation to tell his host that Rabagliati had quizzed him about Christian Michael just a few weeks earlier. But surely their paths would have crossed in August if his friend had made it to London? Having finished his drink, Tommy made another promise to Rottboell: that he would try to find out what had happened to his son.
If Christian Michael was not going to be any help, at least there were other old associates Tommy could count on. Kaj Oxlund was already proving to be a tower of strength. And a small but highly motivated band of men, from all sections of Danish society, would help him coordinate a fresh survey of German positions throughout the country. Sneum also learned what he could about the political situation in Copenhagen through more loyal and well-placed contacts. His high-flying uncle, Axel Sneum, and the Conservative leader, John Christmas Moeller, had opened political doors before his flight to England. However, the more he looked at Danish politics, the more it occurred to Tommy that there was no one charismatic or powerful enough to inspire a counter-movement against the depressingly passive toleration of the Nazi occupation.
Frustrated on a number of levels, Tommy returned to St. Annaegade and allowed Emmy Valentin to seduce him. Although this was a development which would eventually lead to priceless intelligence, Tommy put his liaison with a middle-aged woman down solely to his own impeccable manners:
It would have been rude to say no to a woman. I couldn’t have done that, especially when she was my landlady. Besides, she was very good in bed, so it was a pleasure. Sometimes I would go down to her apartment in the middle of the day and we would have a nice hour, because Birgit had a day job then. Sometimes, at night, Emmy would come up to me. This was a dangerous time anyway, and in war you take your chances when you can get them.
Chapter 22
THE THREAT
IN HIS HEART, Tommy had already left his wife Else for good, even though she was living just a few kilometers across central Copenhagen with their baby Marianne at Else’s parents’ home in Harald Jensensgade. He knew he had failed in his responsibilities as a father and a husband. But he convinced himself that he had taken on new and more far-reaching responsibilities. And Emmy seemed crucial to the success of his mission, to his very survival. She was reassuring and fascinating,