His Majesty's Hope(77)
They sat down together on a bench in Hyde Park, watching a group of boys dressed in white with straw boaters playing cricket with a red leather ball and a willow bat. The clouds were dark and sullen. “As it turns out,” Edmund said, “the sequence of numbers and letters you gave me wasn’t actually a code. It was a numeric description.”
Hugh cocked an eyebrow.
“Translated, it tells us that Hess wants Stefan Krueger to obtain a large supply of fluoride and dump it into nine of London’s water reservoirs.”
“To what effect, Professor Hope?”
“Well, back in the day, the Russians used sodium fluoride in the gulags’ water supply to control their prisoners. They thought that ingesting repeated small doses of fluoride would, in time, poison certain areas of the brain—making the prisoners easier to control. My guess is that they shared this information with the Nazis. And now Commandant Hess”—he spat the name—“wants to use sodium fluoride to poison our water, most likely to make the British population easier to control during an invasion.”
Hugh ran his hand through his hair until it was standing on end. “Is it true? Would it really do that?”
Edmund watched the boys at cricket, undeterred by the heat. Their shouts rang through the humid air. “It’s unclear. I spoke to Professor Ingold at University College London—one of the most brilliant chemists we have. I asked him if, in a hypothetical situation, an enemy dropped a significant amount of sodium fluoride into one of London’s water reservoirs—what would happen.”
“What did he say?” Hugh asked, mopping his face with a handkerchief.
“More or less that it would do nothing, nothing at all. Well, it might kill any plants that it came in contact with at full strength—plants and perhaps fish. The person doing the dropping would have to wear goggles, a breathing mask, and gloves. But Ingold said the effect on London’s drinking water would be minimal, if any.”
“What did he think about the evidence from the gulags—and from the Nazis?”
“Laughed, actually. Said he’d heard about the research done at I.G. Farben in Germany with sodium fluoride, but he didn’t think they were the most impartial of scientists—maybe even were working with a chemical company who wanted to get rid of the fluoride, make a little money off the deal. But from the double-blind studies Ingold’s seen, small amounts of sodium fluoride have no effect on the human brain—and may even have the added benefit of preventing tooth decay.” Edmund smiled, a rare sight. “According to Ingold, some fluoride in the drinking water might be doing Britons a favor in terms of dental health. If, of course, such a drop were to take place.”
He pulled out a silver hip flask and opened it. He offered it to Hugh, who shook his head. Edmund took a large swallow and contemplated the clouds. Then he asked, “Any word from our girl in Berlin?”
“Still there,” Hugh said, a stone in his throat.
“Still there? But—why?”
“I honestly don’t know, sir.”
“Has she been captured?”
“I don’t believe so. Although, as you know, I’m not in the loop on this one.”
“Well.”
“Yes.” Hugh folded his newspaper. “If that’s all then?”
“That’s all. Just curious—what are you going to do about the fluoride and the reservoir?”
“You mean, how will I prove to”—Hugh stumbled—“to Clara Hess that Krueger dropped fluoride in the water?” His eyes darkened. He jutted his chin at the flask. “Professor Hope, do you mind if I have a sip of whatever you’re having there?”
Edmund nodded and passed the flask.
This time Hugh took a pull, then passed it back, smiling a grim smile. “Let’s just say I have a few ideas.”
“You know”—Edmund took a drink himself—“in the midst of everything that went on at Windsor, I never had a chance to say how sorry I am. For your father. His death. His murder.”
Hugh was shocked. “Th-thank you, sir.”
“And, of course, how dreadfully sorry I am for my former wife’s part in it.” Edmund passed the flask back to Hugh.
“It had nothing to do with you, sir.” Hugh took a long swallow and passed the flask back.
“No,” Edmund said, taking the flask. “But still.”
“Thank you for that.”
“And about the accusation of my being a double agent?”
Hugh braced himself.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
Hugh didn’t know what to say until he saw Edmund’s face crease into another smile. “No—no, sir. I promise. I’ll never do that again.”