Jamie allowed his surprise to show. ‘You think you’ll be able to find out who they were?’
‘Oh, yes, I don’t doubt it. In your very concise report to my colleague last night you mentioned the Uranverein project. If you are correct in that assumption, it narrows the field considerably. Those involved in the Uranverein who survived the war made very detailed statements about their work to the Allied authorities. We have lists of people who were removed – as was thought then – to the concentration camps. By matching physical details and using the latest DNA techniques we should certainly be able to identify most of those in the bunker.’
‘They were Jews.’ Sarah’s voice cut the cosy atmosphere like a chain saw. ‘You seem reluctant to mention that.’
Lotte Muller’s lips tightened. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘There is a probability that most, if not all, are Jewish; that would certainly correspond with the times in which they died and the situation in which they are found. But for me, Miss Grant, they are all victims, whether they are black or white, male or female, Christian, Muslim or Jewish, and I will do everything in my power to apprehend whoever perpetrated this atrocity. Does that satisfy you?’
Jamie glanced at Sarah and she nodded, he thought reluctantly.
‘Good. Now we may turn to the more pleasant part of your discovery. You will be aware that there are other bunkers in the Harz, at Nordhausen, in particular, where the V2 rocket was manufactured. But Nordhausen cannot boast a famous masterpiece. You have placed Braunlage firmly on the international map, Mr Saintclair, you and Miss Grant. Of course, we must carry out a detailed check to confirm its authenticity, but if, as I have no doubts will be the case, this is the lost Raphael painting, there will be huge international interest. The Polish ambassador is already on his way here. You know, of course, that Portrait of a Young Man was removed from the Czartoryski Museum, in Cracow? The trust which now runs the museum is very eager to see its return and is sending a representative to witness the unveiling of the painting, which will be carried out by conservators from the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. I am sure the Princess Czartoryski Foundation will be most grateful for the Raphael’s return, but that is something you must discuss with the trustees personally. Already,’ her face hardened again, ‘we have had calls from the press, many calls, regarding the discovery. You are a journalist, I understand, Miss Grant?’
‘What about these men who tried to kill us? You seem to have forgotten them.’ Jamie interrupted.
Lotte Muller pursed her lips. ‘Naturally we will continue to investigate, but unless there is further evidence . . .’
He opened his mouth to argue, but Sarah kicked him below the desk.
‘What will happen to the bunker now, I mean in the long run?’ she asked.
‘I think that will depend on the structural condition,’ the kommissar sounded unconvinced. ‘As you no doubt saw, the lower floors were quite badly damaged by an explosion. But if it is structurally sound there is already talk of the Federal government turning the bunker into a museum and, naturally, a memorial to those who died there. In the circumstances we are very fortunate that it is there at all.’
‘I don’t understand?’ Sarah said.
‘Of course, you would not know.’ Kommissar Muller studied their faces. ‘The whole complex was wired to explode thirty minutes after you opened the door behind the falls. The only thing that saved you was the rodent that ate its way through the main cable.’
XLII
‘HERE’S TO THE mouse that chewed.’ Jamie raised his glass and took a deep draught of dark Gose beer as they sat outside a bar across the main square from their hotel.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Sarah acknowledged. ‘And to not being blown all over the Harz Mountains.’ The grin they exchanged was of the sickly variety and they sat for a while enjoying the novelty of still being alive. ‘I was surprised when she started quoting the journal at us. I didn’t think you’d let it out of your sight.’
He shrugged. ‘They gave it back quickly enough and I didn’t think I had a lot of choice. They confiscated the rucksack as possible evidence. It didn’t seem to matter much, because the journal has taken us as far as it’s going to.’
‘So what happens now?’
It was an odd question. In theory, at least, the Raphael would change their lives. Yet he had an odd empty feeling of anticlimax that he sensed Sarah Grant shared. It was as if the hunt had been their true purpose and the discovery only mattered in the abstract. Even then any joy they could take from it had been overwhelmed by the enormity of the other things they’d found in Walter Brohm’s bunker.