Find Bormann!

By Bob Hyslop

1962. The 8th Jonas Forbes thriller.
Martin Bormann, ex-Secretary to Hitler and fugitive war criminal, is rumoured to be alive and well in Uruguay. This awakes interest in various capitals – London, Washington and Tel Aviv – as, for differing reasons, Bormann is a very much wanted man. But Bormann has his protectors and Kameradenwerk decides he must disappear again.
Jonas Forbes is sent by the UK Foreign Office to locate Bormann and encounters an American, Marilyn Beauregard III, and a Gernan, Ilse Buch. Both women might like to further the acquaintance but both have their own agendas. Having rescued Ilse, Jonas takes her with him as he hunts for Bormann, although he cannot discover what she’s after. As usual, communications between Jonas and any contact at home (Foreign Office, Scotland Yard and his factotum, Vanessa) weaken to vanishing point with time.
Meanwhile from Brazil both Mossad and Kameradenwerk launch expeditions to find Bormann – one to take him back to Israel for trial as a war criminal and the other to bury him once again in obscurity.
Life takes a turn for the worse when Jonas and Ilse intrude on the estancia of Don Esteban but they’ve got even worse trouble ahead.
Why is Ilse accompanying Jonas? How do gauchos give Vanessa nightmares? How does Marilyn get it all wrong and then tries to make it right? Who will find Martin Bormann?
A thriller firmly set in 1962 Uruguay and stretching Jonas’s resources to breaking point.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Hyslop
• Release date: Jul 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9780957369436

Bob Hyslop

I am a retired teacher, living near Chichester, Sussex, UK. I am married with one daughter and two grandsons. Apart from writing my main hobbies are Family History, Music (all kinds) and playing the guitar. I have published four historical novels under different names which, you may find, still in print. I should point out that I wrote for my OWN enjoyment with the hope that others might also enjoy my books. What SERIOUSLY undermines my sales is my reluctance to be involved in social media. The details of my email account proves I am no recluse: I just focus on the negative sides of social media and so avoid them. However, you can contact me via my blog site re' my books and I'd welcome your questions and comments. I promise to check for them regularly.

Book preview

FIND BORMANN!

BOB HYSLOP

'They also serve who only stand and wait.'

(John Milton: 'On His Blindness')

'Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.’ (Alexander Pope 1727)

‘The Jonas Forbes Saga’: Vol. 8

First published in Great Britain 2011

Cuthan Books (http://www.cuthanbooks.co.uk/)

Copyright: Bob Hyslop

The right of Bob Hyslop to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

ISBN 9780957369436

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For the little men in life; may they reap their true reward.

Acknowledgement to The Shadows for using their Titles for Chapter Headings.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1. 'MAN OF MYSTERY'

CHAPTER 2. 'MISS 36-24-36'

CHAPTER 3. 'DRIFTIN'

CHAPTER 4. 'STAND UP AND SAY THAT'

CHAPTER 5. 'WONDERFUL LAND'

CHAPTER 6. 'I WANT YOU TO WANT ME'

CHAPTER 7. 'RUNNING OUT OF WORLD'

CHAPTER 8. 'TOMORROW'S CANCELLED'

AFTERWORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PROLOGUE

Find Bormann! he screamed and men started running in all directions. It was 12 May 1941 and Hitler had just heard of the flight to Britain of Rudolf Hess, Head of the Party Administration and second only to the Fuehrer.

Hess was a strange man, isolated within the inner circle surrounding the Fuehrer and fast losing his influence within that group. At last his mind had stumbled on a plan to help his Fuehrer at this moment of triumph to soar even higher in the history of mankind. Ultimately National Socialism must battle against Bolshevism for mastery of the world. In November 1937 the Fuehrer had stated Germany needed 'living space' and that problem must be tackled by 1943. Germany had to smash Bolshevik Russia to do that.

With Germany triumphant in Europe, defied by Britain alone, Hess realised he had the solution. His aim had been to end the fighting with Britain so both could join in a crusade against Bolshevism. He’d gone secretly to Britain and, to Hitler, was a deserter as Nazi Germany prepared to launch Operation Barbarossa against the USSR on 22 June. If an angel had looked down from on high at the Berghof that day he'd have looked upon near chaos and, if angels are allowed such a lapse of propriety, have smiled at the misery of men who’d turned their backs on God for years.

But what looked like near chaos wasn't quite as it seemed. In fact, everyone there was waiting to see what the Fuehrer would do after suddenly losing a man at the centre of his schemes for fifteen years. Everyone knew his reaction would make or break careers in the regime which had marched from triumph to triumph since its inauguration in January 1933. This was a major crisis for the Thousand Year Reich destined for National Socialism.

Within minutes Martin Bormann, Secretary to Hess, had arrived to face a raging Fuehrer. Was he alarmed? Probably not because Bormann for years had been gradually undermining Hess and becoming closer to Hitler. His method was very simple - become indispensable to those above you and, by accumulating a file on anyone and everyone, terrify any rivals. He wasn't alone in this acquisition of incriminating material; Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuehrer SS, and his even more terrifying subordinate, Reinhardt Heydrich, had files on everyone - including each other!

Why has he done this to me? demanded Hitler of the world but it was Bormann who answered.

Because he’s a traitor.

A simple explanation perhaps but not one Hess had anticipated in his farewell letter to Hitler: '...if, my Fuehrer, this project ends in failure, this can have no detrimental results either for you or for Germany. It will always be possible for you to deny all responsibility. Simply say I am crazy.' With Hess's history that would be an easy conclusion to reach but not one for public consumption because that would invite awkward questions. Why had Hess been given such power? Why had he retained his position within the hierarchy? No. Bormann's explanation was far more appealing to the Fuehrer. However, he suggested such treachery should be linked to a sudden appearance of mental disturbance. Wasn't everybody working so hard for Germany's victory that under such strain somebody had to crack? Hess was a victim of the Fuehrer's success. Hitler agreed.

The Fuehrer was pleased with the unassuming man who saw the world in such a fitting way. He'd grown increasingly appreciative of Bormann's mastery of secretarial and financial matters. Before the war Reichsleiter Bormann had organised meetings securing Party control over business interests throughout the conquered areas by using large companies, like I.G. Farben, or powerful financial institutions, like the Deutsche Bank. Even more effectively Bormann had constructed the 'Adolf Hitler Endowment Fund of German Industry', which fleeced German industrialists, and the 'Fuehrer's Winter Relief', which was to fleece virtually everybody else in Germany.

So Bormann, by solving an immediate problem, had proved his worth. Within a few minutes Adolf Hitler issued a directive: 'The former post of Deputy to the Fuehrer will henceforth bear the title of Party Chancellery. It is directly subordinate to me. It will be directed as heretofore by Party Comrade Martin Bormann'.

Over the next few years that position was to be exploited by Bormann to expand his own powers, curtail those of rivals and make himself indispensable to Hitler. By 1943 he’d become one of three men who, under the Fuehrer, ruled Germany. This provoked criticism to which Hitler replied with a gaunt summary of Reichsleiter Bormann: 'I know that he is brutal. But there is a sense in everything he does, and I can absolutely rely on my orders being carried out by Bormann immediately and in spite of all obstacles. Bormann's proposals are so precisely worked out that I have only to say yes or no. With him I deal in ten minutes with a pile of documents for which with another man I would need hours. If I say to him, remind me about such-and-such a matter in half a year's time. I can be sure he will really do so.' What Hitler didn't realise, or chose to ignore, was that Bormann was using those powers to plan for a future AFTER Hitler.

By 1943 the situation had started to change: by 1944 the future of the Third Reich was dark. Hitler's aim for Germany had often been expressly put, 'World Power or Ruin.' By 1945 Germany faced ruin. On 30 April Adolf Hitler shot himself and on 2 May Martin Bormann disappeared.

&&&

CHAPTER 1: 'MAN OF MYSTERY'

Find Bormann... There was a pause after that order from Sir Dick White; a strange order, especially coming from him. During the late 1930's Sir Dick had served in MI6 in Germany and got to know many of the leading figures of the Nazi regime, but he'd only vague memories of Reichsleiter Martin Bormann. Surprising perhaps, considering the Reichsleiter had been Hess's Secretary and handling much of the Party's financial concerns, until one realised Martin Bormann, above anything else, possessed the ability to fade into the background. He was short in stature, within a society that saw itself as made up of Herrenvolk destined to dominate the planet; his features were not unpleasant but certainly not handsome; his hair brown and receding, his eyes brown, his mouth wide and he exuded an air of... Nothing, really. Put him into an insurance office off the main street of a provincial town in Lower Saxony and he’d fit in perfectly. Install him in some backwater office of the 'Beamstenstaat' (which serviced the wheels and cogs making up the Reich Administration) and he'd have looked even more at home. See him at home with his wife, Magda, and their growing family and he but mirrored the pattern of middle-class living in the twentieth century. Indeed, Bormann was as old as the century and appeared a worthy example of what that century had produced. As in any previous age appearances can be deceptive. The achievements of a man beavering away for the New Order were largely hidden under the proverbial bushel. Not for Bormann the ostentatious display of wealth and power so beloved by Reichsmarschall Herman Goering or the fantasy-world of Heinrich Himmler. Like the 17th century original 'éminence grise', François Leclerc du Tremblay, Bormann preferred to work from the shadows as the unseen puppeteer. Even Sir Dick finally realised he really didn't want to find the man himself. Suddenly, Sir Dick had a clearer thought. ...No! I want what he's got.

Jonas Forbes waited patiently for the hirer / client to unburden himself to the hired 'Enquiry Agent'.

He wasn't very comfortable sitting in one of better offices in 54 Broadway Buildings which, from the back, overlooked St, Anne's Gate; not that such a miniscule of information really mattered because Sir Dick White's office was at the front, on the fourth floor and Jonas was nowhere near a window. Indeed, he’d an eerie feeling of being cocooned away from the 'real world' and that made him uncomfortable. He yearned to stretch out his long legs (safely encased in a suit of dark-grey, almost up to the pin-stripe attire favoured by Whitehall), but then changed his mind as it seemed unbecoming. In fact, the whole situation was decidedly unwelcome. How much he preferred to be shielded from such confrontations by Tim Ripley, but that parody of a spook was off 'sick'. He made a mental note to check on the accuracy of that excuse as soon as possible.

His mind reverted to a happier time when he'd been perched in a swivel chair, feet as usual on his battered desk, in his office at 27 Flambard Street, thinking how nice it was to have back, even only as a part-timer, Mrs. Vanessa Holmes nee Clarke whom he'd employed for the last five years as secretary and guardian angel. She'd just produced her first child and he hoped this wouldn't mark the gradual erosion of their relationship. Even so, the weather was pleasant and Pakistan (the tourists for the 1962 season) were about to face England for the Fourth Test at Trent Bridge. He'd every hope Trueman and Statham would skittle the tourists out because that's what Fred and Brian seemed to do naturally, a kind of Yorkshire-Lancashire combined steamroller. For once he’d actually been hoping to see part of a game, maybe at the Oval in August. Then the phone had rung and, with no Vanessa there to act as a buffer, he had to answer it himself.

We'd like you to attend a meeting with Sir Dick White tomorrow morning at 10:00 at MI6 H.Q, said a voice claiming to be more than it really was by using the enigmatic 'we'."

I thought Sir Dick prefers Tim Ripley as an intermediary when it came to dealing with us strange creatures from the real world.

The voice wasn't fazed by this implied criticism of Sir Dick's style of dealing with the less desirable employees of Her Majesty. That’s impossible because Ripley is on sick-leave.

Sorry to hear that - Jonas was about to make some prickly remark about Tim over-exerting himself but then realised the voice had referred to 'Ripley' as if to some kind of inferior being. That galled Jonas who regarded Tim as a friend. I hope he won't be absent for long. He's somebody with whom I can work constructively. Had he avoided the trailing preposition successfully?

The voice sounded unimpressed. Obviously a colleague prepared to work 'constructively' with the likes of Forbes wasn't one to provoke respect.

It's only for a few days but this mission is part of a moving situation. It's a question of grabbing the opportunity while we have the chance.

Wasn't tautology in there somehow? Anyway, Jonas couldn't afford to say no. Wine, women, song and wasting the rest always threatened to push his bank balance with National Provincial into the red. That's why he really needed Vanessa.

A sudden cough from Sir Dick broke into Jonas's reverie about yesterday and reminded him exactly of where he was and why.

I suppose, Forbes, you DO know of WHOM I'm speaking, even if WHAT I'm talking about is beyond you. The blandness of Sir Dick Goldsmith White appeared somewhat ruffled. The eyes, normally kind and friendly, narrowed and the upturned mouth shrivelled into straight rejection. Sir Dick may have been handsome, fit and charming but he resented such attributes being possessed by Jonas Forbes because the man lacked background or respect for those institutions and customs which had made England what it was. In a way Forbes personified some of the characters with whom Sir Dick had had to deal since he'd taken over MI6 in 1956; he'd far preferred being in charge of MI5 where one dealt with a different class of person, on the whole. Jonas's reply confirmed that attitude.

Sorry, sir. No, sir. Is he German, sir? Occasionally Jonas hid his ignorance by mock obsequiousness. The mockery was soon thrust aside but a signal had been given so people felt the need to explain in tiny steps - and some people didn't appreciate that drudgery.

Didn't you go to one of these grammar schools? It was wonderful how, even when in 1962 grammar schools were considered elitist compared to the invasive weed called 'comprehensive', they were still held somewhat infradig, especially when compared to establishments in the Private Sector, however small. Indeed, Sir Dick had been schooled at Eton and so ANY other educational institution might have been deemed inferior.

No, sir. John Ruskin hadn't yet become a grammar school when I left in 1946.

Aaaah! A gasp of understanding dodged past Jonas's comprehension net. I see ... You were too young to understand what was going on in the war and your History classes must have stopped with Queen Victoria. The second statement may have been true but as Jonas's big brother, whom he'd idolised, had died in action, he thought he did understand SOMETHING about World War Two. But he said nothing. His expression was one which, in the 1940’s John Ruskin Boys' Central School, would have been termed 'dumb insolence' and warranted the cane.

Well, Bormann ended up as one of the most powerful men in Germany. But he was one of those creepy fellows who dig away in the shadows - usually at the graves of their rivals. Jonas thought that sounded a bit like Whitehall. Anyway, Bormann almost did for Goering and Himmler - heard of them, haven't you? Jonas nodded. At the end, when every rat was running around in circles trying to slip away, Bormann just vanished.

How? Now for Jonas, playing his role as a dumb subordinate who needed a crutch to help him through the paths of intrigue mapped out by MI5 and MI6, that was too fast and too short. A mistake.

Don't ask stupid questions, Forbes! How would I know? I must have met the fellow several times but, if he walked into this room now, I wouldn't be able to put a name to him.

Jonas was tempted to ask how Sir Dick must have met a dangerous war-criminal several times but decided that wouldn't be exactly 'diplomatic'. So he decided to try and dig himself out of the hole by placing himself firmly in Sir Dick's camp.

A lot of people I've met would be just like that for me, sir. And that included several who would certainly no longer be walking among the living. That approach didn't work and Jonas's feet were still metaphorically below ground level.

But he was IMPORTANT, Forbes. So important the Nuremburg Court in 1946 sentenced him to death even in his absence.

So could he have really been dead, sir? Better. That was the question some boy in the Third Year Remove wanting enlightenment might have asked; so it deserved a decent answer.

Our American cousins think so, but then they've swallowed a lot in their time, haven't they? Was Jonas being pulled out of his hole? But he sometimes got stuck there by his own doing. That's true of us as well, thought Jonas, preparing to cite Burgess and Maclean to back up his statement. A better example would have been Kim Philby but that gentleman, although being watched, wasn't forced to run off to Moscow till January 1963.

So there WAS a body. An awkward question and teachers sometimes don't like awkward questions.

Not exactly, Forbes. Some remains were found and examined by the Russians - you do know they claim to have discovered the remains of Hitler, don't you? Jonas made no indication he’d known. Like a lot of other things, such discoveries had passed him by. Anyway, they were said to belong to Bormann, but nobody in the West has seen the evidence.

I'm beginning to think you’ve doubts about the death of Bormann. Did Jonas believe he was fully out of the hole?

And you are correct, Forbes... We are certain many Nazis, possibly thousands. made their escape from the destruction of the Third Reich. They went all over the world and only a few have re-emerged to face punishment. It appeared Jonas had fully recovered from his earlier faux pas. Eichmann was abducted from Argentina in May 1960 and, even you must remember, was hanged in Jerusalem a couple of months ago in May.

I had the feeling stable doors were being shut well after the horse had bolted. Was that throwing himself back down the hole?

Sir Dick White gave Jonas a strange look. The stable door can never be shut for the memories of the victims of the Holocaust... Anyway, Eichmann seems to have got to Argentina in 1950 with the help of ODESSA.

Odessa? That's better - stay in the Third Year Remove when 'sir' is giving a History lesson.

It stands for 'Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen' which translates as 'Organization of Former SS Members'. Sir Dick smiled at Jonas's surprise at suddenly hearing a fluent delivery of German from the Head of MI6. Obviously he wouldn't know Sir Dick had been originally selected for his kind of work because of his languages. ODESSA was formed maybe in 1946 to help Nazis on the run and in hiding.

And you think they helped Bormann?

Now that brought a smile to Sir Dick's face so Jonas felt his metaphorical feet were now on the ground. You're quick, Forbes, but perhaps too quick. ODESSA was just the sort of thing Bormann could have set-up. We know in 1944 he'd organised a collection of top German industrialists and bankers to start shifting assets overseas to secure the survival of Nazism.

Somebody who thought ahead.

Sir Dick actually smiled. Spot on, Forbes. I can see why Ripley thinks so highly of you... Remember Bormann made his career by thinking ahead. Never at the front of the parade but always just behind the Fuehrer, the place where it counted. He was the top fixer in the Third Reich. A man outstanding even in that regime for his capacity for deceit and ruthlessness.

So he's out there somewhere? Jonas looked suitably awestruck. Any evidence?

"Eichmann was in Argentina. There are constant rumours that Josef Mengele, the 'Doctor of Death' at