Operation Treasure

By Hannah Howe

Eve’s War is a series of twelve novellas. Each book contains approximately 20,000 words and a complete story. Kindly note that the price throughout the series will be set at the minimum level and that Eve’s story arc will be concluded at the end of the series.

“A message from Arthur,” Mimi said. “He wants us to steal a set of plans from a factory and blow up the building.”

“Who owns the factory?” Guy asked.

“Auguste Maingard,” Mimi said.

“And what does the factory produce?” I asked.

“It’s a scientific establishment,” Mimi said. “It’s developing a frequency-hopping guided missile system. Naturally, the Nazis are aware of this work and intend to exploit the invention.”

“So,” I said, “we steal the guidance system from Maingard and the Nazis.”

“That’s right,” Mimi said.

“And if we fail?” I frowned.

“If we fail,” Mimi said, “Arthur will send in the bombers and raze the factory to the ground.”

“That would mean the loss of many innocent lives,” Guy said. He stared into the middle-distance, grim-faced. “We can’t allow that. We can’t afford to fail.”

There was a determination on Guy’s face, a passion in his voice that demanded success. Obviously, a new missile guidance system was important, but Guy’s look and tone suggested that this operation went beyond the machinations of war. For some reason, it was personal.

The books in series order:

Operation Zigzag
Operation Locksmith
Operation Broadsword
Operation Treasure
Operation Sherlock
Operation Cameo
Operation Rose
Operation Watchmaker
Operation Overlord
Operation Jedburgh
Operation Butterfly
Operation Liberty

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goylake Publishing
• Release date: Jan 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781838011895

Hannah Howe

Hannah Howe is the bestselling author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series (Sam's Song, book one in the series, has reached number one on the amazon.com private detective chart on seven separate occasions and the number one position in Australia). Hannah lives in the picturesque county of Glamorgan with her partner and their two children. She has a university degree and a background in psychology, which she uses as a basis for her novels.Hannah began her writing career at school when her teacher asked her to write the school play. She has been writing ever since. When not writing or researching Hannah enjoys reading, genealogy, music, chess and classic black and white movies. She has a deep knowledge of nineteenth and twentieth century popular culture and is a keen student of the private detective novel and its history.Hannah's books are available in print, as audio books and eBooks from all major retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, iBooks, etc. For more details please visit https://hannah-howe.comThe Sam Smith Mystery Series in book order:Sam's SongLove and BulletsThe Big ChillRipperThe Hermit of HisaryaSecrets and LiesFamily HonourSins of the FatherSmoke and MirrorsStardustMind GamesDigging in the DirtA Parcel of RoguesBostonThe Devil and Ms DevlinSnow in AugustLooking for Rosanna MeeStormy WeatherDamagedEve’s War: Heroines of SOEOperation ZigzagOperation LocksmithOperation BroadswordOperation TreasureOperation SherlockOperation CameoOperation RoseOperation WatchmakerOperation OverlordOperation Jedburgh (to follow)Operation Butterfly (to follow)Operation Liberty (to follow)The Golden Age of HollywoodTula: A 1920s Novel (to follow)The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War SagaRootsBranchesLeavesFruitFlowersThe Ann's War Mystery Series in book order:BetrayalInvasionBlackmailEscapeVictoryStandalone NovelsSaving Grace: A Victorian MysteryColette: A Schoolteacher’s War (to follow)What readers have been saying about the Sam Smith Mystery Series and Hannah Howe..."Hannah Howe is a very talented writer.""A gem of a read.""Sam Smith is the most interesting female sleuth in detective fiction. She leaves all the others standing.""Hannah Howe's writing style reminds you of the Grandmasters of private detective fiction - Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker.""Sam is an endearing character. Her assessments of some of the people she encounters will make you laugh at her wicked mind. At other times, you'll cry at the pain she's suffered.""Sam is the kind of non-assuming heroine that I couldn't help but love.""Sam's Song was a wonderful find and a thoroughly engaging read. The first book in the Sam Smith mystery series, this book starts off as a winner!""Sam is an interesting and very believable character.""Gripping and believable at the same time, very well written.""Sam is a great heroine who challenges stereotypes.""Hannah Howe is a fabulous writer.""I can't wait to read the next in the series!""The Big Chill is light reading, but packs powerful messages.""This series just gets better and better.""What makes this book stand well above the rest of detective thrillers is the attention to the little details that makes everything so real.""Sam is a rounded and very real character.""Howe is an author to watch, able to change the tone from light hearted to more thoughtful, making this an easy and yet very rewarding read. Cracking!""Fabulous book by a fabulous author-I highly recommended this series!""Howe writes her characters with depth and makes them very engaging.""I loved the easy conversational style the author used throughout. Some of the colourful ways that the main character expressed herself actually made me laugh!""I loved Hannah Howe's writing style -- poignant one moment, terrifying the next, funny the next moment. I would be on the edge of my seat praying Sam wouldn't get hurt, and then she'd say a one-liner or think something funny, and I'd chuckle and catch my breath. Love it!""Sam's Song is no lightweight suspense book. Howe deals with drugs, spousal abuse, child abuse, and more. While the topics she writes about are heavy, Howe does a fantastic job of giving the reader the brutal truth while showing us there is still good in life and hope for better days to come."

Book preview

EVE’S WAR

OPERATION

TREASURE

EVE’S WAR

OPERATION

TREASURE

Hannah Howe

Goylake Publishing

Copyright © 2021 Hannah Howe

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Goylake Publishing, Iscoed, 16A Meadow Street, North Cornelly, Bridgend, Glamorgan. CF33 4LL

Print ISBN: 978-1-8383548-0-0

eBook ISBN: 978-1-8380118-9-5

Printed and bound in Britain by Imprint Digital, Exeter, EX5 5HY

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

Author’s Note

The characters in Eve’s War are fictional. However, all the stories and the incidents within these stories, from the personal to the public, are based on real events.

The series is structured into twelve books, each of approximately 20,000 words, set roughly two months apart. Within the back matter of each book, you will find potted biographies of the real heroes and heroines of the SOE, the people whom Eve Beringar, Guy Samson and Mimi Duchamp are based on. It’s been an honour to read about these incredibly brave and principled people. I hope you will enjoy their stories and the exploits of my characters in Eve’s War.

Hannah’s books are available in print, as eBooks and audio books with translations in progress

Eve’s War

Operation Zigzag

Operation Locksmith

Operation Broadsword

Operation Treasure

Operation Sherlock

Operation Cameo

Operation Rose

Operation Watchmaker

Operation Overlord

Operation Jedburgh

Operation Butterfly

Operation Liberty

Ann’s War

Betrayal

Invasion

Blackmail

Escape

Victory

Stand-alone Novel

Saving Grace

The Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam’s Song

Love and Bullets

The Big Chill

Ripper

The Hermit of Hisarya

Secrets and Lies

Family Honour

Sins of the Father

Smoke and Mirrors

Stardust

Mind Games

Digging in the Dirt

A Parcel of Rogues

Boston

The Devil and Ms Devlin

Snow in August

Looking for Rosanna Mee

Stormy Weather

The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War Saga

Roots

Branches

Leaves

Fruit

Flowers

To my family, with love

Chapter One

June 1943

Performing my duties on the Le Roux farm, I collected eggs from the hen house, running the gauntlet of the ghastly geese who for some reason were still hell-bent on pinching my bottom, before milking the cows.

The secret to a successful milking was to place the milking stool to the right of the cow. You positioned the pail as close to the teat as possible, holding it tightly between your knees so that it did not fall over.

With clean hands and a warm cloth, you wiped the dirt, manure and hair from the udder, massaging as you cleaned to relax the cow’s muscles before milking. Then you gripped the teat, placing it at the base of your thumb and forefinger. Curling your fingers around the teat, you squeezed downwards, against the palm of your hand. Pulling the teat distressed the cow and therefore was not recommended.

You directed the initial flow of milk on to the ground to disperse any debris that might have collected within the teat. Using two hands and applying alternating pressure, you milked the cow, maintaining a steady flow of milk into the pail.

With my morning tasks complete, I wandered into the fields to visit Guy Samson. Under the cover of his peacetime profession as a professor of archaeology, he was excavating a trench, searching for Roman artefacts. The broad smile on his handsome face and the glint of metal in the June sunlight told me that he’d discovered a hoard of treasure.

What have you got there? I asked, placing a hand above my eyes to shield them from the sun.

It looks like a coin hoard, Guy said, a collection of silver oboles and deniers; thousands of them.

The coins were discoloured, I noted, tinged with green, while leather pouches encased a further collection of gold coins.

These are different to the other coins you’ve discovered, I said.

They’re medieval, Guy explained. He placed his trowel beside the trench and in athletic fashion straightened to stand beside me.

I thought you were looking for Roman artefacts, I frowned.

The Roman Empire is my speciality, Guy said. However, when you open a trench you have no idea what you might find.

How did these coins get here? I asked.

Guy picked up a silver obole and cleaned it with water and a toothbrush. Maybe someone hid them because of a raid, he suggested. Maybe they represented someone’s savings. Or maybe this was a community stash, to pay off a local warlord and ensure peace.

Do you think we could pay off Hitler? I grinned.

He’s mad for power, Guy said. Whatever we offered him, even if it was the whole world, it would never be enough. There’s no appeasing Hitler. The only solution is his downfall.

I nodded. You couldn’t reason with a madman. Guy was right; the only solution was his downfall.

Can I draw that coin? I asked.

Sure, Guy said, handing the silver obole to me. Be my guest.

As I sketched the coin, capturing what looked like an angry hedgehog, I said, Our contact in the Resistance, Colonel Maxime Durand, is getting restless. He wants more weapons for his men. And he wants to use them on Nazi targets.

Mimi can send a message about the weapons, Guy said, but what Durand’s men really require is training.

I’ve offered to train them, I said, but Durand insists that he and his men should take instructions from a man.

I’ll have a word with him, Guy said. Durand’s Maquis are of no use to us unless they are well trained, aware of the command structure and disciplined.

Guy returned to his trench. Easing the dry soil to one side, he discovered more