'You put Carla in touch with those two,' Engles continued. His voice was cold and matter-of-fact. 'She introduced them to Stelben. And Stelben was glad to use them because they were gangsters and there would be no questions when they disappeared. He did not know they were your men. When they had found out what you wanted to know, you had them arrested with Stelben.'
'And I suppose I arranged for them to be shot in that prison riot?' he sneered.
'You were in Rome at the time,' Carla suddenly said. She had struggled on to one elbow and was watching him malevolently.
'It could have been arranged,' Engles said, 'if you had known the right people. And I think you did know the right people.'
'And why do you think that?' Mayne was watching only Engles now. He was not sure of himself. I wished Engles would leave it at that. The situation was getting ugly.
'Because,' Engles said slowly, 'you are not Gilbert Mayne.'
'And who am I, then?' Mayne's left hand was clenched.
'You're a murderer and a gangster,' Engles snapped back. 'We nearly caught you in Naples in 1944. You had deserted during the Salerno landing and were running a gang in the dock area of Naples. You were wanted for murder and robbery. You were also wanted for smuggling German prisoners through the lines. That was why I became interested in your activities. We got you in Rome three months after the city fell. You and your girl were picked up in a trattoria. That's where you got that bullet scar. I interrogated you. You recognised me when I arrived here, but you thought I might not recognise you because your head was bandaged when I last saw you.'
'This is ridiculous,' Mayne said. He was struggling to regain his habitual ease of manner. 'You are mistaking me for someone else. My military career was quite straightforward. I was a captain in the Artillery. I was taken prisoner and after my escape I joined UNRRA. You can check the War Office records.'
'I did that before I left England,' Engles said quietly. 'Captain Gilbert Mayne was reported missing in January, 1944. He was believed killed in action near Cassino. Two months later he is recorded as having escaped from a German prison camp. You pretended to be suffering from shock when you reported for duty as Captain Mayne, and were allowed to join UNRRA. You applied to be sent to Greece, where there was little likelihood of your meeting up with any of the officers of Gilbert Mayne's ack-ack regiment. I suggest that Gilbert Mayne was, in fact, killed in action. Your name is Stuart Ross — and Muller and Mann were members of your Naples gang.'