Page 21 of The Last Safe Place

“Merely the fact that you are willing to try gives me hope. No matter how it turns out, I will always be grateful to you.” Michaela raised her hands helplessly. “If I can ever be of service to you, in some distant future…”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and a moment later the maid peeked in. “I’m finished upstairs. Do you need anything else, madam?”

“Please escort Frau Kronberg out, then clear the coffee cups.” Turning to Michaela, Frau Canaris continued, “Come back tomorrow, I will know more then.”

“Goodbye, Frau Canaris, and thank you again for taking the time to see me.”

“Goodbye, Frau Kronberg.”

12

A close confidant of Admiral Canaris had given the order to obtain the deportation referral for a certain Michaela Kronberg. Usually, contacting Kriminalassistent Becker of the Gestapo was Bernd’s task, but Major General Oster had ordered Knut should go.

“Why does it have to be me?” Knut muttered. He was sitting in Bernd’s office, waiting to be briefed on the details of their recent dealings with Becker.

“Because Becker doesn’t like me. Oster is hoping our dealings with the Gestapo will sail into smoother waters if you go.”

Knut pulled a face. He could see the logic behind their superior’s decision, of course, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Rescinding a deportation order was nothing less than a matter of life or death, and just thinking about negotiating human lives with men who were Nazi zealots gave him a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. “The whole thing is so wrong.”

“How can it be wrong to save this woman?” Bernd looked surprised.

“That’s not what I mean. It disgusts me having to bargain for her like she’s nothing more than a pig on her way to the slaughterhouse.”

“Welcome to the reality of the Third Reich, where certain people are worth less than livestock.” Bernd sadly shook his head. “Let’s discuss what justification you can give. Becker won’t simply roll over and give up a Jew he’s already sunk his fangs into.”

Knut couldn’t resist a smile. He scooted over to sit closer to Bernd, until their elbows touched.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I was just imagining Herr Becker opening his mouth wide and picking this woman out from between his teeth.”

Now it was Bernd’s turn to smile and lean into him. “You’re outrageous.”

That’s why you love me so much. Knut didn’t dare say the words out loud. It was highly unlikely anyone was listening in – the offices were meticulously searched for bugs on a daily basis – but they could never be entirely sure.

“So, why is Frau Kronberg so important to the Reich? She’s neither a war invalid, nor did she serve in the First World War,” asked Bernd.

“It says here she’s a doctor.”

“Doctor? Then she’s not Jewish?”

Knut frowned. “Wait, I’ll take a look. The information is very sparse.” He flipped through the notes he’d been given. “She was a doctor and treated Canaris’ daughter before Jews were banned from the profession. Since then, she has worked as a medical carer exclusively for Jewish patients. Hold on, there’s something else. Her Aryan husband just died, and two days later she received the deportation order.”

“Bastards,” muttered Bernd. “They could at least have waited a few weeks. Sending the order to a grieving widow?”

Knut snorted. “What did you expect? That the Gestapo would show its sensitive side?”

“Not really.” Bernd chuckled, furtively touching Knut’s hand with his little finger. “Now, what are you going to tell Kriminalassistent Becker? You can hardly let him get wind that Admiral Canaris is helping the woman for humanitarian reasons.”

And why not?Again, Knut didn’t voice his thoughts out loud, because the answer was obvious: because it wasn’t allowed. In the Third Reich, nobody, especially not an admiral, was allowed to have sympathy for a Jew. “We could say the Abwehr needs her medical skills to examine Jewish agents, who aren’t permitted to see an Aryan doctor.”

“A shaky excuse. The plan to deploy agents hasn’t yet been approved from above. But it’s worth a try. Whatever the reason, we need an official document proving Frau Kronberg works for the Abwehr, to make everything above board. I can take care of that while you visit my favorite policeman at the Gestapo.” Bernd’s face expressed so much disgust that Knut let out an involuntary snort of laughter.

“Is he really that bad?” he asked sympathetically.

“Worse.” Bernd twirled his moustache. “It’s a mystery to me how anyone can be so cold-hearted. The man could freeze fire.”

“You make this task sound more attractive all the time. Do I need to take the document with me to see Becker?”