Page 4 of The Last Safe Place

Ten minutes later, having peeled off her wet coat, Leonore was sitting wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, a cup of hot tea in her hand.

“Now tell me,” Birgit urged.

“There was a white van at the entrance to our street.” Leonore blew on her tea and drank in careful sips. The warmth from the hot drink spread through her, dispelling both the cold and discomfort that had pursued her throughout the journey here.

“Did you see anything?”

Leonore shook her head, her curls bouncing with the movement. “No. I didn’t want to be picked up for loitering, so I made myself scarce.”

“Maybe it was nothing?” Birgit wrinkled her nose.

Leonore looked doubtfully at her friend. “A white, unmarked van at the entrance to a Jewish street after curfew? You’d be a fool to think that had an innocent explanation.”

The two sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes, until Leonore asked, “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course. I did my laundry yesterday, so I have an extra nightgown you can wear.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll leave in the morning.” Leonore knew she could rely on her friend, but didn’t want to be a burden.

“Do you think it’s wise to return to your apartment?” Birgit asked.

“The vans will be long gone by tomorrow night.”

“What if they come back?”

Leonore frowned and thought hard. “That’s unlikely. They’ll have caught most of the people on their list and will move on to the next district.”

“What if you’re on their list and they come back for you?”

Leonore tilted her head. She knew it was a risk. “I haven’t received an inventory demand, or an evacuation summons. So I’m probably not on any list.”

Birgit shrugged helplessly. “We can only hope not.”

“Let’s go to bed.”

Leonore slipped under the blanket in her borrowed nightgown and snuggled up on the sofa. But sleep wouldn’t come. Thoughts whirled around her head for hours. She had pretended to be much more confident in front of Birgit than she actually felt. Of course the SS could come back at any time. Like all Berlin Jews, Leonore was in constant danger of being whisked away.

She took a deep breath. Tomorrow, she would leave an emergency suitcase with Birgit.

3

Eberhard Lange buttoned his white shirt with one hand before reaching for the tie that Selma, his wife of thirty years, had tied ready for him. He put his head through the loop and tightened the knot until he was satisfied with the way it lay.

He checked once more in the mirror to be certain. Although he had not been allowed to practice as a lawyer for years, and was permitted only to act as consultant to Jewish clients, he still valued a neat appearance. Let the Nazis view things differently if they wished; he felt obliged to uphold the traditions of his profession, and that included a suit and tie.

Today he was making a special effort with his appearance: he had an appointment at the Abwehr offices in the Bendlerblock to report the most recent incidents of harassment suffered by his Jewish clients to Hans von Dohnanyi.

Eberhard was one of the few Jewish lawyers – or rather, consultants – still permitted to work at all. He owed his position to his decorations received in the First World War, and his status as a disabled war veteran. He usually hated having to talk about his amputated right arm, but in that one respect, his war injury had proven to be a stroke of luck.

“See you tonight,” he called to his wife.

“Take care.” She scrutinized his tie one final time, knowing that after almost twenty-five years without a right arm, he still struggled with the knot, then she helped him into his coat before handing him his hat, umbrella and briefcase in turn. “Don’t forget Anton and Gerda are visiting tonight.” The Seiferts were longtime friends. Eberhard and Anton had known each other since studying law together. As a disabled veteran, Anton was also allowed to work as a consultant. However, Anton was less prominent in legal circles and had fewer supporters from old times.

“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be home on time.”

Eberhard walked briskly to the tram stop, where he took the tram to the Bendlerblock. Once there, he showed the permanent pass which granted him admission. Due to the severity of his war injury, he was exempt from wearing the yellow star, unlike Anton – whose injury was less severe – and their wives Selma and Gerda. Another stroke of luck: wearing a star would have barred him from the Abwehr headquarters despite the visitor permit.

Just thinking about the anti-Jewish laws brought the same old anger boiling up inside him, and he paused to compose himself, forcing it back down. Keeping a cool head was a necessity not just in the courtroom.