Page 72 of The Last Safe Place
A shiver ran down Knut’s back. In accordance with regulations, the star had to be firmly sewn on, so that it couldn’t be easily removed. The consequences of running across a particularly meticulous police officer who, for whatever reason, checked that detail, didn’t bear thinking about. Suppressing his anxious thoughts, he asked, “Everyone ready?”
Each group member, even Ilse, the youngest, nodded expectantly.
“Then let’s go to the platform. Remember: you are in the service of the Abwehr and are on your way to a mission. You say no more about it, simply refer anyone questioning you to me. Understood?” Knut cast a particularly piercing look at Fräulein Vogel, who blushed under his stare before dropping her gaze.
“Sure, Lieutenant,” she muttered.
Knut was left with the impression that she had very much intended to speak for herself – just as she had taken it into her own hands not to be identified as a Jew.
Normally, he would have turned a blind eye and let her have her own way, but he didn’t want her actions to put thewhole group at risk. He had vowed to get all nine members of Operation Seven out of Hitler’s Reich in one piece.
Just as they were walking to the platform, a middle-aged woman in an enormous blue hat came racing toward them, waving wildly.
What now?groaned Knut. This was worse than trying to direct a swarm of bees. As soon as they crossed the Swiss border, he’d fall on his knees and cross himself three times.
“Gerda! Anton!” called the woman in the hat. To Knut’s chagrin, she was shouting at full volume.
He started feeling the stares of other passersby, and prayed that it wouldn’t occur to the station police to conduct a check on them.
“Aurora!” cried Frau Seifert, waving as animatedly as the woman in the blue hat.
“Who’s that?” asked Fräulein Vogel.
“An old friend,” Herr Seifert explained, while his wife approached the woman, hugged her briefly, and pulled her toward the group.
Keen to avoid attracting attention at all costs, Knut motioned to Herr Lange to head for the platform with the rest of the group. But the two women had already reached them.
“I just had to tell you, before you leave the country?—”
“Shh. We don’t want everyone to hear,” Knut growled. Although their papers were in order, it was foolish to shout the reason for their journey at full volume for everyone to hear.
The stranger shot him a hostile glare before pursing her lips and continuing in more modulated tones. “I couldn’t let you go without telling you, Gerda. I’m so sorry. They took your sister away less than an hour ago. There was nothing I could do.”
Frau Seifert’s face fell for some seconds before she collected herself. “Thank you for letting me know, Aurora. And thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“All the best for your fresh start, wherever you end up. Write to me if you can.” She shook hands, first with Frau Seifert, then with Herr Seifert, and rushed away.
The members of Operation Seven stayed behind, each with a suitcase in hand, and Knut wondered whether he’d merely imagined this interlude. But one glance at Frau Seifert was enough to confirm its realness: her lips were trembling. Herr Seifert patted her hand.
It was Herr Lange who saved the situation. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’d better get to the platform if we don’t want the train to leave without us.”
36
Leonore was restless. There was no chance of sleeping in the overcrowded compartment. She decided to go for a walk down the train, but as she stood up, Lieutenant Hesse blocked her exit from the compartment.
“Where are you going?”
He meant well, but she had grown tired of his overprotectiveness a long time ago. She could take care of herself. Besides, they were on the train to Basel, which had already covered half the distance. What could possibly happen to them now?
Nonetheless, deciding it best not to antagonize him, she put on her most innocent expression. “I have to go to the little girls’ room.”
“That way.” He pointed to the left and stepped out of her way.
Relieved, Leonore slipped past him. Feeling his eyes on her back, she disappeared into the cubicle and used the facilities. Stepping out again, she gave a quick glance along the carriage to ensure he wasn’t standing in the corridor and walked in the opposite direction.
After sitting on uncomfortable bench seats for hours, she felt the urgent need to stretch her legs. She wandered to the frontend of the train, which had been full to bursting point as they left Berlin. Since then, passengers had gradually got off at successive stations, and the compartments had cleared.
She peered through the windows into the compartments. Where previously there had been mostly mothers with children, only a handful of men in dark suits remained, presumably travelling on business.