Page 78 of The Last Safe Place

“Where did you get that?” she whispered, gazing at the beautiful necklace in awe.

“Your husband gave it to me in Berlin for safekeeping.”

Michaela noticed how moved both the Langes and the Lieutenant were. Instinctively, she laid a hand on her heart to capture this moment of complete bliss as an eternal reminder that indeed some wonderful people existed, even in the Third Reich.

“How can I ever thank you for this?” asked Frau Lange, her eyes growing suspiciously moist.

“Thank me by doing good for other people.” Lieutenant Hesse turned his face and dove a hand in his briefcase, withdrawing three hundred francs in cash, which he handed to Herr Lange. “This is for the first few days, until you manage to contact Herr Gisevius.”

Herr Lange accepted the franc notes and carefully stowed them in his wallet before shaking hands with the lieutenant. “We are all deeply indebted to you, and to the Abwehr. Who knows where we’d be without your heroic efforts.”

The lieutenant was visibly embarrassed at such depth of feeling. He self-consciously changed the subject. “I’ll wait here until you step onto Swiss territory.”

“Will we ever see you again?” asked Leonore.

“Probably not. If we don’t want your cover to be blown, you must follow the instructions you received in Berlin to the letter.”

“Sure.” Leonore pouted to express her dissatisfaction, but the lieutenant ignored her and approached Michaela instead. Standing in front of her, he discreetly pulled the ring from his finger and pressed it into her hand. In the tension of crossing the border, she’d completely forgotten it. “Take good care of yourself and your daughters.”

“I will. We have so much to catch up on.” Michaela waved to him one final time before following her fellow travelers the few meters to the Swiss border.

Checking their documents, the border guard smiled kindly and said, “Well, you’re a lucky woman. It’s a miracle.”

And he was right. After so many years of harassment, they had finally done it – they had escaped Hitler’s Reich.

39

Knut watched as his charges were beckoned into neutral Switzerland. His chest swelled with pride and gratitude. The knowledge that these people were safe lifted his spirits to indescribable heights.

He, Bernd, their superiors, and a huge number of other Abwehr employees had worked meticulously for almost a year to put Operation Seven into action. There had been days when he’d ceased to believe it could possibly succeed. Throughout the entire journey there had been a knot in his stomach, caused by the constant fear that the group might be turned away in the last few meters, just as Edith and Julius had been almost a year ago.

But now their mission had been accomplished.

He expected it to be the first of many more rescue missions. After easing out the quirks, the next ones should be much easier and faster. Assuming the new charges would have enough funds to pay the entrance fee to Switzerland, he hoped to be able to send a group to freedom every three to four months.

As he stepped back onto German soil, he greeted the border guards, relieved that they hadn’t caused any difficulties, and walked into the little post office to send a telegram to Berlin.

Operation Seven successfully completed. All travelers at target location. Lieutenant Hesse.

He still had almost a quarter of an hour before the train left for Berlin, enough time to buy a coffee and a bread roll. The bread was hard, and the coffee lukewarm, but nothing could dampen his spirits.

Then he boarded the train that would take him back home. After a grueling outward journey that had torn his nerves to shreds, he was hoping for an incident-free return trip and a few hours of sleep.

The train jerked and set off, but sleep wouldn’t come. Knut pondered what would become of the group, how they’d live their lives in freedom, and then his thoughts wandered to his sister Edith.

He felt guilty every day that he hadn’t been able to include her and her husband Julius in Operation Seven. This burden would probably weigh on him for the rest of his life. He resolved to meet up with Edith regularly from now on, and to alleviate her deprivations as much as possible. His thoughts drifted to Joseph, completely blinded by Hitler’s ideology, with his glittering career in the SS.

Just the thought of his brother made his stomach contract. Nevertheless, he was determined to continue seeking contact. Perhaps he could have a moderating effect on Joseph. Finally, he dozed off, dreaming of a future together with Bernd.

Twelve hours later, as he arrived in Berlin, Bernd was waiting for him at the station. “Congratulations on successfully completing the mission.”

“Thank you, but you shouldn’t have come to meet me. It’s reckless,” Knut scolded him, despite the immense pleasure at seeing him.

“Let’s go, I have a car outside. Is that all your luggage?” Bernd asked, glancing at Knut’s briefcase. Knut nodded.

Once they sat in the car, safe from unfriendly eyes and ears, Knut rested his hand on Bernd’s thigh. “It was very nice of you to pick me up. I’m glad you did.”

“I’ve missed you.”