Page 17 of The Lost Story of Sofia Castello

16

LISBON, 1940

Judith’s revelation that she was on the run from the Gestapo certainly put a dampener on things, and we left the botanical gardens and made our way back to the station in silence. My mind was going ten to the dozen though as I tried to process what I’d just learned. And I couldn’t shake the burning question: what on earth would the Gestapo want with a sixteen-year-old-girl, especially one as sweet and unassuming as Judith? It didn’t make sense. But I didn’t want to rattle her any more than I already had. If I wanted to help her, I had to first win her trust.

‘Would you like to come to my place when we get back?’ I asked as we reached the station. ‘I could make us some dinner.’

‘I don’t know,’ she replied, glancing anxiously up and down the platform. ‘It’s probably safer if I go straight back to mine.’

‘Are you sure? What if that man spots you again?’

‘I meant safer for you,’ she said quietly, digging her hands into the pockets of her coat.

‘Oh.’ I looked at the other people lining the platform, scanning them for potential threat. It was a horrible insight into what life must have been like for Judith, and I was simultaneously frightened and furious that it should be happening – and in Portugal too. ‘I’m not scared of that creep,’ I said with a lot more gumption than I felt. ‘I scared him off before, and I’ll do it again.’

‘How exactly did you scare him off?’ Judith asked, eyes wide.

‘I got a varina to ambush him,’ I replied.

‘What’s a varina ?’

‘A woman who sells fish. You might have seen them walking around Lisbon.’

‘In the brightly coloured clothes with the baskets on their heads?’

‘Yes. I used to be one, and when I was following the man following you, I got one of them to block his path – which is how he ended up with fish all over him. He collided with her and sent the basket flying.’

Judith let out a giggle, but her smile soon faded. ‘I’m so glad neither of you got hurt. Kurt Fischer is a monster.’

I thought of the knife I’d seen him take from his pocket but decided against telling her. Judith already knew how dangerous he was – there was no point in making her even more scared.

I heard the chug of a train approaching and grabbed her arm. ‘Please,’ I begged. ‘Come back to my place. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you all on your own.’

To my relief, she nodded.

I looked at her jagged hair and had a brainwave. ‘I’ve had a genius idea!’ I exclaimed. ‘Something to make sure that monster never recognises you again.’

When we got back to Rossio station, we slunk out via a back exit and stuck to the side streets and alleyways all the way to my apartment. The fact that we’d been reduced to scurrying around in the shadows infuriated me even more and made me more determined than ever to help Judith evade her pursuer.

Once we reached the apartment, I ushered Judith inside and locked and bolted the door.

‘This is lovely,’ she said, gazing around at the eclectic mix of furniture and the brightly painted walls. ‘It’s the kind of place I dream of having one day – although I’d have lots of plants too.’

‘I’m afraid I don’t have a very good track record with plants,’ I said sheepishly, thinking of the potted plants I’d bought when I first moved in. Despite my best efforts to water them regularly, their leaves had all turned brown and dropped off within a few weeks.

‘Plants need to feel loved just like humans,’ she said with a dreamy expression on her face. ‘So, what is this plan you have to make me unrecognisable?’

‘Wait here.’ I hurried to my bedroom and came back with a blonde wig and an armful of clothes – all perks of my job as a singer. ‘With this wig and a different wardrobe, you’ll no longer look as if you’ve just got off the train from Germany – you’ll look like a glamourous blonde who stars in movies or sings on stages.’

She gave a nervous laugh. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course,’ I answered confidently, although I really wasn’t sure at all. Judith looked so mousy and young.

Undeterred, I scraped back her hair and carefully placed the wig on her head. The difference it made was incredible, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Take off your glasses and look in the mirror,’ I said, ushering her over to the mirror on the living-room wall.

As soon as she saw her reflection, she gasped. ‘You’re right, I look like a completely different person.’

‘Exactly. And once you’re out of that old coat and in some other clothes, the transformation will be complete.’

‘I’m not getting rid of this coat,’ she said defensively.

‘Then you may as well wear a sign around your neck saying, “HELLO, I’M A REFUGEE. PLEASE FOLLOW ME, MR GESTAPO!’ I replied. It was a little harsh, but I needed to convince her for her own safety.

‘But I?—’

‘I have four coats and you’re welcome to take your pick,’ I interrupted. ‘Not that you’ll need one – the weather’s getting warmer by the day.’

‘I’m not getting rid of this coat,’ she said again, looking tearful, and it dawned on me that maybe the coat had some kind of sentimental value, and I kicked myself for being so insensitive.

‘I’m not saying get rid of it; just don’t wear it. You don’t want that man, Fischer, to recognise you.’

‘But you don’t understand.’ She looked down at the tatty old coat.

‘What is it?’ I asked gently.

‘I have to keep it with me at all times.’

‘Did it belong to your grandmother or something?’ It certainly looked old enough. ‘Is that why you don’t want to lose it, for sentimental reasons?’

‘What? No!’ she exclaimed.

‘Then why on earth would you be so attached to it? I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s hardly a priceless mink.’

‘Actually, it’s worth a lot more than a mink,’ she whispered. ‘It’s worth about half a million dollars.’

I stared at the threadbare fabric and the fraying hem, wondering what on earth I was missing. Two thoughts popped into my mind in quick succession. One: Judith was experiencing some kind of trauma-induced delusion. Or two: she was a compulsive liar. As I stared at her sweet face and trembling bottom lip, I felt certain it had to be the first option.

‘How about I make you a nice cup of tea?’ I said gently. ‘And I’ll get you something to eat. You must be so exhausted, not to mention famished.’ Perhaps her delusion was due to malnutrition. ‘I have some sardines, fresh off the boat this morning, and some bread rolls. Come on – let’s go through to the kitchen.

Judith stared at me, clearly startled. ‘Did you hear what I said?’

‘Yes, I did, and I think you need to get some nice food inside you.’

‘But don’t you want to know why it’s worth so much?’

Oh Lord. I dreaded to think of what she might come out with next – that the coat was woven from gold by magical elves perhaps. ‘Why don’t we have something to eat first?’ I coaxed, hoping that some food would restore her lucidity. Sardines were considered to be one of the most nutritious fish after all. I hurried through to the kitchen, hoping she’d follow me.

‘Tra la la,’ I started singing as I busied myself taking the fish from the refrigerator and a pan from the shelf. After a few moments, I heard her come into the room behind me.

‘This is why it’s worth so much,’ she said, and I turned to see her fiddling with the bottom of the coat lining. I braced myself for whatever crazy notion she was about to come out with as she slowly extended her hand towards me.

‘What the hell?’ I gasped.

There, nestling in her palm, was the biggest jewel I had ever seen – the size of an egg but shaped more like a teardrop, casting beams of gold and white light around the room.