Page 29 of The Secret Librarian

Chapter Fourteen

Camille

Camille had had some close calls in the past, but none had felt quite like this one.

She swallowed, staring at the man standing before her and refusing to let him see how much he could rattle her.

Now that she’d brought Avery in to help, she was responsible for yet another human life, and the pressure to keep her safe was suddenly enormous in the face of another raid.

‘Avery, could you please come out here?’ she called, turning her head slightly. ‘We have company and I’ll be closing the shop early.’

She heard a noise in the backroom, and hoped Avery could hear the urgency in her voice. When she appeared, she was carrying a bag which Camille very much hoped contained her camera, and to her credit, she didn’t falter when she saw the man in uniform standing in the store.

‘An American?’

Camille nodded to Avery, who stepped forward and nodded politely. ‘I am. And you must be a police officer?’

‘Lourenco Santos,’ he said. ‘Head of the PVDE.’

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ she said. ‘I was feeling very light-headed earlier, and Camille here was kind enough to let me rest with a book in her office. I’m not used to such warm weather.’

He frowned and stroked his moustache. ‘My men reported there being an American in here recently when they paid you a visit. I’m going to guess that was you?’

Avery nodded. ‘It was. I’ve become a frequent customer here, like many foreigners I dare say. Browsing books is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.’

Santos turned his attention back to Camille. ‘You won’t mind if I take another look back there?’

Camille waved her hand for him to go, at the same time as giving Avery a pleading glance, but Avery just smiled, reassuring her that there was nothing to be seen.

‘Your American friend is aware of what happens to those who don’t follow our laws?’ Santos asked, as if Avery wasn’t standing right there.

‘I most certainly do, and I hold Camille in the highest regard,’ Avery said. ‘She runs an excellent bookshop, don’t you think?’

‘I think it is time for the American to go,’ he said, looking past Avery and speaking directly to Camille again.

Avery’s eyes met hers, and Camille gave her a tight smile, praying that she would leave without making a fuss.

It seemed that Avery understood the urgency, no matter how reluctant she might appear, because after a moment of looking between the two of them, she tucked her bag close to her body and left.

‘This can be very easy, Camille,’ Santos said, as she followed him into her office and stood as he walked slowly around, before going back out into her bookshop.

He swept one hand violently down a bookshelf, sweeping a dozen books or so to the floor.

‘You can answer my questions and I can leave, or I can come back with more men and we can turn your entire shop upside down.’

She swallowed. ‘I’ll answer your questions. I have nothing to hide.’

His smile pulled his lips into a thin line. ‘You’ve been seen in the square, with the Jews.’

Camille shrugged. ‘Is it now an offence to have a heart?’

‘Why do they come into your shop?’ he asked. ‘Why are you visiting them?’

Her breath was shallow and she fought against the panic in her chest that made her want to gasp.

‘They want to read like anyone else. I don’t know what you want me to tell you, and if I must, I will stop selling them books.

But like many of the locals, my heart breaks for the homeless women and children.

It’s not a crime to give them my leftovers of food, is it? ’

He looked down his nose at her. ‘Camille, are you familiar with the name Sousa Mendes?’

Camille maintained her expression, blinking as she slowly shook her head. Of course I know him, you fool! He was the Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands from the Nazis by giving them visas to enter Portugal from France.

‘Since he was forcibly retired, we expected no Jews from France to arrive in Lisbon, so you can imagine my surprise at knowing there are French Jews here with visas,’ he said.

‘I would like to know how they came to be in possession of such paperwork, because if someone was forging documents? Then they would find themselves thrown in jail and left to rot.’

Camille leaned on the counter and reached for her silver case of cigarettes and her lighter. She lit one for herself, before offering them to Santos. To her surprise, he took one. ‘I am as surprised as you are,’ she said, blowing smoke into the air. ‘But Lourenco – may I call you Lourenco?’

He gave her a curt nod.

‘Lourenco, you must know who my boyfriend is,’ she said, hating the word as she said it.

‘Would I have a Nazi boyfriend if I was this sympathiser you thought I was? I am simply a woman who likes to help children sometimes, in the same way I’d throw food to an abandoned puppy on the streets. I know nothing of what you speak of.’

‘If you’re not the person I’m looking for, then who are you?’ he asked.

‘I’m a woman who will sell a book to anyone with money,’ she said, nonchalantly and with an unimpressed shrug. ‘I am in the business of selling books and making money, that is all.’

‘And your American friend? Should I be questioning her?’

Not Avery. You can’t go after Avery. Camille would take the fall before ever letting Avery get into trouble.

Camille laughed, perhaps a little too loudly. ‘The American is an innocent little librarian. I can assure you that she’s not who you’re looking for, but if you want to question her, I’m certain she would be easy for you to find.’

He gave her a long look, taking a final draw of his cigarette before stubbing it out on her counter and striding from her store without so much as a goodbye. Camille only hoped that his presence hadn’t spooked Avery.

But within minutes of his leaving, Avery marched straight back into her bookshop with angry red cheeks and two paper bags full of Portuguese pastries.

‘Avery, I—’

‘Whatever you need me to do, whatever help I can give, set me to work,’ she said, thrusting one of the small bags towards her.

Camille gratefully took it, her eyes meeting Avery’s.

‘He didn’t scare you away?’

‘He made me more determined than ever to do more to help. I hate bullies, and that man is one of the worst.’

Camille took a bite of pastry, licking the sugar from her fingers and watching as Avery did the same.

‘We’re going to have to be careful. He knows who you are now, and his suspicions have been raised.

’ She stared into Avery’s eyes. ‘You need to understand the risk you’re taking.

If he finds out the truth, if they catch us .

..’ She exhaled. ‘I’ll tell them it was all me, that you had nothing to do with it, but there is still a chance—’

‘Stop. I told you I would do it, and I haven’t changed my mind. I understand the risks.’

Avery’s eyes were wide; Camille could tell she was trying very hard to be brave.

‘We have the chance to do something that matters, you’ve shown me that now,’ said Avery. ‘I’m not saying I’m not scared, because I’m terrified, but this war needs to end, and if I can play a small part in doing something about it ...’

Camille reached for her hand. ‘I’m so pleased I met you, Avery. You’re nothing at all like I expected.’

Avery squeezed her hand back. ‘What do we do next?’

‘You keep doing what you’re doing, and when there’s another Jewish family needing my help, we work quickly to forge the visas,’ Camille said. ‘Between the two of us, we’ll be able to do a few documents within an evening if we work all night.’

‘Then that’s what we’ll do. The PVDE be damned,’ Avery said. ‘And I’m not just taking photographs and developing them for you, I’ll do anything. My penmanship is excellent, I just need you to show me what to do.’

Camille only hoped that Avery knew exactly what she was getting herself into.

‘Camille, should I be scared of your Kiefer?’ Avery asked.

‘No, I don’t think so,’ she replied. ‘You let me worry about Kiefer.’

‘You believe that he’ll help you to find out who killed your husband?’

Camille closed her eyes, her skin crawling at the thought of what she’d done, of what she’d endured, in her efforts to uncover more about the double agent she was searching for.

‘I do. I would never have done what I have if I didn’t believe with all my heart that he could lead me closer to what I’m searching for.

We just have to be careful. Promise me you’ll be careful. ’

‘I promise you, Camille. There’s too much at stake to get caught.’