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And there was Mila in the doorway, and Zoe, too, and Evi leaped into their arms, and tears from a seemingly endless wellspring wet her face again.

The two of them held her, uttering soothing words, until finally she was able to pull back, wipe her face with her sleeve, and take a shuddering breath.

“Mam is gone,” she whispered, working to find her voice. “The Germans murdered her in cold blood. They shot her, while I watched from the shore…I saw her fall into the sea…”

Mevrouw Spierhoven – Alette – came from behind her. “The girl has been inconsolable, and with good reason. It is a blessing that she found her way here.”

“And the baby,” Evi cried. “Baby Jacob. He was cir-cum…he was Jewish. Likely they murdered him too…”

Mila sighed, stepped forward, took the old woman’s hands, and thanked her profusely for her kindness.

From her place at the door, where Zoe still held her, Evi saw the older woman shake her head. “Three years ago,” she said, “I stood here, helpless, while the Jews of Vlaardingen were rounded up and ripped away from us by the Germans…I am glad to be able to help in some small way today.”

“Thank you,” Mila said, “for keeping our Evi safe.”

Alette nodded. “I will not forget her sadness – or her courage.”

Evi moved forward, suddenly overwhelmed, and took the woman’s hands in hers. “I will remember your kindness always, Alette. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Zoe joined them, placing her hand over theris. “ Mevrouw , you are a brave and good woman. We are fortunate it was you who found our Evi.”

Once again, tears pooled in Evi’s eyes.

“Come, Evi,” Mila said. “It is time to go.

...

“Stop!”

As they drove past a promontory high above the sea, Evi scanned the horizon.

“There,” she pointed. “Can you see it?”

It had begun to rain, and the sky had darkened.

“Yes, I think so,” Zoe said.

No more than a kilometer from the shore, Evi was certain she saw it – the yellow siding, the dark roof, the old barge bobbing in the restless sea.

Mila pulled to side of the road. “Yes, I see it…Oh, Evi, I am so deeply sorry.”

Evi gazed out to sea.

“Evi, how did it happen?” Zoe’s voice was gentle. “And where did the baby come from?”

Evi sighed. “Mam took supplies to some Jewish refugees who are in hiding in the caves near Limburg,” she managed. “She brought back a baby…a tiny baby whose mother was dead. He needed to be seen by a doctor… ”

She looked again out to sea. “We were on our way to Middleburg, where other volunteers could try to move him across the border to an aunt in Belgium, when the e-boat – when the Germans drew up alongside us…”

She paused, recalling her mother’s frantic shout.

“I did not see the e-boat approach,” she said. “I was in the hold, tending to the baby, but I could feel we were abruptly changing course. I came above to see what was happening, and as we scraped up against a rocky bit of coastline, Mam screamed at me to jump ashore.

The long silence was thick with grief.

Evi buried her face in her hands, in her mind’s eye images of Mam and baby Jacob, forever lost at sea…

ZOE

They were nearly back to Haarlem before Zoe could bring herself to ask the question.

“Evi,” she said softly. “With the barge lost at sea, you will need to decide where you would like to stay the night…”

Mila was quick to jump in. “I am certain our volunteers will make every effort to retrieve the barge and bring it back to its berth,” she said. “Until then, I am quite sure my family would welcome you to stay with us.”

“Or you can stay with me,” said Zoe. “My apartment is small, but I would be glad for your company.”

She felt, rather than saw, the hesitation in Evi’s face. But when at last the girl spoke from the back seat, her voice was firm.

“Thank you…thank you both,” she said. “You are dear and very good friends. But I have another idea. There is a farm on the outskirts of the city…it is not far, Mila, from the tavern where we planned my first mission…”

Evi paused. “The farm belongs to a family called Beekhof. That is where I would like to go.”

Zoe glanced at Mila. “Beekhof…I do not know of them. Are they friends of your family? ”

“Not exactly,” Evi said.

Again, a sidelong glance at Mila. “Well, then, how do you know them?”

A long silence, as though Evi was deciding what to say next. At length, she leaned forward in her seat.

“They American airman who came to my rescue that night, Mila. Do you remember?”

“ Ja, of course…”.”

“The Beekhof family has been hiding him on their farm since his parachute landed in their field,” Evi said. “They helped him to heal his injuries. They are fine people. They even found false identification papers for him…”

Zoe looked at her. “How do you know all this, Evi?”

Silence.

“Evi?”

Another hesitation. “I have – spent a few afternoons on their land,” she blurted. “Jacob has been teaching me to shoot.”

“Jacob?”

“The American.”

Zoe turned in her seat. “The American airman is teaching you to shoot?”

“Yes. “I have become quite proficient…” Her voice trailed off…

“Proficient enough,” she said, finally, “to save Jacob’s life when the ex-fil-tra-shun failed…”

Zoe stared. “The exfiltration – ?”

Evi slid back in her seat. “Now, we are even Steven, Jacob said…We have each of us helped to save the life of the other…”

Zoe detected something more in Evi’s voice. “I see,” she murmured.

“But how can you be sure, Evi,” Mila said, “that this Beekhof family will take you in? For them it means another mouth to feed, and who knows how long it may be until – even if the barge can be rescued…?”

Evi’s voice was firm. “ Mevrouw Beekhof is a kind woman. She likes me. She will understand.”

A short silence.

Zoe placed a hand on Mila’s wrist. “Evi has been through the gates of Hell today, Mila. I think we need to do as she asks. ”

Mila took a moment, then sighed softly. “Where, precisely, is this farm?”

...

It was dark, but Evi clearly knew the way. She guided Mila to a near-hidden driveway just off the main road. A long, graveled driveway them led them to a modest structure. Zoe could see a dim light inside, but the farmhouse was otherwise dark.

“Come,” she said to Evi. “I will take you to the door. Mila?”

“There is no point in overwhelming the family, Zoe. You go. I will wait.”

Evi did not wait. She hurried to the door, knocked urgently. Zoe heard a dog barking.

“Slowly, Evi,” Zoe whispered. “We do not wish to alarm them…”

“Who is there?” she heard after a moment.

“It is Evi,” the girl said, leaning into the door. “Evi Strobel.”

Another moment.

The door slowly opened. A woman stood against the light, a wary-looking Shepherd huffing at her feet. She looked between the two women. “Evi…?”

Evi began to cry.

The Shepherd quieted, bounded through the doorway, and nudged his snout under Evi’s hand.

The woman looked at Zoe, seemed to take her measure. Then she turned to Evi and opened her arms wide.

MILA

It was well past the dinner hour when Mila returned home. She parked the Daimler in its place in the garage, wondering what, if anything, could be done to rescue the ill-fated Strobel barge and bring it home. Everything Evi owned in the world was aboard it …

The front door was open when Mila tried it. She would just have soon gone straight to her room, but she was not surprised to hear her father call out.

“Mila, is that you?”

Sighing, she hung her coat on a peg and walked into the dining room, relieved to see that only her parents sat at the half-cleared table.

“Good evening, Mother…Father…”

“There are leftovers in the kitchen,” her mother said mildly. “We missed you, Mila.”

“Thank you. I am not very hungry. Father, I hope you do not mind that I took the Daimler. I had some errands…”

Her father peered at her, then nodded stiffly. “Urgent errands, I expect.”

Mila shrugged.

“There was a telephone call for you from Franz Becker. You remember the Obersturmfuhrer? He wanted to know if you received the Deitrich recording he went to great lengths to procure for you.”

Mila swallowed her distaste. “I did, father. Please thank him for me when you speak to him next.”

“I will not,” he said, holding a spoon over his ice cream. “You will be courteous enough to telephone him yourself and convey your thanks. You can reach him at his headquarters in the Stadsplein .”

“All right, Father,” she worked to keep her voice neutral. “But I am quite tired. If there is nothing else –”

“But there is.”

Mila waited.

Her father cut a swath through the mound of ice cream. “It was reported to me that you have been seen more than once near a certain plumbing office near the Bloemendaal.”

She worked to keep from looking startled. Was she being followed ?

A protracted pause. “Is there water leaking somewhere in your wing of the house, Mila?”

“No, Father.”

He reached for a bowl of chocolate sauce. “Then I can think of no reason for you to be conversing with a plumber,” he said, pouring the sauce over his dessert in a thin but even stream. “Especially a plumber who is suspected of having ties to the Resistance.”

...

She had escaped to her bedroom and kicked off her shoes when a knock sounded at her door.

“I have brought you a sandwich,” Reit said. “And I took Hondje for a walk before supper.”

Mila smiled at the woman of indeterminate age who had been with the family for as far back as she could remember. “You are so good to us, Reit.. Heel erg bedankt . I am grateful.”

She watched the maid retreat, locked the bedroom door behind her, and settled in the confines of her closet. Once, twice, she keyed in the digits, but there was no response from Pieter.

It was late, she told herself. He could be anywhere…

She began undressing, slowly, deliberately. But her heart was racing nonetheless.

EVI

Despite the late hour, Mevrouw Beekhof insisted on preparing a light supper for Evi. She disappeared into the kitchen, and came back moments later, her arms full and her expression questioning,