Page 50 of Winter’s End

“I have no wish to abandon the work, Pieter. But I –”

She was interrupted by a pounding at the door. Before they could react, a young woman burst into the office, coat askew, and fright in her eyes.

“Pieter,” the woman paused, paying no mind to Mila.

“Zoe.” He stood. “What is it?”

“I dared not tell you by telephone,” she panted. “It is Daan. He was grabbed by the Germans and dragged bodily from his home.”

“When?”

“This morning. Ilke is frantic.”

“Lieve god,” Mila whispered.

Pieter drummed a fist on his desk. “We cannot assume anything yet. It may be a play for information. Did they search his home, his office?”

“Ilke said only that they barged in and took him…she said nothing of a search. And the Germans have not turned up at thekliniek, at least not before I left.”

Pieter sighed. “Dr. Zoe Visser, this is Mila Brouwer. I do not know if the two of you have met, but you are both vital to the Resistance.”

He paused, but only briefly

“Go back to thekliniekat once, Zoe. Do not enter until you are certain you are alone. Then search Daan’s office for anything that might tie him to the Resistance – anything that could implicate anyone else or divulge any sensitive information.”

“Yes, of course.” Zoe ran a hand through her hair. “But Daan knows better than that. He keeps things in his head. He writes nothing down – no names, telephone numbers, nothing.”

Pieter nodded. “I hope you are correct. But we cannot afford to take the chance.”

Zoe’s burden poured out of her. “Pieter, the night of the train explosion. My bag was grabbed at a check point. I do not – I would die if something in it might have led the Germans to Daan.”

“Do not beat yourself up, Zoe. Things happen. We all take chances.

He paused. “The farmer, Jozef Haan. He is still missing, yes?

Zoe looked at him. “Yes.”

Pieter’s face was grave. “It is a common tactic in warfare. Most people can only withstand so much torture before they break down and tell what they know. There is no way to know where the leak came from. We will do our best to find them both.”

Mila saw the tears pool in Zoe’s eyes. She rose and put her arms around her.

“One thing is certain,” Peiter said. “Daan is stronger than most. I know in my heart he will reveal nothing. Not even…”

He did not have to finish the thought.Not even under pain of death…

EVI

Evi drank a cup of weak tea. She felt jumpy, stifled, irritated. With Mam called to work a shift at the pharmacy, it was Evi who had stood in the ration line this morning, snaking slowly forward for more than an hour only to come away with a loaf of stale bread, a bunch of wilted carrots, and a small sack of oats.

The Germans were cracking down harder than ever since the two Resistance offensives, cutting power, disrupting phone lines, holding hunger over their heads with impossibly meager rations – and shooting people in the streets for the flimsiest of reasons,Radio Oranjereported.

Mam refused to discuss the increased danger. She continued her runs to bring back tulip bulbs and root vegetables with little regard for her safety. But all the while Evi worried for her, she found her own resolve strengthened. The Allies would prevail, she told herself, and until then, she would stay in the fight.

She had not heard from Mila since her last aborted tryst. Nor had she heard from Zoe about shooting lessons.

But the possibility that she might be called upon made her think of Jacob Reese. She rinsed her tea cup and dried it. With a rush of resolve that took her by surprise, she put on her coat, pulled on the blue knit cap with the yellow butterfly, and launched herself out of the barge.

In moments, she was on her bicycle, pedaling with decided purpose.