“Where were you before Amsterdam?” Melanie zeroed in on a great question.
“Inside Germany. It was getting hard to be there and hear the constant propaganda each day. Our best informant was arrested the day I left.” The sigh he released was almost a groan. “The Gestapo have been at full force the past few months. Rounding up what they call political prisoners and sending them to work camps. In all truth, they are also rounding up those they believe are informants and Jews who were outspoken or had any power whatsoever. A good friend of mine was taken several weeks before I met you. A Jew. A good man.”
The slight crack in his voice was telling. He must be comfortable with them because there was far too much emotion for a man trained as a spy to portray.
“Is your friend all right?” Chaisley’s heart went out to the man.
“I ... I don’t know. That’s the difficult part. These work camps are terrible. I searched for him, but things escalated and I had to leave. There has been so much hate and prejudice stirred up that it feels like people have been brainwashed. No other country wants another war ... except Hitler. He wants to rulethe world and focus on his Aryan master race. Which means that eventually all people of a different race or color will be subject to whatever he has planned. And I think it’s much worse than work camps. Although, how much do we really know about what is happening there?”
The air in the room seemed to get heavier the longer they talked. And the new melody running through her mind haunted her. Shaded her every waking moment, mingling with her grief. “Why were you assigned to drive for me?”
His hesitation troubled her.
“I’ll admit, I wasn’t excited about the job. I didn’t understand why they thought it would be good to take me out of Berlin to drive a pianist around. But then I realized that you would have access to people the SIS were interested in.”
“Is that so?” Was that all she was to him? A way to get close to people he could spy on? It hurt. More than she cared to acknowledge.
“But don’t you see? This has helped all of us. I can helpyou.” He pleaded—a tone she hadn’t heard from him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Zimmerman. I don’tsee. Frankly, I’m disturbed that you didn’t tell us this right away. Especially after I was honest with you about everything from the very beginning.” She didn’t like the way her stomach tied up in knots. Nor the way she was reacting. But she couldn’t stop the words from rushing out. “Was all of this fake to you? Pretend?”
“Wait a minute.” Had he come to his feet? “No, this wasn’t fake.” His voice was above her now. “I’ve come to care for you and Melanie both. I thought we were all friends. All working together. All believers.” Now his tone held a bitter tinge as it weighed down on her. “And youhaven’tbeen completely honest with me from the beginning. There have been plenty of conversations full of secrets which you have kept from me.”
The words hit her like an arrow. They had done that. She haddoubted him plenty of times. Shared only what she thought he needed to know. Yes, he had a right to throw it back at her.
But why did it have to hurt so much? Her emotions were worse than a pendulum out of control. “I think you need to leave now.” She rubbed her forehead.
“Chaisley ... I’m sorry.” The words were cracked.
Like their friendship.
“Please. Go.”
Berlin, Germany—Tuesday, June 7, 1938
He woke up from the nightmare covered in sweat.
It was her! Up on that stage.
How long had it been since he’d seen her?
Fifteen ... twenty years?
Sitting up on the edge of his bed, he mopped his face and neck with his shirt. He should have known she seemed too familiar.
Now, the question was ... what was he going to do about it?
A lot had changed in all the time that had passed. He’d made something of himself. Was one of Hitler’s right-hand men.
Of course, it appeared she’d made a good life for herself as well. Still, could they reconnect? Was that wise? Surely, she understood what was needed.
Perhaps she wasn’t happy. She might even want to be a part of something as revolutionary as what he was doing.
He glanced at the clock. It was only two in the morning. He needed sleep and plenty of it. As he lay back down, his thoughts tumbled over one another.
He didn’t need to make a decision right away, but it did seem prudent to keep an eye on her.
What if she desperately wanted to get away from what she was doing now but didn’t know how? He could help.
