Light beamed through the window in the door to Mortensen’s lab. Else wrinkled her nose. Leave it to Mortensen, whose workinvolved neither animals nor time-sensitive experiments, to deem his research more important than a protest of an immoral act.
Mrs. Iversen’s door stood ajar, and Else opened the door to find the secretary typing. “Good day, Mrs. Iversen.”
“Dr. Jensen?” She gazed up with pale eyes wide. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Nor I you.”
Mrs. Iversen glared at the door to the lab. “His majesty’s article couldn’t wait a week to be typed. I’m going home as soon as I finish.”
“Good. I only came for news on Bohr and the others.”
The secretary leaned over the desk, and her face gleamed. “Everyone’s safe. Dr. and Mrs. Bohr arrived in Sweden the day after they left Copenhagen. Rumors are, Dr. Bohr spoke to the Swedish king and prime minister and begged for asylum for the Danish Jews, and that was why Sweden made that glorious announcement.”
Else’s chest expanded, lifting her smile. “Our Dr. Bohr?”
“Our Dr. Bohr.” Mrs. Iversen couldn’t have looked prouder if he were her own son.
“If you hear of anyone who needs transport, I know of a place.” Else wrote her phone number on a notepad. “Call and say you need me to come in and sign a paper. Then we can talk.”
“I think everyone’s taken care of.” Mrs. Iversen pressed the notepad to her heart. “You’re a good girl.”
“So are you.” Else winked at her and left.
Down in the basement, she set up the mimeograph machine. In a few minutes, pages ofFrit Danmarkflew into the collecting tray. Else picked one up to read as she cranked.
One article officially announced the formation of the Freedom Council, and another protested the deportation of sixteen hundred Jews, saying the arrests had unleashed a “flood of indignation” in Denmark.
Else cringed. Sixteen hundred deported—unspeakable. Yet that meant several thousand had not been arrested.
Thousands remained in hiding, and purpose burned in Else’s veins.
The article stated, “We couldn’t yield to the German threats when the Jews’ well-being was at stake. Nor can we yield today, when hard punishment and the probability of being taken to Germany await us if we help our Jewish fellow countrymen. We have helped them, and we shall go on helping them by all the means at our disposal.”
Else and Hemming and their friends played a role, and her heart pulsed with pride—then sadness.
Soon Hemming would go underground, and she wouldn’t see him until after the war. Laila, sensing the inclination of Else’s heart, had told her freedom fighters always went underground alone. A second person exponentially increased the risk of discovery.
Motion beside her, and a hand snatched a page from the collecting tray.
Else gasped and jerked back.
Manfred Gebhardt skimmed the paper with dark eyebrows pinched together. “Frit Danmark.This is an illegal paper.” His gaze skewered her like a hot poker.
Else’s breath raced, and her hand gripped the crank. She couldn’t deny the truth. She could only appeal to decency. “It’s a newspaper, true.”
“It’s illegal.” He smacked the paper. “Full of lies and propaganda.”
As opposed to German lies and propaganda? Else feigned innocence. “Such as? What do you see in there that isn’t true?”
“This so-called Freedom Council.” Redness crept up his cheeks. “They call themselves the voice of Denmark. You know they’re communists, don’t you? What sort of freedom will you have if communists take over your country? You know the first thing they do is shoot the intellectuals.”
Else ran her fingers up and down the crank, as if soothing it—and herself. “Read the article. The council is composed of men from all political persuasions, including conservatives.”
“But communists are behind it.” He shook the paper hard. “I knew you were up to no good, so I followed you from Mrs. Iversen’s office. I knew it. I should turn you in.”
Else’s breath turned to stone in her lungs. Why hadn’t she checked her surroundings before heading downstairs?
“You’re a communist.” Gebhardt’s gaze cut deep. “I heard about your wrongdoing last week, those illegal flyers you printed.”
