Annika, however, he could trust.
He tapped again and waited in the darkness instead of turning on his flashlight. If only he could speak with Annika during the daylight hours, but he couldn’t risk Herr Knopf’s wrath or the man’s nosiness. And his mother—she’d thought it fine that he and Annika were friends in their youth, but she clearly didn’t want him to spend time with Annika now that he was almost eighteen.
Annika was loyal, like a sister to him. And he desperately needed her help.
Max eyed the walls of the castle across the yard. The light in his mother’s room was still lit. She was probably playing one of her records, trying to fall asleep after their four-hour crawl through the city and then the mountains after dark. They’d been stopped near the edge of Vienna by guards asking for their papers.
Thankfully, his mother had the foresight to pack both birth certificates and baptismal papers. The uniformed man had given the paperwork a cursory glance, but he studied the canary in their backseat for a long time, fascinated by it. At first, Max had been terrified, but the guard was a kindred soul with his interest in birds. He stayed by the window until Max was able to coax Beethoven to sing.
Neither the guard nor his colleagues searched their Mercedes, but other vehicles had been pulled to the side, their doors open as the guards pulled out luggage, rifled through glove compartments, pulled up the car mats.
Even though his father was furious about the donation, Max had been proud of his mother, supporting their Austrian chancellor even after Hitler had ousted him. But she hadn’t wanted to talk about it on their trip. It seemed that Herr Dornbach’s impending visit with the Gestapo had depleted her.
No matter how angry his father was, the man would stand behind his wife’s innocence in the morning. His reputation and clout in Vienna, and perhaps additional funding if necessary, would clear any suspicion of their family.
Annika’s window slowly inched up. “Max?”
Her hair was all tousled, and she looked as if she were still a girl, wide-eyed and innocent, marveling at the world around, embracing her youth even as the new Reich was forcing most of their young people into adulthood.
The years had passed quickly as they both grew, and yet it seemed to him that Annika had stayed the same, as if she would always be the girl who shadowed him like a kitten when they swam and boated in the lake, hiked through the forests and mountains around them. One day, he hoped, she would marry a kind man who would move her far away from her father.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Where is Herr Knopf?”
She glanced behind her, as if her father might be waiting at the door. “I don’t know.”
“Is he home?”
She scampered away from the window and returned seconds later. “He’s not here.”
Max took a deep breath, relieved. “I need your help.”
“I’ll be out in a moment.”
He waited at the edge of the forest, grateful that the clouds enveloped the moon tonight. They were far from the guards in Vienna, yet he still felt edgy, as if Hitler’s henchmen had followed him here.
What would have happened if they’d found his bag of loose jewels in the bottom of the birdcage?
This was the first bird he’d brought to the lake, but months ago, he’d begun using the animals he rescued and their cages to help him courier things for Dr. Weiss. On one hand, he felt guilty about using these animals, but then again, he liked to think they were willing partners. In their innocence they were able to help others.
And he hoped that Annika, in her innocence, would help him too.
Something moved in the trees, and he tensed until he saw Frederica step out beside him, as if she’d heard his voice. He leaned down and petted her behind the ears like he used to do when he’d find her near his home in Vienna.
When he looked back up, he saw Annika. “You’re spoiling her.”
“All I give her is goat milk. She finds plenty to eat around here on her own.” Annika tied back the tendrils that curled like the wild blossoms of a mountain lily around her head. “Did you bring me another animal?”
“I brought a canary with me, but I’ve already released him into the forest.”
Annika squinted at the trees as if she might be able to spot the feathers among the branches.
“He lit off like a flame on a match when I opened the cage door.”
Annika looked back at him. “How did you get a canary?”
“A friend gave him to me.”
