The Serpent's Egg (34 page)

“She looks happy,” said Anna. ‘Don’t you think Aschenputtel looks happy, Max?”

Max rubbed his eyes. “Yes, I think she looks happy.”

Clutching her doll, Sophie sat on the bed beside Anna.

Max sat up. “Have you told her where we’re going?”

Anna gave Sophie a hug. “Max and I are going to Switzerland in the next few days.”

“That’s where all the snowy mountains are. They’re called Alps.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Will you be coming back here?”

“No, Sophie, we won’t be back. We will make a new life for ourselves in Switzerland.”

Sophie looked at Aschenputtel for a few moments. Then she looked up at Anna and whispered, “Take me with you.”

Anna gave Sophie an even bigger hug and held on to her. “Of course, Sophie, of course we’ll take you with us.”

Sophie beamed. “Can Aschenputtel come too?”

Max laughed. “I thought she’d never ask.”

Chapter 94

June 1940

By June 3, the battle of Dunkirk was over. Most of the British soldiers had been evacuated. Belgium and Holland had capitulated, and the German army was moving south into France. The bombing of Paris began, and the French army suffered a number of severe setbacks.

Finally, on June 13, Paris was occupied by German troops. The battle for France was over. Many of the beer cellars in Berlin declared open bars. While crowds of civilians filled the streets to celebrate Germany’s triumphs, Harro was called to a top secret meeting of Intelligence chiefs from the three branches of the Wehrmacht. He emerged from the meeting with a head full of vital intelligence that simply had to be transmitted to Moscow as quickly as humanly possible. Operation Fritz, the planned invasion of the Soviet Union, had been revived and was once again under active consideration!

#

Anna did what she could to console a miserable Max, stuck indoors in the Communist safe house as the free beer flowed outside without him. She was aware that Max was antagonistic toward Edmund. His attitude toward Peter Riese was no more than cordial, but he seemed to hate the younger man, avoiding contact whenever he could. For his part, Edmund seemed content not to have to speak to Max.

A third Communist made an appearance. This man was older than Peter Riese. His name was Bruno. While Edmund hardly ever said anything, Bruno was quite talkative, but Anna could tell that Max didn’t like him.

A few nights after that, when Sophie was asleep, Peter Riese gave Anna two Belgian passports in the names Anna and Sophie Marten. She showed them to Max.

Max examined them. “Does this mean we can leave?”

Bruno replied, “Soon. We need to wait another week or two.”

Max snapped at him, “What are we waiting for?”

“Every policeman in the city is searching for you. And, since your picture appeared in the newspaper, everyone in Berlin will recognize you. The longer you wait the better the chances that people will have forgotten your face.”

Max said, “Anna and Sophie could make the journey without me. Why not let them go now, and I’ll follow later, when it’s safe?”

Anna leapt to her feet. “I knew someone was going to suggest that. Well, you can forget that idea. I’m not leaving without you.”

#

The very next day, Harro Schulze-Boysen arrived and told Max they would have to leave immediately.

“Why? Bruno said we should wait a week or two.”

Harro handed over a half-empty cigarette pack. “We have vital intelligence for the Soviets. I want you to take it with you.
When you get to Zurich, stay at the Storchen Hotel. Our contact there is called Stephan. Ask him where he was born. If he replies ‘German South-West Africa’ you’ll know you have the right man.
”

#

Anna and Sophie were playing with Aschenputtel when Max came in and told them that they would be leaving for Switzerland the next day. Anna flushed at the news with excitement tinged with apprehension.

She spent some time with Sophie, preparing her for the journey.

“Max is your papa and I’m your mama.”

“Like a game of make believe?”

“Yes, only more serious than that. Everybody we meet must really believe that it’s true. Everything depends on that. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Anna, I understand.”

Anna held up a finger. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama.”

Max said, “Edmund will travel with us.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Is that necessary?”

“The intelligence is too important to risk. Harro suggested we should have a bodyguard. Edmund volunteered.”

She thought that was a slightly crazy idea, but she passed no comment.

Max rehearsed their cover story with Anna. “I am Dieter Marten, a traveling salesman. I sell clothing.”

Peter Riese added, “This is a holiday trip to Switzerland. Dieter is taking his wife and child to spend a few days with his parents in Zurich.”

An elaborate personal history for these fictional characters sprang into Anna’s mind. “Herr Marten is old. He is German, a war hero. He served his country in the last War and was wounded at Passchendaele. Frau Marten is much younger than him. She is his second wife, Dieter’s stepmother—”

Riese shook his head. “Keep the story simple. They are old. They are infirm. They are looking forward to meeting their granddaughter for the first time.”

Max said, “I’ve lost the suitcase with my samples.”

“You won’t need those. You’re on vacation, remember.” He went out of the room and came back with a suitcase. “These are your personal possessions.”

Anna opened the suitcase and reeled back from the smell. It was filled with old clothing. “Why do we need all this dirty laundry?” She pulled out a brassiere, three sizes larger than her own, and a man’s heavy woolen check shirt. She laughed. “Some of this stuff is crazy. Where did these come from?”

“Most of the women’s garments were donated by Bruno’s wife. She’s a big lady. That shirt was Edmund’s.”

Anna rummaged about some more. “There’s nothing in here for a 9-year-old girl.”

“Yes, I’m sorry about that, but Sophie has some underwear you can pack, and I’m still hoping to pick up a few more items before you go.”

Max held the check shirt against his chest. It was big enough for two men like Max. “When are we leaving, Peter?”

“The train leaves at seven o’clock in the morning.”

#

At six o’clock the following morning, they got ready to leave. Bruno asked Max to confirm that he had the cigarette pack with the encrypted message. Max showed it to him.

They climbed aboard the red Volkswagen and Bruno drove them to Südkreuz railway station. Sophie said the car looked like a ladybug but without the spots. Max rode up front with Bruno. In the back seat Sophie clung to Aschenputtel and Anna held on tight to Sophie.

“Where’s Edmund?” said Max.

Bruno replied, “Edmund will meet you on the train.”

Neukölln to the railway station took 10 minutes. Bruno found a place to park the car. He told them to wait while he went into the station to buy their tickets.

They sat in the car watching hordes of office workers converging on the railway station. After five minutes, Sophie was trembling in Anna’s arms. “Open the door, Max.”

“Bruno told us to wait.”

“I don’t care what he said. We’re not waiting here any longer. Get the suitcase.”

Max opened the door and lifted the seat. Anna and Sophie climbed out. He took the suitcase from the trunk and they joined the crowds pouring in through the station entrance. They found Bruno near the top of a long queue at the ticket desks.

He joined them when he had the tickets. “I thought I asked you to wait in the car.”

Max made no reply, and Bruno handed him the tickets.
“Take the slow train to Erfurt from platform F17. It leaves in 15 minutes. Take a room at the hotel Erfurter Hof in Erfurt and catch the Zurich Express at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. You should be safely in Switzerland by nightfall tomorrow. Good luck to you all.”

Chapter 95

June 1940

The train was full, but Max found them a compartment with three spare seats, and they settled down for the journey to Erfurt.

Lutherstadt Wittenberg was the first stop, although the signs in the station still read Wittenberg.

“This is where I was born,” Max said to Sophie.

“Show me your house,” said Sophie. They could see a lot of houses.

“None of those, I’m afraid. You can’t see my house from the train.”

“Why not?”

Anna tried to explain. Some of the other passengers in the compartment smiled at the exchange.

Soon, the slow train was rattling through countryside, the acrid smell of coal smoke tickling their nostrils, the repetitive clack-aclack of the wheels on the rails lulling everyone to sleep.

They stopped at every station along the way, some little more than a bare platform surrounded by fields of grazing cattle, eventually arriving at Erfurt, their overnight destination, tired and hungry at 1:00 pm.

#

They left the train. Making their way to a bank in the center of Erfurt, Anna used her bankbook to withdraw almost all their savings. She gave 100 Reichsmarks to Max and tucked the rest into her handbag. Next, they found the hotel Erfurter Hof and booked a room for the night.

They had lunch in the hotel and spent the afternoon like holidaymakers exploring the medieval town. Anna’s ingenuity was sorely tested as she tried to explain the burnt-out shell of an ancient synagogue to Sophie.

#

Max awoke in darkness, every nerve in his body tingling. Something was wrong. Something had woken him. But what? Anna’s even breathing told him that she was sleeping peacefully. Had Sophie got up to go to the bathroom? He should make sure that Sophie was all right. He reached for the lamp on the bedside locker and switched it on.

He was instantly aware of a dark figure at the foot of the bed, bent over the suitcase. The intruder looked up. Bruno!

Before Max could react, before he could make a sound, Bruno was on him, his hands around Max’s neck.

Max grabbed Bruno’s wrists and tried to prize them free, but Bruno was too strong. Max couldn’t breathe. He thrashed about with his legs, waking Anna. She gave a cry and swung into action. Getting to her knees, she threw herself bodily at Bruno. They fell from the bed together.

Anna stood. Bruno lay on the floor, unconscious.

Max gulped a couple of breaths, rubbing his bruised neck, and croaked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. He must have hit his head on the locker. What are we going to do with him?”

“Find something to tie him up with.”

Max checked the suitcase for the half-pack of cigarettes. It was still there. Then he searched Bruno and found an identical one in his pocket.

“Which one has the coded message?” said Anna.

Max shrugged. “Impossible to tell. I’ll have to deliver both packs to the contact in Zurich.”

#

The next morning they returned to the railway station in time to board the Zurich express at 10:00 am, leaving Bruno in the hotel bedroom, trussed up like a Christmas goose.

Nearly 4 hours later, they were sitting at a table in the dining car as the train pulled out of Heidelberg station. Sophie needed a trip to the washroom, her fourth, by Max’s recollection. When they returned, Anna said, “Edmund’s in the corridor.”

Max found Edmund’s bulky frame wedged into a corner near the door.

Max hunkered down beside the big man. “You can go back to Berlin, Edmund. Tell them Bruno is their traitor. We don’t need you here.”

Edmund smiled. He said nothing.

#

Fischer rushed into Kommissar Neumann’s office waving a piece of paper. “Max-Christian Noack has been seen boarding a train at Erfurt.”

“Bound for where?”

“It’s the early morning express to Zurich.”

Neumann lifted the telephone. He rang the central office of the railways and asked for the senior superintendent. He gave his name and rank. “We need to stop the Zurich Express.”

“I can’t do that, Kommissar. Stopping one train would disrupt the timetable and cause chaos to the whole rail network. I’m sorry, what you ask is simply not possible.”

Neumann ground his teeth in frustration. “There’s a killer on that train. We must capture him before he escapes to Switzerland.” No response. “Hello? Are you still there?”

“What you ask is beyond my powers, Kommissar. Surely you have resources you can call on. I would have thought a simple telephone call…”

“Where is the train now?”

“The Zurich Express will arrive at Offenburg in the next 18 minutes. It will depart again 5 minutes later.”