Crossword (29 page)

Larry's mouth was already filled with a piece of bread he
had torn off as he replied, "This is great; just fine." Eva served
herself a small portion and sat across from Larry, quietly spooning the soup
into her mouth or sopping up portions of the thick broth in a piece of roll and
delicately, almost sensually placing it in her mouth. When Larry finished she
removed the bowl and his plate, placing the former in the sink and piling the
latter with large portions of sausages, onions and eggs.

She set the plate in front of him, then removed her bowl.
"You must be famished; take your time and eat your full. There is more on
the stove."

"Aren't you going to join me?"

"No. I have eaten enough today."

"You're not just saying that so there'll be more for me
are you?"

"Not at all. I am not shy, nor am I hesitant to take
what I want." She wiped her hands on a towel and continued, "While
you are finishing I am going to change. Just leave the dishes when you're
through. Relax and enjoy the wine." She sauntered into the bedroom, her
body moving and swaying in all the feminine ways, secure in the knowledge that
there would always be eyes watching her, except when she was completely alone.
Even then, she sometimes liked to follow herself in the mirror.

Larry was, indeed, focused on her as she left the room, but
his expression was more thoughtful than lecherous. Schroeder was right when he
had spoken of her beauty, but even though he had not gone into detail about her
personality and habits, somehow this was not the woman that Larry had imagined.
Oh well, war changes a lot of things, especially people. Besides, maybe she
was always like this. The General never described a wallflower or some demur
recluse. I shouldn't be so judgmental.
He finished his meal, pushed his
plate to the side and sat thoughtfully drinking his third glass of wine when
Eva returned and sat back down across from him. She was wearing a lavender robe
of heavy cotton, adorned with a single black rose over the left chest.

"Well, Lorenz, have you had enough to eat? I hope it
was to your liking."

"I have, and it was wonderful. My compliments to the
chef."

She gave a bow of the head. "You are too kind,
sir." After a short pause she continued, "I suppose we have some
business to discuss. The last time I saw dear Heinrich he told me there was
something of great importance that he had secreted away and it would enable
both of us to flee this turmoil and desperation that is spreading through
Germany. 'Someone will arrive one day and they will tell you something that
will allow you to figure out where it is hidden. You must take them to that
place, then go with them when they leave the country.' You are that someone.
Tell me, then, where did Heinrich hide this important something?"

"The day after he moved you into this apartment he took
you on a picnic, outside of Munich, and you were caught in a rain storm."
Eva nodded her head while listening. "There was a barn nearby and you took
shelter in it. In that barn, in the center of the floor, a trap door led to an
underground storage cellar, and some days afterwards he returned and hid his
important package in the cellar. For your own safety he never told you."

"He is such a sweet man, always watching over me,
always trying to protect me ever since my parents were killed."

"You remember the place?"

"Ah, what a day that was; not one I'm likely to
forget."

A look of apprehension played fleetingly on his face before
he could submerge it under the façade of the great game he played. Maria had
not commented on the fact that he said the trap door was in the center of the
barn rather than in the corner, where it was actually located. Eva, ever the
astute observer, noticed the change in Larry, however brief it had been.

"Is something the matter, Lorenz?"

"No. I think the strain of the past few days is just
catching up."

She would reserve judgment on the veracity of what he said,
but for the moment, outwardly seeming to accept his explanation, she replied,
"Well we will just have to de-stress you in some way."

"When can we get going?"

"Tomorrow I will have to seek out contacts that the
General told me about in order to arrange for a car and the necessary
documents. Unfortunately, with the current state of affairs, it will most
likely take all day, perhaps even longer. The usual German efficiency is
hampered by the exigencies of war, particularly one we are losing." Larry
glanced at his watch. "It is too late to do anything today." She
stood up. "For now there is nothing to be done. Well, almost
nothing." Eva unfastened the tie around her bathrobe and let it fall open.
She wore nothing underneath and the body that was revealed stirred feelings in
Larry that she could sense, predator that she was.

It was the smell of coffee that woke Larry, not the catlike
movements of Eva as she moved around the apartment. A thin shaft of sunlight
shone into the living room through a narrow gap in the curtain of the one
window, and his eyes were instinctively drawn to it as if the beam might help
elucidate the questions that plagued him. Eva followed his gaze and said,
"Best not to open the curtains any further. My neighbors would not expect
a man staying in the apartment."

"Not a problem."

"Help yourself to coffee. There's some cold bratwurst
and bread in the kitchen." She returned to her preparations, snapped her
purse shut, satisfied that she had what she needed, and placed a dark brown
fedora on her head before turning to face Larry. She wore a stylish, although
rather masculine brown tweed business suit, which added distinction to her look
but did little to hide the woman underneath.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Oh," she cooed, "will Lorenz miss me?"

"Seriously."

"I'm not sure. Like I said last night, it could take
all day. I will return as soon as possible. Don't forget to eat something. You
must keep up your ... strength." She spun on her heels and, looking back
over her shoulder, a sly smile on her lips, she blew him a kiss before exiting.
The bolt clicked into place behind her and Larry stared at the door for several
minutes before getting up from the couch where he had slept to fetch himself a
cup of coffee.

* *

Eva walked several blocks to where the rows of apartment buildings
started to give way to commercial structures, mostly storage facilities or
staging areas for assorted businesses, all but a very few closed and deserted.
When she came to a low brick building, she paused to remove her mirror from her
purse and inspected her appearance as well as the pavement behind her, quickly
determining that she was alone. The building had two loading docks, both
padlocked closed, and several windows, all of them boarded shut. In the middle
of the length of the edifice several steps led up to a double entrance, also
boarded. She walked the entire length of the structure and turned the corner,
where, after proceeding another ten meters, a narrow set of steps could be seen
leading down to a metal door, paint peeling from its surface. Eva hastened down
the concrete steps, turned the handle and slipped inside, quickly closing the
door, then stood motionless while her eyes adjusted to the dim light.

She was in a small reception area, most of the space filled
by a counter and a metal desk behind it. On the wall there was a map of Munich
and several push pins remained in it although the map itself was faded and
barely legible in areas. It was, thought Eva, as if portions of the city were
just dissolving into oblivion, a metaphor she found to be uncomfortably true,
for the entire country even more so than for the city.
It is time to leave
this place, this ruin of a culture and nation.
A stout wooden door was the
only path out of the small room and it was locked, which she had expected. She
rapped several times, and through the small pane of glass set in the door she
could see a uniformed soldier poke his head around a corner, pull back, then
reappear holding a set of keys that he used to unlock the door. "Good
morning Fraulein."

Ignoring the greeting, Eva strode in and demanded of the
young infantryman, "Where is she?"

Used to responding to authority with deference, the soldier
said, "Right this way. She's locked in one of the rooms."

"Is she restrained?"

"No, but she started to yell quite loudly this morning
and wouldn't stop so I taped her mouth shut." They strode down the
corridor to the second door on the left, the private thumbing through the keys
until he found the correct one, which he inserted into the lock. "Would
you like me to go in with you?"

"Where is your sergeant?"

"He went to get some food. He has his own key to the
door."

"Come in then, but wait by the door. Do not say
anything."

"Yes, Fraulein." He pushed the door open then
stood and held it aside while Eva made her entrance. Closing it behind her he
took up a position blocking the egress, his back to the door.

The room was approximately five meters square and had the
ceiling been higher than the two and a half meters or so that prevailed
throughout the space, it might have seemed almost cavernous, its size inflated
by its meager contents and its lone petite occupant. Maria, her mouth taped
over, had been sitting in one of the two chairs, but stood up when they
entered. The only other furniture in the room was a simple metal table, a small
pitcher of water and a single glass sitting on the slightly concave surface.
Maria looked from one to the other expectantly, although it was not clear just
what it was she expected. Perhaps she hoped for her freedom or merely for an
explanation, the latter a hope that would soon be fulfilled but would most
certainly bring no joy or relief to the poor young woman. It struck Eva as
ludicrous that here was a woman, alone in a room, not tied up or restrained,
who left the tape that covered her mouth in place. As she looked closer,
however, Eva noticed several bruises on the side of her face and it became
clear what the inducement had been that left the gag undisturbed. Turning to
the soldier she yelled, "Idiot, don't ever hit this woman. And how could
you damage such a pretty face and delicate lips with this industrial
tape?"

Eva put her purse on the table, then gently placed a hand on
Maria's shoulder while she slowly eased off the tape. "Such an idiot to do
this to lips as lovely as these." She stood a good fifteen centimeters
taller than the delicate prisoner, and had to bend down as she held Maria's
face in her hand, lifting her chin slightly, to plant a lustful kiss on her
mouth. Maria's eyes grew wide with shock and fear and she opened her mouth to
protest, but in reality only provided an entry for the exploring tongue of the
woman who stood over her. When she had finished the forceful and lingering
kiss, Eva withdrew her mouth and restraining hand, pivoting towards the table
as she said, "Sit and we can talk." Her request, in actuality a
command, was unnecessary since Maria, as soon as she was released, collapsed
into the chair beneath her, her pupils still dilated and her trembling hand to
her mouth.

Removing her hat, Eva made sure her hair, knotted up in the
back, was still in place before slipping out of her coat, folding it and laying
it alongside her purse and hat on the table. She checked her lipstick in the
compact mirror, then replaced it in her handbag, pausing to think a moment
before snapping it shut. Suddenly, she spun around, her arm extended and landed
a roundhouse smack on Maria's cheek, knocking her completely off the chair to
land in a heap on the concrete floor, blood running from her nose. "It's
so much easier to talk when you have someone's attention." To the soldier,
"You there, tie her to the chair."

"Should I tape her mouth again?"

"No, let her scream." She pulled the remaining
chair in front of Maria and sat down, their knees almost touching. "Now,
young lady, I need some information, and I don't have much time. Nor, by the
way, do you if you don't cooperate." From a depth unknown, Maria drew on
courage and fortitude she had always believed was there but until this moment,
had never had to validate. She didn't know how long she would last, but she decided
that this would be the fire that would forge her determination.

With resolve she said, "My guardian is General Heinrich
Schroeder, and you will have to deal with him, not me."

"We have already dealt with him, and what's left is
lying along a road somewhere in Italy." Maria visibly sagged and what
bravado there had been shriveled into that dark corner of her mind where a tiny
child lay curled up, huddled in fear.

The sergeant, having returned with coffee and a few pieces
of cold chicken, realized that General Waldman's woman had arrived and he
remained outside in the corridor. The solid door muffled much of the sound from
within, but several times he thought he could hear a woman's shrill voice
yelling, "Pick her up again."

* *

It was dark when Eva returned to the apartment carrying a bottle of
wine and some thin slices of veal in a newspaper. Meat was very scarce and she
had to use her wile as well as her connection to the SS General who commanded
the troops in northern Italy, to wrest the prize from the black marketeers.
From the smile on her face and her buoyant air, Larry assumed she had been
successful in making the arrangements, and this was confirmed when she said,
"We can leave first thing in the morning." His face did not mirror
the happy expression of Eva, his countenance was more somber and there was
little to allay his misgivings. "Do you still feel stressed, Lorenz?"
She stood there, still holding her packages. "Perhaps I can do more to
help you relax." Her words carried little of the sexual undertones of the
night before; she was genuinely worried, although her concern had nothing to do
with Larry's welfare.
I wonder if he suspects something? I shall have to
watch my words.