The Fragile Hour (19 page)

“
You’re wrong! Nobody else is involved!” she cried, bluffing desperately. “I had arranged it all secretly.”

He
did not believe her. “You couldn’t possibly house such a young enemy of the Third Reich in this hotel without the co-operation of others!”

“
But I did! You’ve no idea how long he’s been here, being fed at night and sleeping by day in the storeroom opposite my room. I thought the time had come for him to move on. That’s what he and I were discussing.”

Her
persistence was exacerbating his anger to a pitch that made his finger quiver against the trigger of his gun. “You’re both under arrest as Greta Sande and her daughter and the staff will be! Now I’m going to wake the whole hotel.” He indicated sharply that she and the whimpering boy, clinging to her like a limpet, should go ahead of him out of the kitchen. “Go on! Move! Into the lobby!”

He
did not see or hear the iron saucepan that Margot crashed down on his head. His knees sagged and he reeled, all expression wiped from his face, the revolver dropping from his hand. Even as he fell, he caught the back of his neck with a thud against the black rim of the stove and tumbled into a sprawling position full-length on the tiled floor.

Anna
thrust Magnus away from her and darted across to kneel beside him. She felt his pulse, put her ear to his chest, and then checked again. She looked up at Margot, who still stood holding the saucepan by its handle, her face ashen. “He’s dead!”

“
Good!” Margot exclaimed on a shrill note.

Anna
rose quickly to her feet. She could see that both Margot and Magnus were in shock and she felt shaky in the legs herself, but she had to keep a clear head and decide what to do. When Margot had loomed out of the pantry, holding the heavy saucepan high above her head, it had all happened so swiftly, and the situation must be solved with the same speed.

“
Wash that saucepan, Margot!” she instructed as a first practical move. “Make sure there’s no blood or hairs left on it.”

Margot
stared at her in horror. “I can’t.”

Anna
snatched it from her by the handle. “Then hunt for Edith’s bottle of brandy. It’s hidden somewhere.”

“
I saw it yesterday tucked behind some blocks of green soap in the laundry room.”

“
Then get it.” Anna turned in time to see Magnus about to pick up the revolver. “Don’t touch that! Put some wood on the stove. I want a fire going.”

After
placing the saucepan in the sink under a running tap, she took a clean cloth to pick up the revolver itself, having seen enough Hollywood films to know about incriminating fingerprints. Still keeping the weapon wrapped, she knelt once again beside the dead man and slid it back into its holster, which she fastened afterwards through the cloth, giving it a wipe for good measure. Then she examined the back of his head, seeing some blood, and cleaned the back of his broken neck in case a tell-tale mark remained from the stove.

As
she lowered his head again, she was overcome by nausea and remained bowed over, struggling against it. Margot thrust a glass with a little brandy into her hand.

“
Drink this! I’ve had some and I feel better now. What are we going to do?”

Anna
gulped the brandy down and it helped. “I’m trying to work that out.”

She
looked at the kitchen clock. It was almost three o’clock and far too light outside to deposit the body in the street as if Klaus had been attacked there. In any case, that would bring reprisals down on innocent townspeople, which must be avoided at all costs.

Magnus
crouched down to bring his worried face on a level with hers. “The fire is going well.”

“
Well done.”

“
I am hungry,” he said wistfully, suddenly unable to think of anything else but the hollow aching in his stomach.

Anna
could see that with the German dead his fear had diminished and his trust in Margot and her to protect him would be absolute. “Help yourself to bread and cheese as you did before. Later today I’ll find you something more substantial.”

Wearily
she rose to her feet. How incongruous it was to talk of food at such a time! Especially as an idea was forming in her mind as to how to cover up what was virtually a murder, even though Klaus might not have died if he had not fallen against the rim of the stove. It was fortunate it was not alight at the time, for nothing could have disguised a burn on his neck.

“
The saucepan will be clean now, Margot. Take a fresh cloth from the drawer, dry it and put it back where it was. After that we must drag Klaus to the foot of the stairs. It has to look as if he fell backwards down the flight.”

“
That’s crazy!” Margot exclaimed in dismay. “Nobody would be taken in by that.”

“
Have you a better idea?” Anna countered angrily. “Or do you want him left here on the kitchen floor?”

Margot
looked shamefaced. “No. It’s whatever you say.”

While
she dried the saucepan, Anna threw the cloth she had used into the flames of the stove. Leaving the kitchen, she went to the lobby to look up the steep flight and down again to decide exactly how Klaus might have fallen and where he should lie. Returning to the gruesome task awaiting her, she found Margot waiting to take one of his arms while she took the other. After she had placed a kitchen chair cushion under the heels of his jackboots to avoid any scrape marks they proceeded to drag him away to the lobby. They left Magnus staring fearfully after them as he tucked into bread and cheese.

“
We ought to have woken Emil to help us,” Margot whispered breathlessly, for Klaus was heavy to pull.

“
No,” Anna whispered back. “I wouldn’t want him or anybody else to be involved.”

Nervous
of making the slightest sound, they arranged Klaus’s body at the foot of the stairs. Anna dismissed Margot’s idea that they sprinkle the rest of the brandy over him as if he had been drinking, for if there was an inquest it might come to light that he was sober when he fell. Finally Anna took his hat and gloves from the lobby table and stooped to skim them across the floor as if they had flown from his hand.

They
were careful to erase all trace of his having been in the kitchen, wiping the rim of the stove and cleaning the floor tiles where his head had lain. The cloths they used all ended in the flames. Last of all the remains of Magnus’s meal were cleared away. Margot noted that he seemed to think their presence had given him
carte
blanche
to eat as much as he liked. Tomorrow there would be no hiding from Edith a missing half a loaf or the disappearance of a large amount of cheese. Magnus had even drunk a full glass of milk.

Upstairs,
after seeing Magnus back into his secure hiding-place, Anna and Margot embraced each other in silent commiseration at what they had been through together. As they went to their own rooms, both wondered what they might have to face in the days ahead.

Chapter
Seventeen

Anna was dressed and ready, as she knew Margot would be, when the commotion started as Klaus’s body was discovered. There were shouts as well as footsteps running up and down. She went out on to the landing, Margot doing the same, and saw Greta half-way up the flight to them. Her face was stricken.

“
A terrible thing has happened! Major Schultz fell down the stairs last night! He’s dead! Someone has phoned the medical officer and he’s coming at once. Wait where you are for a few minutes. The Major is being carried to his room and we don’t want to get in the way.”

Margot
turned pale. It was a sight she did not want to see. She exchanged a look with Anna when Greta signalled that they could follow her. All the officers in the hotel were out of their rooms, some still in pyjamas, others partly dressed, their faces grave. When they saw Anna their gaze followed her, believing that she would be particularly distressed as she and Klaus had formed a relationship. One detached himself from a group outside the dead man’s room.

“
I’m so sorry,
fröken
. I can guess how you’re feeling.”

She
made the most suitable answer possible in the circumstances. “Major Schultz died in the cause of the Third Reich even if he was not on a battlefield.”

“
Most aptly said!” he endorsed fervently.

Greta
and Margot had gone ahead. Anna was alone on the stairs leading down to the lobby when the medical officer arrived. She had to wait while Hauptman Bauer, fully dressed, explained how the body had been found.

“
Why was it moved?” the medical officer demanded testily. “I should have made a preliminary examination of it first.”

“
It was a natural reaction not to leave him lying there. He was carried up most carefully.”

“
So I should hope! Any blood?”

“
Just a small patch where his head was lying.”

Both
men peered down at the dried stain. The medical officer gave a grunt of satisfaction. “That’s not enough for an attacker’s blow with a sharp instrument.”

Hauptman
Bauer looked surprised. “We’ve never experienced any aggression in this hotel. There are only three women here at night and an old man.”

“
I was thinking more along the lines of the Major being set upon outside and staggering in, but that seems unlikely. Who found the body?”

“
The hotel’s handyman, whom I’ve just mentioned.”

“
I’ll want to question him later. Now I’ll go upstairs.”

Hauptman
Bauer led the way up past Anna, enabling her to continue on her way. She guessed Greta and Margot were in the office together, but she did not join them. It had been agreed the previous night that Greta should be given all the facts, but Margot was the one to do it.

On
the way to the kitchen she met Emil with a bucket of water and a cloth. “Is it all right to clean up the floor now, do you think?”

She
nodded. “Did you hear Major Schultz fall down the stairs in the night?”

“
No, I can’t hear anything where I sleep, I’m pleased to say. Only the bell if one of the officers has forgotten his key. I found the Major when I came through to draw back the black-out curtains.”

“
I need to see Rolf about what happened here and something else. It’s urgent. Could you make contact today?”

“
Leave it to me.”

It
was not yet half-past six, but Edith was already making porridge, for there were always officers wanting breakfast before early duties. Two part-time waitresses were tying on aprons and discussing the Major’s death, but not with any regret. Next to Hauptman Bauer he had been the one the staff had most disliked. All three women looked askance at Anna, never having been entirely sure about her association with him, even though they knew Fru Sande would never employ a traitor.

“
There’s one Nazi less for breakfast, Edith,” Anna said as if his absence was due to some mundane reason.

Her
words were enough to reassure them. The two waitresses suppressed a giggle and Edith looked relieved, but she had something else on her mind, far more impor-tant than the demise of an enemy. Even as she opened her mouth, Anna went across to press her arm meaningfully.

“
Did you want to discuss the bread? It’s my day for collecting the ration. I’d like to talk about it later and anything else in the pantry that you want replenished.”

Edith
could tell by Anna’s tense expression that at last she was to be given an explanation for the missing food, including the fresh loss discovered this morning. She just had to wait until the two of them were on their own. She gave a nod, unable to resist a surreptitious glance at Anna’s flat stomach. It didn’t show, but that Major Schultz with his brutish good looks wouldn’t have been above rape if it had suited him.

Other
part-time workers were arriving. Edith delivered dramatically the news of the fatal accident in the night to every one of them. Anna did not stay for the exclamations and comments, but went to the office. It was deserted, but Margot called to her from the sitting-room.

“
Mother and I are in here.”

As
soon as Anna saw Greta, she could tell that Margot had related everything. The woman had just lit another cigarette and there were three stubs already in the ashtray by which she sat. For the first time she looked her age and more, her skin so devoid of colour that her rouge stood out sharply across her cheekbones, her lips unusually vivid. Yet, in spite of the additional shock her daughter had given her about the uninvited presence of a young refugee on the top floor, she remained her usual sensible and practical self.

“
Have you seen the boy today, Anna?” she inquired crisply.

“
No, I told Magnus he wasn’t to move from the storeroom. I’m going to take him some porridge as soon as I can.”

“
It will mean confiding in Edith. She’s to be trusted, but such a secret is an unfair burden on her.”

“
I will try to ease that.”

“
From now on Magnus must be properly fed. He will have to bath and his clothes be washed. It will mean doing that at night.”

“
I’ll see to it.”

“
How has the poor child passed the time?”

“
He told me he has watched the fishing boats from the window, and on one of his nocturnal forays he found a spare chess set and has been playing against himself. Apparently his grandfather taught him. Magnus is a very intelligent child.”

“
You realise he can’t stay on here indefinitely? Not only is it far too dangerous, but it’s wrong for him to remain cooped up. But, whatever happens, I want nothing done in haste that could add to the peril he’s already in. He’s come through far too much already for any child of his age.”

“
I agree,” Anna said. “You’re taking this very well, considering that so much has happened in such a short while.”

Greta
gave a wry smile. “Don’t think I’m not scared as hell at what might come out of it all, but I’ve matched my wits with the enemy before and you and Margot are the best people I could have with me.” Abruptly she stubbed out her half-finished cigarette. “I must stop smoking these German handouts! I feel ashamed of myself for accepting them. I’ll not light up another!”

Breakfast
was over by the time Anna had a chance to speak to Edith on her own. “I know you’re a patriot as I am,” she began. “For that reason I’m going to trust you with some information that you must never repeat.”

Edith
put a maternal arm about Anna’s shoulders and sat her down at the table. Pulling out a chair for herself, she leaned forward sympathetically. “When is your baby due?”

Anna
looked at her in astonishment. “Have you been thinking that? Oh no, that’s not the case at all. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Edith
could tell by the gravity of Anna’s expression that she was speaking the truth. “I know I like to gossip, but I can keep my mouth shut when it’s important.” She clamped her lips together to emphasise her vow. “How can I help?”

“
There’s a young Jewish boy who has to be fed. Don’t ask me where he is or anything about him.”

Edith
took what she had heard to heart. “What do you need?”

When
Anna had gone up the little-used back stairs with the porridge, Edith put on her coat and went home. It was only a ten-minute walk. When she returned, there were some of her sons’ childhood books in her pockets, together with crayons and a half-used sketchpad. She also carried a package of underwear and a couple of shirts that her boys had grown out of, but which she hoped would prove useful. Anna received the clothes gratefully and Magnus was overjoyed with the rest.

Klaus
’s body left the hotel at midday, the coffin covered by a swastika flag. The medical officer had concluded that it was an accidental death with no suspicious circumstances. The bruise on the back of the neck had troubled him, but he had come to the conclusion that the edge of a tread had caught it in the fall. One of the officers thought he had heard a noise of some kind in the night, but although he had not looked at his watch he knew it had been in the small hours, which tied up with the time of death. The matter was all but closed.

Later
in the day Anna met Rolf at a friend’s house. When he had heard everything, he gave a low whistle at the seriousness of the situation.

“
We must get the boy to safety as quickly as we can. Not only from the hotel, which is far too dangerous, but from Alesund as well. There are too many German spot-checks and house searches in this port for him to stay until the Shetland Bus starts up again. Have you any ideas, Anna?”

“
I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Suppose I travelled with him? Magnus could be a child entrusted to my care and too sick to be questioned. I could take him to wherever you say. You’d be able to get a doctor’s certificate and a travel pass.”

“
That wouldn’t present any problem. All the doctors in this town are patriots with us. Is Magnus a sturdy child?”

“
Yes, he is. Until he came to the Halstads’ home he was at places where he could climb in the mountains and have limited freedom. What were you thinking of?”

“It’s going to be difficult, but we could get him through the forests into Sweden. It’s a far more dangerous escape route at this time of the year than on skis during the winter, but I know somebody who’ll be going soon and he would take the boy. Of course, you know him. It’s Karl.”

Anna
felt a little glow within her at hearing Karl’s name so unexpectedly. “Where would Magnus and I meet up with him?”

“
It means going all the way to Oslo. You’d be in danger every minute, but if you get the boy there I think I can say that his life will be saved.”

“
I’ll get him there.”

“
We’ll have to think of some way to get the boy out of the hotel in the first place. There’ll have to be some diversion to make sure he’s not noticed as we get him away. What reason can you yourself give for leaving your present employment?”

“
That’s no problem. From the start the Germans were told I was only there temporarily for part of my training. Fru Sande knows a safe hotel in Oslo where I can go.”

“
Then I’ll start making arrangements. I’ll let you know when the plan has been fully worked out. Don’t contact me in the meantime unless there’s an emergency.”

The
days of waiting that followed seemed endless. Greta wrote to her friend in Oslo, knowing he would read between the lines and understand why she wanted Anna to go to his establishment. As she had expected, a reply came quickly in which he wrote he would be glad to have extra help as getting reliable staff was a problem.

“
By ‘reliable’,” Greta said after reading the letter aloud to Anna, “he means a fellow Resistance member. You’ll be in good company.” She gave one of her broad smiles. “If ever you want a position of trust in a hotel when this war is finally over, come back here. You’ll be welcome. We’re going to miss you.”

Margot
said much the same when Anna was playing Chinese Chequers with Magnus in her room. “I’ll have to write and tell you all the news.”

“
You do that! And I’ll let you know what it’s like in Oslo these days.”

“
Have you any friends living there?”

Anna
’s thoughts flew to Aunt Rosa. “Nobody whom I wouldn’t endanger by a visit.”

“
That’s a pity. At least here you’ve come to know quite a few people.”

Magnus,
studying the game, interrupted with a triumphant shout. “I’ve won!”