TWENTY-FIVE

October 1946

Nuremberg, Occupied Germany

    The young lady opened the basement apartment door and rubbed her eyes. “Bitte?”

    Flora thought the girl was quite pretty, even with her tousled hair, bleary eyes, and patched nightgown at five in the morning. She smiled at her. “You are Helga Brunne?”

    The girl nodded and yawned.

    “You are an acquaintance of Private Steven Lee?”

    That seemed to wake her up. “I am his friend,” she said with a subtle emphasis on the last word.

    Flora already knew this from the impressive research James had done before he got hurt. Now for the tricky part. “I have a message and a package for you from Private Lee,” she said. “He would have delivered them himself, but he had to leave the city an hour ago on a secret mission.”

    “He left Nuremberg?” Helga’s face filled with worry.

    “Ja. An emergency prisoner escort.”

    “But he was meeting me here for lunch.”

    “That is correct,” Flora said briskly. “And Private Lee sent me here to tell you he will not be able to come.”

    “Sent you?” Helga’s eyes narrowed. “Why should I trust you?”

    It was a good question. James’s papers told Flora that eighteen-year-old Helga Brunne was Lee’s girlfriend. Apparently Lee passed on cigarettes, candy, and other Army “extras” to Helga, who sold them on the black market to feed herself and her grandmother. Flora knew that if she were Helga, she’d also be suspicious of anybody threatening her welfare.

    And this was why Flora had brought the envelope. She held it out. “Do not trust me, fraulein. Trust the package he left for you.”

    Helga took the envelope and pulled out a wad of bills. She whisked the money into her bathrobe pocket, and then pulled some papers out of the envelope. She unfolded and read them. “These are train tickets?”

    “Ja. The US Military transport. Private Lee wishes you and your grandmother to await his arrival in Paris. You will also find a voucher for two nights at the Hotel du Nord. The two hundred American dollars is your extra spending money while you wait for him.”

    Helga stuffed the tickets back in the envelope. “He wants us in Paris?”

    Flora smiled. “Paris. Now hurry and get you and your grandmother ready. The train leaves at seven this morning.”

    Helga’s face fell. “My grandmother has sprained her ankle, and she cannot travel.”

    If Flora didn’t get rid of both Helga and her grandmother for the next few days, the plan to reach Goering would fail. “Can I help you bring her to the hauptbahnhof?”

    Helga shook her head. “She cannot walk at all. Not even to the toilet-I have to bring her a bucket.” She looked at Flora. “I am sorry, but please tell Steven I cannot come to Paris.”

    Cannot come to Paris! For a moment Flora fought to breathe as despair squeezed her chest.

    But then images of James tumbled through her head: James driving the Jeep, turning his head to smile at her. James patting her cheek. James blushing after she kissed him. And finally, James in the clearing, declaring “I will not leave you here to die.”

    If she could just fulfill James’s plan, her bouts of guilt might subside. James had identified what it would take to turn Private Steven Lee into Soul Identity’s new conduit with Hermann Goering. How dare this silly little German girl stand in the way?

    Flora snatched the envelope out of Helga’s hands. “Very well. I will convey your reply to him.”

    “I’m sorry,” Helga called as Flora headed to the stairway.

    Flora turned back and smiled and said in a breathy voice, “It’s no problem at all. I am happy to go in your place. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and seeing it on the arm of your handsome GI will be wunderbar.”

    “You’ll go in my place?” Helga’s voice was barely audible.

    Flora smiled. “Naturally. My own American went home to his wife last month, and I’ve been looking for another. Private Lee seems almost perfect.” She turned to go.

    “Wait!”

    Flora turned back.

    “Why did Steven send you?”

    “I work the ticket counter at the hauptbahnhof. Your soldier was quite distraught a few hours ago. He was thrilled when I offered to deliver his package to you.”

    Flora could see that Helga was almost there, and she pressed on. “It’s a shame you can’t come, but one girl’s loss is another girl’s gain, nein?”

    She stood on the platform and waved. Two soldiers had just carried Helga’s protesting grandmother into the car. The train whistled, the wheels began to turn, and in another minute, Helga and her grandmother were on their way to Paris.

    Giving Flora three whole days to seduce Private Steven Lee and open an alternative conduit to Goering.