My Name is Eva(19)
The town’s buildings were undamaged though not well maintained, the people were thin but not starving, her landlady was curt but not hostile. I’ve tried to make her smile, but she resents us, Eva realised. We’re the enemy now, here to tell them how to manage their country and looking at every citizen and wondering how much they really knew and whether they too were complicit in that horrific regime.
And now she was reporting for duty, ready to record in shorthand and longhand, in English and in German, the interviews with prisoners for the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre, which had now established its headquarters in the former baths. She paused and took a deep breath as she approached the glazed entrance doors. She’d been determined to obtain this posting. Her discreet questions had told her where she’d find him and now her efforts would bring her face to face with the officer she held responsible for Hugh’s death. But now she was here, she felt nervous. This would be her first encounter with him. Would she know it was him? Would she be able to tell straight away from his steely eyes that he was the ruthless man who had condemned Hugh and the others?
And this was going to be very different to the work she had been hoping to do if the war hadn’t ended. She’d prepared herself to follow in Hugh’s footsteps, training for armed and unarmed combat, crawling through Scottish woods and operating radios. In the stately ’omes of England, as the SOE recruits all joked, they had undergone mock interrogations as well as lessons in coding and silent killing. I thought I might be a heroine and die a vainglorious death just so I could meet you again, my darling.
After her time as an ATS driver and a brief period translating interviews with returning agents and prisoners, she had been ready to sacrifice herself as a special agent like Hugh, if necessary. And then suddenly it was all over and yet not over. There was joy and jubilation, but there was also chaos, and the devastation across Europe required order, restoration and investigation and so she was here, with her secretarial skills, her keen ear and her talent for interpretation, here to listen and report and maybe to put the record straight too.
‘Hello. You’re new here, aren’t you?’
A cheery question, from a red-cheeked sergeant who had walked up behind her, interrupted her thoughts. His razor obviously hadn’t been sharp enough that morning for a smooth shave, but was keen enough to nick his jaw, where a wisp of tissue still clung with a dark stain to his skin.
‘Just arrived. Evelyn Taylor-Clarke. At least I think I am still. For quite a while I thought I was going to be Eva Kuscheck. If the war hadn’t finished when it did, I might have been able to put all that crawling around in Scottish forests to good use.’
‘Well, you can call yourself Eva while you’re here, if you like. Training for SOE, were you?’
Eva didn’t answer, but saw the lift of his eyebrow. ‘Count yourself lucky the show finished early. Hardly any of those chaps ever made it back.’ He offered his hand. ‘James McGregor – Jimmy. Welcome to the Bad Nenndorf Spa.’ He glanced up at the austere building. ‘Doesn’t look like the healthiest of places, does it?’
Eva smiled. ‘I had expected a spa would be a bit more salubrious than this. What’s it like to work here?’
‘It’s pretty strict, but not bad. At least we’re getting decent rations now and the town was never a target, so we’re fairly comfortable. How’s your billet?’
‘Spotless, but it reeks of caraway and cabbage. At least I won’t have to eat there!’ She laughed. ‘Still, it’s slightly better than the ones back home – they all smelt of carbolic and onions.’ She looked around at the grounds, the park and the forests beyond. ‘Is there anything around here to help pass the time when we’re off-duty?’
‘Afraid not. It’s a pretty dead town and I suspect it always was. After all, you can’t expect much of a lively nightlife in a place that’s supposed to make you fit and healthy, can you?’
‘I suppose not. Then I’ll just have to make do with walks in the fresh air when I get some free time.’
At that moment they both turned at the sound of an army truck pulling up nearby. Two guards positioned themselves either side of the tailgate and yanked the handcuffed occupants out. Some were still in uniform, others were just in shirt and trousers; more than one stumbled as they jumped to the ground. And one young man caught Eva’s eye and smiled at her. He was about the same age as Charles, her brother. Despite his capture he had clean, neatly combed blond hair, and as he was marched past her and into the centre, he smiled again.
‘Looks like we’d better get started,’ Jimmy said, once the procession had disappeared inside.
‘I’ll follow you then. I haven’t been briefed yet. Any tips you want to give me now, or do I just jump in at the deep end?’
He turned and looked at her with a grave expression. ‘Just follow orders, particularly those from Robinson. Wouldn’t do to get on the wrong side of him.’ Then he opened the door for her. ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here,’ he said, as he waved her through.
Robinson. She felt a tingle on the back of her neck at the mention of his name and she remembered Tim McNeil’s words: ‘He’s a little terrier of a man. Sinks his teeth in and won’t let go.’ We’ll see who won’t let go, she told herself. I’ve come this far and now we’ll meet at last.