Night Angels(59)

Fengshan sighed. “Do you have the Quaker organization’s name?”

“I believe it’s called the German Emergency Committee.”

“Was that shut down too?”

“Now that you mention it, I think it disbanded in June.”

Fengshan sighed again.

“You can try to speak to the former secretary and see if she can help. It’s worth a try. I met her at a charity ball, a British woman teaching in Berlin. I had a drink with her, a typical British woman, uptight, but rather good at drinking.”

“You never forget a woman’s name.”

The captain gave a roguish smile. “Bertha, Bertha Bracey.”

For the first time, Fengshan was glad of Captain Heine’s obsession. “How may I find her?”

“Herr Consul General,” a voice, familiar, said beside him.

Fengshan raised his head. Just as he had thought. He’d run into him again. But this was the worst timing. Had he heard their conversation? “Herr Eichmann.”

He was now an Obersturmführer, first lieutenant, judging from the medal on his uniform.

“Hauptsturmführer Heine.” The man—the murderer—looked to be in high spirits, surrounded by a group of policemen wearing high leather boots and trench coats. He gave Heine, a man of a superior rank, a “Heil Hitler” salute, and Heine returned the salute.

“How astounding to see you here, Hauptsturmführer Heine. This is quite a meeting place, the best place in Vienna, to host a foreign diplomat.”

Captain Heine had lost his flirtatious smile. “Herr Consul General is a good friend of mine.”

Fengshan could sense a moment of antipathy wedged between Heine and Eichmann. Eichmann, the chief officer of the Central Office for Jewish Emigration, was an upstart of the SS on the rise, and Heine, a captain of the Viennese police in the first district, came from a military family and held on to some traditional Austrian values. It didn’t seem that Heine would subjugate himself to Eichmann, but the SS men were the ones giving orders these days.

“That’s good to know, Hauptsturmführer Heine. And what a coincidence, Herr Consul General; I heard through the grapevine that your consulate has been issuing visas to the Jews, who use them to apply for exit permits. Well done!”

He couldn’t have heard through the grapevine, being the man in charge of the exit permits. The man’s slyness knew no limits. “That’s the least I could do.”

“May I express my gratitude, Herr Consul General. Thanks to you, thousands of Jews have departed Vienna. Your help is enormous, and you’ve done a great service to the good German people. I believe I speak for many of my colleagues, who are genuinely grateful that you’re lending a hand to get rid of the Jews. At least now they won’t leave their filthy bodies in the ditches of Vienna.”

Fengshan had not become a diplomat without knowing the merit of remaining equanimous, but the heat of fury shot through his head, and he had the impulse to punch the man in front of him. He said sharply, “Such is the great tragedy of humanity—may I be frank, Herr Eichmann? So much destruction, so many deaths and needless losses.”

“Needless losses? Herr Consul General, I assure you, this won’t go on much longer. Soon they’ll all be gone.”

Captain Heine stood before Fengshan had a chance to retort. “If you don’t mind, Obersturmführer Eichmann, I must take my leave. Herr Consul General, may I have a word with you?”

Fengshan picked up his hat, gave Eichmann a perfunctory nod, and walked out. In the brightly lit lobby, the Nazi officials and their female companions looked at him quizzically. He put on his hat and looked away. Had the captain not interrupted him and led him out, he would have broken into an argument with the sly man. He needed to work on his temper. He was the consul general, for God’s sake. Fengshan cleared his throat. “May I say that Brahms’s ‘Wiegenlied’ is not the best of his work.”

The captain looked absolutely at ease, a faint smile on his lips. “Coffee or cognac? We can stop at the Blaue Bar.”

“I’ll pass. What did he mean, they’ll all be gone?”

Captain Heine shrugged and took out a bottle of cognac from his coat pocket.

Fengshan was stunned. “I hope I’m mistaken, my friend, but do I get the impression that you are not aware of your government’s agenda?”

“All I can say is that Eichmann is a new member of the elite. His model of expelling the Jews launched him into fame. He has the ears of many top officials, including G?ring and Goebbels. It’s rumored that he’ll set up another office of Jewish Emigration in Berlin under his command. Proceed with caution, Herr Consul General. I hope he didn’t overhear about the Quakers.”

Fengshan took a deep breath. “I don’t think so.”

Captain Heine looked around the lobby. “Anyway, I’ll speak to Miss Bracey instead of you. But I’d strongly advise you, Herr Consul General, that you not be involved personally.”





CHAPTER 39


GRACE


Finally, a few days later, Fengshan said he heard good news from his friend regarding Eva.

“Captain Heine got in touch with a British woman, Miss Bracey, Grace. And Miss Bracey disclosed to him that recently the British government has agreed to a policy that accepts a limited number of Jewish children under seventeen in Europe. These children will be transported to Britain by train. The first train departed from Berlin a few days ago, and the train from Vienna will leave on December tenth.”