The Librarian Spy(33)
Nicole lifted a shoulder in a delicate shrug and stepped around a patch of thick, wet mud. “I asked, as I said I would.”
“Is there anything else you’ve discovered that you haven’t told me?”
The other woman pressed her lips together and shook her head. An action done with too much haste.
“What is it?” Elaine asked tightly.
“Nothing.” Nicole quickened her steps, as if she could be spared from saying more if she was fast enough.
A shadow fell over them as the sun was blotted out by thick, dark clouds. “Please, Nicole. If someone knew of your brother or father, wouldn’t you want to know?”
Nicole slowed somewhat, but kept her focus directed on the unseen trail she followed. “Your husband was arrested by Kommandeur Werner,” she said after a long pause.
Elaine stopped walking. She may not know as much as the other Resistants, but she knew the name. All the men under Hauptsturmführer Klaus Barbie were cruel, but Werner was exceptionally so, one who relished in the brutalization of his captives. Stories of his torment had reached even her ears and plucked at the darkest nightmares of her imagination.
If Joseph had indeed been taken by Werner, he would doubtless have been treated without mercy all this time. The chocolate in Elaine’s stomach was suddenly too rich.
As pleasant as the break from the city had been, she wanted to be back in Lyon to meet with Etienne. No longer was Joseph’s rescue to simply get him free of Montluc and back in her arms, but to spare his life.
The tram seemed to travel slower back to the heart of Lyon than it had out to the outskirts.
Nicole put a hand over Elaine’s. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
“I’m glad you did.” Elaine looked at her friend as the familiar scenery of Lyon rolled by at an unnervingly languid pace. “You would want to know too.”
“I would,” Nicole agreed. “But knowing does not always bring a sense of peace.”
Her statement wasn’t incorrect. The newfound detail buzzed about in Elaine’s brain like an overactive bee as her thoughts darted in all directions. She felt foolish, not only for her blind trust but her willful ignorance. She should have suspected he would not just be locked in a cell, but also subjected to torture.
They exited the tram amid a flurry of other passengers and made their way to Croix-Rousse, traveling in silence as Elaine inwardly berated herself. Perhaps it was the consuming manner of such a distraction that caused her to miss seeing the Nazi officer in the street as she turned around the corner.
An officer in the poorer area of Lyon was never a good sign. Had she noticed him, she would have found an alternate way back to the apartment. But she didn’t catch sight of the man in his crisp uniform and polished boots. At least, not until Nicole hissed her name.
By then, it was too late.
“Halt,” the man said in a hard voice. “Papers.”
Elaine froze in surprise at the abrupt order, her thoughts flying to the pounds of explosives dangling at her side.
Nicole grasped her arm in a moment of quick thinking and jerked her backward, the force nearly wrenching her burden free from her hand. Their feet clacked over the cobblestones as they rounded the corner once more, pushed through a door, and slid into a passageway.
The light was dim as the door closed behind them, and the expanse of a traboule tunnel stretched before them.
Outside, the sharp strike of jackboots indicated the Nazi had not given up his pursuit.
Nicole eased off her wooden-soled shoes and Elaine did likewise. The stone floor underfoot was cold and damp, but it would be the only way to move quietly and hopefully without being caught.
Barefoot with her footwear dangling from one hand and the basket of explosives in the other, Nicole slipped down the passageway with Elaine following behind her. They entered a small courtyard where stairs ran upward and two paths went in opposing directions.
Nicole darted right without hesitation and descended to a lower level. The stone steps were smooth as sea glass and depressed in the center, worn down from decades of use. The women encountered another split with options to climb up to the apartments above, go down to the floor below or continue down the long, narrow hall.
A door banged open in the distance, making them both jump. Crisp footsteps came immediately after; the stark echo was as keen as a threat. Nicole led the way down the passage to where several doors lined either side with a shadowed alcove in the corner. She waved for Elaine to join her as she crouched into the darkness.
Elaine sank down beside her friend. Once she stopped, the racing of her heart caught up with her and left her discreetly dragging in a greedy inhale. The ground was like ice, and damp grit clung to the soles of her feet. She longed to brush at them but didn’t dare move.
The traboule was one Elaine hadn’t explored before and one clearly important to make note of for future use. It was far more prosaic in its craftsmanship than the one on Rue Saint Jean, utilitarian in its construction with an unsettling stench of stale urine she didn’t care to consider at present.
The sharp footsteps continued to echo around them, closer and closer until they stopped just above where the women hid. They shrank back until the chill of the unyielding wall behind them seeped through their jackets, as if they could melt into the stone.
Only an hour before, they had walked a sun-spattered path through the forest, indulging in chocolate and a carefree discussion.