Deadlight-Hall(23)

He heard afterwards that there had been a search for Sophie and Susannah, although the frozen ground and incessant blizzards made it difficult. But the police combed the area, using dogs, and the children were all questioned, although none of them knew anything. Leo said he had seen the twins, but that was all. He had not said anything about the Angel of Death, or about the twins’ plan to run away.

Miss Hurst told Leo later that the search had gone on for a long time, but nothing had been found. Mark her words, said Miss Hurst, they would never hear of Sophie and Susannah Reiss again.

Nor did they. In the end people stopped searching, although it was a long time before they stopped talking about it.

Leo believed the twins had run away as Sophie had said, and he tried to think they had reached somewhere safe. Perhaps they had been found in the storm by a kindly person, like in stories. There was sometimes a woodcutter. To reassure himself he read all the books that were stored at Willow Bank Farm – the books that had been Farmer Hurst’s and Miss Hurst’s when they were children. There were people in forests in those books who were often disguised, but always good, and children did not get lost because they marked the way by scattering pebbles or bits of bread. Reading about all this, Leo thought the twins would surely be all right.

For a long time he kept hoping that one day they would write to him, but they did not.

*

The School House, Nr Warsaw

December 1943

My dear M.B.

Your letter reached me yesterday, and came as a blow to the heart. We had taken so much care to ensure the children would be safe, and to hear that the Reiss girls have disappeared is devastating.

I know you will spare no effort to trace the twins. I know, as well, that Sch?nbrunn will be tireless in his search. As to their eventual fate, I know you are right to say their pronounced gift of telepathy will make them an attractive proposition for Mengele and to warn me that they would always have been in extra danger because of it. I always knew it, but still I cannot bear to think his people could have found them. If you should track down the informant or the agent, I beg you will let me know. There is an old maxim that to know one’s enemy is to be strong.

Your friend, as always,

J.W.

Prague

January 1944

Dear J.W.

As part of our search for the twins, Sch?nbrunn is going to put out discreet enquiries among jewellers and dealers in England, to see if the Reiss golem is offered for sale anywhere. I shall be helping him with that – I have a few contacts in England in that field.

The figure was not found among the possessions the twins left, and Sch?nbrunn believes this to be hopeful – indicating they were able to take it with them when they vanished, which does not suggest force. If we can trace the golem, that may provide the start of a trail that could lead us to them. Both those figures are distinctive and the hallmarks recognizable.

It is possible the family with whom the girls lodged have lied to our agents, and are keeping the Reiss golem in secrecy, intending to sell it for themselves. Sch?nbrunn thinks that unlikely, though. Our information is that the girls were with an English couple who had lived in the same small market town all their lives, and were known and respected. It seems unlikely that they would realize the worth of such an item or, indeed, know how to go about selling it.

We have never heard of Mengele’s agents casting their net as far as England, but our information was very clear that the doctor wanted Sophie and Susannah Reiss for his evil work. That intelligence came from Sch?nbrunn and I have never known him to be wrong. This may sound harsh, but truly I would rather think of those two girls begging in the streets of England – of any country – than to think of them in Mengele’s laboratories.

I will not believe that Mengele’s people found Sophie and Susannah Reiss, and took them to Auschwitz, though. I will not.

Good wishes to you, as always,

M.B.

The School House, Nr Warsaw

January 1944

My dear M.B.

We trust Sch?nbrunn to be careful, and to do nothing to draw attention to himself or, of course, to the twins.

I was glad, though, to have your more recent letter, with the news that Leo Rosendale is safe, although I fear the disappearance of the twins is likely to distress him. Those three were extremely close, and at times Leo seemed almost to share the twins’ disconcerting gift for sensing the thoughts and emotions of others.

I have made the decision not to tell the Reiss family yet that their daughters have vanished. Letters are almost impossible between this country and England now, and I believe the Reisses will not be overly concerned if they do not hear from their daughters for a little time. This is a decision I may regret, but at the moment the deceit seems justified. It will be a heavy secret for me to bear, but I will spare them the pain and the fear as long as I can.