Roots of Evil(76)

‘You are to be taken to a place where you will be kept with other Jews,’ said Leo Dreyer. ‘We are seeking them all out, and we shall find them, Herr Kline, be very sure that we shall find them.’ A pause. ‘We shall also find their families, and those they consort with,’ he said, and Alice felt a fresh wave of fear. Their families, and those they consort with…

At Dreyer’s signal, the soldiers pushed Conrad through the main doors and out into the street. There was the sound of several car engines being revved, and then the cars snarled away into the darkness. By the time Alice, still barefoot, had tumbled down the remaining stairs and reached the pavement outside, the cars were out of sight and there was nothing except the swirling exhaust fumes tainting the sweet-scented spring night.





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO




The spacious apartment rooms that Alice had furnished with such delight no longer provided the haven they once had done.

We are seeking them all out, the Schutzstaffeln man had said. We are seeking out all the Jews, and their families and those they consort with…

Their families. Alice was not especially concerned for herself, but there was Deborah, sweet, helpless, trustful Deborah, who was known to be Conrad’s daughter. But surely they would not harm children, not even those steel-eyed, rat-trapped SS men would do that, not even Leo Dreyer with the bitter hatred burning in his face.

And yet…

And yet she found herself whisking around the apartment, flinging clothes into suitcases, calculating and planning as she did so, and rapping out orders to Deborah’s nurse, who only partly understood what was going on, but who had heard the marching soldiers in the streets earlier on and had grasped that this was not just one of Madame’s tantrums. She dragged out suitcases under her mistress’s directions, stammering fearful questions. Where were they going? How were they to travel? Alice stopped in the middle of her bedroom for a moment, her mind working.

‘England,’ she said, very positively. And then, seeing the woman’s surprise, said, ‘It’s perfectly possible if you keep your head and do exactly what I tell you. You have your passport here, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, from when I first came to you from Eindhoven, madame, but—’

‘Good.’ Alice spared a moment to thank whatever gods might be most appropriate that when she engaged a nurse she had chosen a Dutch girl who had at least travelled a little and who possessed a passport. ‘Then listen carefully. What you must do is to take Deborah now – tonight—’

Yes, tonight, said her mind, because at any moment we might hear the marching feet outside, because if Leo Dreyer can order them to take someone as innocent as Conrad, he can order them to take Conrad’s family as well.

‘You can get a cab downstairs to the railway station,’ she said. ‘It’s barely ten o’clock, and there’ll be plenty still around – oh, wait, though, you’ll need money—’ She snatched folded rolls of bills from her dressing-case and thrust them into the woman’s hands. ‘And you had better have something to sell if the money runs out, or you can’t change it for English currency. Here – and here—’ Shining tumbles of gold and silver went haphazardly into a velvet bag, to be thrust into the side pocket of a suitcase. Most of the baroness’s jewellery had been gifts from Conrad and a lot of it had been bought to mark special occasions – their first meeting, the premiere of Alraune, Deborah’s birth. Each one held a memory, but Alice would sell every stone and every carat of the jewellery and her entire wardrobe of clothes as well, if it would ensure Deborah’s safety.

‘Sell everything if you have to,’ she said, ‘but go to small, anonymous jewellers, and only sell one piece at a time because that will be less noticeable.’

‘Yes. I understand. But where am I to go—?’

‘I would like to tell you to get on the first train that comes in and get as far away from Vienna as you can,’ said Alice. ‘But that might be a train that would take you nearer to Germany, and because of what is happening here Germany had better be avoided. So if you can, go down to Salzburg – if anyone questions you, say Deborah is your daughter and you’re taking her to your family there. Can you do that? Can you lie convincingly?’

‘I dislike lies, madame, but in this case I will lie very convincingly indeed.’


‘Good. In Salzburg station get on a train for Switzerland. Or if there are no suitable trains, hire a car and a driver if need be. The expense does not matter, you understand that?’

‘Yes.’

‘Your papers are all in order, and you should have no problem in crossing the borders,’ said Alice. ‘From Switzerland you go into France. Again, by train if you can, but by car if not. Have your passport always ready and do not seem to be trying to hide anything. Most big railway stations have hotels attached; book into them overnight when you have to – it’s probably better not to seem in a hurry with the journey. Keep Deborah with you at all times, of course. Once you are in France it should be easy enough to take the ferry to England.’

‘Yes. I’ll do my very best.’

‘Once in England, go to Mr and Mrs John Wilson,’ said Alice. ‘I’ll write the address down for you. You’ll have to ask people for help for that part of the journey, but there will be police stations, railway officials—And your English is very good.’