The susurration of whispering outside the bedroom door woke Isabel. She forced her body from the bed and shook her head to clear away the cobwebs threatening to smother her.
She opened the door. Irma and Zelda stood in the hall hissing at each other in heated dispute.
‘She needs rest, Frau Hoffstetter. She slept very little last night; we shouldn’t wake her.’
‘But she should know about this, Irma. It may be important.’
‘What is it, Irma?’ asked Isabel from the doorway.
‘Oh, you’re awake, honey.’ Zelda turned towards her. ‘We’ve found something in the hall.’
‘What is it?’ Isabel came forward.
Irma handed her a sealed envelope. ‘We found this on the floor. I don’t know how long it’s been there. It was tucked under the blue rug.’
Isabel took the typed envelope that Irma was holding. Was this about Penny? A bubble of excitement rose within her. ‘There have been so many people coming and going this morning – it could have been left at any time. Do you think the postman brought it?’ she asked.
Their post from home was normally collected from the NAAFI by whoever was there, but a civilian postman delivered local mail sometimes. Hope surged through her.
‘It seems unlikely that he’d come today, with the snow. Anyway, someone would have seen him,’ said Zelda.
‘I know, but it got here somehow.’
‘Aren’t you going to open it?’
Isabel turned the letter over in her hands, shaking nervously. ‘Do you think I ought to wait for John? He’ll know what to do. I don’t want to destroy evidence.’
‘Slitting open an envelope’s not going to do much damage.’
Zelda and Irma leaned forward in anticipation.
‘For goodness sake, Isabel, open the thing. It may be news of Penny,’ said Zelda.
Isabel ran a fingernail along the flap of the envelope and tore it open. Carefully she withdrew the piece of paper within. It was a sheet of ordinary foolscap with a typed message. She read it rapidly but couldn’t take in the sense of it. The only information that stood out was that Penny was safe. Relief swept over her in a rush that made her feel faint. She walked into the drawing room, Irma and Zelda following close behind her, and sat down heavily on the sofa.
‘What does it say?’ Zelda asked, impatience nearly getting the better of her. ‘Is it a ransom note?’
‘I suppose it is, in a way. You read it.’ Isabel thrust the letter into Zelda’s hand.
‘Mrs Barton,’ Zelda read. ‘Your daughter is safe and well and will be returned to you if you fulfil certain conditions. She is being held in a safe place in the Hartz Mountains. For her return we require the following goods to be supplied to us within three days, at a rendezvous to be arranged later... There’s a great long list of things they want, Isabel, I don’t know what half of them are, drugs and spare parts it looks to me. They obviously expect Bill or John to get them.’
‘Why the Hartz Mountains, for God’s sake. It’s miles away.’
‘I know, Isabel, but perhaps they want to get you away from Berlin for some reason. Anyway, they couldn’t very well keep Penny near here, could they? You would have found her in no time.’
‘We’re going to have to speak to John, to see if he can get all this stuff - this ransom. He knows how to get anything, I’m sure he’ll be able to.’
‘I suppose so,’ Zelda sounded more doubtful. ‘This is very valuable stuff, you know. They’ll have to clear it with the powers that be. We have to hope they can arrange it in three days, it isn’t long.’
Isabel looked at Zelda, aghast. ‘What will they do if we can’t get this ransom for them? They wouldn’t kill her, would they? Not a little girl!’
‘You can never know what these gangsters might do. We must hope they wouldn’t go that far,’ said Zelda, trying to sound reassuring.
‘Unless they’re Russians,’ murmured Irma, who had been listening in horror. ‘They would kill a child.’ Then she pressed her hands to her lips as if ashamed that the words had escaped them.
‘Oh, Irma, don’t say that! Where’s John? He should be back soon; we’ve got to tell him.’
The three women waited in the drawing room for what seemed hours and speculated on the origins of the ransom note.
‘Why didn’t we notice it earlier? When Prince came back? It must have been on the floor then. I suppose someone must have kicked it under the rug in the excitement,’ Isabel said.
‘There were so many people coming and going. Major Goddard and his men - and the Polizie came into the hall for a bit too. They must all have trampled on it.’
‘But it wasn’t wet, Zelda. It would have been if someone had trodden on it. The pavements are thick with snow. Look, there are no footmarks. It’s quite clean and dry.’
‘Someone must have put it through the letterbox later then.’
‘We haven’t got a letterbox. It was sealed over when they put on the panel to cover the bullet holes.’
‘That can only mean someone in the house left it and pushed it under the carpet.’ Zelda said. ‘But who else was in the house yesterday?’
Isabel’s head lifted, a spasm of revelation crossing her face. ‘My God, Zelda! There’s only one person that could be – Dennis!’
Chapter Twenty Seven
‘You’re not serious!’ exclaimed Zelda. ‘That Dennis couldn’t do anything so – so courageous.’
‘Courageous! To kidnap my Penny? That’s not courageous; it’s evil,’ retorted Isabel.
The women were in the drawing room, Zelda pacing the floor as she talked and Isabel stoking the fire.
‘You know what I mean, honey. He hasn’t got the guts of an ant. Always looming around looking down his nose. Forgive me, baby, but he’s so English.’
‘We’re not all like that, you know; all stuck up and reserved.’
‘Sorry. I don’t mean to insult you, Isabel. I know you’re not like that, but you must admit, some of you are.’
‘It’s all right. I can’t believe he’d take Penny either. And why? What would make him do such a thing?’ said Isabel. ‘He always seems angry, but I didn’t realise he might take it out on us.’
‘Perhaps he’s finally gone crazy. Let’s face it, a lot of people round here are close to the edge.’
‘He is a strange man, I think,’ said Irma, who was sitting in one of the chairs. ‘I have seen him coming into the house in a very secret way.’
‘Yes,’ said Isabel. ‘He has got a secret. His flat is full of valuable things.’
‘What sort of things?’ asked Zelda as she finally sat down.
‘Oh, you know; antiques he’s bought on the black market. Porcelain, silver and so on and some really good paintings.’ Isabel picked up the ransom letter and waved it in the air. ‘He’d be quite capable of writing something like this. He’s obviously a greedy so and so and would see this as a chance to get even more out of us.’
‘Can we go and see?’ asked Zelda.
‘His flat’s locked. Anyway, that’s what I told the MPs. I’m not sure that anyone actually looked this morning. Did anyone go up there, Irma?’
‘No. It was locked yesterday afternoon so I thought it still was. I do not know if he came home last night.’
Zelda jumped to her feet. ‘Let’s go and take a look.’
The women climbed the stairs with Irma following nervously behind.
‘Gee, he’s got a whole bunch of rooms up here,’ said Zelda.
‘Yes, there are eight bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of those is ours. One of the smaller bedrooms was made into a kitchen and the biggest one is the sitting room. He doesn’t use all the rooms, obviously. This is it.’
Isabel turned the door knob on the sitting room door and to her surprise it yielded,. She opened the door and stepped into the room.
‘Oh, my goodness! It’s empty.’
Apart from the original few bits of furniture and some discarded boxes and packaging materi
als, the room was bare. Not a trace of Dennis’ treasure remained. Isabel gazed around the room, astonished.
‘Well I never! He’s got rid of it all.’
The three stood, staring, in the centre of the bare room which, like most of the rooms in the house, bore traces of the Russians’ occupation with damage to the plaster and the woodwork. Their breath steamed in the cold air.
Isabel pulled an armchair away from the cold electric fire and went to sit in it. As she did so she noticed something on the floor.
‘God! This is mine!’ She lifted a bright blue scarf from the floor. ‘Penny was wearing it. This proves it – Dennis had her here! He must have brought her upstairs and kept her here. How did he keep her quiet? Why didn’t she call out to us when we were looking for her? She must have heard. How did he sneak her out without us knowing?’
Zelda took the scarf from her. ‘Yes, this is yours. I’ve seen you wearing it. He must have brought her up here yesterday afternoon and snuck her out later when you were out of the house. When Irma and Hank took you round to John’s place. Crafty devil!’
Isabel stood rock-still, in shock, clutching the blue scarf to her chest. Penny had been here all the time! Zelda guided her to the door. ‘Come on, honey. We’ll go downstairs.’
The three returned to the drawing room and warmed themselves by the fire. Bafflement – that was their most obvious emotion.
‘I still don’t understand why he did it. How did he think he’d get away with it?’ asked Zelda. ‘He must have known we’d find out pretty soon.’
‘He probably still thinks he’s got away with it. After all, he may not know about the scarf and the letter didn’t really give anything away,’ Isabel replied. ‘Still, he must be stupid not to realise that we’d work it out.’
‘Herr Masters is a very bad man,’ said Irma. ‘I think he has no conscience and he does not care what happens to him. He thinks we cannot catch him.’
‘You may be right, Irma. But now we’ve got to find him and make sure he gets arrested. And Penny of course; we’ve got to find Penny. I hope John gets back soon; he doesn’t know about the ransom letter. And Bill; we still haven’t heard from him. I don’t even know if he’s had the message that John sent; I haven’t heard a word.’
‘I’ll go and make more coffee,’ said Irma, ‘Would you like something to eat, Frau Barton?’
‘Thank you, Irma. Could you make some sandwiches please? Captain Marriott shouldn’t be long and he’s bound to be hungry.’
Irma left for the kitchen. Isabel curled into her chair, suddenly remembering John’s kiss and feeling a powerful longing for his strong arms around her again. She shook her head and tried to suppress the sensation and concentrate on what had to be done now. She and Zelda sat and contemplated their options for a while.
‘We’ve got to get to the Hartz as soon as possible. We can stay at the Hotel Schauser. You will come with me won’t you, Zelda? To hold my hand.’
‘Of course. I’ve told the maid I may not be home for a day or two. She can manage the twins and Chuck will be around.’
‘I’m not sure how we’ll get there. John’s Volkswagen, I suppose.’
‘I’ve got a better idea. I’ll ask Chuck if we can borrow the Mercedes and Hank. He’ll get us there in no time. How far is it?’
‘About 250 kilometres,’ said Isabel.
‘Three hours or so. That’s not bad. If we set out before dark we should be there by bedtime.’
‘That’s if John gets back soon. I’m not going without him. Anyway, he’s got to get this ransom together first. That’s not going to be easy and we haven’t even told him what the demands are yet. We may not be able to go till the morning.’
‘It looks as if we’ve got no option but to wait. Never mind, honey, here’s Irma with the coffee.’
‘I can’t bear this waiting, Zelda - sitting around doing nothing when Penny is in danger. Even if she’s safe she must be frightened. What on earth must she think is happening to her?’
‘I know he hasn’t got any children of his own, but I don’t suppose Dennis will be mean to her.’
‘Don’t be daft! He could kill her. He must be desperate to kidnap her in the first place. Killing her isn’t going to worry him.’
‘It’s no good working yourself up imagining things. He doesn’t know we’re on to him. He thinks he’s way ahead of us and that we don’t know anything. Calm down, try not to upset yourself.’ Zelda soothed Isabel with soft strokes.
They ate and drank in languid silence. The stillness of the room became oppressive. Pale sunshine stole in from the garden. The snow had stopped falling for now and the afternoon had brightened. They could hear a snowplough outside, piling the snow into walls at the sides and making the street passable. Residents were out on the pavements shovelling the snow away; the scraping sounds of their spades on stone invaded the women’s thoughts.
‘It won’t take so long for John to get here now they’re clearing the roads. Especially the way he drives. But it’ll still be bad out in the country,’ said Isabel.
They jumped as the telephone rang. Irma was the first to spring up and run to the hall to answer it. Isabel stood in the doorway listening. Is it Bill? She thought. Let it be Bill.
Irma held the receiver out to her.
‘It’s Captain Marriott,’ she said.
Thank goodness; John was her saviour, even if Bill couldn’t be bothered. She rushed over and snatched the receiver from the maid’s outstretched hand.
‘Oh John, I thought it might be Bill. We still haven’t heard from him.’
The line crackled and John’s voice sounded strangely alien.
‘No, I know. I’ve left another message. I’ve arranged a few days’ leave, Isabel. I’ll be back soon. I thought I’d better let you know in case you were worried...’ John paused.
Isabel interrupted him, ‘Something’s happened; something important. We know where Penny is. She’s safe for now.’
Isabel explained about the ransom letter and discovering that it must have been Dennis who took Penny. She read the note aloud, detailing the ransom demands. She had to repeat some information several times as the line buzzed and crackled, making it difficult for John to hear her.
‘Do you understand, John? We’ve got to take this ransom to the Hartz. Can you get all that stuff – the drugs and everything? God knows what we’ll do if you can’t.’
‘Don’t worry, darling, I’ll do everything I can. I’m sure I can persuade them to let me have it, to save Penny. They’ll see how urgent it is. It’ll take me a couple of hours, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
‘Oh bless you, John. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
‘I’ll see you later.’ John hung up without further comment.
She replaced the receiver and returned to the drawing room. The tension in the room was palpable; thick as a heavy blanket. Irma had started to chew her fingernails and Zelda twirled loose tendrils of hair in her fingers. Isabel felt that she couldn’t stand this for much longer. If they didn’t do something soon, she would scream.
Another visitor broke the afternoon stillness. Isabel went to open the door as Irma had gone to the kitchen, aware that they would need a meal that evening and she might have several extra mouths to feed. Anya, wrapped up in what looked like some of John’s clothes, stood on the doorstep.
‘I came to see if there was any news about Penny,’ she said. ‘Have you heard anything?’
‘How kind of you to come,’ said Isabel. ‘Come in – you must be frozen, did you walk?’
‘Yes, but it wasn’t too bad. I had John’s jacket and the roads are being cleared and at least you can see where you’re going. I meant to come earlier but I overslept and then I tried to find John. I thought he might be at the Moser, but he wasn’t.’
‘He’s been at HQ, arranging some leave and ... other things. He’s coming back here later.’ said Isabel.
Anya unwound a scarf from her neck and took off the
pea-jacket and left it in the hall. She stepped into the drawing room and greeted Zelda.
‘So,’ she said, ‘is there any news?’
‘Goodness, yes. We found a ransom note and worked out that it must have been Dennis who took Penny,’ said Zelda with poorly suppressed excitement.
‘Dennis Masters?’ Anya looked surprised. ‘Why would he do that? I thought...’
‘What did you think, Anya?’ asked Zelda.
‘Oh, it’s nothing. I thought it might have something to do with John’s dissatisfied black market contacts or even the Russians trying to get their own back for something. They don’t seem happy at the moment.’
‘And you should know,’ murmured Zelda.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Oh, we all know how close you are to the Russians, Anya. The juicy little tit-bits you give them when you can.’ Spite edged Zelda’s voice.
Anya had the grace to blush a little. ‘Yes, well, you’ve got to what you can.’
‘It’s all right,’ said Isabel, ‘we don’t blame you. I know life is hard. God knows, it’s been hard for us all, but you’ve had it much worse.’
Zelda shrugged. ‘That doesn’t excuse spying and betrayal of your friends,’ she said.
‘It’s not that bad. I’m careful not to tell them anything that could hurt you. They only seem interested in how you supply the city. How you get enough food for your forces and keep going. In any case, I don’t know anything important to tell them.’
‘You’d be surprised. Even the smallest detail could be useful. Like who’s coming and going from Berlin and when.’
‘Leave off, Zelda. There’s not much we can do about the Russians. We all know they’re not our friends now. They’re going to make things very difficult for us soon, Bill says, and his people are keeping a close eye on them. There’s no point in having a go at Anya. She may be Russian originally, but she’s on our side now.’ Isabel poured fresh coffee and handed a cup to Anya.
‘Thank you, Isabel.’ Anya took the cup and it was obvious that her gratitude was for the drink and also for the kind words.
‘Anyway, our concern now is not about Anya, but about what’s happened to Penny. We’ve got to work out how to get her back safely and quickly.’
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