“You do but we havn’t spoken about it before though I have wanted to do so. I just didn’t want to bring back painful memories.”
“The memories are there whether we speak about it or not but if there’s anything to forgive we forgive you,” Anna said. “Though I agree with Hugh and I think you would have stayed with Joshua because you’re a loyal person. Now let’s stop being morbid and tell us about your holiday in Compiegne.”
She had enjoyed the hour, Shirley thought on the way to see Connie, and she was glad they had discussed Joshua and Daniel but The Sylvans would be far more relaxing. She rang Connie before she left the Laings and knew Connie would walk the kilometre to the gate to meet her in the way she always did. She would probably bring Shirley and Seth and let them ride their little bicycles or their small pedal cars. When Shirley arrived Connie was at the gate and the children were delighted to see Michael and Samuel.
“I thought Daniel might be with you,” Connie said after they settled the children in the back of the car.
“He had some business to do somewhere, he said. He gave no details and I didn’t bother to ask because he would probably have been evasive. If he wants to tell me he does.”
“He’s a lucky man to have you,” Connie said.
“Isn’t he just?” Shirley grinned.
“And Paul, of course, is lucky to have me.”
“He is.”
“You’ll stay until Martin and Katy get home? They’ll be devastated if you don’t.”
“Of course I will. Are they okay?”
“Fine and looking forward to going to The Philharmonie to hear you sing. Katy used to hate Berlin but now she loves it because it gave her a brother she adores back. She wants to do a splurge on your concert and on Berlin. She’s currently aiming to be a reporter. She says she needs a new camera and has requested it for Christmas, along with a laptop and innumerable other items she feels she needs for reporting. That is, if she’s still keen on it then.”
“Not a fashion designer?” Shirley smiled.
“That’s old news. It was at least last week. Martin’s current future career involves planes. He’ll probably be a pilot, he says.”
“And Shirley and Seth?”
“Shirley an astronaut, Seth a brain surgeon. Tell me about your holiday in Compiegne and how are the preparations going for your film? Have you learnt your lines yet?”
Compiegne was great, Shirley replied, and she never learnt lines until nearer the time. The conversation was lively until they reached the house and after lunch they continued to chat while the children played until Katy and Martin arrived.
Katy wanted advice from Shirley about her reporting, she said, and would Shirley be able to get a paper to look at what she’d written? She would point her in the right direction, Shirley replied, and did Katy have any articles she could read? They were remarkably good, she said after reading them, and meant it.
Katy settled finally to work on a current enterprise and Martin wanted Shirley to help him with a sociology essay he had to write. They both adored their sister-in-law and godmother. When Paul came in he wanted Shirley’s attention as well and the time spent with the family was as enjoyable as it always would be for Shirley.
She had expected Daniel to come and was a bit peeved that he had not when she left at seven. He could at least have phoned her, she thought when it neared time to leave The Sylvans. Michael and Samuel would be asleep by the time she reached home and he ought to see them for more than just a few minutes in the morning. She had bathed them while Connie bathed Shirley and Seth and with Katy’s help. Help Connie did not receive, Connie said, but that was as it should be. She did not want her children thinking they were responsible for the care of the babies. Katy and Martin put on Samuel and Michael’s little sleeping suits and it wasn’t long before they, Shirley and Seth slept.
Shirley drove onto the front of their property just before eight and still had not heard from Daniel. Usually he phoned at some time during the day to tell her when he would reach home, just to chat with her or to tell her he loved her. She liked that, she had to admit. But nothing today and she felt rather neglected. She took the sleeping babies upstairs and put them in their cot. Totally adorable and twins she had never envisaged when she was first pregnant. She bent to kiss them gently and went down to the lounge.
They had sold her house near Guildford and bought one in Sussex. Daniel paid for it because he received a sizeable amount of back pay from Intelligence which had accrued while he was in East Germany. It was his present to Shirley, he told her, something which was just theirs though he was sure she earned more than he did.
Except that she gave a lot of her money away, Daniel knew, though she always told him where the money was going. Quite a bit of that had gone towards the support of refugees from East Berlin. Most of them had returned to their homes but there were still many in need and Susan, Shirley’s sister, and Stefan, Susan’s husband, who had been instrumental in helping many people in East Germany over the years were organising employment for those who needed it. It would take a while for things to return to normal, they knew.
Fiedler, Daniel’s former boss in East Berlin, and his wife had sold their house and moved to the western side of Berlin. They couldn’t be badly off, Daniel told Shirley, because Fiedler had a bank account in Switzerland into which he put money while he was in East Germany. He might have helped Shirley to escape by putting her passport on his desk and not commenting when he saw her taking it but he was probably no better than the rest. Helen and Johann lived not far from Susan and Stefan and Helen was three months pregnant. She was working in a hospital in Berlin and enjoying it. Both were thrilled about the pregnancy.
And what was Schmidt doing, Shirley thought as she made herself a cup of hot milk. Schmidt who had been part of the Stasi and who did things which went far beyond the call of duty. He was a cruel and sadistic man, Shirley felt. All of them had got off far too lightly and particularly him because Nagel, Brandt and Loesel, three members of the Chain Quintet double spies, had served a short sentence in prison. Now they were free but Shirley did not know what they were doing.
She opened her laptop and switched it on. She would prepare a series of lectures she would be giving on their return to England after the concert until Daniel returned home and he was all sorts of a louse not to contact her. Why she put up with his nonsense she never knew. Marrying and leaving after a few weeks to defect to East Germany. Stealing money to fund his enterprises. Giving her three years of heartache. Causing her arrest and subsequent ill treatment. The only good thing which had come out of their relationship was the twins.
Except that wasn’t true, she knew, because she loved him with all her heart. She began to type and the phone rang.
“Shirley? This is Johann.” Stefan’s brother and a good friend of Shirley and Daniel. His wife, Helen, a doctor. He had escaped from East Berlin after Shirley realised Daniel was not what she thought he was when she discovered he had defected to East Germany. Helen had escaped when Shirley took a mini submarine up the Elbe which caused Shirley’s capture and subsequent ill treatment. Now Johann and Helen kept in constant touch with the couple.
“What’s wrong?” Shirley asked.
“I rang to see how you are.”
“Tell me, Johann.”
“Is Daniel home yet?”
“Why? Should he be?”
“Is he?”
“No.”
“Has he contacted you?”
Shirley frowned. “You’re frightening me. Stop being evasive and tell me what’s wrong.”
“Schmidt got a truck to run into Daniel’s car this morning. He said he wanted to get Daniel’s attention so Daniel could help him. It’s the kind of thing Schmidt would do but I’m not sure about the rest. He then asked Daniel to take him to Intelligence. He had another bloke with him. He said he wanted Intelligence to give him protection because some people were after him. Who, I’m not sure. Daniel agreed but he rang me first
to find out if I knew anything about Schmidt and why he wanted protection. He was making his own way to London.”
“And?” as Johann paused.
“Neither he nor Schmidt have arrived. I rang Lindell to find out if they had. I’m not happy about you being on your own. Please will you leave the house?”
Not again, Please, not again, Shirley thought. She had enough trouble since meeting Daniel to last a lifetime and she thought that now East and West would be merging things would be alright. “Are you sure there’s something wrong?” she asked.
“I’m not sure of anything but you could be in danger. Will you go somewhere with the babies? You could go to Connie.”
“No. I’m not causing them trouble. Thank you, Johann. I’ll see to it.”
“Go now and keep your car door locked. Make sure you aren’t being followed.”
“I’ll be fine, Johann. Is Helen okay?”
“Yes. I’ll contact you again soon or you contact me. Make sure you have your mobile with you.”
Shirley ran upstairs, pressed the button for the ladder to descend from the loft and climbed up. A gun. She needed a gun and she knew Daniel kept a couple up there. She did not like it but she had not said anything to him and rather suspected he did not realise she was aware of where they were. She knew how to use them because it was one of the things she felt when she began to become well known she should do. She had taken quite a few lessons until Connie found out what she was doing and suggested something which would be more useful.
Daniel probably had taken one out with him because he had a licence to do that owing to his work with Intelligence. She opened the case in which she knew he kept them and took one out. She checked it carefully, shut the case and made for the loft entrance. How she hated the things but maybe it was good for Daniel to have some kind of protection. She went down the ladder and made for the babies’ room.
The only really safe place to go was Intelligence headquarters in London and that was where she would go. She was known by them and probably Johann had rung them again after speaking to her. Lifting the twins she put them in their double carrycot and added a few items. She would get bottles of milk when she got downstairs and baby food. As she reached the bottom of the stairs with them the phone rang.
“Shirley, this is James.” James Lindell and the head of Intelligence. He owed a lot to Shirley and admired her. He wanted her to work for them because she had helped them a lot in their discovery of the members of the Chain Quintet. If he was ringing at this time of night there had to be a reason which was probably Daniel. “Johann just rang. You need to come to headquarters.”
“I’m about to do that,” Shirley said.
“Good. I’ve alerted the police station near you but you can trust no-one. A police car went to allegedly help Daniel but Schmidt was in it, Johann said, though he didn’t do any harm to Daniel apart from the crash. But people don’t crash into someone unless they have a reason. Please come as quickly as you can. There are guns in your loft. Can you use one?”
“Yes. I’ve got one on me.”
“Good. Daniel didn’t think you knew he had them. Please go quickly.”
“I will.”
Shirley replaced the phone, went for the bottles and food and put them in the carrycot. She pulled the cover over the top and made for the hall. As she went to leave the kitchen she heard a sound at the front door. Stiffening she stood listening quietly. A key being inserted and it was probably Daniel but she had to be sure. She pushed the carrycot behind a large sofa and went to stand behind the door, the gun in her hand. She heard footsteps crossing the hall.
“Shirley!” She moved forward, frowned and paused. The voice was Daniel’s. The footsteps were not. Someone walked quietly across the hall and through the door of the lounge, she put out her foot and was not surprised at the man who sprawled helplessly onto the floor. She jammed a chair over him, aimed her gun at him but did not say anything. A few seconds later another man walked in and sprawled on top of the chair at Shirley’s outstretched foot. He fell helplessly sideways.
“Get up,” she told them. “And drop your guns.”
“You won’t shoot,” Schmidt said, not moving to do as she said.
“I will. Do it, Schmidt.”
Schmidt pushed the chair from him, stood and walked forward. Shirley shot his hand and foot in quick succession. He yelled in agony, his gun flew and he sat on the sofa and held his hand. Shirley aimed the gun at the other man as she picked up Schmidt’s.
“Put your guns on the floor,” she said to the other man. He did as she asked. “Now kick it towards me.”
“I need hospital attention,” Schmidt said as the man did as he was told.
“You’ll get it later. Now walk over to that cupboard and go into it.”
“I can’t walk.” Shirley shot again though she did not aim to hit him. Both men stood.
“Next shot will be somewhere else on your body,” she said. “Probably your heart if you don’t hurry. Go.”
Schmidt hobbled towards the cupboard and opened the door. The two men went in and Shirley locked the cupboard door. She went across the room to the telephone and dialed.
“They’re in a cupboard,” she said. “I’ve locked them in. Can you get someone to come for them?”
“The police are already on their way to your house,” Lindell replied.
“What are their names?”
He told her. “I still want you to come to headquarters,” he said.
“I’ll get back to you.” Shirley lifted the carrycot and took the babies outside, her gun in her right hand while she carried them with her left. She could not be sure there was nobody else involved but she had to see if Daniel was anywhere near. She made for Schmidt’s car and was relieved at the sound of banging inside the boot. Opening it she watched the young man who got out. His hair was tousled, his shirt was torn and there were marks on his face. He looked a bit battered.
“They’re inside in a cupboard,” she said, lifting the carrycot and making for the house. “Lindell says the police are coming.”
Even as she spoke two cars raced down the road with another car following them. The police got out and so did a tall young man from a vehicle behind them. He walked towards them, his eyes on Shirley and the babies.
“I rang the police and Lindell on the way from the airport,” Johann said. “Where is Schmidt?”
“Locked in a cupboard in the house,” Shirley replied. “Schmidt’s hand and foot need attention.”
“You shot him?” Shirley did not reply. “You shot him. I’m going to personally see they get justice because we will take them to Germany tonight. There’s a plane standing by on a private aerodrome a couple of miles from here and a van is coming for Schmidt. They should be here soon. What happened, Daniel?”
Daniel looked at Shirley briefly before answering. “They attacked me when I got off the train and put me in the car boot,” he said. “Shirley just let me out. I’m not sure why they didn’t attack me when the vehicles crashed earlier or why Schmidt told me what he did. Maybe he really was aiming to kill me and made up the story about giving himself up when he didn’t succeed. They took me somewhere en route and I nearly escaped but I wasn’t quick enough.”
“Schmidt always has his reasons and often none of them are particularly logical.” Johann bent to kiss Shirley. “I’m sorry, darling. I really am.”
“Just take them away,” Shirley said.
Johann took the carrycot from her as they walked towards the front door. “I will. We have to get them to the plane and then they’ll go to Berlin. We want them out of this country as soon as possible.” He looked down the road as an armoured van approached. “They will go in there because that is more guarded than a car. Thank you, Shirley.”
Shirley nodded. Johann frowned in concentration. He admired her. He had dreamt of having her as a wife when he first met her and after he got to know her better when he escaped from East Germany. She had looked after him, comfort
ed him after the death of his mother and he loved her deeply. But he knew she was a one man woman and would always love Daniel.
But then Helen escaped from the east and they got to know each other. He fell in love with her and was very happy now.
But Shirley was still very special and would always be so. He would do anything he could to keep her safe. But now she had been involved again in events which should have been relegated to the past when East and West Germany were reunited. She had been in danger. He placed the carrycot on the kitchen table and turned towards her.
“I’m really sorry, Shirley. I am so sorry. Thank you for what you’ve done.”
“I had no choice,” she said. “It’s not your fault.”
She bent over the carrycot, a bit in shock from the events of the past few minutes but relieved that Daniel was back. It could so easily have been otherwise for both of them. Johann went into the lounge. The babies were still asleep and Shirley was relieved. Relieved about a lot of things but also angry. Angry at Schmidt and his accomplice. Angry at what had happened over the past years. Angry at Daniel for causing it all. Even angry at Johann at involving her in everything three years previously. She filled a thermos with coffee, took it through a few minutes later and handed it to Johann with a tin of cakes and sandwiches.
He looked in the tin. “Thank you, Shirley, and I’m sorry again.” She nodded and turned away, sure that if she talked she would burst into tears. “I’ll ring you from the airport.”
Daniel followed Johann down the path to the waiting cars and van and held out his hand. “Thank you, Johann. Don’t let them get away. What will happen to them when you get to Germany?”
“I won’t let them get away. We’ll try to get out of Schmidt why he’s done this and he’ll probably be imprisoned. Personally I’d like to beat him up but I won’t. Prison is the best place for him.”
The van and cars drove away. Daniel walked slowly back up the front path. He had mucked it up again and he didn’t know how to face Shirley. He was supposed to protect her and the twins and all he had done was bring her more trouble. He loved them with all his heart but he never seemed to get things right where they were concerned. But even in the face of that he perversely did not want to be told off. The events of the day were not his fault and he felt he was still in a bit of shock from the crash. He could so easily have been killed. He could at the least have been badly injured. He locked the door, walked through and the carrycot was on the sofa with Shirley sitting beside it looking at Samuel and Michael.
The Berlin Vendetta: Book 3 in the series 'The Enigmatic Defection' Page 3
