by CW Browning
Every eye in the lobby was on the trio in the middle of the floor, midway between the entrance and the lift. The man imagined that if someone pulled out a pistol and fired it, no one would take any notice. Everyone was straining to hear what the manager was saying in a low, quiet voice.
“I am Senora Damita Huerta Lucero,” the woman responded to his low tone in heavily accented English that carried to every ear in the lobby. “I have come to see the Condesa de Carilla for tea. She is expecting me.”
The manager nodded and said something again in a low voice at which the dark-haired woman seemed to calm slightly.
“Thank you. This is my secretary. She will be accompanying me, although I should not allow her anywhere near the Condesa. Her incompetence is outstanding.” The woman turned to continue towards the lift, the manager beside her. “I should discharge her but it is very difficult to find good help in my country since the civil war.”
The man watched as the trio moved towards the lift, the secretary trailing behind. Just when it appeared that the excitement was over, the dark-haired woman turned her head and snapped at the other woman.
“¡Darse prisa! ¡Te mueves como una cerda preñada!”
The man had no idea what the woman had said, but a snicker came from the direction of the front desk. The manager shot a look over his shoulder and the guilty party flushed and promptly lowered his head to become suddenly engrossed in paperwork.
“Do you see what I must deal with?” the woman demanded of the manager, drawing his attention back to her. “Just look at her dawdling! If she had her way, we would miss tea altogether! She does it on purpose, you know. Her family is socialist. They fought with the Republicans and she doesn’t approve of the aristocracy. I notice it doesn’t stop her from taking her salary from us, though.”
The lift attendant had the door open before the trio even reached it and the manager handed her into the cage quickly, saying something in a low voice to the attendant. A moment later, the gate was closed and the lift churned into action, carrying the woman and her hapless companion out of sight.
Shaking his head, the man in the chair glanced once more at the entrance and raised his newspaper again. That was the most interesting thing to happen so far today. If the Englishwoman didn’t show up soon, he was going to fall asleep in this chair.
Stifling another yawn, he looked at his watch. Herr Renner would be down in half an hour to relieve him. He just had to make it another half hour. With any luck, the Englishwoman would return before then and the tedious wait would be over. He was growing weary of doing nothing but watch the door. The sooner she came and they got to work, the better for all of them.
Chapter Twenty-Three
––––––––
As soon as the lift began its ponderous upward journey, Evelyn exhaled silently and glanced at Anna. The woman really did look the part of a harassed and weary personal secretary. Her glasses had slipped to the end of her nose and her hat had tilted sideways sometime in their walk from the entrance to the lift. She kept her gaze downcast and Evelyn really was impressed. She hadn’t been sure that Anna would be able to pull off her small part, but no one had suspected that she was anything other than what she appeared to be. Even the man with the newspaper hadn’t looked twice at either of them until Evelyn started her performance.
When they entered the lobby, he was the first one she noticed. Despite holding a newspaper, he’d been more interested in the entrance of the hotel than what was typed on the pages before him. She had recognized the cut of the dark suit as soon as she saw it. It was undoubtedly German, as was the hat on the chair next to him.
There was no sign of Herr Renner, but she knew that he would appear eventually. When he did, she wanted to be nowhere in sight. While she had obviously been able to get past everyone else in the lobby just now, Evelyn wasn’t so sure that Renner would be as easily fooled. He had eyes that seemed to see everything, and he had an uncanny way of appearing just when she was least expecting him.
She looked at the back of the attendant’s head and then looked at Anna again. Meeting her gaze, she smiled faintly. Then, tossing her head, she began speaking rapidly in Spanish once again. The attendant started at the harsh tone but, to his credit, failed to turn and stare. Instead, he stood stoically with his face turned forward while Evelyn proceeded to reprimand her ‘secretary’ once again, alternating between Spanish and English.
“Nunca he tenido una empleada tan estúpida!” she exclaimed, waving her hands. “And now, now we are late to tea. Es inaceptable! Your very presence offends me! Informaré a la condesa que es tu culpa. Siempre es tu culpa. I’m not putting up with it! I refuse to stay in your company one more minuto!”
Evelyn turned her attention to the attendant.
“Stop the lift,” she commanded imperiously.
The attendant turned to look at her, startled. He rattled something off in Swedish and Evelyn sighed loudly, turning to her companion expectantly. Anna pushed her glasses up on her nose.
“He said but you are going to the fifth floor. This is only the fourth,” she said in English.
“Stop it, I say! I will not ride another floor with this...this...nincompoop!”
Anna obligingly translated, only the faintest tremor in her voice.
The attendant swallowed and obediently pushed the lever, bringing the lift to a stop at the fourth floor. He opened the gate, expecting to see the companion disembark. Instead, Evelyn strode out and turned to glare at the companion with a dramatic flourish.
“I will take the stairs rather than look at your face!” she announced, tossing her head. “You will go on and wait for me.” Then, just as the attendant was sliding the gate closed again, her eyes met Anna’s. “Godspeed, my friend,” she said, keeping the berating tone in her voice.
The faintest smile crossed Anna’s lips and she nodded, pushing her glasses up on her nose.
“And you,” she murmured.
The lift started up again and Evelyn turned away with an exaggerated huff, her eyes darting around the wide hallway. She was just in time to see a blond head retreat behind the corner at the far end of the corridor. From that spot, the man could see not only the lift, but the door to her and Anna’s room.
After glancing at the other end of the corridor and seeing nothing, she took a deep breath and started down the hallway, muttering to herself in Spanish. Just in case the man watching their room happened to know Spanish, she kept her complaints in the same vein as the reprimanding she’d been engaged in for the past ten minutes.
“Stupid, incompetent girl! She doesn’t have much to do, but she still manages to get it all wrong. And she looks like a depressed cow half the time. No wonder I’m going out of my mind. It’s like having Job for a secretary. Worse! At least he was Catholic!”
Glancing at her watch, Evelyn waited a beat, then increased her pace, all the while still complaining under her breath. When she reached the corner, she rounded it at full speed and plowed right into a solid mass.
“Oof!”
She grunted as her nose came into contact with a shoulder and she fell backwards, stumbling.
“For the love of St Mary herself!” she exploded, staring at the blond man furiously. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Evelyn spoke in Spanish and received a blank stare back. The man clearly didn’t understand a word.
“Es tut mir leid, Fräulein,” he apologized stiffly. “Ich habe dich nicht gesehen.”
Evelyn tossed her head and gave him an assessing look.
“Oh, you are German,” she said haltingly in German. She formed her words awkwardly, giving them a Spanish sound and wincing in her mind as she heard them come out. Lord, that sounded awful! “It is Frau. I am Senor Antonio Lucera’s wife.”
The man bowed politely. “Again, my apologies.”
“I will accept them,” she decided graciously. “I have had enough of stup
idity today. Tell me, are you staying on this floor?”
“I...yes.”
“Where are the stairs? I am late for tea with the Condesa de Carilla, but I cannot find the way to the fifth floor.”
“The lift is back there,” he said, drawing an exasperated sigh from her.
“The lift is currently occupied by the biggest imbecile this side of the Atlantic,” she said roundly. Then she frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Are we near the Atlantic here? I do not think we are. I suppose I should say ‘this side of the North Sea’, eh?”
The man blinked and seemed to be wrestling between the urge to laugh and a desire to remain aloof.
“The stairs are on the other end of that hallway,” he finally said, motioning back the way she’d just come. “If you go to the end, you’ll see them.”
“They are that way?” She looked over her shoulder and peered down the hallway. As she did, she saw a dark head appear at the far end. “Of course they are! My secretary has already made me late, and now I see I was already near them when I went the wrong way. Typical! Thank you for telling me.”
Evelyn moved to turn around and caught her heel in the plush carpet on the floor. Before the man could catch her, she tumbled forward and her purse opened, spilling its contents across the hall.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, falling to her knees.
With a muffled exclamation, the man knelt beside her. “Are you hurt?”
Shaking her head, she began to reach for the tube of lipstick near her on the floor.
“No, no, I am quite all right. I caught my heel, that is all. Oh look! Everything is everywhere!”
The man turned to reach for a compact mirror and a small notebook. While he was gathering up items behind him, Evelyn shot a look out of the corner of her eye. Anna was just disappearing into the hotel room halfway between them and the lift. The door closed silently behind her and Evelyn turned back to accept the handful of items from the man on his knees with her.
“Thank you so much,” she said, shoving them all back into her purse.
He got to his feet and offered her his hand, pulling her up.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“Yes, thank you.” She brushed herself off and smiled at him before turning away. “The stairs are this way?”
He nodded and walked a few steps with her to point to the other end of the hallway.
“You can just see them from here,” he told her. “There, at the end.”
“I see them now,” she said nodding. “Thank you again!”
Evelyn strode down the hallway towards the stairwell, her back straight and her head high. Her pace was steady but her heart was pounding. He had looked right into her face. Anything could have gone wrong. If he’d been shown a photo, he could have recognized her. He could have looked up and realized that someone was crossing the hallway behind her while he was helping her pick up the contents of the purse. At the very least, he should have been leery of the fact that a member of the Spanish nobility had condescended to strike up a conversation with him in the hallway of a hotel in Sweden.
The numerous scenarios of what could have gone awry continued to play their way through her head and, when Evelyn reached the stairs and started up them to the fifth floor, her heart was still in her mouth.
What if he came after her? What if Renner was on the fifth floor? Evelyn’s step checked as that thought occurred to her and she glanced up at the next floor apprehensively. What if he had someone watching the fifth floor?
She shook her head and continued on resolutely. No. Anna had got off the lift on the fifth floor and came down these very stairs without issue not five minutes before. Everything was going to be fine. She had to get a hold of herself.
Evelyn emerged on to the fifth floor and cast a swift look up and down the wide hallway. There wasn’t another soul in sight. Exhaling in relief, she passed the empty lift shaft and walked to the end of the hall, turning the corner. There, she leaned against the wall and checked at her watch. She just had to stay out of sight here for thirty minutes. There was no fear that the Condesa would emerge from her room and go to the lobby when they were supposed to be having tea. The Condesa de Carilla was notoriously reticent, preferring to entertain privately and rarely venturing beyond the comfort of her rooms. It had been a marvelous stroke of luck, seeing her check into the hotel the evening before when she was on her way to dinner. The Condesa hadn’t seen her, which was fortunate. Evelyn had had the privilege of meeting her on two separate occasions, once in London and again in Paris. The woman could talk for hours. She was fascinating, but exceedingly annoying. However, her presence here had played beautifully into Evelyn’s plans.
Looking around, she spied an alcove in the wall further down where the laundry chute was partially hidden by a potted fern. A moment later, she was concealed by the fern, settling down to wait. The timing was most important. Too many pieces were in play now. It was imperative that she wait the half hour before proceeding.
Her mind went back to the German on the floor below her. It really was a miracle that he hadn’t suspected a thing, and most especially hadn’t realized that he had been run down by the very person he was waiting for. Instead, he helped her pick up her belongings while Anna went into their room undetected, and then he was even obliging enough to show her where to go to get to the stairs.
Her lips curved and Evelyn felt the urge to chuckle. He’d done exactly what she wanted him to do. He’d seen exactly what she hoped he’d see, and it had all worked perfectly. Her role in the charade was now almost over.
The rest was up to Anna.
When Evelyn finally moved out of the little alcove she’d had plenty of time to calm down from the excitement of her lively performance. Her heart rate was back to normal and her step was light as she moved around the corner towards the lift. She glanced at the ornate dial above the shaft, smiling when she saw that the lift was engaged on the floor below her. Perfect. Everything was still going according to plan.
She continued to the stairs and entered the art nouveau inspired stairwell, starting down the steps quickly. Her heels echoed on the tiled floor, but she was unconcerned at the sound. There was no one on the stairs to notice, and even if there were, they wouldn’t think twice at the sight of a well-dressed woman taking the stairs rather than the lift. After all, the lift was engaged.
Keeping one gloved hand on the shiny railing, Evelyn moved quickly down the flights until she was nearing the bottom. There she slowed, her eyes on the opening that led to the lobby. The stairs emerged next to the lift, and she knew they would be watching the lift.
She could see people moving through the lobby as she came closer to the last step and she hesitated. Had she beat the lift down? As the thought entered her head, Evelyn heard the whirring of the gears and then a muffled clank as the lift settled on the ground floor. She exhaled and waited on the last step, listening. There was the creak of the gate opening. It was almost time.
Stepping off the last step, Evelyn moved over to the wall and stood against it, her eyes fixed on the path to the front desk in the lobby. Voices echoed down the stairs from high above and then the sound of footsteps heralded the advent of guests who didn’t want to wait for the lift. Biting her bottom lip, she glanced up swiftly. She had to move out of the stairwell before the people coming down saw her. Upon entering the hotel, her goal had been to have as many people see and notice her as possible, but now it was the complete opposite. The last thing in the world that she wanted was to have other guests see her lurking at the bottom of the stairs. There could be no good explanation for it and, worse, it would cause them to notice her.
Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention back to the lobby and she watched as Anna strode by in her own clothing, her head high, while the porter followed with all their luggage. She was right on time.
Good girl, she thought, watching as the woman
went towards the concierge desk. Then she scanned the rest of the lobby, looking for the man who had been reading the newspaper when they came in. Her breath caught in her throat as, instead of him, a tall man moved across the lobby towards the front desk, his eyes fixed on Anna.
Renner!
Casting a frantic look around for the other one, Evelyn knew she had to move. The footsteps were drawing closer and any minute one of the guests on the stairs could look down and see her standing there.
After a second of panicked hesitation, Evelyn moved out of the stairwell, glancing towards the desk. Anna was talking to the manager, waving her hand airily, a bright smile on her face. Herr Renner was standing a few feet behind, listening to every word, and Evelyn bit back a smile of her own. His focus was on the woman at the desk in front of him, not the lift or the stairs beside it.
She turned and moved quickly towards the back of the hotel and the long, narrow corridor that went past the porter’s lounge and out to the alley behind the hotel. While Anna was drawing the attention of Herr Renner and all his minions in the front of the hotel, the back alley would be empty except for the one man Anna heard them say was posted there.
And that was Renner’s tactical blunder. There was only one exit to the hotel that was secluded and out of sight from the harbor, leading straight to the busy street at the side of the hotel. And he’d left it attended by only one man. While she didn’t relish the idea of a run-in with a Gestapo agent in the alley, she liked her odds better there than in the lobby of the hotel.
A moment later, she emerged into the narrow alley. The height of the hotel and the building behind it combined to block what was left of the late afternoon sun and the narrow lane was cloaked in shadows. Glancing to her left, she saw the street ahead. Between her and the busy road lay half the length of the hotel. After looking to her right and finding a row of trash cans, Evelyn blanched at the smell of rotting vegetables and bad fish. She turned hurriedly towards the road, holding her breath as she moved away from the noxious fumes.
