Paula pursed her lips. “You’re laughing at me now.”
“No, I’m not. I was just wondering. My poppa had his old uniform in the closet and would bring it out on Anzac day for the parade.”
“I don’t know, but I think if you dig deep enough you will find that she is. Anyway, as I was telling you, the word is that she is or was a deviant. That’s what Deidre told me, and she got that information from someone who should know.”
“Paula, I know you got that information from a very reliable source, but as I said Mrs. Lambros is married.”
“Are you sure she’s married?”
“Yes, I saw him. He came into the Interpreter Service with her when she came back from Europe. Very handsome man.”
“Hm, maybe Deidre is mistaken.”
“I think Deidre may have read the wrong file. Mrs. Lambros had a suitor before she met and married Mr. Lambros.”
“You don’t say? Hm, that is interesting but I still think Mrs. Hester has made a terrible mistake. There were other people far more qualified for that role.”
“Like Deidre?”
“Yes, exactly and she has worked in the civil service for years. This is an area of government that is sensitive and any hint of malfeasance could cause untold damage.” Paula finished with a flourish. “That is why I’ve been working on a plan since I heard about Mrs. Lambros’ appointment.”
Debbie scowled. She wondered if Eva knew how dangerous Paula was and what kind of enemy she had become. For the moment, she would play along. “What do you suggest?” she asked.
“I will find a way, with your help, to get this woman transferred back to the Interpreter service where she belongs. Now this won’t be a problem for you, you will still have a job here. I’ll see to it.” Paula revealed.
CHAPTER 9
Eva approached the open door leading into Percy Hester’s office and stopped. She hesitantly had a quick peek inside and was surprised to see Percy smiling back at her.
“Good morning, Mrs. Lambros. So you found your way all right?”
“Good morning, sir. Mrs. Harrison pointed me in the right direction.”
“Ah, a good secretary is a must in this job. Now, have you filled out the thousand and one forms the Personnel Department insists we fill out?”
“Yes, sir. I was told Mrs. Hester was here and sort myself out first,” Eva responded. It was her first time in the minister’s office, which was very tastefully decorated. The art on the walls featured Australian landscapes. The view was breathtaking—it overlooked the harbor with the Harbour Bridge in the background.
Percy grinned. “Nice view. I wish I had more time to look at it. Jana will be back shortly so take a seat and wait. Now, how is your Turkish?”
“I picked up a few words here and there from the Turkish interpreter,” Eva replied as she sat down. She watched Percy open a drawer. He pulled out a small book and handed it to her.
“Brush up on some more words. On Saturday we are going to be meeting the Turkish ambassador for dinner. He can speak English, of course, but it’s a nice ice breaker to say a few words in their language.” Percy thumbed through his own Turkish phrasebook for a moment. “I hope you didn’t have anything planned for Saturday.”
Eva was about to reply when the door opened and Jana walked in. Eva rose and greeted her new boss.
“Excuse me, Eva,” Jana said to her and turned her attention to her husband. “Percy, why, in God’s name, isn’t my office ready yet?”
“They had some dispute, but they are painting it now.”
“I know that, but it’s the middle of the day! Can’t they do that at night?”
“Jana, my love, I’m just the minister at her Majesty’s service. These things are beyond me,” Percy replied with a gentle smile. Jana shook her head.
“Goodness, this place,” Jana huffed. “Eva, can you please go down to the building manager and find out if he can tell you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Eva said quietly, and was about to leave when Jana put her hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t call me ma’am. I’m Mrs. Hester in public and Jana in private, alright?”
“Yes ma…er...Jana.” Eva nodded as she caught Percy’s eye and smiled.
***
Eva got out of the elevator deep in thought and was rounding a corner when a mail cart crashed into her shins. She dropped the files she was carrying, and they spread out all over the linoleum-covered floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” A young woman exclaimed as she bent down to pick up the files.
“It’s all right; my fault,” Eva muttered, and then bent down to pick up her files.
“Oh, wow! You must be Mrs. Hester’s new assistant,” the woman exclaimed.
“Is there a sign on me?” Eva looked down at her shirt. “Eva Lambros. Pleased to meet you, Miss...” She extended her hand.
“I’m Emily Brandy. I work in the mail room, but I’m going to night school to be a secretary. I guessed who you are because you are the tallest woman in this building and your accent gave it away,” Emily explained. “The whole place is buzzing about you.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, you are the talk of the typing pool. Our basketball team really needs someone like you,” Emily said. “It’s at the bottom of the competition.”
“Oh, I see.”
“We heard that you were on the team at the Interpreter Service, so would you like to join us?”
“I wasn’t on that team, but just drop off the details with my secretary.” Eva was about to move off when she was stopped by Emily standing in her way. Emily was a tall woman, but not as tall as Eva. Eva stared down at her. “Yes?”
“Mrs. Lambros, a group of us are going to the local pub for drinks. Would you like to join us?” Emily smiled shyly.
“Thank you for inviting me, but no, I can’t make it,” Eva replied with a smile, took the remaining files from Emily, and walked off. She mentally sighed at the interaction. Zoe was going to get a laugh out of it when she told her.
***
As Emily stood watching Eva walk away, her friend Lorraine came around the corner and smashed into her cart.
“Emily!”
“I just met Mrs. Lambros,” Emily said with a grin.
“That didn’t take you too long. So what is she like?”
“Doesn’t say much. Polite lady. She’s perfect for our team and has the right height!”
“Agnes showed me her personnel file. She can speak Greek, German, and Italian.”
“Really?”
“Yes. She was in the Interpreter Division before Mrs. Hester chose her to be her new assistant. She’s thirty years old, and doesn’t have any children, which is very strange at that age. You’d think she would.”
“Maybe she can’t have them?”
“Yeah, maybe.” Lorraine nodded.
“What else did the file say?”
“She’s six feet two inches tall, which is what our team needs.”
“I know. Deidre told me she was tall when she met her in reception but I didn’t realize how tall until I ran into her. I think she may be the tallest in our team, if she joins us,” Emily said with a little giggle which made Lorraine laugh as well. “I asked her to join the team and she said to leave the details with her secretary. So you never know; we may actually win a game this year!”
“Yes, but can she play?”
“I don’t know. Who doesn’t know how to play basketball?” Emily shrugged. “I’ll go over and talk to her secretary.”
Lorraine looked around for a moment, making Emily also look around. “Why are we looking around?”
“Kelly, from the typing pool at the Interpreter Service, told me some juicy gossip about Mrs. Lambros. She was pretty sure because she said Alice in the War Crimes Unit told her.”
“What did she say? Or are you going to make me wait?”
“Before she got married she was Eva Muller. Don’t you remember those war criminals they caught about two years ago? It
was in the papers for a week. I think one of the men was Hans Muller and he was her father!”
“Mrs. Lambros’ father was a war criminal?”
“Yes!” Lorraine emphatically replied. “I didn’t know that, but Kelly told me because her brother worked for the War Crimes Unit.”
“Oh, I remember, yes. Poor Kelly. So it was Mrs. Lambros’ father that killed her brother?”
“I don’t know, but Kelly told me that Mrs. Lambros was the one who got the WCU involved, and they caught him and another fellow. Deidre at the WCU told Kelly.”
“I’m so used to seeing Germans with blond hair and blue eyes. She doesn’t have blond hair. It’s dark, and her eyes are not blue.
“Yes, they are blue. It says so in her personnel file.”
“She doesn’t have blue eyes, Lor. I was standing very close to her, and her eyes are not blue.”
“Emily Brandy, you are going blind. The woman has blue eyes. Her personnel file says she has black hair and blue eyes. I saw her photo. Why would that be wrong?”
Emily shook her head. “Was the photograph in color? I’m not going blind. Her eyes are this really deep green.”
“Either you are going blind, my dear girl, or the personnel file is wrong. Judging from the way you’ve been playing basketball lately, I’m booking you in to see the optometrist,” Lorraine teased her friend.
***
“We have a problem,” Debbie said when Eva walked in and through to her new temporary office, which she was seeing for the first time.
“I just got here!” Eva protested. She hadn’t started her day and already she was feeling tired. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You’re a trouble magnet, Mrs. Lambros,” Debbie teased. “What’s wrong with your eyes?” she asked.
“My eyes feel a little gritty—must be that dust in the hallway. A maintenance fellow was doing something to the ceiling as I passed. He was taking down one of the panels.”
“He was? When?”
“As I was coming in.”
“Why?”
Eva looked at Debbie and shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t stop to ask.”
“Hm, I didn’t notice anything when I came in. They must have started the work after I arrived. Let me see.” Debbie sat Eva down on a nearby chair. She gently tilted Eva’s face up into the light. “They do look a little bloodshot.”
“Lack of sleep will do that,” Eva mumbled. “They feel really like I have dust in them.”
“Hmm, I’ll ask the nurse to come over and rinse them out.”
“We have a nurse?”
“Yes, we do. We have a full-time nurse on staff. She’s here in case the minister or other staff need her.”
“Really? Hmm, I didn’t know that. Don’t bother with it… I’ll be okay.”
“I will ask Nurse Andrews to come and see you. If Zoe finds out I wasn’t taking care of you, there would hell to pay.”
“The wrath of Zoe.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.”
“Yes, alright. They feel uncomfortable,” Eva mumbled as she got up from the chair and opened the door to her office. The room was quite spacious, with a huge oak desk in the center and a large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful view. She couldn’t wait to bring Zoe here to have a look at it, even if it was only temporary. With the way the public service worked, she could be in the office for longer than a week. She hoped the public service lived up to its reputation. An adjoining door was closed, and that door led to Mrs. Hester’s office. Eva tried to open it but it was locked.
“They lost the key. I’ve called the janitor to come and open it.”
“Of course they did,” Eva replied a little tersely. “I need to have chat to Mr. Claremont, our building manager for our permanent home. It seems the painters should be finished by the end of the week. Mrs. Hester and I went over there and they weren’t around, so give him a call.” Eva looked around her office. She smiled when she saw her photos on the wall. Zoe had clearly had a hand in the decoration—it had her touch on it.
“Zoe asked you to do this?” Eva turned to find Debbie grinning.
“She called and asked me to decorate the office and make it ‘you,’ or words to that effect.”
“When did she do this?”
“On the weekend.”
Eva sat in her new chair and swiveled around, enjoying herself.
“You should show this side of you more often.” Debbie placed her hand on the chair, which stopped Eva’s momentum.
“What side?”
“The playful side. The side of you that few people see. They think you are cold and aloof.”
Eva smiled up at Debbie. “I know. I like that they think that. It keeps them away from me.”
“Yes, but it’s not true.”
“I don’t care.” Eva shrugged. She put her hands on her desk. “Alright. What were you saying about a problem?”
“Paula Wainright.”
Eva made a face. “Mr. Hester’s secretary? I just got here; I haven’t had time to do anything. What is her problem with me?”
“She wants you transferred out of the department.”
Eva’s eyebrows rose and disappeared under her bangs. “Pardon? Why?”
“Apparently there are far more qualified people suitable for the sensitive job of assistant. She doesn’t think you are qualified for the job.”
“What?” Eva exclaimed and got up from her chair. “Why would she think that way?” she added irritably.
“Rumors…”
“I have been in the building for less than a day and the rumors have already started?”
“Yes, unfortunately, they have. Mrs. Wainright has a friend at the WCU who accessed your file and sent the information to her. I should talk to David about his department’s security. This isn’t right.”
“So what is Wainright’s problem with me other than me not being qualified for the job?” Eva asked and then shook her head. Her eyes were irritating her, she couldn’t focus properly, and this latest bit of office shenanigans was aggravating her more than it should have. “I hate office politics.”
“You got the job that her friend wanted. It seems you made an enemy.”
“I did but I don’t care at this point.” Eva was more than a little annoyed by it.
“They always start in earnest when a new person arrives. There are several rumors that I’ve heard so far. You are over seven feet tall…”
“Hmm, a foot shorter, but seven is a good number.”
“You’re married.”
“True.”
“You were a British spy working in Germany during the war and my favorite: you are having an affair with Mr. Hester.”
“I’m doing what?” Eva’s voice rose an octave and she stared open mouthed at Debbie. “I’m having an affair?
“It seems so. That’s how you got the job.”
Eva involuntarily shuddered. “Alright, I’ve had enough of the rumor mill. What else has happened that is work related and not someone’s idle gossip?”
“You also got a phone call from the External Affairs basketball coach as soon as they found out how tall you are. They want you.”
“I don’t know how to play the game, so they can’t have me.”
“But they really want you.”
“They can’t have me; Zoe has claimed me,” Eva deadpanned and then grinned when Debbie shook her head. Her annoyance with Mrs. Wainright had dissipated and been quickly forgotten. “I ran into the mail clerk and she asked me to join as well.”
“You ran into Lorraine?”
“Who? No, her name was Emily. She smashed a cart into my legs,” Eva said and looked down at her shins.
“Tall blond?”
Eva nodded. “That’s the one. She nearly ran me over with the mail cart. Bubbly, friendly, and eager to get me on the team.”
“She’s one of the nice ones.”
“She seemed nice. Alright, let’s ge
t back to work. Can you find for me the customs and taboos of the Turks? I’m meeting the ambassador next Saturday. I’m afraid my trip to the mountains with Zoe is going to have to wait.”
“Saturday?” Debbie sat on the edge of her seat and leaned in. “Why were you going to the mountains?”
“It’s a special time for us.” Eva rubbed her temple with the tips of her fingers as the beginnings of a headache had settled behind her eyes.
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Zoe will understand,” Eva said, hoping that her beloved partner would see that she couldn’t get out of the initial meeting with the new ambassador. “We can go to our cabin the following weekend.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why can’t I? Zoe won’t mind if we made it next Saturday.”
“You and Mrs. Hester will be at a soiree at Kirribili House with the governor-general.”
Eva glared at Debbie. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “What about the following Saturday?”
Debbie consulted her diary and looked up with a grin. “You’re free.”
“I’d better be,” Eva muttered.
CHAPTER 10
“What is this about your eyes?”
Eva held the telephone receiver in her hand and looked up at the ceiling, a smile spread across her face. Hearing Zoe’s voice had a soothing effect on her even though she had been gone for only a few hours. “Do you know everything that happens to me?”
Zoe’s laugh echoed down the telephone, making Eva chuckle.
“Yes, nothing gets past me. Debbie tells me your eyes are hurting?”
“They were just feeling a little sore. I passed a maintenance man in the hallway and he was fixing the ceiling, and I think I got dust in my eyes. The corridor was a little dusty.”
“Did you look up at what he was doing and the dust got in your eyes? How dusty is that corridor?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why was he doing that in the middle of the day?”
“Apparently someone thought it was a good idea. I’m fine, Zo, really I am.” Eva whirled around in her chair and smiled at the telephone receiver. Zoe had called midafternoon, as she knew she would, and that made her feel good. Listening to Zoe’s voice eased the tension she was feeling, although the headache was still there. “You brightened my day; too much going on here. It’s been strange. Before I forget, we need to talk about this Saturday.”
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