“What are you going to do?” she asked, her eyes lighting with fear.
“I’m going to cut your finger off,” he said. “One finger a minute until you tell me what you know.”
She stared at him in horror. “You promised,” she said.
“I lied. I do that when I need to. Now don’t be stupid,” he admonished. “You’ve never played the hero, and now isn’t the time to start.” He placed the knife against the finger, sliding it gently until it made the slightest cut. The woman gasped.
“Tell me,” he whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Very well then,” he said. “Let us begin.”
“Wait!” the woman yelled. “Wait. I might have some idea.”
“I knew you would be reasonable, Wiera,” he said, sliding his knife back into its sheath. “You always have been.”
Ten minutes later he was on his way back to Irena’s cell. He had everything he needed now. She was exhausted and he’d offered her a compromise. He was sure he had the last component to get her to talk. She might have let her mother die, but she’d never let Adam. Adam. He’d know immediately if that slut had lied to him. If she had, he’d cut off more than a finger.
He put his hand on the door, starting to turn the handle. He felt the triumph in his heart.
“Lieutenant.” He heard the voice of his assistant. He looked up in annoyance. “What is it?”
“The colonel wants to see you.”
“Tell him I’ll be up in an hour or so.”
“He said immediately.”
Klaus thought about ignoring the order. He was so close. Still, the last thing he wanted was for the colonel to come looking for him. Not when he was so close to getting what he wanted. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll be right up.”
He opened the door. Irena was there, still lying on the floor, amidst a torn-up tray of food and a pool of vomit. “I’ve had some new information,” he said.
She looked up.
“I know about your Adam.”
Wiera had told the truth. He saw it in Irena’s eyes. He smiled. “I have a couple of issues to attend to, but when I’m back, we are going to discuss your lover. Or perhaps I’ll just have him rounded up and we can all visit together. Why don’t you think about what I want from you, and when I get back, we’ll have a nice little chat. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?”
She turned away, her face flushed, refusing to answer.
“Very well then. Think long and hard on this one, Irena. I can’t hold back the future any longer.”
He turned and went through the door. He felt the elation coursing through him. He’d seen the look in her eyes when he mentioned Adam. She was going to turn. This was the last straw and it was more than she could sacrifice.
He arrived at the colonel’s office a few minutes later. He was summoned inside immediately, and the door was closed.
“You’ve ignored my orders, Rein,” said the colonel, looking up.
“What are you talking about, sir?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” the colonel screamed. “I told you to leave off on egota, but you went out and arrested this Sendler woman, and you’ve been interrogating her for months under my nose? Do you take me for an utter idiot? In my own building!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He knew there was small chance a denial would work, but he had to try something.
“Who do you think you’re dealing with!” the colonel demanded.
A fool, Klaus thought.
“I know Sendler is here. Do you want to take me to her, or shall we go and tour the cells together?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The colonel turned to Klaus’s assistant. “Take me to her.”
“Jawohl.” The assistant gave a meaningful look to Klaus, and then turned, leading the colonel down a hallway—in the opposite direction of Irena’s cell.
Klaus rushed the other direction. He tried to clear his head. He knew he only had a few minutes. What was he going to do with Irena? If he was caught with her, in direct violation of the colonel’s orders, he would be court-martialed, even shot. He rushed down the stairs to the basement, shouting at a guard to follow him. He reached her cell a few moments later and stood impatiently while the soldier fumbled with the keys. He tore the door open. Irena was there, crumpled against the wall. She was passed out or asleep.
He moved to her quickly, seizing her arms and dragging her toward the doorway. She woke up, screaming in pain as he pulled her broken leg along the concrete floor.
“Shut your mouth!” he ordered. Klaus turned to the guard. “Give me a hand, you fool!”
The soldier moved to assist him and together they pulled Irena out the door and down the hallway. Klaus led the way, dragging her to the end of the corridor where he located an empty cell. “Put her in here!” he demanded. He stood waiting for the door to open, his eyes staring down the passage, waiting for the colonel to appear. A minute passed while the guard looked for the correct key. Finally, he found it and opened the door. Klaus pulled Irena in and slid her against the wall. She looked up at him with terror in her eyes. “Adam,” she whispered.
“Shut your damned mouth!” he shouted. They moved out of the cell and he slammed the door shut. He turned to the guard. “You are to make sure nobody enters or leaves this cell. This prisoner is an enemy of the state and has invaluable information. You are not to reveal where she is to anyone, do you understand?”
The guard nodded and returned to his position at the end of the hallway. Klaus rushed up the stairs, not wanting to run into the colonel in the cell area. His heart raced. He was safe for now, but he knew it wouldn’t last. He would be caught, unless he could figure out some way to rid himself of Irena. He reached his office and set himself at his desk, trying to calm his breathing and appear to be working. He was there for less than five minutes when the colonel appeared, his face a fierce scarlet.
“What have you done with her?” the colonel demanded.
Klaus looked up, assuming his most arrogant and disdainful expression. “I told you, there is no Irena Sendler here. You’ve been lied to.”
“I don’t know how you managed to hide her, but you’ll never reach her again. I’ve posted guards all over this headquarters. You are barred from entering the cell area as of this moment. Do you understand? I’m going to sort this out, and when I find her, I’m placing you under immediate arrest. You will answer to Hans Frank for your insolence!”
“Do what you will,” said Klaus. “There’s nobody to find. Besides, you can’t even locate egota, how will you find a phantom woman?”
That statement told. The colonel shook with anger.
“Is there anything else?” Klaus asked, looking down.
“You will stand and salute me!” the colonel demanded.
Klaus kept his eyes on his paperwork. “I don’t think so,” he replied.
The colonel sputtered. “Enjoy your last day of freedom, Rein.” He stormed off.
His assistant appeared a few minutes later. “What are we going to do?” he demanded of Klaus.
“I don’t know,” he said. He was frustrated. He had everything he wanted now. Irena was broken, ready to talk, but he couldn’t reach her. He closed his eyes, letting that go. That didn’t matter anymore. He had to save himself. Then it occurred to him. He could get rid of her; it was so easy. Nobody would ever know the difference. But he had to clean up other things as well.
“Release Wiera,” he said.
The assistant’s eyes widened. “You’re letting her go?”
“I have to. The colonel cannot know she’s here.”
“But she’s the last link to finding egota, unless that resistance group . . .”
“That was a dead end,” said Klaus. “They were some nowhere right-wing group. They had nothing.”
“Then you’re giving up?” his assistant asked.
“I’m surviving. I’m saving
myself, and you too. Don’t forget,” he said, eyeing the man sharply, “you’re in this as deep as I am. If you don’t want to be lined up against a wall, I suggest you do as I say, and keep your mouth shut.”
The assistant nodded and then turned to follow his commands. Klaus rubbed his hands together. He might not win this game after all, but he had no intention of losing either . . .
* * *
There was a knock at the cell. The door opened and an SS guard appeared. He looked down at Irena, assessing her condition. He noted the bandage on her leg.
“Do you need assistance walking?” he asked her brusquely.
She nodded.
The soldier reached down with rough hands. He pulled her to her feet and held her arm tightly with his. “Let’s go,” he said.
She’d waited all day and night for Klaus to return. She knew she couldn’t hold back any longer. She was going to have to tell everything. The hours had ticked by, but he’d never appeared. And now, here was this other soldier, someone she’d never seen before. “Where are you taking me?” she asked.
He looked at her for a moment, as if debating his answer. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re slated for execution.”
So, this was it, she thought. She’d known this day might come. She felt the elation that she hadn’t broken, that her friends and family were protected, that her Jewish children were safe in hiding. At the same time, she experienced overwhelming sadness. She wanted to live. There was so much she’d wanted to do. More than anything, she’d wanted a baby. Adam’s baby, growing inside her. Now she would have nothing. Her mother was gone. He would be dead soon as well. Everything would be finished.
The soldier drew her to her feet. She was pulled through the door and down the hallway. The guard was rough. She wondered where he was taking her. They reached the end of the corridor and he pulled open the door. Outside it was freezing. They were in a small courtyard. There was snow on the ground and her bare feet stung against the cold. He pulled her across the space and toward the wall. Of course, this must be where they conducted the executions. She looked around for a firing squad, but they were alone. The soldier wrenched open another door at the far end of the space and pushed her toward it.
“Go,” he said.
“What do you mean?” She was disoriented. She looked through the opening. She could see a sidewalk beyond, and the street.
“Go,” he repeated.
“I don’t understand. I can’t walk. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that egota has taken care of things,” he whispered. “Now get out of here.”
She couldn’t believe it. She felt herself coming back from the brink. egota. The word filled her ears. She wasn’t going to die after all. But she looked again to the street. He must be kidding.
“I can’t walk,” she said. “I’m injured. I have no shoes, no papers.”
He pulled her through the door. “You have to go now! Get out while you’re still alive!” He threw her down on the pavement, wrenching his arm away from her. He slammed the door behind him. She was alone, sprawled out on the sidewalk in the snow.
She had to live. She had to make it to Adam and Rami somehow, before Klaus got there. She knew it was probably too late, but she had to try. She pulled herself to her feet, grasping at the wall for balance. She turned and stumbled into the snow, crossing the street. Her leg was on fire. She could barely move. Her clothes were in tatters and she had no shoes. She was kilometers from the Praga district. She knew she would likely be arrested before she’d shambled a hundred meters, but she had to try. She continued, stumbling step by step. A pedestrian passed her, staring at her in amazement. She kept walking, knowing it was a matter of minutes before she ran into a German.
There was a whisper to her right. A man stood in a doorway, motioning for her to come to him. She hobbled through the threshold. He was a Pole. She was standing in a small hardware store. There were a few tools and some bags of nails for sale. The man gestured for her to sit down on a chair. He left quickly, perhaps to betray her. She didn’t care. She was already exhausted. He returned a few minutes later with hot tea. She took a couple of sips gratefully as he scurried around. He returned with a shawl that he placed over her shoulders. He had shoes in his hands, and socks. He reached down, wiping her feet clean and then placing the socks on her feet. He worked her good leg into a shoe. It was too large, but he laced it up tight.
“My wife’s,” he whispered.
“You can’t give me these,” Irena responded.
“She doesn’t need them anymore,” he said through choked words.
He now worked on her hurt leg, more slowly and gingerly. She winced at the pain but didn’t stop him. He tied up the shoe and then helped her to stand. He brought her an overcoat and helped her put her arms through the sleeves. Finally, he handed her a cane. “My own,” he explained. “But I have a spare.”
“Thank you,” she said. “How can I ever thank you?”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We must help each other. But you must go,” he said, his eyes apologizing. “They are always watching.”
She finished her tea and hobbled to the door. She was able to move much more quickly with the cane. More importantly, she now looked like a regular Pole, at least if someone did not look too closely. She had a fighting chance to make it, with some luck.
She thanked him and stepped back into the cold. She expected the Germans to be waiting for her. Perhaps they’d seen her step into the store. But they were not there. The street was empty.
She hobbled out, each step agony. She walked east and north, passing the rubble and ruins of the ghetto. She tried to keep her bearing, just another crippled Pole making her way through Warsaw. She reached the Vistula, crossing to the Praga district. She passed the deserted market square and continued, finally reaching Maria’s apartment complex. She thought she would find cars there, the Gestapo waiting to scoop her up, but the street was empty. Perhaps they’d already come and gone. Or they could be waiting upstairs for her. She didn’t care. This was in God’s hands. She felt God now, walking next to her. Whatever was going to happen.
She hobbled up to the front door and placed her hand on the handle. She drew a deep breath and opened the door. She expected a hallway full of Gestapo, but nobody was there. She stepped in and made her way toward Maria’s apartment. A middle-aged man passed her in the corridor. She stiffened, expecting him to seize her, but he didn’t even glance in her direction. Finally, she was standing in front of Maria’s door. She knocked, waiting for the door to open, for Germans to rush in from every direction.
The door opened. Maria was there. She stared at Irena for a moment in shock, then she rushed forward, throwing her arms around her.
“You’re alive!” she screamed. “Adam! She’s alive.”
She looked up. There was Adam, sprinting toward her. They all held each other. He was here, alive, the Germans hadn’t taken him. Life began again.
Chapter 34
Checkmate
January 1944
Warsaw, Poland
Klaus checked his watch. It was midday. He had stayed the night at the office, expecting to be arrested at any moment. Morning had broken. The soldiers never came. The execution hour came and went. The condemned prisoners would have been collected at about eight. The routine was the same every day. He had ordered Irena to be added to the execution list. He’d given the cell, not the name. He still felt anger and frustration that he hadn’t gleaned the location of egota out of her, but at least she was dead now, and the colonel would never be the wiser.
His assistant appeared. Finally. “Is it done?” he asked.
The soldier’s face was white. Something was wrong.
“They found her before she was killed?” he asked. Of course. That was just his luck.
“No, sir.”
“What then?”
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“She isn’t in her
cell and she was not brought to the execution ground. I wanted to pull aside the guards for questioning, but how could I? There are eyes watching everywhere.”
Klaus felt his anger rising. She’d escaped? How could that be? He would get to the bottom of this. He rose and started toward the door. Before he made the entrance, the colonel appeared.
“Where is she?” he asked again.
Klaus laughed, confident now. “I told you, there is no her. You’ll never find her because she doesn’t exist here.”
The colonel stared at him in stunned silence for a moment. “I’ll tell you what else doesn’t exist, Rein: your future. As of this moment you are dismissed from your post. You are to report to Hans Frank within the next twenty-four hours in Kraków. He will decide your fate.”
Klaus thought of Wiera Gran, still lying in a cell below. He hadn’t had time to release her. There was still a possibility . . . “But sir,” he protested. “I have things to—”
“You’re done, Rein. Get out of my sight. I want you out of this building in the next half hour.”
Klaus knew there was nothing he could do to stop this. He wasn’t going to have his revenge after all. Well, he thought philosophically, at least he was leaving alive. He nodded and the colonel stormed off.
“Sir, I’m sorry,” started his assistant.
Klaus waved him off with a hand. Soon he was alone, staring at his small office, smiling to himself at the ruin of his personal empire. He whispered the name: “Irena.”
* * *
Irena sat on the sofa in Maria’s apartment as her friend worked to remove the bandages and tried to clean her wounds. Adam sat next to her, holding her hand. They were peppering her with questions as she explained what had happened in the past few months.
“How did you arrange for my escape?” Irena asked through clenched teeth, trying to talk to keep her mind off the searing pain.
“egota had a contact in the SS,” Maria said. “You remember he was holding it back for something important? You were that something. Julian has been working with that soldier for months, waiting for the right moment to get you out. But you were too closely watched. Finally, he was on duty when Klaus had you moved to another cell. He learned you were on the list for execution the next day and he arranged to escort you out. It’s a miracle he was at the right place at the right time, or you would have perished.”
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