Awakenings (Intertwined Souls Series Book 4)

by Mary D. Brooks

  “Really?”

  “Hmm, your irises went navy blue.”

  “Is that what happens when we're making love? That's what you say, isn't it?”

  “Please, tell me you weren't thinking of that,” Zoe teased.

  “Pfft,” Eva responded and then grinned. “You wouldn't be still dressed if that happened.” She gently laughed. “So what did happen?”

  “You tell me. Nothing happened for a few minutes and your eyes didn't change color, but then boom, they went navy blue and then back to normal.” Zoe tilted Eva's head back. “You still have a dark blue speck floating in a sea of sky blue.”

  “How pretty.”

  “Yes, it is. What were you thinking?”

  “For a few minutes nothing much, other than I liked sitting in the sun with you on my lap,” Eva replied. “While I was thinking about that…” she stopped midsentence and took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to be alarmed...”

  “You do know that when you say that I am alarmed, don’t you?”

  “I can feel someone is watching us.”

  Zoe gazed at Eva for a long moment. “I shouldn’t turn around, right?”

  “No. Get off my lap and don’t react.”

  “But—”

  “There isn’t any point. They have already seen us.”

  “I don’t like this,” Zoe replied as she got off Eva’s lap and walked back into the room. “So this works just like that?”

  “Just like that,” Eva repeated. “That's how it's always been for me. Just a thought, a feeling. No 'ta da' big reveal.”

  “Just very quietly. That's just the way you are. No mess, no fuss, no big dramas.”

  “Yes, so far.”

  “So that's when your eyes changed color, because for a few minutes they remained sky blue.”

  “So.” Eva nodded. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that your gifts are very different from Tessa’s gifts. Her eyes change color, but they take hours to change back. That also means that there may be other gifts we are not aware of.”

  “Oh, goodie,” Eva said. “Just what we need to complicate our lives.”

  Zoe grinned. “You would be bored if things went according to plan.”

  “Less gray hair,” Eva said, and then laughed as Zoe came back out and tipped her head down. “Find any?”

  “No, it looks all black to me.” Zoe kissed the top of Eva’s head. She tipped Eva's face up to meet her eyes. “So who are these people who are spying on us?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why send someone to spy on us?” Zoe asked. Eva merely shrugged. “Your grandmother?”

  “Why did she send Mrs. Muldoon? I don’t know, Zo. All this is one giant puzzle and every time we try and work it out, something else happens that completely changes things.”

  “How strange.”

  “Hm, we have visitors,” Eva said as she got up from her chair and leaned over the balcony.

  Zoe followed her and saw that a black sedan had come to a stop in the courtyard. She couldn’t see any markings on the car. “Were they the ones looking at us?”

  “No,” Eva replied quietly. “Let’s go find out what these people want.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Eva came down the steps followed by Zoe only to be met by Tessa, who was coming up the stairs. They stopped and looked at each other.

  “Yes, I know, I saw them as they arrived,” Eva said before Tessa said anything.

  “They’re War Crimes Unit agents.”

  “What do they want?”

  Tessa looked back to the living room before she turned to Eva. “They want to talk to you.”

  “Well, let’s not keep them waiting,” Eva muttered as they entered the living room.

  “Eva, these gentlemen are Isaac Abels and Marco Geitner from the War Crimes Unit,” Stella said and they sat down.

  Eva greeted the men and noticed the concentration camp tattoo on Abels’ arm as he sat opposite her.

  He followed her gaze and looked up. “Thank you for agreeing to talk to us, Mrs. Hoffman.”

  Eva glanced at Zoe before she turned her attention back on the agent.

  “How can I help you? My name is not Hoffman or Muller anymore. It’s Lambros. I’m married to Theodore Lambros,” Eva said with a slight smile.

  “You got married?”

  “Yes, here in Berlin just after I arrived back home.”

  “Oh. We were not aware of that.” Abels scribbled in his notepad. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

  “Please, go right ahead.”

  “Your father was Major Hans Muller, is that correct?”

  “No. He was my stepfather. My father is Panayiotis Haralambos.”

  “Major Hans Muller was a high-ranking Nazi officer during the war and he was recently tried and convicted at Nuremberg for crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. Your father isn't Major Hans Muller?”

  “No, as I just said, he was my stepfather.”

  “Your birth certificate states Hans Muller as your father,” Abels said without looking up from his notes.

  “It's wrong. My mother was a single woman in Austria. When I was born my mother met Hans Muller and they got married.”

  “So your birth certificate was falsified?”

  “You could say that, yes. My natural father was Panayiotis Haralambos from Larissa, Greece.”

  “So in 1946 you immigrated to Australia from Greece?”

  “No, from Egypt. I was in Egypt for a year and then sailed to Australia in 1946.”

  “Why did you decide to go to Australia?”

  Eva glanced at Zoe. “I was shot before the Americans liberated the town. When I was well enough we decided to leave for Egypt and then took a ship to Australia.”

  “Who is the other party in the ‘we’?”

  “My friend Zoe Lambros.”

  “Ah.” Abels sat back. “Mrs. Lambros, where were you during the war?”

  “In Aiden from 1938 to 1940. I was in France in 1941, and Larissa from 1942 till 1944.”

  “You have a good memory.”

  “I'm sure you can remember where you were during those years, Mr. Abels.”

  “Before the war, you were in the Hitler Youth?” Abels asked, ignoring Eva’s pointed question.

  “Yes, as all German children were.”

  “As long as you weren't a Jew,” Abels muttered. “Did you become a member of the Nazi Party?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?” Abels looked up and met Eva’s eyes.

  “Quite sure. I never signed up as party member.”

  “Yes, a lot of Germans say that now.”

  “Maybe they felt that way to begin with. Not all Germans were Nazis,” Eva replied reasonably. “Although some were and still are members.”

  “No, just the majority. So you were in the Hitler Youth up until what date?”

  “November 9, 1939.”

  “You are quite certain of that date.”

  “Very certain.” Eva met Abels’ eyes and was aware they both knew the significance of that date.

  “November 9, 1939 was Kristallnacht, was it not?”

  “Yes.” Eva took a sip of the water that Tessa had placed near her hand.

  “Can you please tell me what happened on that night?”

  Eva took a deep breath. “It was the night that systematic looting and assaults on Jews took place. Synagogues and shops were burnt. Why are you asking me when you already know?”

  “Who took part in that assault?”

  “The SS, members of the Hitler Youth, and the general public in some areas.”

  “Since you despised the Nazi party and what it stood for, you obviously stayed at home?” Abels asked.

  “No, I didn't stay at home.”

  “Where were you?”

  “I was with my friends.”

  “From the Hitler Youth?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah, so I see. Now a moment ag
o you told me that members of the Hitler Youth participated in the wonton destruction of Jewish property and lives. Did you take part in that destruction?”

  Eva looked down at her hands and took a moment before answering. “Yes, I did.”

  “So, as someone who despised the Nazi regime, you chose to destroy Jewish property and kill innocent people. Why is that?”

  “I didn't kill anyone, Herr Abels,” Eva said quietly. “I was present at the torching of a synagogue and then I ran back home.”

  “You were present when a house of worship was destroyed. Did you do anything to stop this torching? Did you partake in this torching?”

  “No, I didn't stop my friends from torching it, and no, I didn't participate.”

  “Why do you remember this date so well then? Surely it's not because of the torching of a synagogue?”

  “No,” Eva whispered.

  “I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Can you repeat that?”

  “I said no, it's not because of just Kristallnacht.”

  “Why is this event so important?”

  “My mother was killed that night,” Eva said quietly, and for a moment she saw some compassion in Abels’ eyes before he looked down at his notes again.

  “Is that why you hated the Nazi party?”

  “No. I did not like Hitler.”

  “I see.” Abels tapped his pen against his chin. “Since you didn’t like Hitler, why did you join the Nazi Party?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Can you explain why your signature appears on a registration form for the Nazi Party dated November 9, 1939?”

  “That's not my signature.”

  Abels looked down at the paper and then back up at Eva. “I haven't shown it to you yet—you have to wait to see it before lying to me.”

  “I've already seen that registration paper.”

  “Yes, I know, Mrs. Lambros. You saw it when you added your name to the Nazi party. You claim that you never registered as a Nazi member, but your signature appears on this membership form. How is that?”

  “As I told you, it's not my signature,” Eva replied. She glanced at Zoe, who got up and left the room.

  “It was witnessed by your father Major Hans Muller…”

  “It’s not my signature,” Eva responded just as Zoe came back and handed Eva her passport. Eva gave it to Abels.

  Abels took the passport and compared the two signatures. He looked at Eva over the top of his glasses. “Hm, you are right.”

  “I know.”

  “Were you ever at the AEMullerStahl Medical Research Facility?”

  Eva took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked at Zoe, who had a lit cigarette in her hand. Without a word, Zoe gave her the cigarette and she accepted it gratefully. Taking some time to compose herself, Eva took a drag of the cigarette.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Yes I was taken there for aversion treatment.”

  “You were a patient? That isn’t what we have in the records we hold from the facility.”

  “I was not a staff member. I was there against my will and then sent to the main hospital.”

  “According to your medical records you were at the hospital recovering from a car accident and melancholy.”

  “Don’t you need my permission to look at those records?”

  Abels looked at Eva and nodded. “You were not in the country at the time and I received authorization from your grandmother Mrs. Beatriz Muller.”

  “I see.”

  “Your medical records say you were at the Aiden Hospital and then you were discharged. Approximately three months after your discharge you went to work for your uncle, Dr. Dieter Muller.”

  “No. That is wrong.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Quite sure.”

  “What were you doing there from November 1939 to June 1940?”

  Eva paused, annoyed that Abels was leaning in towards her. “I was held against my will and tortured.”

  “You were at your uncle’s research facility and you were a prisoner?” Abels asked. “Are you sure about that? A car accident and melancholy is not a cause for you to be held prisoner. Do you even know what that really is? It may have felt that way but—”

  “Quite sure,” Eva replied. “How many times do I need to say this?”

  Abels went back to his notes on the table and retrieved four pieces of paper. “The Nazis were notorious for keeping notes. I think they prided themselves in their bookkeeping abilities, and that was the only thing they did right. I have in my hand records that were found at the AEMuller Medical Research Facility. It lists the staff which was employed from November 1939 to July 1943.” He took a sip from a glass of water. “Can you tell me why a Miss Eva Muller, born January 20, 1920 and a member of the Nazi party, is listed on this staff list when you claim you were a prisoner?”

  “I was never a staff member.”

  “The records state you were a member of staff from November 1939 to June 1940. You resigned from the area you were working in because of medical reasons.”

  “That's a lie. Your records are wrong.” Eva’s voice rose as she tried to calm her rising anxiety.

  “It says so right here.” Abels held up the sheet of paper. “Germans are many things, Mrs. Lambros, but they are meticulous about paperwork.”

  “I'm sure, but that's falsified.”

  “Just like your birth certificate and party registration?”

  “Yes.”

  “Of course it is,” Abels replied. “Were you aware that your AEMuller Medical Research Facility was a place of torture, experimentation on Jews, homosexuals, and retarded individuals?”

  Eva bowed her head and nodded. “I am aware of that.”

  “You just told me you didn’t know about this place. Now you do know what happened there?”

  “No…I mean yes…umm” Eva looked directly at Abels.

  “How are you aware of this if you did not work there?”

  “Because I was one of those being tortured,” Eva replied quietly.

  “I don't believe you, Mrs. Lambros. I have the paperwork in front of me and it clearly says you were a staff member. How can you prove otherwise? Can you prove you weren't?”

  Zoe was not liking the direction the interrogation was taking. The investigators were very direct with their questioning. She glanced at Tommy, who had taken a position at the back of the room. He gave her a reassuring nod.

  “I can prove it,” Tommy stated.

  “And who are you, sir?”

  “My name is Thomas Lambros. I worked at the hospital and I was responsible for nursing Miss Muller…I mean Mrs. Lambros, from her injuries,” Tommy said. “You will find my name under Karl Steigler.”

  “Is that your real name sir?”

  “It is. My full name is Karl Thomas Steigler-Lambros. I was a nurse.”

  “You worked in the AEMuller Medical Research Facility?”

  “No sir, I worked in the Aiden Hospital.”

  “I see.” Abels flipped through several papers and looked up when he found what he was looking for. “You were a nurse at the main Hospital but not in the research facility.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Zoe pursed her lips in thought at Abels’ choice of words. Research facility sounded mundane and innocuous.

  “Eva was a class AF1 patient.”

  “What are AF1 patients?” Abels asked and looked over the top of his glasses at Tommy. “I don’t have any notes about patient types.”

  “People who had a severe mental problems and were admitted by a doctor or family member,” Tommy replied as he met Eva’s gaze.

  “I don’t have that on my notes here,” Abels muttered and turned to his partner, who was also looking at his notes. “We don’t have that information.”

  “I still have notes from when I nursed Mrs. Lambros.”

  Abels gazed dubiously at Tommy. “You kept notes and you still have them after so many years?”

  “I keep notes on all my pati
ents. I am a certified mental health nurse and I keep methodical records, both for my benefit and for those that I care for.”

  “Do you have those notes with you?”

  “No, sir, I don’t. They are back in Greece.”

  “Can you send them to me?”

  “No, sir. I can't. The German Criminal Code article 203 states that it is a crime for me to give you any medical records without authorization from the patient. I will not do that.”

  “Do you authorize those notes to be given to the War Crimes Unit, Mrs. Lambros?”

  Eva glanced at Tommy and nodded. “Of course, if it will clear my name.”

  “Good. I expect to receive those notes and a statement from you as soon as possible,” Abels grunted as he packed up his files and stuck them into his bag. “Mrs. Lambros, if you come in contact with Dr. Muller, please inform me.” He produced his card.

  “That’s it? You go through all those questions and all you were after was if she had been in contact with her uncle?” Zoe asked incredulously.

  “Yes. We have reason to believe that Dr. Muller is in Berlin. We think he may try to contact you.”

  “Why would he do that?” Eva asked as she got up.

  “There are a number of reasons,” Abels replied. “If you come in contact with him and don’t tell us, you will be arrested.”

  “Of course,” Eva replied as the two men were shown to the door. She waited by the door until they were back into their car and had driven off. She turned to find Zoe leaning against the wall.

  “That was strange,” Zoe exclaimed. “You were in no condition to sign membership papers, and all that rot about you working for the hospital…”

  “That’s the least of our worries. There must be a reason why my uncle is here.”

  “Why all those questions? Where did they get their information? Could it be from your grandmother?” Zoe asked.

  “I don’t know.” Eva shrugged.

  “Tommy, you really don’t have notes, do you?” Tessa asked.

  “Yes, I do.” Tommy nodded. “I keep notes on the patients I treat, but it’s nothing more than just things I need to remember.”

  “I don’t know what it all means, but I’m going to say something is going to happen in the next day or so,” Stella muttered. “I’m not even gifted and I know that.”