LIAM MET CATHERINE AT the door, helped her with her coat and gave her his welcome-home kiss. “How’d it go today?”
“Remember when I said that listening to Lena’s narrative didn’t disturb me as much as when I sat with Ben?”
“Right. You said it was no less horrific, but more manageable because you thought you could help her.”
Catherine nodded. “I could be wrong.”
“About helping her?”
“About being more manageable. It’s unsettling, Liam. It disturbs me to the core. I’m angry. I want revenge. I want retribution. I want to parade every one of those Nazi monsters to their ultimate roll call and watch as judgment is pronounced.”
“It was seventy years ago, Cat. They lost the war, many stood trial before a war crimes tribunal, and most of them went to jail or were executed. Germany paid billions in retribution.”
“And the lives that they took, were they restored as well, Liam? The moms, the dads, the babies—did they give them back their lives?”
“I understand. How is Lena taking all this, reliving the story day-by-day?”
Catherine shook her head. “Cool as a cucumber. Oh, every once in a while she’ll pause, take a deep breath and plow forward. Sometimes she’ll weep, but she keeps it all under control.”
“She’s a woman on a mission. How far did you get today?”
“Karolina had her babies. Rachel and Leah. The story was beautiful, heartwarming. I wanted to cheer. Except there’s no way those babies survived.”
“Lena thinks they did.”
“I know. I was tempted to go all night just to find out how she thinks they survived, but all my instincts tell me it would have been impossible. Siegfried’s never going to take those two Jewish babies to his mother’s home deep in Germany. Karolina’s a fool to think that. Winter is coming to Chrzanów and the buildings are unheated. Food is scarce. How are newborns going to survive? And then, of course, there is the Final Solution. The ghetto is being deconstructed, due to be cleared of all Jews within months. The buildings will be razed. The ghetto torn down. Whoever is left will board trains for transport to other camps, and most will go to Auschwitz. Babies, children under fourteen, disabled, the elderly—they won’t be resettled. They’ll be murdered as soon as they arrive at a camp. Only the young and strong have a chance at survival. We know now that almost all of Poland’s three million Jews were murdered.”
“But Lena believes the twins survived?”
Catherine shrugged. “Apparently.”
“Do you still believe there is a hidden secret yet to be revealed?”
“Without a doubt. Every bone in my lawyer’s being senses a deep, dark secret. But I don’t know if she’ll ever willingly reveal it. I might sniff it out, but maybe not.”
“Delusional?”
“I don’t think so. She’d have to have one hell of an imagination. She tells the story in such detail. But do me a favor. See if Nazi records show the existence of a Colonel Müller. If so, was he assigned to Chrzanów? And if so, what happened to him?”
“Okay. I should be able to do that. But I have to tell you, I’m more than a little concerned about you. In your condition, you know, experiencing the details, bit by bit, of…”
“In my condition, huh? In my delicate condition?”
“Hold on. I didn’t mean…”
“The hell you didn’t.”
“You’re pregnant, you’re hearing stories about babies dying, you’re emotional…”
“Emotional! Are you insane? Are you saying that I should be indifferent, ambivalent, unaffected? Is that how you would be? Because I don’t think so. As a father-to-be, as a human being, you’d be just as disturbed as I am. Disturbed and furious.”
“Take it easy, Cat. I’m not trying to upset you, I’m…”
“Forget it.” She turned and left the room.
Liam sat in silence on the couch for several minutes and then went to look for her. He found her in the bedroom, sobbing into her pillow. He sat down and gently rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Cat.”
“It’s not your fault. Karolina’s twins—there’s no way they survived.”