The Nazi’s question about the border crossing hung in the air. Talk to the man. Part of Ernő screamed that was the reasonable thing to do. Tell the man how they were going to escape, and he would let Zofia go. A few words. Move his mouth a couple times and secure his wife’s and his child’s futures. Except…
This is a trap.
That was the reality. If he told the officer how they had planned to cross the border, they would lie in wait for Éva and Patrik, arrest them, and all four of their lives would be forfeit.
“Ah!” Ernő grabbed at his hair with his right hand and pulled.
“You know what to do.”
He did. God help him, he did. But how could he do it? Sacrifice his wife and his child to save his sister and the man who they believed had betrayed them?
“Sleep. I need to sleep.”
The Nazi’s blue eyes glinted in the harsh light of the lone incandescent bulb. “None of that now. Later. When you’ve given me the information I desire. Is this your first child?”
Ernő groaned.
“I have three of them.”
Then why ask such an impossible thing of Ernő? The man understood the preciousness of life. Understood the love a father has for his infant before that child even takes his first breath.
“They’re beautiful. All golden-haired, with the brightest blue eyes. And smart, each one of them. Brigetta plays the piano, just like your wife does. My daughter is very talented. Given the chance, she’ll be quite successful. Max excels in math. You should see that boy with numbers. A genius. And little Angelica. Sweet as frosted cake. She wants to be a nurse.”
What would Ernő’s child become? Perhaps he would carry on the family legacy in the instrument-making business. He would have his mother’s musical ear, his father’s deft hands for making clarinets from wood.
Music. The melodic music of his child’s cries. Anya told him his first squalls were the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard. Oh, to nestle his own little one and hold him close.
His heart ached no less than his left shoulder. “Please, I beg you.”
“Beg me to do what? Save the lives of your wife and child?”
“Igen, igen, igen.”
“You know how to make that happen.”
What if he lied? Though he hated the thought of telling a falsehood, it might be the way out of the predicament. The only way to save five lives. Even a small fib had to be less of a sin than murder. He’d be rescuing the innocent. Surely the Lord would approve.
Would it work? That was the gamble. He’d never been one to bet on cards or horses.
His torturer reached into his cigarette case only to find it empty. “I need more smokes. The timing is good. Think about the question. Let me know your answer when I return.” As he sauntered by, he leaned to whisper in Ernő’s ear. “I’m running out of patience. Do us all a favor and tell me your plan.”
The metal door clanged shut as the German exited the room. Ernő expelled his breath with a shot of spit. “God, help me. Help me! What am I to do?”
He fell from his chair to the floor and held his painful arm close. Tears coursed down his cheeks, splashing on the concrete.
For the first time in his life, he understood the Lord’s agony in Gethsemane. “Let this cup pass from me.”
He crouched on the ground until his knees ached and then went numb. When that brought no answer, he beat his chest.
The heavens remained silent.
He hugged himself and rocked back and forth, forcing himself to breathe in and out. Stay calm and clearheaded. If he lost his mind, he would say or do something he would later regret.
No regrets.
No regrets.
That left him with one simple choice.
His heart rate dropped into the normal range. No longer did he fight for air. He knew what he had to do.
For what must have been thirty minutes, he paced the tiny room, completing the circuit a hundred times or more. When would the guard return so he could get this over with? He’d made up his mind. There was no going back.
Get on with it.
He might go crazy with the waiting. Then the door swung open. Tall and regal, the Nazi returned to the room and took his place. “What is it you want to tell me?”
Ernő relaxed and sat across from the beak-nosed man. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. How we were planning to cross the border. In return, I want your guarantee that if I do so, my wife will be released and allowed to continue the trip to Romania.”
“You have my word.”
Ernő tapped the table. “In writing. On a piece of paper, with your pledge. Otherwise, you won’t get the information you seek.”
“You are in no position to be making demands, Bognár Ernő. I hear your wife is in some distress. I have the power to make it better for her. Or worse. Now give me the information.”
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Before it even got off the ground, his plan crashed and burned.
He had to take the chance. There was no other way to save Zofia’s life and the lives of the others. “We were going to pay a smuggler.”
“Names.” The German pounded on the table, the sound reverberating in the tiny room like the ring of a gong. “What is the man’s name, and where can I find him?”
He was going to make up a name, but just as he opened his mouth to spew nonsense, another idea struck him with the force of a bullet. “But this is a woman. And I believe you already know her. Lakatos Reka.”
The oppressive summer heat bore down on Éva as she marched along the street toward Gestapo headquarters dressed in the navy-blue wool uniform of the Hungarian police. The weight of the air had nothing to do with the reason why she couldn’t draw a deep breath.
This was the one and only chance they had at securing Ernő’s and Zofia’s release. Bribing the officer to part with the uniform had cost them dearly. And jeopardized them, leaving them with too little to pay a smuggler. Once they had Zofia and Ernő in their custody, they were on their own to cross into Romania.
The building loomed like a giant over a flea. With each step echoing the pounding of her heart, she climbed the steps and headed through the heavy wood door. The click of her oxfords resounded on the sterile white tile floor.
She approached the main desk where a man dressed in a dark blue suit sat shuffling paperwork.
“Sir, I require your attention.”
At her authoritarian tone, he whipped his focus to her, eyeing her uniform. “What is this about?”
“You have to let me do this.”
He crinkled his forehead. “Do what?”
Right. She couldn’t rush ahead. “I must speak with two of your prisoners immediately.” She worked to keep the warble from her voice, though her entire body trembled. “Bognár Ernő and Bognár Zofia.”
He frowned and sorted through a couple stacks of papers. “I don’t have record of them.”
“Of course you do. Do you want me to report you to your superiors as lazy and unorganized?”
“But, but—” His flaccid face flushed crimson.
“Now.”
“I cannot allow that without written authorization.”
This was the toughest part of getting in, and she’d prepared for such a challenge. “There will be a great reward in it for you if you allow me to speak with them.” She withdrew a large wad of cash from her pocket and thumbed it before tucking it away.
His countenance brightened. “Let me make the arrangements.”
The bribe constituted the entirety of their remaining funds. But she did what she had to do.
Five minutes later, she sat in one of the interrogation rooms, the gray walls, gray floor, and gray furniture weighing down her spirit. What did they do to people here? She shivered. If they discovered who she was, she would learn the answer.
Another few minutes passed before the door opened and the bespectacled Gestapo officer led Ernő in the room. Her brother’s eyes widened, but she shot him a warning glance. Any sign of recognition between the two could sign their death sentences.
Ernő cradled one arm close to his body and winced as he took his place across the table from her.
The guard remained in the corner.
“You may leave us now.”
“I will stay.” He set his lips in a straight line.
“That was not part of our agreement.”
“You got your way, now I will get mine.”
“If you would like your payment, you are in no position to negotiate with me.”
“In that case, I’ll return the prisoner to his chamber.”
Éva’s mind scrambled to devise a way to get rid of the guard. “I only need a few minutes with him, but I demand that you leave. Your superiors will be very disappointed in the way you handled this situation with the Hungarian police, and a woman at that. Besides, I do not see Bognár Zofia. You must get her for me as well.”
“Three minutes. That is all.” The guard backed out of the room and clicked the door shut behind him.
In a second, she was around the table and pulling Ernő into an embrace. He released a howl of pain.
She recoiled. “What happened to you?”
“They dislocated my shoulder. You’ve never imagined torture like this.”
“How are you otherwise?”
“It’s horrible. The men are stuffed into a few cells. Not enough to eat or drink, not enough sanitation. Why are you here?”
“Where’s Zofia?”
“I haven’t seen her.” His voice broke. “I don’t know if I will. They demanded to know our plans to cross the border, and I fed them false information. Implicated Reka, actually. They’re probably discovering this about now.”
“Cheeky of you. I’m going to get you out.”
“How?”
“And Zofia. Don’t worry about it. When the guard returns, follow my lead.”
The few minutes they had alone together flew by much too fast. Before Éva knew it, the guard returned to the room. Without Zofia.
“Where is she? You promised to deliver her to me.” Éva stood.
“She isn’t here. According to the records, she was transported by train first thing this morning.”
Éva stomped toward the man and stood on her tiptoes to stare him in the eyes. “You dummkopf.” She screamed in his face. “Do you know who that was? She was to be under my control. You had no right to send her away. Where is she headed?”
“I don’t know.” He assumed a position of surrender. “Don’t ask me, because I can’t find out. Now give me my money.”
“I will walk out of here with Bognár Ernő, especially after you botched the arrest of his wife. We have charges pending against him, and he is to remain in our custody. Once we are outside the building, then you will get what was promised to you.”
The man pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded. “I’ll escort you personally.”
“Köszönöm.” Surely he knew she wasn’t who she claimed to be. He must suspect her true reason for being here. But no matter, as long as he aided in their escape.
True to his word, he led the two of them down the hall, through the lobby, and out the door, gripping Ernő the entire way.
The three of them stood on the front step. The German motioned for Éva to pay him. “Time for my reward.”
“You’ve been somewhat helpful, though you only delivered one of the two I needed.” She fingered the money in her pocket and peeled off a number of bills. Without Zofia, she wasn’t about to hand him her last dime. They might need it later to rescue her.
He grabbed the money and released his hold on Ernő, then disappeared inside the building.
“My Zofia.” Ernő collapsed to the ground.
Éva yanked him to his feet by his good shoulder. “We have to get out of here before we’re both arrested.”
“My Zofia.”
That same pain tugged at Éva’s heart. Only God knew what was happening to her sister-in-law.