“I HOPE I didn’t wake you,” Catherine says. “What time is it there?”
“It’s 11:20 Copenhagen time, seven hours ahead of Chicago,” Liam says. “What’s the matter? I can tell there’s something wrong. How did it go today?”
“Oh, God, not well. For one thing, Britta’s health is deteriorating, so much so that Emma has moved in with her. And for another, I made a fool of myself today by attacking my own client, who then terminated the session and went home. Emma says that it was due to Britta’s weakened condition, that she’s tense and defensive, but I was blind to it, and I’m sitting there battling with her over the soundness of her father’s decision to stay in Denmark. She blew up at me, but to tell you the truth, it was my fault. I got emotionally caught up in her story, which I never should have done. I wanted to shout, ‘Don’t stay in Denmark, Joseph, because Jews will be rounded up and put on trains like the rest of Europe. Get out now!’ But Britta said, ‘Denmark was different’ and I said, ‘They all thought they were different, but they made the decision to stay and they were all killed.’”
“Whoa, slow down, honey. Take it easy.”
Catherine sighs. “Liam, I think that all these Holocaust cases we’ve been working on the last ten years, they’re catching up to me. They haunt me. I see scenes of those Jewish families that we’ve come to know being rounded up and taken off to death camps. I see their faces and I want to go back in time and shout at them to leave while they still have a chance. And Britta said, ‘Well, you weren’t there,’ and she was right and—”
“Calm down, calm down, Cat. Where are you?”
“I’m still at the office. I’ve been sitting here alone for a while. I asked Susan to stay a little longer and watch Ben. I’m just not ready to go home.”
“Susan’s a good nanny, she won’t mind. Don’t worry about it.”
“I know, she said she wouldn’t mind. I’ll leave in a little while.” After a moment of silence, she says, “Britta stormed out and went home. She was right, Liam, and I was wrong. Maybe it was a mistake to take on another Holocaust case so soon after finishing Gabi’s case. I think about them in the middle of the night. Don’t you? Karolina and Jacob and Frieda and Beka, all those people we’ve come to know.” Catherine breaks into sobs. “Now I’m getting to know Grethe and Lukas and Britta’s parents and I’m expecting the worst. I wish you were here.”
“I wish I was there too. Do you want to withdraw?”
“No, of course not. How could I do that? I’ve never abandoned a client in my life, and I’m sure as hell not going to abandon Britta. You know me better than that. I intend to win this case, though right now I don’t know how. We have to be in front of Obadiah in three days. All I’ve got is blue shirts. Please tell me you’ve found the smoking gun.”
“Not yet. I had hopes that Ole would be listed in the Bovrup Index.”
“The index of Danish Nazis?”
“Right. Their names were taken right from the DNSAP roles. Unfortunately, neither a Hendricksen nor a Henryks is on the list. But the name Emma gave me on that slip of paper the other day, Henning Brondum, his name is in the index. I asked the curator about him and he told me that Brondum was affiliated with Otto Schwerdt, aka Peter Schafer. He organized a paramilitary group called the Petergruppen—the Peter Group—a counter-resistance group that Brondum was part of. After the war, Brondum was tried in the Danish court as a Nazi collaborator. He was convicted and executed in 1947. I don’t know why I was given that paper. What’s his connection to Ole?”
“Well, Emma’s not sure. She thinks he was a friend. Liam, you need to follow up this lead; it could be a break. Can you get his court records?”
“I’ll try. I’ve checked into Simmons Manufacturing. Assuming that Ole married Margit Simmons, the company was owned by his father-in-law, Ulrid Simmons. They were definitely a supplier of machinery and equipment for Germany during the war.”
“Great. Britta thinks Ole worked there.”
“But, bear in mind that Denmark was doing a robust business with Germany in almost every segment of its economy. That didn’t make them all collaborators or war criminals, nor did it make them Nazis.”
“What did Simmons manufacture and sell? It might make a difference if it was military equipment; guns, ammunition, materials used on the battlefield, or used to subjugate the Danish people. Then I could properly allege that Ole was aiding and abetting the Nazi regime.”
“I wouldn’t do that just yet. It’s likely that the machinery and equipment had a military purpose, but I don’t have that precise information.”
“Liam: three days. That’s what I’ve got. That means I have two days to draft our affirmative defense to bring with me to court on Thursday morning.”
“Well, then go ahead and allege he was working for a company that supplied machinery to the Third Reich, just know we may not be able to prove it at trial. Simmons closed over seventy years ago, I have not been able to locate any employment records for Simmons and I doubt that I will. So, you won’t be able to prove that Ole worked for Simmons, unless he admits it.”
“What about that newspaper, the Plantagenetic?”
“Ha. The Kamptegnet. It was a dead end. I noticed that it was printed by the Hendricksen Printing Company and thought there might be a connection, but I checked it out. I don’t believe that Ole’s father owned a company, or anything else for that matter. I think Britta was right when she said he was a drinker and day-worker down at the docks.”
“What about the Blue Shirt Club or Blue Storm Club? According to Britta, there were several people who connected Ole and his brother to the Blue Shirt Club: Lukas Holstrum, Knud Gunnison, even Professor Koch all identified Ole as a member and placed him at the scene when the Holger Club was arrested.”
“Identified by several people who are now dead and cannot testify. The bad news is that I haven’t come across any records for the Blue Shirt Club or the Blue Storm Club, at least not so far. The curator told me he has heard of the group, but he doesn’t know where I could find information about them. But, don’t lose hope, Cat, your hubby is hard at work. Get some rest.”
“I love you, Liam.”