BRITTA IS BACK in her hospital room. She is seated in her wheelchair, staring out of the window at the park below. Emma sits beside her with a comforting hand on her grandmother’s arm. Britta’s mood is contemplative, not at all what Emma expects. “Bubbe, you should be celebrating. The jury returned a verdict in your favor in less than two hours. You were vindicated.” Britta smiles and nods.
At that moment Catherine and Liam burst into the room and close the door. Catherine unwraps a bottle of Champagne and pours some into four plastic flutes. She raises hers and says, “A toast to my hubby, the world’s greatest detective, without whom we would have never won this case.”
Liam shakes his head. “All praise goes to the world’s greatest attorney.” He smiles and looks around the room. “She paid me to say that.” Catherine elbows him.
“I will definitely raise my glass to the world’s greatest attorney,” Emma says. “What an education I received in trial management. Catherine saw the play and executed it perfectly. Proof of his betrayals, his traitorous acts, his membership in Nazi-sponsored organizations, none of which could have gone into evidence without Ole’s confession on the witness stand. Catherine engineered it perfectly. She led him right down the path and he never saw it coming.”
“They say that cross-examination is the crucible of truth,” Catherine says. “People think it’s easy to lie, but it’s not. One lie begets another and eventually the truth bleeds through.” Catherine raises her glass again. “But here’s where the praise belongs: to my powerful and determined client, Britta Stein. What a remarkable, detailed memory! What strength of purpose! To the world’s greatest Bubbe, and the world’s greatest storyteller.”
Britta breaks into a smile, though one side of her mouth rises higher than the other. She takes a small sip of Champagne, licks her lips and says, “Don’t tell my doctor … or my nurse. Or the woman … Emma has hired … to live with me.” She shakes her head. “Apparently … my independence is a thing of the past.”
“That will be the day,” Catherine says with a laugh.
“I must say this case opened my eyes,” Liam says. “What the people of Denmark did during the war is inspiring. One of the most interesting things I did while in Copenhagen was to visit the Danish Jewish Museum. It’s a beautiful structure. The corridors and walls are laid out to spell the Hebrew word ‘Mitzvah,’ which I am told refers to deeds done in order to fulfill commandments.”
Britta nods in confirmation. “And at … Yad Vashem … in Israel … there’s a section which honors … Righteous Among the Nations … those people who risked their lives … to save Jewish people during … Holocaust. Soldiers, priests … nurses, government officials. Georg Duckwitz … He is honored. And there is one area … a tree … planted in a garden … along with a replica of a boat … dedicated collectively … to the people of Denmark.”
After a short pause, Emma says, “You know, Six-o’clock was actually a gentleman at the end of this case. He came up to me and said he wished me the best, that I was a fine lawyer, and that I was learning from a great lawyer. He said, ‘Catherine Lockhart was the better man today.’”
“Better man? Hmph,” Catherine says.
The door opens, the nurse steps into the room, takes a look around, smiles, says, “I didn’t see anything,” and leaves.
Emma giggles. She raises her glass. “Bubbe, it took seventy years, but the truth prevailed. You set the record straight and you avenged your family. You achieved justice for them. Victory is sweet.”
Britta shakes her head. She does not agree. “No, Emma … this was a hollow victory … I derive no pleasure from it … It doesn’t bring back my sister … or reverse history. Ole Hendricksen got … what he deserved.” She shakes her head again. “But he’s just a pitiful old man … whose debts have come due. He was an unprincipled young man … but not a demon. Unlike the Nazis he worshipped. He was not banal … he had no personal agenda. He was just a mindless follower … in search of approval.” She curls her lips. “What he did to my family … and to others … is unforgivable. But he didn’t bring the war to Europe. He didn’t invent Nazism.” She points a finger. “He was a hanger-on … looking for acceptance … at the expense of his morality … Even with a judgment against him … he will never see it that way … But he was no war hero … that’s for damn sure … and I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.”
“Amen,” Catherine says.
Britta holds her glass and takes a small sip. “Please join me in a toast … to my sister, Grethe … who possessed more inner strength … than men like Hendricksen could ever imagine. And to her husband, Lukas … a true war hero … who protected us all to the very end … at the cost of his life.” Tears fill her eyes. “To my mother and my father … may they rest in peace. To Isabel, of blessed memory, the lovely daughter Grethe and I shared.” She lifts her glass a little higher and turns to her right. “And finally, here’s to Emma, the brilliant young attorney … who is now the repository of the Morgenstern family legacy. Carry the torch proudly, my worthy granddaughter.”
“Worthy indeed,” Catherine says. “What a phenomenal co-counsel. What a great second chair. I’m not trying to steal you from Walter, that wouldn’t be nice, but if at any time you decide that big-firm legal life isn’t for you … well, you know where I am. We could sit down and talk. Right after Liam and I get back.”
“Get back?” Liam says.
“Tuscany, my dear hubby. Did you forget? We have a date with Aunt Gabi.”