Several days later
Sabine arrived home from work, expecting to find Werner home, but the house was empty. Since he sometimes got delayed during a patrol, she put his dinner into the oven to keep warm and ate alone.
She switched on the radio to her favorite music program, the Wunschkonzert, where listeners could phone the radio station and ask for a song to be played. A load of laundry to iron and fold by her side, she sang to the popular tunes and her mood improved.
About halfway in to the program the mother of a son missing in action asked for the song Ich weiß es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen – “I Know One Day a Miracle Will Happen” by Zarah Leander.
Couldn’t we all use a miracle? Sabine thought, suddenly swept up in nostalgia. She ironed Werner’s uniform shirts and hung them neatly in the closet. After finishing the entire basket of laundry, it was past eleven p.m., but there was still no sign of Werner.
She decided to call the fire station and inquire about his unusual delay. “Hello, I’m Frau Mahler and I was wondering if you’d know where my husband Werner Mahler was?”
The voice on the other end of the line interrupted her: “He’s not here.”
“Would you know where he is? His shift ended five hours ago and he’s still not home.”
“Ma’am, I’m sorry but I don’t have any information. All I know is that he’s not on duty anymore. Goodnight.”
Sabine stared at the phone, her worry increasing tenfold. “Werner, where are you?” she asked the empty room, doing her best to keep her tears from falling.
Past midnight, she went to bed, but sleep proved elusive as she jumped at every little noise, wishing and praying for her husband to walk through the front door. She must have fallen asleep at some time, because the alarm tore her out of her dreams. Only half-awake she rolled over to his side of the bed – empty. Her eyes popped open in shock and she scanned the room for any evidence of his presence. Nothing.
She rushed downstairs, but the house was empty. No hat and no coat, except hers, hung on the rack beside the front door. Her heart as icy as her naked feet on the cold linoleum floor, she dressed in a hurry, forgoing the usual artwork of putting her hair into rolls. Skipping breakfast, Sabine grabbed her purse to visit the fire station before reporting for work.
The receptionist cast her eyes downward, pretending to be busy with something, the moment Sabine stepped in front of her desk.
“Good morning, Fräulein Schulz,” Sabine said.
“How can I help you?” the woman answered, still not looking her in the eyes.
Sabine’s stomach did a double dip. The few times she’d met Fräulein Schulz before, she’d always been helpful and friendly. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “My husband Werner Mahler didn’t come home last night. Any chance you would know his whereabouts?”
“I’m sorry. He’s not here,” Fräulein Schulz said, ducking her head and intently studying her fingernails.
Sabine wanted to grab her by the throat and shake her until she said something. Anything. What happened to my Werner? And why won’t you tell me? she wanted to scream.
A man waiting in the queue behind her said, “Lady, there’s more of us waiting.” She stepped aside, letting the next person bring forward their concern. With nothing else to do, she walked toward the exit, her shoulders hunched forward, until she saw a colleague of her husband. “Hello, Ernst.”
He waved at her with a serious face and shook her hand, saying in a soft voice, “Don’t ask questions. Let it go.”
She gasped at his words, unable to respond to him.
“Save yourself and don’t ever return here again,” he whispered before he quickly left the room, leaving Sabine stupefied.
Don’t ask questions? Let it go? We’re talking about my husband, not some random stranger! Sabine feared her knees would give out, and she mustered the little energy she had left to straighten her back and walk out of that damned fire station as if nothing had happened, when indeed, her entire life was collapsing around her.
Werner had disappeared, and those people knew more than they let on. She loved him. How could she forget about him? Abandon him? He wouldn’t abandon her. Tears of frustration filled her eyes.
Just as she walked down the stairs in front of the building, someone grabbed her elbow and propelled her onto the sidewalk.
“Don’t talk yet,” he whispered, keeping up a vigorous pace.
She glanced at the man walking beside her and recognized Werner’s superior. Her pulse ratcheted up to a hammering staccato, but somehow she managed to keep her face straight and her mouth closed until they’d rounded the next corner into a small alleyway. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
The officer gave her a sympathetic look, saying, “The Gestapo came yesterday and took Werner away.”
Sabine gasped and covered her mouth to hold back the cry that wanted to escape. Tears pooled in her eyes and she shook her head. “Why?”
“The why usually doesn’t matter. I’m urging you not to do anything stupid. There’s nothing you can do to help him, but you can save yourself. Consider leaving town for a while. Werner would want you to be fine.…”
“I can’t do that. There must be some mistake. Can’t anyone talk to them?”
“No one is going to interfere with the Gestapo. Go to work and do everything as you normally would. Don’t go asking questions.” With that said, he stepped out of the alleyway and disappeared back inside the station.
Sabine waited a few minutes, trying to contain the anger building inside. How could they all stand by and look away? He’d worked with these very people for so many years, some he even called friends, and they were all willing to abandon him in a heartbeat?
She allowed her rage to fuel her walk as she headed off for the factory. Arriving at the gates, she glanced at her wristwatch. Late again. She had only four minutes to change and sneak into her workstation before her shift began.
In her hurry to arrive on time, she hadn’t noticed the ominous man blocking the entrance to the factory until she almost bumped into him.