Several minutes later, Ursula spoke again. “So many people disappear these days. Without a trace. I worry about them. Mother says it’s the pregnancy making me overly emotional, but…I can’t help but wonder what happens to those people who can’t get to a shelter on nights like these.”
Sabine gave Ursula a quizzical look and asked, “Do you know people who are stuck outside and can’t get to a shelter?”
Ursula looked at her steadily for a moment and then nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Who are they? People who live in your apartment building?” A wave of horror washed over Sabine as she imagined an elderly lady unable to hurry down the stairs.
“Just people.” Ursula said nothing for a long time, and then another impact came, and the two women huddled together as dirt trickled down. When the dust settled, Ursula sighed and shook her head. “I hope everyone is alright.”
“Who are you talking about? Is there anyone of your family out there?” Sabine was getting worried about Ursula’s evasive statements.
Ursula lowered her voice to a whisper that was barely audible and confided in her, “Sometimes, I hide people.”
“Hide?” Sabine gasped. So it was true – Frau Klausen and her daughter were devious traitors to the Reich.
Ursula glanced around, her eyes flickering with fear. “I shouldn’t have told you since it’s really nothing. Some people don’t have a place to live.”
Sabine wondered what kind of people didn’t have a place to live and why they wouldn’t simply go to the authorities and ask for a housing assignment. Except if…they weren’t law-abiding citizens. Images of cold-blooded axe-swinging murderers swamped her mind, fueled by the knowledge that Ursula worked as a prison guard. Rapists, thieves, and blackmailers of the worst kind. Big, strong men who could break her neck with a single move of their arm. Goosebumps covered her skin and she willed the images away.
“A…aren’t you afraid?” Sabine asked.
“Every single day,” Ursula admitted, crouching back onto the mattress and taking another sip of water.
“But…why do you help these people if you’re so afraid of them? Shouldn’t they be arrested and go to prison instead?”
Ursula’s eyes went wide and once again she glanced around, as if any moment someone could appear out of the shadows and swing his axe. There it was again, that horrific image. “I’m not afraid of them, but...” A shudder racked Ursula’s thin shoulders and she turned her head away, indicating the conversation was over.
Sabine nodded her understanding even though she didn’t understand a thing. Why would someone like Ursula, a beautiful woman, pregnant with her first child, risk her life for…for…outlaws? Enemies of the Reich?
Maybe Kriminalkommissar Becker was right and the Klausens really were devious, deplorable people masquerading as rightful citizens. Who could they be hiding from the authorities? Escaped prisoners? People evading justice? Criminals?
Her stomach grew queasy until hot and cold flashes rushed down her skin as she was reminded of one of Werner’s anecdotes. Women and children herded outside by SS troopers. Shot. Without trial or defense.
Guilt swamped Sabine. Maybe Ursula was hiding innocent people? People that would otherwise be shot on the spot just for the simple crime of their existence? Now she wished Ursula hadn’t confided in her.
Sabine sighed. She hadn’t adopted the policy not to get involved because she was unscrupulous; on the contrary. What I don’t know won’t hurt me – or anyone else. Apparently, this motto held true no longer, not since the Gestapo had burst into her and Werner’s lives.
The lines of right and wrong had blurred and while the bombs still dropped on Berlin, she wrestled with her next steps. Could she really take it onto her conscience to feed a pregnant woman to the pack of wolves?