“What website?” Daniel asked.
“It’s to do with the reunification but it’s not by people who approve of it. I’ll show you all just now. There’s a picture of Nagel on it and pictures of Brandt, Loesel and Schmidt.”
“Really? Does one of them run the site?” Johann asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s quite radical. There’s also another site which talks about the collection of arms in Czechoslovakia but it’s a German site. It sounds a bit frightening.”
Shirley went for her laptop and opened it. “Show us,” she said. Connie typed in a few words and Shirley looked at the site. She read carefully. “I can’t see anything that would give us any information,” she said.
“That’s because you’re not looking properly.” Connie aimed the cursor onto a tiny little dot on the right of the screen, pressed and a new window opened. Shirley frowned.
“You need a URL address to get a new page,” she said.
“Maybe it types it in itself,” Connie replied. “Read what’s on it.”
Shirley began to read while she ate. “It’s not good,” Connie said, watching her friend.
“No.” Shirley handed the laptop to Daniel. “Read, darling, and let everyone else do the same. How do you know how to do this, Connie?”
“Because I do have a brain. Not as good as yours but it’s there. I know you’re here for a reason other than the concert because of what happened to Daniel.”
Daniel frowned. “How do you know about that? There were no reporters or anything.”
“Somebody at the police station told Paul. He rang and told him. Were you hurt, Daniel?”
“Just a few abrasions.”
“From what I heard you could have been killed. Paul’s friend told him the person who ran into you was a German. Did Schmidt have anything to do with it?”
“It wasn’t Schmidt,” Daniel replied.
“Paul was worried sick and even more worried because we couldn’t get hold of any of you. Would it be that difficult to let your family know things? You’ve worried your father enough.”
Daniel looked at Connie in surprise. She had never spoken to him like that before and he felt a bit hurt at the tone of her voice. She got up, walked round the table to where he sat and bent to kiss him.
“I’m sorry, darling, but we all love you to bits and the thought of what could have happened in that crash has given me nightmares. I’m sure it’s done the same to Shirley. I didn’t mean that as it sounded.”
“I deserve it,” Daniel replied.
“Too right,” Shirley added.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Mrs. Fitzgerald. Study the computer and let me talk to my mother without butting in.”
Shirley screwed her nose at Daniel and began to read. Connie walked back to her seat.
“When you’ve all looked at that site I’ll show you the other one and there’s another which I think is in code because I have no idea what they’re saying. We need your brain for that, Shirley.”
They passed round the laptop until it got back to Shirley. She sat looking at it with a frown of concentration. She had found this site earlier but she wasn’t going to tell anyone that. What she hadn’t found was how to access the other page and she was grateful to Connie. She also had not noticed the age of the site.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“This website is ninety two days old. Websites don’t last more than a hundred. I need to copy it and put it on a document. Hang on. I’ll just do it before we go on the other site.” Shirley worked busily for a few minutes, went onto the second website and read. She needed to be alone, she thought, because there was a lot to assimilate. She passed the laptop around once more and carried on eating.
“Is it useful?” Connie asked.
“It’s interesting,” Shirley replied. She spooned up the last of her sweet and stood. “Would you excuse us? I want to show Connie something before we have coffee.”
She went, Connie followed her and Susan and Helen began to clear the table. They went into the kitchen together and Susan started to wash up the dishes.
“Shirley and Daniel can stay with us,” she said. “Connie too. I’m a bit nervous with those four out of prison.”
“We have safe houses where we could go,” Helen replied. “Or else we could go into the country. I think we should all go though not together and I think Connie, Paul and the family should do the same. We have one in France which would be ideal.”
“Does Shirley know about this?” Susan asked.
“Yes. Do you agree?”
“When will we leave?”
“At different times tonight. Johann has organised it. I don’t think any of us are safe and we won’t be until those four are locked up again, along with anyone else who is involved. It will do no good if someone tries abducting us because we need to work on this thing.”
And upstairs Shirley told Connie about the safe house in France and suggested she go straight there and tell Paul to meet her with the children.
“So there is something wrong,” Connie said.
“We don’t know but we’re doing all we can to find out. The websites you’ve discovered might help. Thank you.”
“But you probably aren’t safe here,” Connie said.
“We’re all going separately somewhere else where we will be safe. You don’t have to worry about us.”
“I do worry about you. Did I hurt Daniel by what I said? I didn’t mean to do so but both Paul and I were upset by what happened. Will you tell Daniel?”
“I’ll tell Daniel. Ring Paul now and then I’ll book you on a flight to France.”
And Paul wanted to speak to Daniel before Connie went off the phone, he said. What if someone followed her?
She would get Daniel, Connie replied, and was unnerved herself. Daniel took the phone and went into the bathroom with it.
“Are you going to tell me off too?” he asked, almost close to tears. Unmanly, he felt, but people did tend to forget men had feelings as much as women.
“No, son, I’m not going to tell you off. I know these things are a result of what you do for a living. Did Connie blast you out?”
“She’s never done that before,” Daniel replied.
“She loves you to bits. She loves all of you. Shirley and Seth are no more dear to her than you, Martin and Katy.”
“When you leave the house dress up as if you’re going to a party or something,” Daniel said. “You could go to the swimming pool. Yes, do that. Go to the leisure centre we usually go to and I’ll get someone to take you to the airport. It won’t be a regular flight. He’ll give you details. Can you do it without worrying Martin and Katy?”
“Yes, of course I can. Do you think someone will be watching us?”
“Probably not but we can’t be too careful. I’ll ring you on your mobile when everything’s arranged but go soon.”
“I will. I love you, son, with all my heart. You will probably never know quite how I felt when I realised you were alive. We all love you.”
“Thanks, dad.”
Paul put down the phone and felt more unnerved than he ever felt he had. He knew that what Daniel did could be dangerous and had been dangerous when he was in East Berlin. But it had never affected the family before and he didn’t like it. He had four children of whom to think and what could he say about them going abroad? He called Martin and Katy and there was a shriek of delight when they were told about the leisure centre and the trip to France.
“How soon can you be ready?” Paul asked.
“Ten minutes,” Martin replied.
“Fifteen,” Katy added. “I have to choose my wardrobe carefully.”
“Why, sucker? Nobody will be looking at you.” The children grinned, ran to their bedrooms and were ready in twenty minutes. After spending an hour and a half at the leisure centre they were taken to a private airport. Thirty minutes after that the plane took off for France. When they arrived Connie was already there.
After she
left Berlin the rest of them packed. They would leave in pairs, they had decided, and would look as if they were going somewhere else. Helen walked down the stairs, stunning in a long evening gown. Johann who was wearing a smart dinner suit watched her in appreciation. “I think I’d like to marry you,” he said. “You’re more beautiful than anyone else and smart to go with it.”
“Think again, sir. I much prefer my freedom.”
“Despite two marriages? Let’s go on holiday together then.”
“I could manage that.” They grinned at each other and Shirley slid down the bannister, a towel and bikini under her arm. Daniel slid behind her carrying towel and trunks.
“I love that bannister,” Shirley said. “Shall we get a house with one, Daniel?”
“Good thinking. We’ll probably be followed.”
“Has that ever worried us?” Johann asked.
“It’s never made me comfortable.” Daniel made for the door. “Into the fray?”
“Into the fray,” Helen said.
When they reached their venues they stayed for some time. Helen and Johann at a night club, Shirley and Daniel at a leisure centre. When they left nobody who would be interested in what they were doing saw them.
Chapter 5
30th September, 1990
Daniel stretched, looked at Shirley where she sat beside him with her laptop on her lap and reached up to touch her face.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“What are you doing?”
“Getting up to date with what’s happening outside our immediate world. Do you want to see?”
“I want to eat you.” He went to sit up. “Sorry. Of course I want to see.”
She looked down at him. She had been up for a lot of the night but he did not know that. Much of it she spent reading the files Lala gave her with some time on the computer looking at the two sites Connie had found plus the one in code. That she had deciphered quite quickly and was not keen on what she saw. Plans to cause trouble in different parts of Berlin. Invitations for people to give ideas. There was no indication of who had composed the web page though some of the spelling was wrong.
But that could be a decoy, she thought, because who ever designed it was certainly not stupid. The dot on the right of the original site she had enlarged as big as it would go but there was nothing sinister about it. Just a dot which obviously all who knew the site would know to use. Maybe she would have found it if Connie hadn’t told her. She hoped so because if not she was definitely slipping.
She had read through the files Lala gave her with great interest, both of those who were in the East German Underground and those who they helped, also people they had outwitted. It made exciting reading but she felt she needed to study it more carefully. She had spent an hour or more the previous day photocopying everything and deposited one copy in a box number she had in Berlin. The rest she had brought with her to the cabin where she and Daniel were staying and hidden in the loft. She did not want him seeing them yet.
There was a thread throughout the files which she felt she had to follow up more and one thing she found rather interesting. Quite a few of the people in the Underground either had Jewish connections themselves or had friends who were informants who did. Three couples had been in Auschwitz, two in Ravensbrück. All of them had very interesting and poignant stories to tell which on occasions brought tears to Shirley’s eyes.
They were all so brave, she thought while she read, not only in the camps but during the separation of East and West Germany. If she wrote a book about them she would feel privileged and she would make sure the book was publicised widely.
She put the computer on the locker and slid down to lie on top of Daniel, her feelings a little desperate as she thought of the day ahead. Only two clear days after today before the reunification celebrations and what lay between for all of them? What lay between for her? In an hour Schmidt would be leaving his hotel to meet a group of men and she planned to be where he could see her. That was, if she could summon the courage to go through with what she had planned. What she really wanted to do was go to Amsterdam, get the babies and move to South America or even further.
She shifted her body on Daniel and blanked her mind. This man was a pain in the neck. By her association with him she had been drawn into many a situation which had been frightening and dangerous. By her association with him now she was probably going to commit suicide. On top of that he was often less than truthful, she was sure. Why she bothered with him she did not know.
Because he was a part of her, she thought. Because he was the only person with whom she wanted to live. Because they had a lovely little family. Because she loved him with all her heart. Because he made her feel the way she was feeling now as he ran his hands over her and began to do all the things she enjoyed. Because she wasn’t so honest herself and particularly about what she was going to do very soon. It was some time before she returned to her computer and he went into the bathroom.
He returned a couple of minutes later, took the computer and put it on the locker again. Turning her he patted her, lifted her and took her in the shower. She began to wash him as he did the same to her. “I love you so much,” he said.
“Me too.”
“You love you so much?” She jumped at him under the water, put her legs round his waist and never wanted to let him go. When they were together she felt safe. She felt loved. She could for a few minutes pretend she had no problems. She could pretend there was no world outside theirs.
But there was and within the hour she had to leave without letting him know. She had to take the car so he couldn’t follow her. She began to kiss him and afterwards he went to make breakfast. He would cook her one delicious meal, he told her, because he knew how to do that. Egg, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, fried bread, tomatoes, just the way she liked it. She pulled on jeans, boots, a warm coat after he left, put a few items in her pockets and bag and desperately wanted to stay, if only for the lovely smell which was coming from the kitchen.
He dished up the food on two plates, took them through to the dining room of the little cabin where they were staying and heard the car start. The car? He ran to the door, swung it open and tore down the path. But he was too late and there was no way to follow Shirley as she sped down the road. He kicked the door in frustration, pushed the meals into two containers and wanted to scream.
He should have known she would do something like this. Was he a total idiot? She accused him of dishonesty and was dishonest herself. He would skin her alive when he saw her. He would lock her up. He took out his mobile and dialed a number then waited impatiently for a reply.
“Johann? It’s Daniel. Shirley’s gone.”
“Gone where?”
“I have no idea. She drove off while I was preparing breakfast. I have no car because she’s taken it.”
“Helen thought she might try to do something,” Johann said, looking at his wife where she stood mixing eggs for scrambling nearby.
“Where do you think she would go?” Daniel asked.
“Something to do with Schmidt, I would imagine. She has more access than anyone to information because she finds it where we would not think of looking. She’s been on her computer a lot and she is the only one who would be able to decipher the coded site. Even our blokes would probably have difficulty with that.”
“Can you get me or send someone? It will take me a while to get to a train or bus because it’s so remote here and I don’t want to waste time.”
“I’ll come for you.” Johann set down the phone and turned to hold Helen tightly. “I must go, liebling. I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Shirley went off while Daniel was preparing breakfast without telling him where she was going. I’m going to pick Daniel up and then we’ll go on to headquarters or maybe we’ll look for Shirley though we won’t know where to look. Will you be alright?”
“I’ll be fine.” Helen went for the receiver as the phone ran
g and spoke into it. Johann moved to stand right next to her so they could both listen.
“Hello, Helen. This is Connie.”
“How are you?” Helen asked.
“Alright and the children are enjoying being here. It’s really beautiful. We saw on the news early this morning that the house has been broken into. We’ve asked Lindell to deal with it and said we can’t get back there at the moment. I don’t know how the news got out but then how does anything reach the media? How are things your end?”
“Alright, thank you. Just lay low until we contact you.”
“We’re coming to Germany on the third whatever happens and we’re not going to hide. Well, we will for a couple of days but that is all. We want to be at Shirley’s concert and Martin and Katy wouldn’t understand if we don’t go because they’re expecting to do so. Are you sure the babies are alright?”
“They’re fine. Can we do anything at all?”
“No, thank you. Is Shirley there?”
“No. She and Daniel are staying somewhere apart from us.”
“Please give her and Daniel my love. Goodbye, Helen.”
“Goodbye, Connie.” Helen closed her mobile. “Why them?” she asked.
“It may be nothing to do with what’s going on here,” Johann replied. “Their place is a mansion. I’m surprised they havn’t been burgled before.”
“What can we do about Shirley?”
“Schmidt is being followed wherever he goes. So too are Brandt, Loesel and Nagel. If they try anything they’ll be stopped.”
“But they are not the only ones who will be involved unless, of course, we are over reacting and nothing is going to happen.”
“That would be good but I’m not holding my breath on it. Well, it’s not possible because of the websites Connie accessed. I think Shirley has more information than she is telling us.”
“Yes.” Helen went for the scrambled egg and put some between two slices of bread. She put the bread in a sandwich tin, some cake and straightened Johann’s tie.
“Be careful, liebling.”
The Berlin Vendetta: Book 3 in the series 'The Enigmatic Defection' Page 9