The Star and the Shamrock

by Jean Grainger

  He smiled. ‘I don’t have legal people. I have one man, he works for the British government and is convinced I’m guilty. He is a solicitor, but even he doesn’t believe me.’ He sounded so sad; she wanted to reach over and hug him.

  ‘Though they did say they would be questioning Stephen. I hope he is not in trouble now for bringing what they think is a spy from Austria. I am embarrassed that he will get the blame.’

  Elizabeth’s heart broke at the raw pain and grief behind his words. ‘Would you like me to contact him on your behalf?’

  Daniel just nodded. ‘Yes, please, if you would. I just want to apologise to him for all the problems, and to say thank you… He saved my life.’ His voice was barely a whisper.

  ‘Are you… Are they treating you properly?’ she asked, not caring what the officer thought of her question.

  Daniel’s hair was much greyer than it was last time she’d seen him. He had been dark before, with a little grey at the temples, but now his thick hair was streaked with it. He’d shaved, and his face had some small nicks.

  ‘Yes. I’m all right. How about you and Liesl and Erich?’

  ‘They’re fine. They say hello. They got bad news that their father was killed – well, he was murdered actually.’ She was not going to sugarcoat it. ‘It is so difficult for them, especially since we have not heard anything from Ariella.’

  ‘Oh, that is terrible. How did they find out?’ He looked genuinely anguished, and she had to remind herself that she could be speaking to a German spy, a man who supported the regime that murdered Peter Bannon.

  ‘A witness,’ she said simply.

  Daniel seemed to understand her reticence, nodding sadly.

  She did not speak, but waited for him. She would not make this easy for him, no matter how much she was confused about her feelings.

  ‘I wanted to tell you, Elizabeth,’ he said eventually, his eyes blazing with intensity, ‘that I did not make these drawings. I know it look like it was me, and nobody else can do drawings like this, I know that. And nobody else had that paper. All of the evidence says it was me. But whatever happens – and I think I will hang – it is important that you know it was not me. I never saw those drawings until the day the police come to arrest me. I swear to you.’

  He never raised his voice, and his tone was neutral, but she held his gaze and knew, as sure as she was of anything, that he was telling the truth.

  ‘But have you told the police this?’ she asked.

  He smiled. ‘Yes, many times. But they say, if not you, then who?’

  ‘But you’re Jewish, so why would you support what Hitler is doing? It makes no sense…’

  Daniel placed his shackled hands on the table, and she placed hers on his. He smiled and closed his eyes for a moment until the officer barked, ‘No touching!’

  She removed her hands, and he spoke.

  ‘I am by birth, but as I told you before, I was raised a Catholic. Though looking back, my parents were not very enthusiastic Catholics.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘I suppose they felt they would do better in Vienna if they were not Jews, who knows? They were unusual, an odd couple really. My mother was a suffragette. I remember the day they passed the law, in 1918, that women could vote. I was only a schoolboy then, but she was so happy.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘My father was an engineer – I followed him – and he was more interested in the machines of this world than whatever awaited him in the next. To be honest, I think they were probably both atheists.’

  She wished she could touch him again, but she didn’t dare.

  ‘When my brother and I were born, they did not circumcise us, as would be normal with Jewish boys. So this is another reason the police think I am lying.’

  Elizabeth tried to process this newest piece of information. ‘Oh, I see…’ She flushed red at such intimate knowledge.

  ‘I’m sorry. I do not mean to embarrass you, just to explain…’ It was his turn to look shy.

  ‘No, please go on,’ she said. This was too important.

  ‘Very well. I told Rabbi Frank about not being circumcised, but only since I was arrested. If I had mention it before, then perhaps… But I did not. I only told you about what my parents did, nobody else, as I didn’t want people to think bad of them, I suppose. The rest of the community on the farm thought I was just raised secular, and that was why I don’t know about the Jewish faith. With everything else going on, I didn’t think it was so important…’ He sighed. ‘Now, it doesn’t matter. There is nothing anyone can do. I don’t blame them. If I were a policeman, I would think I was guilty too. So many Jews are dead now, more to come I’m sure – I’m just one more.’

  He gazed longingly in the direction of the barred window – a glimpse of blue sky could be seen outside – then dropped his head once more. ‘Do you believe me?’ he asked, avoiding her eyes. He picked at one of his fingernails.

  ‘Look at me,’ she said, her voice barely audible.

  He looked up, and his intuitive eyes locked with hers.

  ‘Do you swear to me, on the lives of every one of those children on that farm, that you are not a German spy?’

  ‘I swear to you, Elizabeth. I am not.’ He held her gaze and she didn’t flinch. In that moment, it was as if she could see into his soul. He was innocent.

  He was resigned to his fate, she could see that. He wasn’t trying to get her to campaign to have him freed or anything like that; it was just important to him that she believed him.

  ‘Then I believe you,’ she said simply. ‘How can you stand it, to be facing trial for something you didn’t do?’

  ‘I’ve had a lot of time to be angry, to feel frustrated, but in the end, I don’t know…’ He ran his shackled hands through his hair. ‘So many of my people are dying, worked to death, beaten, attacked… I’m just one more. I want to live so much. I have so much I want to do. But you believing that I did not – could never – do such a thing is very important to me. More than you can know. That night, when we… I wish I could have kissed you…’ He stopped.

  ‘Time’s up.’ The officer moved in Daniel’s direction and yanked him up roughly.

  ‘Can I come again?’ she asked, frantic now. Surely this would not be the last time she saw him?

  He shook his head. ‘No. The governor only allowed me one visit. My trial will be soon, I think, and then…well…’ He shrugged again. ‘Be happy, Elizabeth. You’re very special to me.’ Unshed tears shone in his eyes.

  And then he was gone.

  Chapter 21

  Elizabeth was shaken as she found herself escorted back out onto the street. She just stood there, unable to move. Daniel was possibly only days away from being executed for something he didn’t do. She had to do something. But what?

  Her mind worked overtime. What was going on? If Daniel didn’t draw those things – and she was sure he didn’t – then someone else did. Who could it have been?

  She was lost in thought as she retraced her steps back to the train station, going over and over everything in her head. At the corner of Fredrick Street and Nelson Street, she saw the gallery again. She crossed and stopped outside, looking at the pieces in the window. Two of the three paintings on display she recognised as Talia’s.

  She peered in. There was nobody but an older man inside. On a whim, she pushed the door in. It made a little tinkle, as there was a bell attached. The man appeared from the back, wiping his hands on a cloth.

  ‘Good afternoon, madam. Can I help?’ he asked. He was tall and straight-backed, with a muscular build and hair that grew almost to his shoulders, luxuriously wavy and grey. He had a large waxed moustache. He wore a cream suit and a purple shirt and had a black silk scarf tied at his throat. He looked distinguished, bohemian and certainly unforgettable.

  ‘Oh, yes, please. I wanted to buy a painting for a friend as a birthday present, and I liked the ones in the window.’ She had no idea why she was lying, but she went with it.

  ‘The oil or the watercolours?’ he asked, h
is eyes never leaving her face. He smiled, but it wasn’t a warm smile. There was something guarded about him. He had a Belfast accent, cultured, from the wealthier suburbs, not the heart of the city.

  ‘Oh, the watercolours – they’re lovely. How much are they?’ she asked.

  ‘They’re sold, I’m afraid,’ he said, with another insincere smile.

  That was odd.

  ‘Oh, what a pity. What about those?’ She pointed to three other paintings she knew were Talia’s mounted on the left-hand wall.

  ‘Sold as well.’ He didn’t offer her anything else. Surely Talia’s paintings could not have all been sold that quickly? She’d seen her with a bundle of them under her arm not an hour ago. Something was definitely awry.

  ‘Oh dear. I really like this artist. Is he local?’ she asked.

  ‘Aye, he is. I’m afraid I don’t have any of his work for sale right now, but if you pop back in a few weeks maybe?’

  She got the distinct impression he was trying to get rid of her. Also, why was he pretending the artist was a local man? There were other paintings in the gallery too; surely any normal businessman would try to sell her one of those.

  ‘What’s the artist’s name?’ she ventured. ‘If he’s local, perhaps I could contact him myself?’ She smiled innocently.

  The man held her gaze a second longer than was necessary. ‘Frank O’Doherty,’ he said silkily, ‘but he’s a Donegal man, lives out there on an island, a recluse, you know? You won’t be able to contact him, I’d say, but you can try if you like.’ He started to turn away. Clearly the conversation was over.

  ‘Oh well, thanks anyway,’ she said as she left. He didn’t say goodbye or wish her a good day.

  All the way home, she reflected on what had just happened. So many questions. Was something going on? Did this peculiar situation in the art gallery have anything to do with Daniel’s arrest? Why would Talia lie about getting a letter from Daniel? Were those things connected?

  She was glad she never told the children she was visiting Daniel so she was spared the barrage of questions. They were friends now with all of the local children and had adopted their strong Northern Ireland accents. Hearing ‘Oi! Pass the ball, Pawel,’ or ‘Elizabeth, can Simon and Viola come to our house to play?’ was commonplace. Even the boys and girls from Poland, Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia, who by now all spoke English fluently, used local colloquialisms and spoke with a County Down accent.

  She went through the motions of the evening once she was home, her mind only half on the job of preparing supper. Amid the children’s chatter, round and round the ideas went in her head, but there was no manner in which she could even try to protest his innocence.

  Whatever about Talia, Daniel did not draw those plans. He was not a German spy, despite the evidence pointing to the contrary, and with each passing day, it was looking more likely that he would hang.

  Once the children were in bed, she wrote to Stephen Holland, as Daniel had requested, and relayed the information that she believed him to be innocent and that Daniel was sorry for any pain he’d caused his old friend and wanted to express thanks for his help in getting him out of Austria.

  The next morning, Elizabeth bumped into Talia in the post office where Elizabeth had just bought some more stamps, one of which she affixed to Stephen Holland’s letter and the remainder she put in her purse. The children wrote to Ariella every two weeks, regardless to the fact they never got a reply. Elizabeth had no idea whatever became of the letters and cards, but it did the children good to write to her and tell her their news, and for as long as it gave them comfort, she would supply paper, envelopes and stamps.

  ‘Hello, Talia, how are you?’ Elizabeth greeted the girl as nonchalantly as she could.

  ‘Busy.’ Talia grinned. ‘It’s harvest time, so we are picking and bottling for the winter, and it’s all work and no play. I’m trying to get some painting done, but I’ve no spare time.’ The young woman’s beautiful open face was the picture of honesty.

  ‘How is that going? Are you selling many at that gallery?’

  Talia shrugged. ‘One or two, but not really. I suppose people have better things to do with their money at the moment.’

  More lies if the man in the shop was to be believed. Elizabeth gave nothing away. ‘Are you in a hurry, or do you have time for a cuppa? I still don’t have any coffee, but I can offer you a cup of weak tea?’

  Talia posted her letter as they went out into the sunshine. ‘Sure, that would be nice.’

  The younger woman groaned as they walked along. ‘I so miss coffee. I swear at night I can smell the beans roasting. There was this café on Leopoldstrasse – Otto’s – and oh my goodness, the aroma. Baking pastries, coffee, fresh bread… The others say I am driving myself and them mad going on about it all the time, and of course, I should be grateful to be alive, but I think if I have to eat one more bowl of porridge, or that hard brown bread, I will scream.’ Talia sighed dramatically and Elizabeth grinned.

  ‘It’s not that bad, and look at what lovely figures we all have. That’s a bonus, isn’t it?’

  ‘Most of us have. I swear that Ruth is actually gaining weight. She must have secret food stashes.’

  Elizabeth admonished her. ‘Ah now, Talia. Poor Ruth. That’s not nice.’

  ‘Neither is she!’ Talia exclaimed. ‘I swear she tries to get me in trouble all the time. It was my turn to do the bloody chickens, and I swapped with one of the kids – I gave him some chocolate that Bud had given me – and she brought it up at the council meeting. That misery Levi backed her too. She talked about how people should not be allowed to bribe others to do their jobs. Honestly, that woman has it in for me. They think because Daniel and I were close that I’m somehow implicated in his wrongdoing. I can’t wait to get away from here. Bud says when the war is over, we can go to Biloxi.’

  ‘The way he describes it, it does sound wonderful,’ Elizabeth agreed as they passed the children and their friends on the village green.

  She resisted the urge to question the young woman further, instead saying, ‘I thought Ruth was thinking of going back to Dublin?’

  Before she answered, Talia ran playfully into the football game that was going on and stopped a sure score by the refugee team as it blazed to the local’s goal area. Shouts of protest in all the languages of Europe erupted amid the cheers of the locals, but Talia just threw her head back and laughed.

  ‘She was, but now she’s all calf eyes at Levi, though why is anyone’s guess. He looks like an angry hawk with his hooded eyes and long nose. Now that she’s got people on her side to gang up on me – well, just Levi really; they are a perfect match, grumpy and grumpier – I wish she’d just go. She went to the dance and scowled at everyone.’ Talia rolled her eyes. ‘Though you did an amazing job on that dress. She did look much better than she usually does.’

  Elizabeth considered rebuking her again. It was so unlike the normally sunny Talia to be so catty, but the young woman and Ruth had never hit it off from the start. And in fairness, Ruth was probably just as bad. It was true that she was always telling tales to the council about Talia; even the children knew it.

  ‘So is there something going on with her and Levi that’s keeping her here?’ She and Talia went into the house. Elizabeth put the kettle on.

  ‘Oh, who knows? I don’t even know what’s happening with that. If she and sourpuss Levi have something going on, at least it means nobody else has to put up with either of them. Everyone is just wondering about Daniel, though nobody mentions him, of course.’

  ‘So have you heard any more from him?’ Elizabeth asked, glad the conversation had naturally come around to him again.

  ‘No. Nothing since that one letter saying he was so sorry.’

  ‘The rabbi says he is protesting his innocence.’ Elizabeth forced her tone to stay conversational.

  ‘Yes, well, I suppose he would. I didn’t believe he was a spy, but then, who else could have done those drawings?’ Talia sig
hed. ‘I just wish…’

  ‘What?’ Elizabeth prompted.

  Talia looked pensive. ‘I don’t know. I suppose I’m just so confused. I’m shocked. They… We all thought Daniel was one of us, you know? But…it’s so hard to know.’ Talia’s wide eyes were innocent. She paused, and then she said, ‘I miss him.’

  Elizabeth nodded, unsure what to say.

  ‘I love him. I know he doesn’t feel like that about me. I…’ The young woman’s cheeks flushed. ‘I tried, ages ago, to see if it would be something else, but he…he never saw me like that.’

  ‘Well, he is much older…’ Elizabeth tried to sound impassive.

  ‘That’s not why he didn’t want me. You know that. I…I can’t bear the thought of what they might do to him…’ Fat, silent tears slid down her cheeks. Talia was normally so tough that it was very strange to see her so emotional.

  Elizabeth put her arms around her, allowing the younger woman to sob, thinking either Talia was the world’s best actress or her lies had nothing to do with Daniel’s arrest.

  Bud called early the following Saturday morning. He was being relocated to a base near London any day now, and he was devastated. He didn’t want to leave Ballycreggan – he’d become so attached to Elizabeth and the children, and he loved Talia. Elizabeth made him tea and listened as he poured his heart out.

  She cursed bloody Hitler again in her mind. Such misery he was causing, all over the world. Men, women and children were in despair because of him. She had never hated anyone before, but by God, she hated Adolf Hitler.

  ‘And Talia can’t even come with me. Her visa means she must stay here.’ Bud was crushed.

  ‘But, Bud, you wouldn’t want her over there anyway, would you, with the danger of bombs and fires and everything? At least here, she’ll be safe.’ Elizabeth tried to reassure the young man. Bud was in his early twenties, but in lots of ways, he seemed younger than that. He was by no means mentally deficient, but he saw with a child’s eyes. It was why he got along so well with Erich and Liesl, and in lots of ways, Talia was the same. The pair loved playing and threw themselves into the games with every bit as much gusto as the children did. Her little household had become a home for Bud and Talia. They called without invitation, and she liked having them around. Biloxi and Vienna seemed so far away, and they were both seeking a little normality. Elizabeth was glad to supply it.