by Marilyn Turk
What had the man been talking about? The place they hid the munitions boxes was near the coast guard station he mentioned. Had the guardsmen found them? Of course, Karl and the others knew the possibility existed, which was why Oscar had stockpiled some backup. Even so, he shouldn’t worry. They couldn’t trace his team. It had been foggy and dark, and the only man the coast guard had seen clearly was Peter when he shone the flashlight in his face. Apparently, the bribe didn’t work. And what were the chances the guy would run into Peter again? He tried to push away his increasing doubts about the mission.
The waitress brought coffee, then left. Karl looked at Henry, his head low over his coffee cup as if he were trying to hide inside the beverage. How could he get the guy to act more relaxed?
“Henry, tell me about your family.”
Henry’s head jerked up. “Why?”
“Just curious.” He took a sip and set his cup down. “You have two children, right?”
Henry’s face brightened. “Yes, Hilda and Hans. They are six and eight years old.” He reached for his wallet, then stopped. “I used to carry pictures … back there.”
Karl nodded. “And your wife … her name is Hazel, I believe?”
“Yes, she is a very wonderful wife.” A look of worry clouded his features. “I hope they are safe.”
Karl lowered his voice. “They’re in Berlin?”
“No! I sent them to the country to stay with my parents.”
“They should be safe then. What are you worried about?”
Henry lit another cigarette, pulled a drag on it, then put it down in the ashtray. “I miss them. And I can’t contact them.”
“I suppose that’s one advantage I have—no family wondering where I am.”
“No family? Not even parents or brothers, sisters?”
“My father died after I went back. He loved the Fatherland and wanted to go back too, but my mother and sister wanted to stay here. But after he died, they went to live with my uncle in Canada.”
“And they don’t know you’re here, I guess.”
“No,” Karl said. “It’s better that way.” But it had crossed his mind to try calling them, just to talk. But then, how would he explain where he was? He knew Mother and Gretchen would not approve of his mission. Knowing they were no longer in the States had made it easier to accept the assignment, but their strong Christian values would oppose such destruction. A wave of guilt washed over him. They probably prayed for him too. That notion was somewhat comforting if it protected him. Then again, when he decided to participate in the mission, he knew the risks.
Henry mumbled, “I guess I’ll never see my family again.” He wiped away moisture from his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed. “I should’ve thought about that before I agreed to do this.”
“Yeah, well, you never know what might happen.” Karl mulled over various scenarios of their future, none of them appealing.
Henry raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know, just dreaming, I guess.”
Hunching over his cup toward Karl, Henry said, “Do you think there’s a chance we…”
Karl glanced up to see Oscar coming toward them, his face contorted in anger. “Shhh! Oscar’s here.”
Henry twisted around as Oscar stormed up. The man pulled out a chair and plopped down in it, red-faced and perspiring as he slammed his cigar butt into the ashtray. He glanced back and forth at the two of them, then focused on Karl, hissing through clenched teeth.
“I saw you with that woman!”
Karl leaned back and raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. “A woman?”
“Yes! That woman you know from the train. I told you to stay away from women!”
Karl bit his tongue as his temper rose. “I was not with any woman. She just happened to be in the same place at the same time when I went for lunch.”
“You were talking to her!” Oscar growled.
The idea that the man was spying on him enraged Karl, but he would not let the fellow dictate his activity. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
“So, Oscar, are you following me? Because if you are, you’re a greater threat to our mission than my talking to a young woman who happens to be sitting next to me at a lunch counter.”
“I am not following you!” Oscar’s eyes darted around the room. “I was making a delivery for the bakery and saw you go in there. And when I passed by later, you were still there, sitting next to her and making conversation.” He lowered his voice even more. “Who is she, Karl? What does she know?”
“Oscar, calm down. She’s a nobody, just some girl I’ve run into a few times. We’ve made polite conversation.” He shrugged. “That’s all.”
“But you keep running into her? Don’t you think that’s strange, Karl? What if she’s on to us?”
Karl leaned forward and put his face as close to Oscar’s cigar breath as he could bear. “Calm down, Oscar. Listen. Trust me, the girl just lives in this area. She has no idea who I am or what I’m doing here. She. Is. Not. A. Threat.” Karl clenched his fists below the table. Wouldn’t he love to punch the guy in his flabby face?
“Trust you? Ha! I trust no one.” Oscar leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath, then signaled the waitress over. “Bring me a drink—uh, Coke.” The waitress’s expression changed from pleasant to disgusted as she nodded and walked away.
“Speaking of … I overheard something that you need to know.” Karl glanced around the dining room where only two other tables had patrons, and those were some distance away. He spoke in a low voice. “I think the guy we ran into at the beach talked.”
Oscar frowned, leaned over, and huffed. “Why? What did you hear?”
Karl nodded toward the lobby. “Heard a man on the phone talking about lots of coast guard personnel on the beach Saturday, probing and digging in the sand. Chances are they found our boxes.”
Oscar looked out to the lobby. “Who said that? How do you know he was talking about the same beach?”
“The manager of the hotel. He’s the one out there on this side of the desk talking to the clerk on the other side. He mentioned the name of the coast guard station that was near where we landed, so I know it’s the same beach.”
Oscar glanced over his shoulder at the lobby. “Peter was right. You should have killed the guy.”
“But we didn’t, Oscar, so we’re going to need what you can get us.”
“All right. It’ll take some time to round it up.” He drained the Coke the waitress handed him in practically one noisy gulp, slurping the ice when the liquid ran out. “I’ll have to tell Peter and George too.” He pushed back his chair, stood, then leaned over, planting his palms on the table, his eyes shifting from Henry to Karl. “You two stay put.” He pointed his finger at Karl. “And you, stay away from that woman!”
Karl held back his response. The last thing he wanted was to give Oscar a reason to stay in his company any longer. As Oscar stormed out, Karl clasped his hands in front of him and twirled his thumbs, fighting for control of his temper.
Henry peered up from his cup like he’d been hiding in it while Oscar ranted. “Told you he’d be angry.”
Karl shrugged. “So he’s angry. Let him be angry. I have no intention of staying here twenty-four hours a day until everything’s in place. This is my first trip to New York City, so I might as well enjoy it while I can.”
Henry’s shocked expression was almost amusing. Apparently, Oscar had the guy scared to move. “But what if you run into that woman again?”
Karl shrugged. “What if? So, I’ll speak to her, say hello. Don’t you think it’d be strange if I ignored her now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries?”
Henry shook his head. “I don’t understand you. You act like we’re here on holiday.”
“We’re not? Well, maybe not, but we can act like we are, can’t we?”
“No, no, I don’t think we can. At least I can’t. This is not fun, Karl, and I’m not enjoying i
t one little bit. Have you forgotten why we’re here?”
Karl became serious. “No, Henry, I haven’t forgotten. We don’t know what will happen to us, whether we succeed or fail. But until then, I plan to enjoy my life while I still can—Oscar or no Oscar.”
Chapter Twelve
“Guess what, Penny?” Lexie asked with a smug grin. The girls had run into each other in the ladies’ lounge at the hospital after lunch before heading on to their afternoon assignments.
“You’ve just been made the head nurse on the psychiatric floor.”
Lexie gave her a playful shove. “No, silly. Guess again?”
Penny put her finger under her chin and gazed up at the ceiling. “Ummm—you’re pregnant! No, I’m sure that can’t be true.”
Lexie planted her hands on her hips. “Really, Penny! That’s not even funny, much less possible.”
“Okay, okay. I give up. What?”
“There’s a USO dance at the Martinique Friday night, and Russell is playing in the band.” She grabbed Penny by the shoulders. “Do you want to go with me?”
Penny’s grin spread across her face. “Do I? You bet your bottom dollar, I do!” She clapped her hands together.
Lexie put her finger to her lips. “Shhh! Not so loud.”
Penny’s face clouded over. “I hope I can get a pass.”
“Oh, surely you can, Penny. You’ve been a good girl this week—no problems. You’ve kept your uniform clean and ironed, been on time for class and work, done everything right.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed. But what about you? But what about your new schedule? Will that interfere?”
Lexie chewed on her cuticle. “I hadn’t thought about that. I really hope not. Let’s go ahead and put in our requests.”
“Okay, sure thing. Say, are you going to see John Doe again today?”
“No, at least I’m not assigned to the men’s ward today.” She looked in the mirror and straightened her collar. “I have to work in the women’s semi-disturbed ward instead.”
“Well, you can’t have all the men all the time!” Penny teased, laughing.
“Penny, you’re impossible!”
They parted ways, and Lexie went over to the psychiatric hospital and entered the women’s wing.
“Good afternoon, Nurse Smithfield.” A nurse with silver-white hair pulled into a tight bun met Lexie at the nurses’ station. Nurse Pritchard was a robust woman, and she meant business. “I’ll take you in and introduce you to our patients. We’ve got a mixed bag of cases.”
Mixed bag? Whatever that meant, Lexie would soon find out as she followed the nurse into the ward where twenty women made their temporary home. At one end, an elderly lady in a rocking chair held a doll and cooed at it. Beside her, another woman with frightened eyes mumbled, watching as they passed by. Still another whimpered and huddled in a fetal position. Some were dressed in street clothes while a couple wore hospital gowns. A few were asleep, and others were awake and acted fairly normal. Until they attempted to answer Nurse Pritchard’s questions. The answers they gave made no sense at all. Lexie pitied these women, wishing she could counsel them and help them. But she was not skilled in psychiatric counseling. All she could do was smile, be friendly, and try to make them comfortable.
One woman was practically bald from pulling out her hair. Her arms were restrained in a straitjacket to prevent her from further damaging herself. The nurse led Lexie from patient to patient, explaining their condition, and tried to talk to them. At the bedside of a rather large woman strapped to her bed with her eyes closed, Nurse Pritchard said, “This is Big Bertha. She’s sedated because she can get pretty wild.” Lexie eyed the woman, hoping she stayed asleep during her shift.
The patient named Happy Kathy smiled and giggled as Nurse Pritchard introduced Lexie. “Hi! Will you be my friend? Will you play with me?” Lexie guessed the woman who sat cross-legged on the bed, bouncing as she spoke, was in her forties.
Lexie smiled and said, “Of course I’ll be your friend. Maybe we can play later.”
Happy Kathy clapped her hands rapidly. “Oh goody, goody, gumdrop!”
When they left the ward and locked the door behind them, Lexie released a breath. Nurse Pritchard glanced her way. “This is a different kind of nursing, isn’t it?”
Lexie nodded. “It’s so hard to know how to help.”
“Mental illness is a different kind of sickness. There’s so little we can do for these patients, but we keep trying.”
“Big Bertha, has she had electric shock therapy yet?”
“Yes, she’s had two treatments so far, but it’s going to take more than that.”
Lexie wondered what she meant by that statement as they walked to the nurse’s station, and the elder nurse handed Lexie the keys to the ward. “Well, my shift is over, so you’re taking charge. Most of the patients will go to sleep for the night. Be careful when you go in, and remember, do not turn your back on any of them.”
How could she accomplish that feat with beds on both sides? Lexie spent the next two hours reviewing each patient’s chart since these were kept in the nurses’ station. She checked to see what medication or treatment was needed and when, then went to the medical closet to gather what she needed. The hospital was quiet, and she let her mind wander. She was sorry she’d missed Russell for lunch but was hopeful she’d be able to go to the USO dance on Friday and spend some social time with him again.
As she went through the motions to prepare for her evening rounds, her conversation with Cal Miller replayed in her mind. She’d enjoyed talking with him but hoped he didn’t think she was too forward and that he understood her relationship with Russell was solid. Cal was a gentleman and well-spoken, maybe even too much so, if that were possible.
Lexie pushed the cart to the ward door, unlocked it, and slipped into the room, trying to be discreet as she shoved the cart inside and locked the door behind her. She studied her medicine cards and began at one end of the long room, going from patient to patient administering their medication. The windows emitted no light from the nighttime sky outside, and the lack of bright lights in the city added to the darkness. Lexie checked all around her in case one of the patients decided to get up and go somewhere or bother someone else.
When she got to the other end of the row of beds, she came to Happy Kathy. The juvenile woman looked expectantly at Lexie.
“Did you come to play with me?” The voice was that of a little girl, but the body belonged to an older woman. Had she quit maturing at some point or regressed back to childhood for some reason?
“Shhh. Let’s not wake anyone. It’s bedtime.”
“But you said you would play!”
Lexie sensed a tantrum coming on. “How about I tell you a story?” Maybe that tactic would work.
“A story? Really?” Happy Kathy clapped her hands again.
Lexie reached into her repertoire of stories but couldn’t think of any that wouldn’t be frightening to a young girl. She thought about the Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but there was a wicked witch in the story that might scare her. If only she had a children’s book with her, but she didn’t. Guess she’d have to make up a story.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Alexandra. Alexandra had an older brother named Robert.” Lexie paused as the image of her brother Robert came to mind. Her eyes misted over, but she wouldn’t cry and upset the patient. “They lived in a big house with their mother and father and grandmother and grandfather. Robert always took care of Lexie. But their mother was sick. They didn’t know it at first, but when she got sicker, they knew something was wrong.”
Kathy’s eyelids grew heavy as Lexie continued her story. Then suddenly the girl’s eyes opened wide with fear, and she pointed behind Lexie. Lexie jerked around in time to see Big Bertha holding a rocking chair over her head, about to crash it down on Lexie’s head. Lexie reached up to shove the chair away as it came down, and in the process pushed Bertha off balance, makin
g her fall to the floor. Lexie grabbed the call button and pushed it a couple of times before running past Bertha before she got back up. Lexie made it to the door and, with shaking hands, unlocked it and ran out, slamming the door behind her and locking it with fumbling fingers.
She jogged to the nurses’ station, called the emergency room, and asked for help. Hearing a crash, she assumed the medicine cart had been rammed against the door. It seemed like forever, but in reality, it was only a few minutes before the elevator opened and four attendants got off. She pointed to the ward door and handed one of the men the key. The ER doctor came running from the stairs. “Prepare a shot of phenobarbital!” Lexie ran to the medicine chest, prepared the medication, then hurried back to the doctor with the syringe.
“Get ready.” Lexie followed the doctor inside the ward and found the four attendants struggling to hold Bertha down on her bed. The doctor managed to get the needle injected into Bertha’s arm, and soon her thrashing abated. The attendants applied restraints to the bed after replacing the one she had ripped off earlier. Looking at Lexie, the doctor asked, “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“You’re just lucky we weren’t busy downstairs tonight.”
He smiled at Lexie, then he and two of the attendants left, but he asked the other two to wait until Lexie finished in the room. She went to each patient and spoke in soothing tones to settle them back down after the disturbance in their sleep. Fortunately, the sedatives she’d administered earlier were taking effect. While she dealt with the patients, the two men picked up the mess Bertha had made. When Lexie got back to Happy Kathy’s bed, the woman sat up and asked, “Is the story over?”
“For tonight it is.” Lexie patted the woman on the hand. “I’ll tell you some more of the story next time. Okay?”
“Okay.” Happy Kathy let her head drop against the pillow. “Good night.”
“Good night, Kathy.”