Mercer Street (American Journey Book 2)

by John A. Heldt

  "What did you do then?" Susan asked. "Did you leave?"

  Kurt shook his head.

  "I didn't. I waited a few days," Kurt said. "I wanted to give my mother the funeral and burial she deserved and also try to save my brother's life."

  "What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

  Kurt looked at his questioner.

  "I knew Karl would never leave Germany unless I convinced him the country was doomed. He had already turned against the Nazis and hated them for killing our father, but he refused to leave. He did not believe war would come. Nor did he believe the Nazis would come after us. So I told him about Amanda. I told him she was a time traveler who had predicted all sorts of things, including the signing of a treaty between Hitler and Stalin on August 23. When the non-aggression pact was announced on that day, Karl changed his mind. He agreed to leave."

  "So you fled?" Susan asked.

  "We fled," Kurt said. "We returned to the flat, retrieved maps, documents, and a few personal belongings, and left Berlin. We spent several days on the run."

  "How did you get around?"

  "We drove. We bought a used car and traveled on rural roads until we reached a checkpoint near Germany's border with Luxembourg. We went there to avoid the more heavily guarded stations near Belgium, France, and Holland."

  "Did the guards know you were running?" Susan asked.

  "I don't think so," Kurt said. "I had called a cousin from Trier that morning to see if the police in Berlin had come looking for us. She said they had inquired about our whereabouts but had not issued any warrants. She did not believe we were at imminent risk."

  "Obviously something went wrong."

  "It did. As soon as we arrived at the checkpoint, a junior officer asked us to surrender our passports. He examined the documents, questioned us for about ten minutes, and then sent us on our way. Then a more senior officer arrived on the scene, during a routine changing of the guard, and called us back for more questions. He didn't believe our story that we were mere weekend travelers and made a phone call. That's when things got ugly."

  Amanda sighed as she braced for what followed.

  "What happened?" Susan asked.

  "Karl panicked," Kurt said. "He saw the senior officer motion to one of the sentries and then point at me. He apparently believed the officer had learned something on the phone and was about to order our arrest. So when the sentry entered the office, Karl struck him from behind. He disabled the man, took his pistol, and put him and the officer into a room he could lock."

  "Karl did all that?"

  "He did. He did all that while I stood there and did nothing. He knew what he was doing. He had taken firearms and martial arts training in Germany. He knew how the Nazis operated and, because of that knowledge, left nothing to chance."

  "Tell them what he did," Amanda said.

  "Karl saved my life," Kurt said to Susan and Elizabeth. "That's what he did."

  "How?" Susan asked.

  "He took charge of the scene. He asked me to return to our car, start it, and wait for him. He wanted to make sure there were no sentries on the other side of the building. So I did what he asked while he conducted a perimeter search. When a minute passed, I heard a shot, looked at the building, and saw Karl run toward the car. He jumped in the car, shot a pursuing sentry in the leg, and told me to drive through the gate. I made it as far as the gate itself when the sentry fired at the car. A bullet struck Karl in the head and killed him instantly. I continued driving until I crossed the border into Luxembourg."

  "Good Lord," Susan said. "When was this?"

  "It was August 31. Germany invaded Poland the next day."

  "So Karl saved you?"

  "He saved me," Kurt said. "I had wanted to give him a new life in America, but all I could do was give him a Christian burial in Luxembourg."

  "I'm sorry," Susan said.

  "I am too. My brother did a lot of bad things in his life, but he did a good thing when it mattered most. He put his family before his country. I will never forget that."

  "How did you get out of Europe?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I took a train to Brussels and Calais and planned to take a ferry to England, but I couldn't find one. All of the ferry services had suspended operations because of the fighting. So I paid a French fisherman to take me across the Channel. The next day, September 4, I talked my way onto a cargo ship that left Southampton for New York. I reached Princeton late Saturday night."

  Susan gazed at Kurt like a mother who had finally reached a breakthrough with a headstrong son. She placed a hand on the young man's arm, tapped it a few times, and pulled it back.

  "I'm sorry for putting you through this," Susan said.

  "I am too," Elizabeth added.

  "It's all right," Kurt said.

  Susan collected her purse, rose from her seat, and stepped into the aisle. She smiled at the young adults and then glanced at her mother.

  "I feel like going to the observation car," Susan said. "Care to join me, Mom?"

  "What about Kurt and Amanda?" Elizabeth asked.

  "I suspect they want time to themselves."

  Elizabeth smiled.

  "I suspect they do too," Elizabeth said. She looked at Kurt. "Please excuse me."

  "Of course," Kurt said.

  Amanda watched closely as Kurt got out of his chair, moved aside, and allowed Elizabeth to pass. She mouthed a "thank you" to Elizabeth when she met Amanda's gaze, stepped past Kurt, and joined Susan in the aisle.

  Amanda had never admired her grandmother more than she did at that moment. The woman who had started the journey with a rigid view of humanity had come a long way.

  "We won't be long," Amanda said to her mother.

  "Take your time," Susan replied.

  Amanda waved at Susan and Elizabeth as they walked away. She slid into Susan's seat, waited for Kurt to sit, and then directed her full attention to a man she had clearly wronged.

  "I'm sorry I doubted you," Amanda said a moment later. "I should have believed you from the start. I should have judged you fairly."

  "You did though," Kurt said. "You acted on the evidence. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing."

  "I doubt that."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "I say that, Mr. Schmidt, because you give people the benefit of the doubt. You see goodness in everyone. You even saw it in your brother."

  "That's not entirely true. When I learned that Karl had joined the Nazi party, I did not give him the benefit of the doubt. I assumed the worst and shunned him for two years. He wrote to me. I did not write back. I regret that now. I should have engaged him, like my parents did, and tried to convince him that he had made a poor decision. I didn't follow through."

  "You followed through when it counted," Amanda said. "I hope you will do that with me. I still want to build a life with you."

  "You do?" Kurt asked.

  "Yes. I do. Nothing has changed. The only question is whether you still want to build a life with me. You don't have to do this, Kurt. You can get off the train in Dayton, head back to Princeton, and find another job."

  Kurt smiled sadly.

  "If I did that, I would be more miserable than ever. I didn't leave Germany merely to escape Hitler's oppression. I left to return to you. I thought of you constantly. I still do. I love you."

  "That's what I need to hear," Amanda said. "I love you too."

  Kurt sighed.

  "What's next?"

  "We ride the train to California. We ride it until we get to Los Angeles and a magic tunnel you have to see to believe. Then I'll introduce you to a time I think you're going to like."

  "I'm looking forward to that," Kurt said.

  Amanda reached across the table and touched Kurt's face. It looked older, wiser, and much sadder than the one she had seen in Cape May. She wondered how long it would be before she saw the one she had fallen in love with.

  "Are you going to be all right?" Amanda asked.

  Kur
t nodded.

  "I'm going to be fine. I just need time to adjust."

  Amanda gazed at Kurt for a minute. She wanted to savor every second of a very memorable moment before moving on.

  "I have something for you," Amanda said.

  "What's that?"

  Amanda pulled back her hands and reached into her purse. She retrieved the rhinestone ring Kurt had worn at Cape May as a "married" man. She placed it on the table.

  "I found it in your desk, next to the letters. I almost threw it away."

  Kurt picked up the ring and slipped it on.

  "I'm glad you kept it," Kurt said. "I like it."

  Amanda smiled and lifted her left hand.

  "I like my ring too. I put it on this morning."

  Kurt took Amanda's hands and pulled them close.

  "Perhaps someday soon we can replace these bands with better ones."

  Amanda sighed.

  "I'd like that."

  Kurt gazed at Amanda for a moment.

  "I got you something too."

  "You did?" Amanda asked.

  "I did."

  Kurt released her hands, reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a flower that looked like it had seen better days. He placed it on the table.

  "It's an edelweiss," Amanda said. "You remembered."

  Kurt chuckled.

  "I guess you could say that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I picked it up in Newark."

  Amanda laughed.

  "You're something."

  "I didn't want to return to you unless I could fulfill all of my promises," Kurt said. "I hope this will do."

  "It will do," Amanda said. She leaned across the table and gave her blond-haired knight a soft kiss. "It will definitely do."

  CHAPTER 86: SUSAN

  Los Angeles, California – Friday, September 15, 1939

  Susan tore through her suitcase like a person looking for a priceless gem, which, in this case, she was. She tossed clothes and toiletries on the sidewalk with reckless abandon and opened pouches and pockets with lightning speed.

  "Please tell me you didn't leave it in Princeton," Amanda said.

  "I didn't," Susan replied. "I brought it."

  "I hope so because I just remembered something."

  Susan looked up.

  "What's that?"

  "My crystal is worthless. It lasts 153 days," Amanda said. "We've been gone 365."

  Susan felt her stomach drop. The last thing she needed to hear was that the backup to the crystal she couldn't find was now as functional as a brick.

  "It doesn't matter. I know I brought mine."

  Susan opened her other suitcase and resumed her search. She went through compartments, emptied bags, and inspected anything and everything that might contain a three-inch chunk of gypsum. She didn't stop until she shook a pair of panties and watched her ticket to the future drop to the sidewalk.

  Elizabeth, Amanda, and Kurt laughed.

  "I guess we know where to find the family jewels!" Amanda said.

  "That's enough, smarty pants," Susan snapped. "I can still disinherit you."

  Elizabeth looked at Amanda.

  "If she does, I'll support you."

  Amanda giggled.

  "Thanks, Grams."

  Susan placed the rock in her purse and started putting her belongings back in her luggage. When she finished, she closed the suitcases, stood up, and handed the largest bag to Kurt. She brushed the dust off her dress and looked at her entourage.

  "Can we go now?" Susan asked.

  "We can go," Amanda said.

  Susan checked her watch in the fading daylight, saw that it was seven o'clock, and realized that her long day was about to get longer. She remembered that the time travelers would arrive at about the same moment they had left in 2016. They would enter Geoffrey Bell's basement in the late morning.

  Susan didn't want to carry her suitcase another ten feet, much less another block, but she was glad she had asked the taxi driver to drop the four off short of their destination. As she and the others drew closer to the Bell mansion, she saw something she had hoped she would not see: signs of human occupation. She found a late 1930s sedan and an overflowing garbage can in the driveway of the Painted Lady.

  "Do you see what I see, Amanda?" Susan asked.

  "I do," Amanda said. "What should we do about it?"

  "I don't know. Wait here while I get a closer look."

  Susan lowered her suitcase to the ground and walked about thirty feet to the edge of the once and future home of a family named Bell. She saw a light in a second-floor window but nothing else to suggest that the house was presently occupied. She walked back to the group.

  "Did you see anything?" Amanda asked.

  Susan nodded.

  "I saw a light in a bedroom window but no other signs that someone is home. If someone is in the bedroom now, then he or she is probably reading in bed. The light was dim."

  "Do you want to keep going?"

  "I do," Susan said. "We can reach the backyard by walking between the properties. There are no windows on that side of the Bell house and the passageway is dimly lit."

  "Let's do it then," Amanda said.

  Susan retrieved her suitcase and looked at the others.

  "Are you ready, Mom?"

  "I am," Elizabeth said.

  "Kurt?"

  "I'm ready."

  "Then follow me," Susan said. "Be very quiet."

  "OK."

  Susan led her party to the edge of the Bell property and then veered left. She walked slowly and quietly through a narrow side yard and continued until she reached a backyard that looked like it had changed little in exactly a year.

  She waited for Amanda, Elizabeth, and Kurt to catch up and then proceeded to the middle of the backyard. When she reached a spot that looked all too familiar, she lowered her suitcase, turned to face the back of the house, and gave the residence a final inspection.

  Susan saw nothing to give her pause. If there were any people inside the Painted Lady, they had pulled the drapes, closed the blinds, and flicked off the lights. She reached in her purse, pulled out the white crystal and the skeleton key, and turned toward the others.

  "It looks like the coast is clear," Susan said. "Let's go."

  The group leader picked up her suitcase and advanced slowly toward an opening in the lawn that led to a stairway, a door, and a tunnel. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a growl.

  Seconds later a German shepherd rushed up the stairs. It stopped on the top step, looked at the trespassers, and growled again.

  "I don't want any part of that," Amanda said.

  "Neither do I," Susan said. "Back up, everyone."

  The four grabbed their bags and retreated to the middle of the lawn. All kept their eyes on a dog that growled two more times, barked once, and then fell to the ground. Fido had apparently decided to cut the intruders some slack but not enough to make a difference. He assumed a defensive position at the head of a stairway that the travelers had to use.

  "Now what do we do?" Amanda asked.

  Susan didn't have a ready answer. She hadn't expected to find a killer guard dog any more than she had expected to find the house occupied. She vaguely remembered Professor Bell telling her that the mansion would not be occupied.

  "I don't know," Susan said.

  "Why don't you just knock on the door and tell the owner who we are?" Kurt asked. "I'm sure he would let us access the tunnel if we stated our intentions."

  "That's the problem though. We can't state our intentions. We have an obligation to keep our knowledge of the tunnel to ourselves. Telling an occupant of the house who is not privy to the secrets of the chamber would invite a lot of problems."

  "We have to do something," Elizabeth said. "We can't stay out here all night."

  "I know, Mom. I know," Susan said.

  Susan pondered possible solutions to the problem as she gazed at a darkening sky. Dusk had already fallen on Sout
hern California.

  She looked at the house and then at the stairway and saw no change in the status quo. The windows remained dark and the dog vigilant.

  "Grandma's right, Mom," Amanda said. "We can't stay here forever. Let's find a hotel and come back tomorrow. We can wait until the owner brings the dog inside or takes him for a walk. We don't have to walk through the tunnel tonight."

  "I agree," Susan said. "There's a hotel a few blocks from here. We can go there now and come back in the morning. I think we're all pretty tired anyway. Let's go."

  Susan grabbed her suitcase and once again began to lead the others toward a chosen destination, but she stopped as soon as she saw two figures emerge from the side yard. She recognized both even before she could make out their faces.

  "Good evening, folks," Professor Bell said.

  Bell smiled as he escorted his wife toward the middle of the backyard. He seemed neither surprised nor upset to see the women or their German friend.

  "Hello, Professor," Susan said. "You're the last person I expected to find out here tonight."

  Bell laughed.

  "That's funny. You're the first person I expected to find."

  "I don't understand."

  "I just picked up your latest letter. It arrived in Los Angeles the same time you did. Mrs. Bell and I collected it before the post office closed. We are just returning from a late dinner."

  "So you know everything?" Susan asked.

  "I know enough. I certainly know about Mr. Schmidt," Bell said. He extended a hand. "I'm Geoffrey Bell. It's nice to finally meet you."

  "You too," Kurt said as he took the hand.

  "This is my wife, Jeanette."

  "Hello."

  "Hi, Kurt," Jeanette said.

  Bell turned away from the time travelers and glanced at a German shepherd that hadn't moved. The dog scratched at a flea and looked at the humans with apparent indifference.

  "I see you've met Fritz," Bell said.

  "You know about the dog?" Susan asked.

  "I know about the dog and his owner. I apologize for not telegramming you about Mr. Theodore Pace. He began renting the house two weeks ago."

  "Is he inside the house?"

  "I believe he is," Bell said. "He usually retires early. He's a heavy sleeper even though his canine guardian is not."