and third floors all had their shades drawn. Even on the ground floor, the large, multi paned bay window, flanked by two stained-glass vertical rectangles, was blocked by venetian blinds. It was as though this particular residence was not terribly receptive to visitors. Wesley wondered if he'd fall into that category, or worse. He parked in front, got out and walked up the concrete path, climbed the steps, and rang the bell.
The door opened, revealing a slender old man with thinning white hair and wearing thick-lensed glass ds
"Yes, please?" he said in a soft, wavering voice with barely a trace of an accent.
"My name is Wesley Sorenson and I'm from Washington, D.C., Mr. Schneider. We have to talk, either here or in far less comfortable quarters."
The old man's eyes grew wide, what color there was in his face leaving it. He started to speak several times but choked on the words. Finally, he became clear.
"Ach, it has taken you so long, it was so long ago....... Come in, I've been expecting you for nearly fifty years....... Come, come, it is too warm out, and the air-conditioning is expensive.. .. Nothing matters now anyway."
"We're not so far apart in years, Mr. Schneider," said Sorenson, walking into a large Victorian foyer and following the Sonnenkind recipient into the shadowed living room, filled with overstuffed furniture.
"Fifty years is not that long for either of us."
"May I offer you some schnapps? Frankly, I could use one or two, probably more."
"A short whisky would be sufficient, if you have it. Bourbon would be nice, but it doesn't matter."
"Oh, but it does, and I do have it. My second daughter is married to a man from one of the Carolinas, and he prefers it.. Sit, sit, I shall disappear for a minute or two and bring us our libations."
"Thank you." The Cons-Op director suddenly wondered whether he should have arranged for a weapon. He had been away from the field too long! The old son of a bitch could be finding one of his own. Instead, Schneider returned, carrying a silver tray, glasses and two bottles on it, without any bulges in his clothing.
"This will make things easier, night wahr?" he said.
"I'm surprised you expected me at all," observed Sorenson once their drinks were in front of them, his on a coffee table, the German's on the arm of an easy chair across from him.
"As you say, it was so many years ago."
"My young wife and I were part of the fanatical youth of Germany at the time. All those torchlit parades, the slogans, the euphoria of being the true master race of the world. It was all quite seductive, and we were seduced. We were assigned our mission by the legendary Heinrich Himmler himself, who thought 'long range," as we say today. I honestly believe he thought we would lose the war, but he was totally devoted to the thesis of Aryan superiority. After the war we did as we were ordered by the Odessa. And even then, we still believed."
"So you petitioned, accepted the immigration of one Janine Clunitz, later Clunes, and adopted her?"
"Yes. She was an extraordinary child, far more intelligent than Johanna and me. Every Tuesday night from the time she was eight or nine, men would come for her and drive her to someplace else where she was-I suppose the word is indoctrinated."
"Where was this place?"
"We never found out. In the beginning she was only given sweets, ice cream, and so on while blindfolded. Later, as she grew older, she simply told us that she was being trained in our 'glorious heritage," those were the words she used and, naturally, we knew what they meant."
"Why are you telling me this now, Mr. Schneider?"
"Because
I've lived in this country for fifty-two years. I
cannot say it is perfect, no nation is, but it is better than what I came from. Do you know who lives across the street from me?"
"How could I?"
"The Goldfarbs, Jake and Naomi. Jews. And they were Johanna's and my best friends. And down the block, the first negro couple to buy a house here. The Goldfarbs and we gave them a welcoming party, and everyone came. And when a cross was burned on their lawn, we all got together, hunted the hooligans down, and had them prosecuted."
"Hardly the agenda of the Third Reich."
"People change, we all change. What can I tell you?"
"How long has it been since you were in contact with Germany?"
"Mein Gott, those idiots keep calling twice, three