Reich. Kurt Schumacher and his wife accepted the risk of keeping the transmitter, so that’s no concern of yours. However, every moment you spend arguing means less time for technical training and practice.”
Stung, Greta reproached him with a look but said no more. She had demanded to be entrusted with responsibilities, and if she refused now they would never ask again. Kurt Schumacher’s wife had accepted great risk, presumably without complaint. How could she do any less?
Two days later, at a few minutes after one o’clock, Greta met Erdberg at the Thielplatz Untergrundbahn station. As promised, she found him seated on the bench nearest the newsstand, ostensibly engrossed in Der Stürmer although she had no doubt he was fully aware of his surroundings. He glanced up at her approach, folded the newspaper, and set it on the bench beside him. She wondered if the paper contained a secret message for another contact to pick up as soon as he left.
“How delightful to see you again,” he said when she joined him, rising, kissing her cheek as if they were old friends. He picked up the suitcase and offered her his arm, and after the barest hesitation, she took it. He made cordial conversation as he escorted her out of the station, but although his cheerful, relaxed demeanor eased some of her anxiety, her heart thumped when she glimpsed a pair of SS men approaching from the opposite direction, then four more clustered in front of a café across the street. She would have stopped short at the sight of a gleaming black Gestapo staff car parked at the curb, except that Erdberg propelled her steadily forward.
“We’ll make the handoff at the corner,” he murmured. “I’ll set down the suitcase to check my watch, I’ll give you a kiss goodbye, you’ll pick up the suitcase, then I’ll head north and you head east.”
“Let’s walk one more block. This one is crawling with SS.”
“The next block could be worse.” He gave her a sidelong look, and whatever he glimpsed made him reconsider. “Very well. One more block.”
Greta nodded, stoking her courage as they waited at the curb to cross the street. The next block was more crowded with pedestrians, but there were fewer SS men among them. “Whenever you’re ready,” she said.
He glanced over his shoulder. “At the next alley.”
She spotted it ahead, two storefronts away. With a slight pressure on her arm, he steered her toward it, but he took the turn too sharply and slammed the suitcase on the brick corner of the building. The impact knocked the handle from his grasp and the suitcase fell to the pavement with a thud and a tinkle of glass.
Passersby shot curious looks their way. Greta’s breath caught in her throat as Erdberg released her arm and seized the suitcase in both hands. With a jerk of his head, he signaled for her to follow him into the alley, and she immediately obeyed. “I think it’s broken,” she said shakily. “I heard glass shatter.”
He gave the suitcase a quick once-over. “It looks fine to me.” He glanced into the depths of the alley and back to the street. “Change of plans. Take this home and test it. Keep it safe and hidden, someplace close so you can bring it to the shelter if the sirens go off.”
“That wasn’t our agreement. I’m supposed to take it to the operator.”
“Not yet. If it is broken, as you believe, I’ll need you to return it to me for repairs. If it’s working, you can deliver it as originally planned.”
“I can’t keep this at home,” she whispered fiercely. “I have a child.”
“Then for his sake, don’t get caught.” Erdberg smiled and backed toward the sidewalk. “Please tell your husband that I’m taking his play Till Eulenspiegel with me on my next trip to Russia. Perhaps I’ll find a theater company to stage it.”
Astonished, Greta could only gape at him as he turned and strode from the alley without looking back. She picked up the suitcase and followed, but by the time she reached the sidewalk, he had disappeared.
Trembling with fear and anger, she hurried home only to find the apartment empty. After a heartbeat of stark terror she remembered that Adam had taken Ule to the zoo.
She shoved the suitcase into a closet behind some long coats, closed the door, and sank down upon the sofa. A sob escaped her throat, and before she could restrain them, hot tears spilled over. She had brought this dangerous thing