Break Point by Yolanda Wallace

Author:Yolanda Wallace [Wallace, Yolanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626395695
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2015-10-19T02:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

May 1938

Rheinsteifel, Germany

Helen leaned over and flipped on the radio sitting on the nightstand. Hearing Adolf Hitler’s voice blaring from the speakers instead of the detective shows she favored took some getting used to. So did seeing the German people react to what was happening in their country. The newsreels she had watched back in the States made it seem like all Germans unanimously supported their leader and there were no dissenting voices. Now that she was here, she knew that wasn’t the case. Yes, the Nazis had more than their fair share of followers, but they had just as many enemies, too. Not only people in positions of power, but ordinary citizens like the ones in Rheinsteifel. The tiny town’s residents visibly stiffened when news of another atrocity broke and couldn’t meet their neighbors’ eyes whenever Hitler’s voice came over the radio like it did now.

Helen changed the station before Hitler got too warmed up, but the damage had already been done. Barbara, the maid who had been chatting amiably as she tidied the room, fell silent. Then her face went pale and her body language became as tense as Meike’s did whenever Helen asked her to weigh in on the worsening political situation in the country of which she was once so proud.

Barbara’s movements became jerky as she tried to complete her assigned tasks and make herself invisible at the same time. In her haste to escape Helen’s scrutiny, she accidentally knocked over a pitcher of water. “I am sorry, Miss Wheeler. Please forgive me.”

“No need to apologize.” Helen switched the radio to a Swiss station playing French-language love songs. The pleading in the lovelorn singer’s voice seemed to make Barbara more uncomfortable instead of less. In fact, she seemed on the verge of tears as she dabbed at the damp carpet with a cleaning cloth. “Relax. It’s water, not red wine. I don’t think it will leave a stain.”

“Yes, Miss Wheeler. I mean, no, Miss Wheeler. I mean—”

Helen held up her hands. “It’s okay. I’m one of the good guys.”

Barbara was only in her early twenties, but her eyes made her seem twice that age. She looked at Helen as if she had heard the “good guy” line before and wasn’t going to allow herself to be fooled a second time. “Yes, Miss Wheeler.”

After Barbara gathered her cleaning supplies and scurried out of the room, Helen tried to decide whether she should include the incident in the report she was writing for Paul Lanier. Even though she didn’t consider what had happened a big deal, Uncle Sam might. After she added the additional details, she set the report aside until she could seal it in an envelope and take it to the post office in the village. Just as she did every week.

Her trips into the town center weren’t unusual. To stay in shape, she and Meike took long walks through the streets of Rheinsteifel twice a day. Meike showed her the sights and introduced her to everyone they met along the way.

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