Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson

Author:Ronald H. Balson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

CHAPTER THIRTY

“I HAD PROMISED Grethe that I would find out what happened to Lukas, and I had failed. Professor Koch had no information though he had heard that some boys were arrested, and he believed that some were shot. Knud Gunnison told me that Lukas had fallen during the escape, but he gave me no further information. My father had discreetly put out feelers to his law enforcement contacts, but nothing had come of it. Now I was back at home, sitting with my sister in her bedroom, and trying to comfort her. It was the night before her baby was born.

“Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the front door, shattering all of the calm I was trying to create. Then another and another. Hard, frantic rapping. My father rushed to the door and opened it to find two men standing in the hallway. I had a partial view from where I sat on the end of Grethe’s bed.

“‘Herr Morgenstern?’ one of the men said in an imperious, discourteous tone. His accent was decidedly German.

“My father was angry. ‘Who are you to come banging on my door like that?’ he demanded.

“The man took an identification card from his inside jacket pocket and showed it to my father. It read ‘Geheime Staatspolizei,’ German for secret state police, which everyone commonly referred to as the Gestapo.

“‘What is it you want?’ my father asked. ‘If this is official business, you may make an appointment at my office in the administration building, where I keep regular office hours. You have no right to come to my home.’

“‘Really, Herr Morgenstern? I think it is not up to you to tell me what my rights are. Where is Lukas Holstrum?’ The man’s demeanor was officious; he kept his chin in the air and a smirk on his face. His tone was brusque. I was well-aware of my father’s temperament when he got angry, and I knew that they were going to lock horns. These were two Gestapo agents who were not accustomed to being challenged in their interrogations, but Joseph Morgenstern was not a man to back down. He would stand his ground. Knowing that, I was frightened for him.

“The first Gestapo agent, the one who did all the talking, was a short, stocky man in a long tan overcoat and a brown felt fedora. ‘We have learned that Lukas Holstrum is living in this residence with his wife. Oh ya, we know that he is here, so do not try to deceive us. We want to talk to Lukas Holstrum.’

“The agent’s loud demands carried into the bedroom and frightened Grethe. She started shaking. She grabbed my arms and dug in her nails. ‘The Gestapo is looking for Lukas,’ she said to me in a voice that was part whisper and part panic. ‘This is terrible, Britta.’

“‘Maybe it’s not so terrible,’ I said quietly. ‘It means they don’t have him. He’s not in their custody and they believe he’s still alive. If he was in prison, or if he had been killed, they wouldn’t be here right now.

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