The Hope Before Us by Elyse Larson

Author:Elyse Larson [Larson, Elyse]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042030, FIC027050
ISBN: 9781441262431
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2012-11-24T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Right after Em hung up from talking to Werner Koch, her phone rang again. She ran back and picked it up.

“Em? I’ve been trying to reach you,” Andrew said.

“I was saying good-bye to Werner Koch.”

“Em…I wanted you to meet Werner, but you aren’t…He’s married, you know.”

“Yes. He just needed the ear of a friend. He dearly loves his wife. I assure you, we only became friends.” She wished she could tell him why they had become friends, but her promise to Werner stopped her. His family was in more danger than ever since his plan for escape had to be postponed.

“Good. I’d like you to take a message to Paris. How soon can you leave?”

“In about fifteen minutes. I ate early, so all I have to do is pack.”

“Make it an hour. It’s better for you to wait in your room than in the train station. I want you to stop over in Macon to see Hubert. He will have a second message for you to take to Paris.”

“Oh.” She smiled to herself. “I’ve been wanting to see the Espes again.”

She thought she heard him sigh. “Sometimes I regret enlisting you. You act as if these assignments are a lark. There’s a possibility of danger. You need to remember that. Certain people may be watching you just because you’ve been in my home, which leads me to ask again, how involved are you really with Werner?”

“I told you. We just struck up a friendship based on the fact that we’re both journalists.” The lying came so easy she shocked herself. “And about danger, you said in the beginning that I wouldn’t be taking any risks by helping you. That was before I knew that Vivienne had worked for you.”

“I was wrong not to warn you. Also, I didn’t calculate on your making friends with Werner Koch. Will you meet him again?”

How much should she say? “I may if I happen to be in Switzerland when he is.”

“But you made no plans.”

“Not a one,” she lied. “You need to know that besides the fact he is happily married, I’m in love with an American correspondent. I hope to see him when I get back to Paris.” She found it odd to say this to a stranger when she had not said it aloud to Bob, but speaking the words felt good. Soon she would find a way to tell Bob.

Silence lingered between them so long that she wondered if they’d been cut off.

Finally he said, “It’s only fair to warn you that Werner may be a marked man. You could become a target if you are seen meeting him again.”

“What do you mean? Who wants to kill him?”

“His own people. He as much as told me. He avoids meeting me anywhere but inside my home. There was a time when he gave me bits of information for the Allies, but that dried up long ago. He became too frightened. I was very surprised that he accepted my invitation last night and that he openly spent time with you.

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