The Curator's Daughter by Melanie Dobson

Author:Melanie Dobson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Historical, FICTION / Romance / Historical / 20th Century
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2021-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

25

HANNA

“I have to visit the cobbler during lunch.” Hanna pointed at the heel on her laced oxfords, the leather square flapping against the sole. It had taken some effort to loosen the piece without scuffing or breaking the side, but no one could question her need to repair it.

For the past month she’d been trying to connect with Frau Weber after work, but the driver that Kolman left behind was always waiting at the curb at five to transport her home, and lunch in the museum cafeteria had become mandatory for all the employees, to protect them in these tumultuous times, the director had said. And to protect the remaining artifacts, she suspected. Much of the collection had already been transported to the secret bunker, but Director Kohlhaussen didn’t want anything leaving the building without an approved escort.

She had to find a new tactic to leave the museum before five.

Grete didn’t even glance down at Hanna’s shoe. “I’ll tell the director.”

“It may take a few hours.”

Hanna stepped into a huddle of visitors who were exiting the lobby, walking carefully on her toes. If the driver was parked nearby, perhaps he wouldn’t notice her in this crowd.

Lingering, looking around for the sedan, would only signal her irregular routine, so she moved quickly onto a path that wove through the buildings and crossed over a pedestrian bridge to the street where Frau Weber lived.

The cobbler loaned her a tight-fitting pair of Mary Janes while he repaired her heel, and she climbed the steps quickly to Frau Weber’s apartment.

“It’s Hanna,” she whispered after the second knock, slipping inside when the door opened.

The roots of Frau Weber’s hair had grayed considerably in the past two months as if this Reich were sucking the life out of her. Hanna glanced toward the kitchen door. Not only was it closed, it was partially obscured by Frau Weber’s collection of plants.

Their time together would be short. No savoring conversation over coffee today.

“I love you like my own daughter, Hanna, but you are going to jeopardize us all by coming here.”

“No one followed me.”

“The Nazis have eyes in every corner of this city now.”

Hanna sat on one of the chairs. “I read the biography on Paul.”

“Did you burn it?”

“I can’t burn his biography. We have to keep it as a record of what’s happening in Nuremberg.”

“Paul can share his own story when he returns,” Frau Weber said.

Hanna considered her words. She’d jumped to her own conclusion that he wouldn’t be returning. That his disappearance, the months that had gone by with no word, meant he’d met an ugly fate.

But Luisa must have understood the importance of keeping it or she would have never written it down.

Hanna glanced at the kitchen door, wondering if her cousin was behind it. “Do you think he’ll return?”

Frau Weber didn’t answer the question. “The Gestapo will kill you if they find it.”

“I hid it in a safe place.”

“North America is a safe place, Hanna. Great Britain, even. Unless you found a courier to ship it across the ocean, that story is not safe.

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