The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith

Author:Ellen Keith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2018-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

KARL had planned to stop by the brothel at nine as per usual but couldn’t wait any longer. He checked with the radio operators for updates one last time and made his way over there. The evening felt cool, even though the sun still rested over the peaked roofs of the blocks. He thought of how nice it would be to bring Marijke out to watch the sunset, but that would be taking a big risk. Rumours about Marijke could reach Brandt, and there was no telling how he might react.

The new cashier—a plain but friendly woman—nodded as Karl entered. He glanced at her clipboard for the koberzimmer number, but the cashier asked him to wait while she checked to see if Marijke was ready. A row of prisoners stared down at their shoes when he entered the waiting room. Green triangles and a pink one. Red grooves ran across the back of the queer’s wrists, evidence of a recent whipping. Himmler had sent a memo to the camps on updated Reich procedures for dealing with homosexuals. The problem had worsened, he argued, and they had to crack down. The Jews were one thing—a pest, as Himmler saw them—but the pink triangles were eating away at the German race from the inside out.

The prisoner must have noticed Karl’s staring, because his leg started to vibrate against his chair. The noise irritated Karl. He rose and marched into the hallway, ignoring the cashier who turned to call out to him. As he rounded the corner, he stopped. A guard had his piggish face pressed up to the peephole of Marijke’s koberzimmer, while one of his hands jerked up and down in his trousers.

“You—get the hell out of here!”

The guard spun around and sputtered out an apology as he wrestled his hand free and did up his zipper.

“You’re a disgrace.”

The guard hid his hands and stood at attention. “A few pink triangles came in tonight. I was told to make sure they were doing what they were brought in for.”

“You’re despicable, you know that? What’s your name?”

The guard paled as he told Karl, but as soon as he had scurried off, his name dropped away and all Karl could think about was the man in there with Marijke. His fingers curled around the doorknob, but then he stopped himself. She would feel humiliated if he walked in on that, but there was no way in hell he wanted it to go on another minute.

The new brothel supervisor appeared in the hall to investigate the commotion.

“I sent the guard away,” Karl said. “This one needs to get out of there.” He gestured to Marijke’s door but the woman didn’t move.

“They have three more minutes.”

“Now.”

She rapped on the door, and he moved a few metres to the side until the inmate emerged, shutting the door behind him. The man didn’t look like someone who’d just fucked. His hair was shaved too short to appear dishevelled and he was so pale that Karl expected him to keel over at his feet.

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