Chapter 7
Outside, the streets were beginning to wake up. People were scurrying along to work or school, and the trams were rattling by.
I wound my way up the hill, squinting against the morning sun that was reflected from the buildings.
Though I knew Alves had been punished, I was still cautious about approaching the bookshop and checked I’d not been followed.
The PVDE were always around and I didn’t trust them not to report anything they saw straight back to the Nazis.
Even something as innocent as a woman shopping for books could pique their interest.
Again, I walked straight past the bookshop, aiming for a little café at the top of the hill where I knew they sold the flakiest, sweetest pasteis de nata; a good reason to be in this part of the city.
On the opposite side of the road from the shop, I saw someone familiar browsing the morning newspapers outside.
My senses alert, I melted into a group of women who were walking past, talking fast in Portuguese about something that had happened in their office – their trabalho.
Safely tucked in beside them, I studied the man who was standing outside the bookshop.
It was the chap I’d seen earlier on the stairs.
And I realised this was where I had seen him before – when I came to visit Lara.
I kicked myself for not recognising him that first time.
Feeling ashamed of myself for missing something that could be important, and wary about why the chap from the embassy was lurking outside the bookshop, I walked up the hill with the women, then peeled away from the group and ducked into a doorway where I could study the man.
I couldn’t remember his full name, which was annoying. Steven, perhaps? But his surname eluded me. He worked on the top floor, near Edith. He must also be working in documents, though at a lower level than Edith, who was in charge.
He was a young-ish chap. Possibly around my own age. Unassuming. Unremarkable. It was entirely plausible that he lived near here and he was simply picking up a newspaper on his way to work.
But I didn’t like it.
Steven – if that was his name – dropped some coins in the box for his paper, tucked it under his arm, and then strolled off down the hill. I watched him go, feeling uneasy.
I gave him five minutes to walk away, then an extra two minutes, just to be sure. Then when I was sure no one was paying any attention to me, I walked back down the hill and went into the bookshop.
Lara was behind the counter, reading Little Women. She looked up when I entered and smiled.
‘You must have read that before,’ I said.
‘About a hundred times.’ She grinned at me. ‘It’s still good though.’
I looked at her through narrowed eyes. ‘You’re Amy.’
‘I am.’ She grinned. ‘You’re Meg.’
‘I am not.’ I was affronted. ‘I’m obviously Jo.’
‘Everyone thinks they’re Jo. But you’re Meg.’
She put the book, pages down, on the counter, breaking the spine and making me wince. ‘What do you need?’
‘I just wanted to ask you something. Well, I wanted to ask both of you, really.’
‘Bea!’ Lara called. ‘Cassie’s here. She wants to ask us something.’
Bea came into the shop from the backroom. ‘What do you need?’
‘Lara told me about the work you did with the visas.’
‘Yes.’ She gave me a knowing look. ‘We did as best we could.’
‘That’s what I want to talk to you about.’
‘Interesting,’ said Bea. ‘Lara, close the shop. We’ll have a tea break.’
‘We just opened,’ Lara called. ‘But fine.’
Lara turned the sign on the door to fechado. She came back to the counter and settled herself down, resting her chin on her hands.
‘Is this a job?’ she asked. ‘Are you back?’
‘Sort of and no, I still have another week.’
‘So Digby isn’t coming?’
Bea came through with a tray of tea.
‘I’m not sure he’d approve,’ I said as she set it down on the counter.
‘Of what?’ Lara said. ‘Tell us what you’re up to. Come on, I’m dying to hear it.’
While Bea poured the tea, I told them my idea about the British visas.
‘They need sponsors?’ Bea said thoughtfully.
‘The sponsors need to guarantee ￡50, or a job offer. But Edith says they’re rarely checked now. She says things are more haphazard.’
‘It’s risky for the people back home.’
‘It is,’ I agreed. ‘But it’s not nearly as risky as escaping from the Nazis.’
There was a pause.
‘What do you need from us?’ Lara asked.
‘Names,’ I said simply. ‘I’m going to get my parents to find people to help. Edith’s got contacts with the Quakers, and she knows just about everyone in Oxford. I thought perhaps you’d know people too. People who are prepared to, well, bend the law, in order to save Jewish refugees.’
‘They’d need to be trustworthy,’ Bea said.
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Then once we have sponsors, we can process the visa requests. Edith will need help there, too. But I told her we were good at filling in forms.’
‘That’s true enough,’ said Bea with a wry smile. ‘We’ve certainly filled in enough of them.’
‘We need to be a little careful about how we contact people in England,’ I said. ‘We don’t want a written record. I’m going to telephone my parents and get them to spread the word. I believe Edith has a sister in Oxford who she can trust to recruit others.’
‘I can get in touch with Hector in London,’ Bea said.
‘Do you think he’d help us?’
‘I know he would. I’ll send him a telegram and ask him to call.’
‘I can get in touch with some theatre people,’ said Lara. ‘Dad’s friends. They’ll definitely help. Actually, quite a few of them are Jewish. I’m sure they can spread the word.’
‘Wonderful,’ I said.
Bea was looking at me.
‘But Digby doesn’t know about this?’
I groaned. ‘I don’t think he’d mind really, but I’m supposed to be working in clerical for another week, until I get the nod to go back to my normal job. And you know if we made it official it would be just lots of bureaucracy to muddle through before we could process a single visa.’
‘Plus, it’s not entirely legal,’ Lara pointed out. ‘He might take a dim view of that.’
‘Oh, shush,’ I said, waving my hand to brush away any worries of laws. ‘This is a war. We do what we have to do.’
‘How many names do we need?’ Bea asked. ‘Can one person sponsor more than one refugee?’
‘I don’t see why not.’ I shrugged. ‘Or several members of the same family, perhaps? So the names are different? But the more the better, really.’
‘All right,’ said Bea. ‘Count us in.’
Flooded with relief and a certain amount of excitement, I got up to leave.
‘I really have to go back to my typewriter,’ I said. I went to the door and paused, checking the street for any sign of Steven.
‘What is it?’ said Lara, seeing my hesitation.
‘Nothing.’
‘Liar.’
I sighed. ‘I’ve seen a chap from the embassy twice now, near the shop.’
‘And you think that’s odd?’ Bea looked worried.
‘I’m not sure yet. Perhaps he just lives nearby.’
Lara bit her lip.
‘Does he have a sort of narrow face, and hair that’s all swept over to one side?’
‘That’s him.’ I stared at her, impressed. ‘Well spotted.’
‘I had a good teacher,’ she said, smiling at me.
I was flattered but I didn’t let it distract me.
‘How often have you seen him?’
‘Only once, but I think he followed me. I was only going for custard tarts though, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.’
‘Bugger,’ I breathed.
‘Maybe he also wanted custard tarts,’ suggested Bea, then she added, ‘Or maybe not.’ Lara and I both frowned.
‘Also,’ said Lara, ‘I think I’ve seen him before. That’s why I noticed him.’
Now I was on high alert.
‘Where?’
‘In the bar,’ she said. ‘Ages ago. But he was with Maria from the docks, do you know her?’
I shook my head.
‘I’ve not seen her in ages, but I know that when the refugees first arrived, she was one of the people making a lot of money selling tickets on ships with extra charges on top. Extra charges she pocketed.’
Bea looked sickened. ‘Despicable,’ she muttered.
My mind was racing.
‘Be cautious,’ I said. ‘You should be in the clear now Mendes’s project is done and dusted, but use the back door if you’re going anywhere slightly of interest to the PVDE. Double back on yourself. Lara, you know the drill.’
Lara nodded.
‘Stay alert, and if you see this chap – I think his name is Steven – let me know.’
‘All right,’ said Bea. She didn’t seem fazed by the potential danger. On the contrary, her eyes gleamed, which I quite liked.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ I said.