Chapter 34
For the next few hours, our journey was uneventful. We got through the border checks at Hendaye with no problems. I fluttered my eyelashes at the soldiers and told them how brave they were and how Germany would be proud of their service, and it seemed to do the trick.
We all slept for a while. I sat opposite Archie, and let my head rest against the window, the noise of the train clattering over the tracks lulling me to sleep.
It was ten hours from the border to Paris. When we all eventually stirred, it was light outside and I could smell coffee.
‘Not far now,’ said Archie. ‘We’ll be in Paris for lunch.’
‘Très bien,’ I said, more than a little grumpy. ‘Perhaps we can enjoy some traditional French food outside a café on the Champs-élysée.’
‘She’s not really a morning person,’ said Lara, cheerfully. ‘Shall I find us some coffee?’
‘I’ll come with you,’ I said.
We headed back towards the bar, me in front, Lara behind.
‘Your wig is a little skewwhiff,’ she said, in a very quiet undertone. ‘Adjust it.’
I reached up to straighten my hair and as I did so, the Nazi officer – the one whose eye I had caught earlier in the journey – came out of his cabin. He was only wearing his trousers and a vest, as though he’d just woken up. He looked at me again, and his eyes flickered over my wonky wig.
Quick thinking as ever, Lara let out a shriek. The Nazi started and turned his attention to her, and fast as I could, I straightened my hair.
‘There’s a mouse!’ Lara said, pointing down the corridor. She put her hand to her forehead. ‘I can’t bear the little critters.’
The Nazi looked amused.
‘Sie hat angst vor M?usen,’ I told him. She’s frightened of mice.
He glanced at me, his eyes briefly taking in my hair, and he grinned.
‘Ich auch,’ he said, laughing. Me too. He gave an over-exaggerated shiver, and Lara and I both laughed heartily.
‘Bist du Deutscher?’
I was a little flattered that he thought I was German and hugely relieved. ‘Unser vater ist Deutscher.’
He smiled. ‘Schwestern?’
‘H?lfte,’ said Lara firmly.
I tugged her arm, wanting to get out of there before we ran out of backstory. ‘Coffee?’ I said.
‘Let’s go.’
‘Have a nice day,’ Lara drawled at the German, and he grinned at her as we headed off to find a drink.
Back in our compartment with the others, I let out a breath that I felt like I’d been holding since Lara’s fake-mouse distraction.
‘Not much longer,’ said Archie, reading my mind.
‘I just want to get there now.’ I wrapped my fingers round my coffee cup. ‘My nerves are jangling.’
Archie got up and went to the door of our compartment so he could watch the corridor. He was obviously on edge, too.
‘I spent a lot of time in Paris before the war,’ I said, truthfully. ‘I wonder what it’ll be like now.’
‘Me too,’ said Archie, coming back into the compartment properly and making sure the door was closed. ‘I love Paris.’
I had a sudden vision of us strolling across a bridge over the Seine, hand in hand, the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and I felt my cheeks flush.
‘I’ve never been.’ Lara looked sad. ‘What a time for my first visit.’
‘You can go back,’ I said. ‘When all this is over.’
‘In all seriousness I think we do have to be prepared,’ said Archie quietly. ‘I’ve not been for months and by all accounts the city is now unrecognisable. We get in and get out as quickly as we can. It’s dangerous.’
‘We know,’ I said. ‘We’re prepared.’
Archie gave me a little smile that made my heart flip in a most concerning way, when I really had to concentrate.
The train was slowing down now as it rattled through the Parisian suburbs. The streets looked quiet and still.
We started gathering our bags. I opened my suitcase, and with Henry watching the corridor this time, pulled out the pistol I’d put in there.
‘Welrod?’ asked Archie.
‘Of course,’ I said, strapping a belt round my waist and tucking it in under my skirt.
‘Me too,’ said Henry, opening his jacket subtly to show his own pistol.
Lara looked furious. ‘I don’t have anything.’
‘You have us,’ I said. But she didn’t look any happier.
I chuckled, putting the pistol into my belt and checking it didn’t show underneath my jacket.
The train was pulling into the station, and I felt horribly nervous all of a sudden. This seemed so risky, but I knew it was the right thing for us to be doing.
Gare Montparnasse was busy, as we’d known it would be. We were prepared for that. What we weren’t prepared for was how German everything would be. All the signs were in German.
‘Paris is on Berlin time now,’ murmured Archie. ‘Not London time like Lisbon.’
I nodded. ‘Why is time one of the first things a dictator alters? Is it proving how powerful they are? That they can change time?’
‘Probably,’ said Henry. ‘Eyes front everyone, we’ll need our papers.’
Ahead of us, a group of Nazi soldiers were checking documents.
‘I’ll catch up with you outside,’ said Archie, hanging back. ‘Don’t want to raise suspicions with a larger group.’
He melted into the crowd, and I turned my attention to the Nazis in front.
‘Stay calm, everyone,’ I said. ‘Nothing to worry about.’
At the barrier, I handed over our Certificates of Travel, and we all stood as the guard inspected them carefully.
‘American?’ he said to Lara, his face stern.
She gave him a dazzling smile. ‘As Mom’s apple pie,’ she said. And then she put her hand on his arm. ‘Ich bin halb Deutscher,’ she added. I thanked my lucky stars that we’d come up with the story of being half-German as Lara leaned closer to the soldier. ‘Die beste h?lfe,’ she added. The best half.
The soldier couldn’t stay stern in the face of such a charm offensive. He smiled back at her. ‘Wilkommen in Paris,’ he said, handing us our documents.
We all walked past the guards, resisting the urge to run, and chatting all at once about anything and nothing, as our adrenaline subsided.
But outside in the street we stopped, shocked at the sight that waited for us.
Paris was not as it had once been. I remembered bustling pavements, cafés with metal chairs outside.
Bookshops, clothes shops, bakeries. Now most of the shops were shut.
The streets were quiet, and on the building opposite the station, a red Nazi flag flapped gently in the breeze.
My breath caught in my throat and Lara took my hand.
‘Bloody hell,’ she said.
Henry was looking round, taking it all in. ‘I heard that when the Germans first arrived, the soldiers went round with cameras, taking photographs of all the sights like tourists.’
I shook my head, finding it hard to comprehend how much it had changed.
‘It feels like a different city,’ I said.
‘Ready?’ Archie appeared behind us.
‘As we’ll ever be,’ said Lara who looked more subdued than usual.
‘Is it safe to just stroll around the city?’ I asked, wishing that we’d had longer to plan and prepare for this trip. It seemed horribly as though we were feeling our way in the dark, unsure of what waited for us.
‘We’ll find out,’ said Archie. ‘I suppose.’
We all looked at one another for a moment, and then I nodded. ‘Good luck, everyone.’
It was quite a walk from the station to the library. We crossed the Seine and I thought about how I’d imagined sauntering across the bridge, hand in hand with Archie. Now we walked briskly, barely speaking.
‘Look,’ said Lara, nudging me as we walked. I looked to where she pointed and saw, above the rooftops, the Eiffel Tower.
‘The Resistance disabled the lifts,’ I said. ‘So, the Nazis had to use the stairs when they wanted to hang their flags.’
‘Small acts of rebellion,’ Lara said in satisfaction.
We walked on. As we reached the far end of the Champs-élysée we all paused, glancing down the wide boulevard to where the Arc de Triomphe stood. Nazi flags hung from the lamp posts.
‘Don’t react,’ said Archie quietly, and obediently we all turned away. ‘And speak French,’ he added. Coming towards us were two Nazi soldiers.
‘We need to be quick, we have a lot to do today,’ I said in French as we passed them. They didn’t pay us any attention, and my legs felt weak with relief.
On we went. The streets narrowed a little and I remembered looking up at the apartments we passed in happier times, imagining living in a little Parisian attic and eating fresh croissants every morning.
Now there were soldiers at the Metro stations and we’d not seen any bakeries that were open.
Eventually, we reached Rue de Teheran. Or Teheraner Stra?e as the sign said. With our senses on high alert, we walked towards the library building.
‘We’re very exposed,’ Archie said in an undertone. ‘But everything seems quiet.’
‘Just be on your guard, everyone,’ I warned. ‘Eyes and ears open.’
The library was a sorry sight, though I was heartened to note it wasn’t festooned with Nazi flags like everywhere else. Instead, a tattered Stars and Stripes hung from its flagpole.
‘Mon dieu,’ I said. The front of the building was blackened with smoke, though the heavy wooden doors were intact. One window was smashed, and a charred curtain blew through the gap.
Henry had walked on past the library and now he beckoned us to join him.
We walked quickly and he herded us through a stone archway, off the street. ‘I think this must be a delivery entrance,’ he said. ‘Look.’
Next to a door was a cardboard box. It was sodden and split, and inside we could see books – heavy and swollen with rain.
Gingerly I pulled a book from the box. It was one from our list – The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. I flicked to the inside front cover and nodded as I saw the stamp there.
‘This is definitely the right place,’ I said.
‘Now we just need to get in,’ Lara said, standing back and looking up at the building. ‘The front window was smashed but it would be too easy for anyone to see us to risk climbing in there.’
A car rumbled along the cobbled street outside and we all shrank back against the walls, so we’d be hidden from view.
‘It really doesn’t look like anyone’s in there,’ Archie said, looking at the building as Lara had done. ‘Is this definitely what Marcus meant?’
‘No,’ I said honestly. ‘But actually, this is as good a place to start as any.’
‘You’re right,’ Archie said with a sigh. ‘So we break in?’
We all looked at the door. It was old but solid. ‘Could we kick it in?’ I asked doubtfully.
Henry took a step forward. ‘May I try?’
I looked at his spindly legs and then at Lara, who scratched her nose to hide her smile.
‘Go ahead,’ said Archie.
Henry went to the door, feeling in his pocket and pulling out a small metal case. Inside was a variety of tiny screwdrivers and other tools.
‘Oh, you’re picking the lock,’ I said, understanding.
‘I’m trying,’ said Henry. ‘Does anyone have a torch?’
‘I do,’ Archie said, digging in his own pocket until he found it. He turned it on and shone it on the lock.
We all stayed silent, eyes trained on Henry and ears trained on the street in case anyone came along to see what we were doing. And then with a click, the lock released, and Henry sat back on his haunches, triumphant.
‘Good work, Hughes,’ said Archie. ‘Speak as little as possible once we’re inside.’
‘Should we speak in French?’ I asked in a whisper. ‘German?’
Archie thought about it. ‘German, I think. But only if you must.’
Henry stood up and tried the handle, which opened. We all slipped inside, letting our eyes adjust to the dim light.
Archie shone his torch along the route into the main part of the library and gestured for us all to follow.
‘Ruhig,’ I warned as we trod slowly across the tiled floor. Quietly.
‘Shhh,’ said Lara, putting her finger to her lip as a librarian would. I gave her a nudge and she smiled at me. I felt glad suddenly that she was here.
We made our way out into the foyer of the library from round behind a huge, sweeping staircase.
It was very dim inside, with the windows covered, but we could see enough to know it was a wonderful building with a high ceiling.
There were towering stacks of bookshelves and a solid wooden desk in the centre.
But the front of the building was blackened and burned.
Charred curtains hung in ribbons over the windows, and the air was heavy with the smell of smoke.
‘Upstairs?’ whispered Archie in English, pointing his torch at the staircase that dominated the room.
‘It just doesn’t feel like there’s anyone here,’ Henry replied just as quietly. ‘Like you said.’
‘Maybe the Nazis came back,’ suggested Lara. Her voice cracked. ‘Maybe everyone has gone?’
Archie put his hand on her shoulder in comfort, and then gestured to us to follow him. He made his way to the bottom step, but as he did, I heard the creak of a floorboard behind me.
‘Shh,’ I said. ‘Was ist das?’
Everyone froze, staying quiet. I listened intently, but I couldn’t hear anything. And then, right beside me, I heard the click of a gun being cocked, and felt the cold steel of a muzzle against my temple.
‘Hands where I can see them,’ said a woman’s voice in my ear. ‘Or I will shoot.’
Slowly I raised my hands. ‘Archie?’ I croaked. He turned, one foot on the stairs, and looked at me in horror. Lara and Henry turned too, Lara gasping as she realised what was happening.
‘Now I have you here,’ said the woman. ‘Would you mind telling me who the bloody hell you are?’