Chapter 14 Cassie
Cassie
Lisbon
For all his declarations welcoming me to the team, Valentine did actually need to get Digby’s approval for me to join him and Hughes in working on the escape routes.
He assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. ‘Five days is nothing,’ he said, looking at me with a slightly tilted head.
‘And you seem to be firing on all cylinders.’
‘She’s just come up with a plan to help soldiers escape,’ said Hughes, who I was beginning to rather like. ‘If this is how she is when she’s not firing on all cylinders, we should definitely have her on the team.’
I laughed.
‘It’s getting quite late,’ I said. ‘Shall I just come and find you tomorrow and we can start work?’
‘Not tomorrow, sorry,’ said Valentine with a grimace. ‘Hughes and I have meetings all day. But I’ll speak to Digby and get everything approved, don’t worry.’
‘You won’t forget to speak to him?’
‘I won’t forget.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Great. I’ll head home, then.’
‘Actually, I should make tracks, too,’ said Valentine ‘I have dinner plans.’
Chuffed as I was to be part of the team, I rolled my eyes as I walked away.
The hours in clerical sped past the next day, and I even worked later than usual, making notes about our plans for the books.
By the time I left that evening I was feeling happier than I had since I came back to Lisbon. I made my way along the hall towards the main door just as Edith was coming down the stairs. She called to me.
‘You’re here late,’ she said.
‘Had some bits to do.’
‘I’m glad I’ve caught you. I’ve got good news.’
More good news. I grinned at her. ‘Tell me.’
‘Not here,’ she said. ‘Come upstairs.’
We went up to her office where Parrish was putting on his jacket. He looked at me with a strange expression, then he smiled.
‘You again. People will talk if they keep seeing us together.’
It was a clumsy joke, but it made me awkward. I felt my cheeks flush.
‘Edith and I are old friends.’
He held my gaze for a moment too long and then turned away.
‘Goodnight,’ he said. ‘I’m off for a drink. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.’
He shut the door behind him and Edith locked it.
‘Don’t take it personally,’ she said. ‘He thinks he’s irresistible to women.’
‘Like Archie Valentine.’
‘From what I hear, Valentine really is irresistible.’ Edith gave me a wink. ‘He’s very handsome.’
‘I’d not really noticed,’ I lied. I nodded towards the door where Parrish had gone. ‘What do you know about him?’
Edith looked thoughtful.
‘He’s worked here for years.’
‘Did you recruit him?’
‘No. He’s moved round departments a lot.’
‘Why is that do you think?’
Edith looked up at the ceiling, considering her answer.
‘If I was going to be honest …’
‘Please do.’
‘I think it’s probably because he’s insufferable.’
I laughed, surprised by her answer.
‘He does seem quite pleased with himself.’
‘On his first day he explained to me, very patiently, what the different types of British visas were.’
‘Oof,’ I said.
‘He didn’t make that mistake again,’ said Edith with a grin.
‘So, what’s the good news?’ I asked.
‘We’re up and running.’ Edith picked up a folder and brandished it aloft like she’d won a trophy.
‘I’ve got twenty names from my sister.’
‘That’s astonishing.’
‘The academics she knows seem to be chomping at the bit to help.’
‘Well, good for them.’
‘And the Quakers, god love them, have come up trumps.’
‘As ever.’ I took a breath. ‘It’s not too late to stop this,’ I said. ‘If you’re having any doubts at all.’
Edith hit me on the arm with her folder. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘That’s what I’d hoped you’d say.’
‘As we said, I will need help with the application forms. I can process them all but just filling them in takes time.’
‘Of course. And I’m sure Lara and Bea will help if we need them.’
‘Even better.’ Edith glanced at her wristwatch. ‘Heavens, look at the time. I must get back for the dogs. Poor things will be starving.’
‘We could start after work tomorrow.’
‘Perfect.’
Edith put the folder in her desk drawer and locked it. Then we both gathered our belongings and she unlocked the door, then locked it again behind us.
‘Are you going my way?’ she asked. We lived fairly close to each other and sometimes travelled to and from work together. But I shook my head.
‘I’m going to go and see Lara.’
‘Righto,’ Edith said cheerfully. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
We went our separate ways, and I got on a tram, heading down the hill to the British Bar. I knew Lara was working there today and I wanted to fill her in on everything.
She was, as I’d hoped, behind the bar. But when I arrived, her eyes widened and she didn’t look pleased to see me, as I’d hoped she would.
‘Sit over there,’ she said, nodding to an empty table tucked in the corner between the bar and the window. ‘I’ll bring a drink over.’
I sat down, annoyed that from where I was I couldn’t see the whole room. I’d been trained to always choose a seat that provided the best view of a place. I was just about to get up and move to another table when Lara appeared. She stood in front of me and put a drink down.
‘Gosh, Lara, you’re blocking my view.’
‘I know.’ She glanced over her shoulder. ‘It’s deliberate.’
‘Why?’
‘Because that chap’s here. The one we’ve both seen near the shop.’
‘Steven Parrish?’ I felt a flutter of nerves. ‘Who’s he with?’
‘Just on his own, drinking a beer. It might be coincidence, but …’
‘I don’t believe in coincidences,’ I finished for her. It was one of my favourite sayings when I trained new teams to be alert about people they saw.
‘He can’t see you from here,’ Lara said. ‘Unless he walks to the door. But he might have seen you come in.’
She sat down opposite me. ‘I’m worried he’s still spying on us.’
‘He thinks I fancy him,’ I said with a sigh. ‘Because he keeps seeing me around his department.’
‘Do you fancy him?’ Lara said, her lip curling. ‘His hair’s a bit odd, but I suppose …’
‘No, I don’t fancy him,’ I said firmly. ‘He works with Edith, that’s all. So I keep seeing him. And I don’t trust him, because of him being around the shop, so I’m keeping an eye on him. And he’s taken that to mean that I’ve got my eye on him in another way.’
Lara laughed then she frowned.
‘He works with Edith? In the same department?’
‘Pretty much. Processing documents. Organising identity papers. That sort of thing.’
Lara looked alarmed. ‘Do you think he knows what we’ve been doing with the visas?’
‘We’ve not done anything yet,’ I pointed out.
‘You haven’t,’ she said, her face taking on that worried look again. ‘But he was sniffing around Bea and me when we were helping with the Portuguese visas.’
‘That was what worried me initially,’ I admitted. I took a mouthful of the drink she’d put in front of me and shuddered because it was so strong.
‘I thought you needed a double measure,’ Lara said unapologetically.
Recovering my composure, I went on: ‘I think that perhaps he’s working with the PVDE.’
‘Everyone knew what Alves was doing in Bordeaux,’ Lara pointed out. ‘It makes sense that they’d have wanted to keep an eye on him when he came back to Lisbon. And the PVDE use Lisbon residents as spies all the time.’
‘You’re right. I’m almost certain Parrish was watching the bookshop, and he wouldn’t have done that of his own volition.’
‘What do we know for sure?’ asked Lara, sitting next to me. I looked at her, impressed. She’d really taken on board every aspect of her training.
‘I know Parrish wears an expensive watch, and good shoes,’ I said, touching my forefinger to my thumb to count the evidence.
‘How expensive?’
‘Too expensive for someone doing his job,’ I said. ‘But we do have a lot of people working at the embassy who come from well-to-do families. Perhaps he has family money.’
Lara looked unconvinced but she nodded.
‘Can you find out about his background?’
‘I can.’
‘What else?’
‘We’ve both seen him up near the bookshop.’ I touched my next finger. ‘But I’m fairly sure he lives in another part of the city – I’ve seen him going home in the other direction. And you said you’ve seen him with the woman from the docks.’
‘Maria,’ said Lara, nodding.
‘And we know Maria took back-handers to get people on boats.’
‘Right,’ Lara said. She looked thoughtful. ‘Maria wears nice clothes, too. And she’s generous when she’s here. Always buying drinks for people. Showing off.’
‘Interesting,’ I said. ‘Parrish definitely isn’t trustworthy and the last thing we want is for him to make the link between us and Edith and all the visas we’re hopefully going to process.’
‘I wonder …’ said Lara thoughtfully.
‘What?’
‘Well, I was just thinking if he’s working for the PVDE, watching us won’t be the only thing he’s doing, will it?’
‘No,’ I said, doubt in my tone.
‘And he processes identity papers, you said?’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘So perhaps he’s doing a little illegal processing of his own. But for the other side.’
‘The Nazis?’
‘Maybe,’ said Lara. ‘He’s got to be doing something to get the money to pay for his fancy watch and expensive shoes.’
‘Good lord,’ I said. ‘Maybe you’re right. I was so worried about him knowing we were playing the system that I didn’t consider he could be doing it, too.’
‘Should we tell Digby?’
I shook my head. ‘Not yet. Let’s get our visa scheme started first. In the meantime, I think we need to do a bit of watching of our own.’
Lara grinned. ‘We’re all watching each other. At least it will keep you out of trouble while you’re doing your last few days in clerical.’
‘Oh my goodness,’ I said. ‘I forgot to tell you the best bit.’
I filled her in on how I’d been asked to work with Valentine and Hughes, leaving out the details. For now.
Lara was predictably thrilled and smug. ‘I told you they needed you.’
‘I just hope Digby says yes. But everyone’s so short staffed and I’m only days away from seeing out my three weeks anyway.’
‘Digby will be fine,’ said Lara. She gave me a sideways glance. ‘Is there anything I can do for this new project?’
Actually, I had thought she and Bea might be useful in some way, given they both worked in a bookshop and this was all about books. ‘Not sure yet,’ I said honestly. ‘But I will let you know.’
‘I need to get back to work,’ said Lara.
I drained my glass. ‘I need to go home. Busy day tomorrow. Is Parrish still there?’
Lara stood up, looking over the bar.
‘Can’t see him. Maybe he’s gone to the loo.’
‘I’ll nip out now, then. I really can’t face him again.’
Lara gave me a kiss, and I waved goodbye to her friend Miguel behind the bar, picked up my bag and headed outside.
I checked the street for any sign of Parrish, but I couldn’t see him.
Reassured, I thought I might walk home rather than get the tram as it was a warm evening.
I paused for a second, deciding whether to head for the main road to the tram stop or the side street that would take me home.
‘Waiting for me?’
My heart thumped as I looked round to see Parrish striding up behind me.
‘No,’ I said. I turned to walk to the tram stop, making the snap decision to stay where there were more people. Though the streets weren’t busy now as it was getting late.
Parrish caught up with me easily. He was tall and his long strides meant he barely had to hurry.
‘I saw you in the bar,’ he said. ‘I thought you might have come to find me.’
‘I didn’t,’ I said, genuinely confused. ‘I didn’t know you were going to be there.’
‘I told you.’
I made a face, suddenly remembering he’d said he was off for a drink.
‘So why didn’t you come and speak to me?’ Parrish went on. ‘Too shy?’
‘I was there to speak to my friend.’
‘The barmaid.’
‘I’ve known her a long time,’ I said, wondering why I was explaining.
‘I think it’s sweet.’ Parrish was a bit closer to me now, his arm brushing mine as he walked. I moved to the side, not wanting to touch him. ‘It’s sweet that you’re too shy to speak to me.’
The tram stop was up ahead. Once I was there, I would be in the safety of the queue, and hopefully he’d stop bothering me.
Suddenly a tram rattled past. ‘That’s mine,’ I said in relief. ‘I have to go.’
But as I went to run after it, crossing a side street, the traffic lights changed and I was stuck, not wanting to take my chance darting in between cars.
As soon as they cleared, I raced off, but the tram had gone and Parrish caught me up once more.
‘Bad luck,’ he said.
There was no one at the stop now. I sighed, wishing I’d walked home instead.
The Lisbon pavements were narrow, and I had my back to the tiled wall of the house behind us.
‘I think I’m just going to walk,’ I said to Parrish. ‘The next tram won’t be for a while.’
But he put his arm out, touching the wall and barring my exit.
‘Stay a little while,’ he said. ‘The trams are frequent.’
I was not scared of taking on a man taller than me, or bigger than me, or stronger than me. But I knew not to do so in public for fear it would expose me.
So though I knew I could put Parrish on the floor where he stood, I also knew that the repercussions of doing that would be great. Especially when I was just about to return to Section D.
Instead, I looked at him. ‘I’m walking,’ I said again firmly.
He leaned forward, putting his other hand on the wall so I was in between his arms. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek, and my heart began to pound. I looked over his shoulders, working out an escape route. If he went one way, I thought, I could go the other …
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We both know why you’re here.’
He pushed his lips against mine, pressing my back into the wall. I could feel his tongue trying to force my mouth open and I squirmed under the pressure, struggling for air.
As I moved, Parrish put his hand on my thigh and pushed my skirt up, his fingers probing my underwear. I forced my face away from his, banging my head, hard, on the brickwork behind.
‘No,’ I said. I tried to push his hand away, but I was trapped between his body and the wall.
‘Tease.’
Suddenly I was furious about this whole thing. Full of rage, I picked up my foot and brought it down hard on his, feeling his bones grind beneath my heel.
With a yelp, Parrish pulled away from me.
‘You bloody bitch,’ he growled, stumbling backwards.
But I was off, hurtling down the road away from him and never once looking back.