‘Yes. But you need to know.’
‘Yes, I do.’ He reached for his glass, and as he did so, Nell caught sight of the heading. The address was The Schoolhouse, but beneath that had been written:
To J.W. Nuremberg Prison.
The date was October 1946.
Leo suddenly said, ‘Michael, we asked Nell to read Maria’s journal. This was written by a man – would you read it for us?’
‘If you’re sure it’s what you want?’
‘I am.’
Michael took the letter, glanced at the heading, then began to read.
My dear J.W.
I am permitted to send you this letter following your trial. I hope it will reach you before you are led out to your death. I shall think of you on that morning, but …
But, my dear, one-time friend, how could I have been so deceived and for so long? I am cold and sick when I remember how you seemed to help our children to escape – how you warned us that Mengele’s agents were converging on our village, and how you helped with the plans – plans whose details I had given you. And all the time, it seems you were herding those children together – most particularly Sophie and Susannah Reiss – for Dr Mengele’s agents. I can forgive many people many things, but I can never forgive you for that.
It horrifies me to know that when I sent you all those details of our travels, and of how and where we searched for the twins, you were relaying it all to Mengele’s people. That, I now see, is how Paul Porringer found us in the old house, Deadlight Hall.
As you know, the twins were never found, and as far as I understand it, Mengele himself has evaded justice so far.
I am sorry for your approaching execution, and bid you farewell and safe journey beyond. In time I hope I shall come to think more kindly of our years of friendship.
M.B.
At the foot of the letter was written, ‘Returned to sender after the execution of the recipient for war crimes.’
Michael laid the letter down as carefully as if it might fall apart. For a long time no one spoke – Nell thought none of them could find anything to say.
Then Leo said, ‘So that is what happened. That is the ending.’
‘Yes.’
‘Did that man – Paul Porringer – really know what had happened to the twins, do you think?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think Maurice or Sch?nbrunn knew – they both talked of the “hesitation” when they asked Porringer the direct question about the twins.’
‘As if he was not prepared to admit that he, or his people, had failed to take them,’ said Michael.
‘Yes. But I don’t think either of them was prepared to take the chance,’ said David. ‘That’s why Sch?nbrunn went to Auschwitz. Nothing more was heard of him.’
‘And Mengele evaded justice,’ said Leo, half to himself.
‘Oh, yes. He left Auschwitz for a camp in Gross Rosen, but he fled from there a week before the Russian soldiers arrived. He lived most of the remainder of his life in South America. I think he died in the late 1970s. My great-uncle made several more attempts to find Sophie and Susannah Reiss, but he never did. As for Sch?nbrunn – no one ever knew his real name, so it was impossible to make any proper search.’
‘Yes, of course. Well,’ said Leo, ‘it’s all a long time ago, and I’ll try to think that Sch?nbrunn probably died in a rebellious blaze of battle somewhere.’
‘It’s the likeliest thing.’
‘Oh yes.’
But Nell, watching him, knew he had been hoping that Maurice Bensimon’s letters might have told him what had happened to his beloved twins. She was filled with deep sadness that they had not done so.
*
Dear Nell