“How would you have managed to get me out of the prison?”
“Ah, that’s a story my superiors will have to tell you. Suffice it to say, Papa, you are a very valuable man, and the British were willing to pay for you to come home. Now it’s a bit more tricky. We’ve paid our dues to release you, but you are supposed to be dead. That’s what the Nazis believe, according to Ulli and Anton. And though they are not looking for you—they have other fish to fry—we don’t want to slip up when it comes to extracting you from this country.”
“How will you get me out of here?”
“Can you move?”
“I’m dragging my foot, and my arm hangs like a broken sparrow’s wing, but I can get by with help. I’ve been trying to get myself up and about, if only to walk to the window and back.”
“You’ve done the right thing—you could have been struck down in a much more serious way. Now let me see how you move.” Maisie reached for the two walking sticks propped against the bed. “Here. Come on—I know this might be a push.”
“It’s all right. I understand. You don’t need a deadweight, do you?”
Maisie helped Donat bring his legs to the side of the bed, lever himself up, and come to his feet.
“I used to be a nurse, so this is easy for me. Now then—I wish we had crutches, that would give you something more stable to lean into, but let’s see how you do.”
With one small step after the other, Maisie supporting him with a hand around his waist, Donat managed to walk to the window, dragging one foot and stepping forward with the other.
“I’m too slow. You should leave me behind, let them find me.”
“No, that’s not part of my brief, Papa. Let’s walk back now.”
Maisie helped Donat step toward the bed again and made him comfortable. She poured a half glass of water from a carafe next to the bed and supported him as he sipped until the glass was empty. She reached into her bag.
“Here—some aspirin. I want you to take one every day. You twisted your ankle in the escape, but it’s your circulation I’m more worried about. I only have a few of these—you never know when they will come in handy. So, one per day.”
“How will I get home?”
“We can’t risk the train. I’m afraid that, against my better judgment, you will have to fly.”
“I don’t mind aeroplanes.”
“Trouble is, I do. But needs must, and I know who I should be in touch with to plan your departure.”
“Who? Who can help us?”
“Once more against my better judgment, Elaine’s father can help us.”
Donat tried to laugh again. “Now there’s a man with a finger in too many pies for comfort.”
“I know.” Maisie took Leon Donat’s hand. “Trust me, Papa. I will have you home within a day or two.”
“I wish I knew your real name, dear woman. For now, I will continue to call you Dina. It will remind me of what I have to return to. What I have to live for.”
Maisie pressed her lips together and forced a smile. “I’ll come back for you, and soon—probably tomorrow. All right?”
Donat nodded, his eyes heavy, his mouth becoming slack. “All right. I will be ready for you each day until you come.”
Just as Maisie reached the door, Donat spoke again. “You know, this is a lovely country, Dina. But it is also quite terrifying, when I think of what it might become. My visit here now has made me wonder what it is to be a free man. It’s something I have always taken for granted.”
“I’ll get you home—I promise. You’ll be a free man again soon.”
Ulli Bader asked to be dropped off as the countryside gave way to the city proper. He instructed the driver to take Maisie wherever she wanted to go, and before they parted, he gave her a telephone number where she could pass a message on to him, and he would return her call within minutes. The person who would assist her was trustworthy. She looked at the number, memorized it, and tore the slip of paper into shreds. As the motor car moved off into traffic, she looked out the windows on each side. There was no sign of Bader. It was as if he had vanished. She asked to be taken to the Schwabing district. She could not ignore her instinct: she needed to return to Elaine Otterburn’s old stomping ground.
It was still only early afternoon, allowing plenty of time to walk around—and by now Maisie had a sense of where she was and where she wanted to go. Her first stop would be the pub where she had seen Elaine leaving with Luther Gramm.