Langner gave an emphatic shake of his head. ‘I did not, and I would not,’ he said, his voice wavering with emotion. ‘I was a soldier of the Leibstandarte, committed along with the entire youth of Germany to fight what we had been indoctrinated to believe was our common enemy—Bolshevism. I did not hate the Jews.’
‘I see,’ Tayte said. He saw a tear fall onto Langner’s cheek then, and he decided it was best to steer the subject back to kinder memories. ‘I guess you bumped into Ava Bauer again. How did that come about?’
Langner wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. He smiled awkwardly, as though still racked by his thoughts, yet keen to change the subject, as Tayte had supposed.
‘Bump into her?’ Langner began to laugh at the idea until he set himself coughing again. ‘Mr Tayte, I didn’t just bump into her. I couldn’t leave such a thing to chance. I had to find her, and it wasn’t as difficult as I’d at first imagined.’ His smile dropped again. ‘Although I should have gone to find Ava by myself that night. Not that I could have kept her a secret from Volker for long. But I regret with all my heart the day Volker Strobel ever met Ava Bauer.’
Chapter Six
Munich. 23 November 1938.
Beneath a hissing gas lamp, leaning against the stone archway that led into the meeting place of Munich’s League of German Girls Faith and Beauty Society, Volker Strobel lit a cigarette and offered the packet to Johann.
Johann shook his head. ‘Not just now.’
‘Really? It’s not like you to turn down a cigarette. Especially on a cold evening like this.’
‘I don’t feel like one.’
Volker laughed to himself. ‘It must be because of the girl, eh? You want to keep your breath fresh, is that it? Have you kissed her yet?’
‘How could I have? I’ve only seen her once, and that was only briefly.’
‘Yes, of course. So maybe she’ll show up tonight, eh?
‘I hope so.’
After meeting Ava two weeks before, having learned that she was a member of the society tasked with raising girls as torch bearers of the national-socialist world, Johann had made it his mission to find out where the society met every week. He had tried in vain to see Ava on the Wednesday after he’d met her. Now he was trying again in the hope that she had gone to the meeting this week. He had his black winter coat with him tonight, but having stood outside the building with Volker for close to an hour already, the cold was beginning to bite regardless. He crossed his arms and stamped his feet as he took in the busy street before him. He watched a crowded tram go by, and he cast his eyes further along the street and up at the tall buildings whose Nazi Party flags were all flapping in the chill breeze. He rubbed his hands together to warm them, and under his breath he wished that Ava would come out soon.
Volker crossed the steps that divided the archway and stood close beside him. ‘You know, you worry me, Johann. I find the circumstances of how you met this girl very disturbing. If you were not my closest friend I would be obliged to report you both. Have you told anyone else?’
‘No. Only you.’
‘Good. I suggest you keep it that way. It could otherwise be very dangerous for you.’ He paused, as if considering the consequences. ‘Perhaps it would be for the best if this Ava girl failed to show again tonight. You really shouldn’t have anything more to do with her. Let’s go and get a drink, eh? What do you say?’
Johann smiled at his friend. He turned and held him by the shoulders forcing their eyes to meet. ‘I have to see her again, Volker. Just wait until you meet her. Then you’ll understand.’
Volker shook his head. ‘I’m sure you must see a great deal in her, but it’s freezing out here and I could use a drink to warm me up. Besides, there are hundreds of girls in Munich. Why must it be this one?’
‘They’re not like Ava. She’s special. You’ll see.’
The sound of the main doors opening drew Johann’s attention then and he turned towards them as light spilled out onto the steps.
‘Look, they’re coming out now,’ Johann said.
He pulled Volker aside, his eyes still on the doors as the first two girls came out. He smiled at them as they passed, and then he quickly turned back to the doorway as several more young women left the building.
‘Do you know Ava Bauer?’ he asked one of the girls at random. ‘Was she at the meeting tonight?’
The girl shook her head and carried on talking to her friend.
Volker blew smoke across Johann’s face. ‘It’s a lost cause, I tell you. Her father’s most likely forbidden her to come to these meetings again after all the trouble on the streets the last time she attended. You said her father came to find her because she was late home.’
‘Yes, because her bicycle had a flat tyre.’
Johann was paying more attention to the girls now pouring out of the building than he was to his friend. The throng had forced the two of them down onto the pavement and he’d lost track of who he’d looked at and who he’d missed as the seemingly endless parade of girls parted to his left and right. It seemed hopeless. He was about to start calling Ava’s name, but at that moment his conversation with Volker caught up with him. His eyes widened.