‘That’s okay. I didn’t expect this to be easy.’
Tayte turned to the names on his list and began to go over his earlier thinking about the possibility of a child having been brought up by another member of the family. Ava’s parents were good candidates, but apart from them only one other name really stood out for Tayte. It was the name he’d previously underlined: Heinz Schr?der. Tayte figured he was most likely Adelina Schr?der’s brother—Ava’s uncle. Ava’s christening record told him that her maternal grandfather was called Gottfried, so Heinz couldn’t have been Ava’s grandfather, which Tayte thought might have made him too old to be a potential candidate. The fact that Heinz had been a witness at Ava’s and Johann’s wedding also told Tayte that they had been close at the time, which to Tayte’s mind made Heinz Schr?der, along with Ava’s parents, the obvious choices. He didn’t know who the other witness, Lorenz Richter, was—perhaps a friend or neighbour, or even someone provided by the registration office on the day of the wedding. He couldn’t rule anyone out, but it made sense to start with the strongest candidates.
‘I’d like to see everything you can find for Ava’s parents, Gerhard and Adelina Bauer, née Schr?der,’ Tayte said. ‘And for Heinz Schr?der here,’ he added, tapping the witness section on Ava’s and Johann’s marriage certificate.
Jan looked at it again. ‘I see he lived in Gilching at the time of the marriage,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to call the Starnberg Standesamt. It’s not far from Munich. Gilching is a municipality of Starnberg, you see.’
‘Great, and as there’s a family connection to the area, perhaps you could ask them to dig out whatever they can find on Ava’s parents, too. Do you know how long it’s likely to take?’
‘Hard to say. I’ll tell them it’s urgent and have them send the results over electronically. While they’re working on all that, I’ll see what I can find here.’
‘Thank you, Jan,’ Tayte said with a smile. ‘I’ll sit on your shoulder, if you don’t mind—see if I can learn something.’
Jan laughed. ‘I shouldn’t do that,’ she said. ‘Big fella like you. You’ll squash me flat!’
Tayte was smiling at Jan’s joke as they stood up. He followed her out into the large office area to make her call to the civil registration office in Starnberg, and as she dialled, he began to feel optimistic about the results he hoped would come back. Family history was all about making connections, and as Jan began to give her counterpart in Starnberg the information they had on Heinz Schr?der from Ava’s marriage certificate, the back of Tayte’s neck began to tingle at the thought of what new connections he might soon discover. More importantly, he wondered where they would lead him next.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Gilching. 22 April 1945.
‘There’s no one home. Hasn’t been for months.’
Johann turned away from the house he’d been directed to on his arrival in Gilching and saw an elderly woman standing by the gate in boots and a long overcoat. The wide-brimmed hat she wore was still dripping rain from the downpour Johann had just been caught in. She was a short, stocky woman. She had a sour expression on her face and a quizzical squint in her eyes.
‘What’s your business here?’ she added.
Johann approached her with caution, unsure from her brusque tone whether her interest in him was well meant. ‘I was told that my wife’s uncle lives here. Herr Schr?der?’
‘This is Heinz Schr?der’s house,’ the woman said. ‘He’s not here.’
‘Do you know where I can find him?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine. His last letter was from Holland, but that was several weeks ago.’
‘Holland?’
‘That’s what I said. Has the war made you deaf? Both his boys were in the Wehrmacht. They died on the Russian Front. At hearing the news, Herr Schr?der took off.’
‘And what of his wife?’
‘Frau Schr?der died more than ten years ago.’
‘I see,’ Johann said, already contemplating what to do next. It occurred to him then that Volker could not have called on Herr Schr?der to enquire into Ava’s whereabouts, as he had said in his last letter. How could he have if Herr Schr?der was not there? Johann wondered why Volker would lie to him, or whether there had been some mistake. Clearly, his next move was to contact his friend to find out.
‘You’re SS?’ The woman said, eyeing Johann’s apparel.
The Sieg runes on his tunic were barely visible beneath his greatcoat, but her keen eyes seemingly missed nothing. Johann nodded.
‘Why aren’t you fighting?’