Part 19 (1/2)
Sunny insisted on returning home with Franz to break the news to Esther. Leaves rustled at their feet in the mild autumn breeze as they silently hurried along. Despite her preoccupation with Yang, Sunny could not shake the sense that Franz was upset with her. Did he somehow know about her contact with the Underground? He offered nothing, and she was too frightened to broach the subject.
They stepped inside their home to find Esther on the couch, cradling the sleeping Jakob in her arms. The sight of mother and son, both so contented, made something inside Sunny break. She had to swallow back a sob.
The moment Esther looked up at them the smile slid from her lips. ”Was ist los? Something has happened.”
Franz looked down. ”The j.a.panese are raiding the ghetto.”
Esther twitched and then caught herself. Jakob stirred without waking. She rose to her feet and lowered him carefully onto the sofa. As soon as he was settled, she rushed over to them. ”And Simon?” she breathed.
”They haven't caught him, Essie,” Sunny said.
”How could you know?”
Franz described what Hannah had witnessed outside Yang's apartment.
”Mein Gott, that poor woman,” Esther said. ”But where would Simon go?”
Franz closed his eyes and shook his head. ”There are many places one could hide in the ghetto, Essie.”
Esther nodded. It was clear that she was struggling to fight off the tears. But her lips quivered, and she covered her face with her hands.
”Essie, we will find Simon,” Franz rea.s.sured her.
A soft choking sob emerged from behind her hands. ”What if they find him first?”
They fell into a mournful silence. After a few moments, the phone rang. Telephone service had become so sporadic that Sunny had almost forgotten they still had one.
Franz took a step toward it, but Esther darted out in front of him and grabbed the receiver. ”Hier bei Adler!” she said sharply. Then her tone softened and she brought a hand to her cheek. ”Simon! Gottze dank! It really is you. Oh, my Simon. Where are you?” She listened and then said, ”You are telling the truth? Please, G.o.d. You really are safe?” She paused again. ”Of course, of course. When can I see you?” Another pause, then, ”Yes, yes. They are right here. Promise me, Simon. You will be more careful than ever. I could not bear . . .” Her voice faltered.
Sunny and Franz shared an uncomfortable glance.
”I love you, too. More than you can know.” Esther pulled the receiver from her ear and held it out toward them.
Sunny stepped forward and took the receiver. ”Simon! Where are you? Are you safe?”
”Yeah, I'm fine. Charlie too. Another family took us in.”
Simon had helped so many refugee families in the city through his work with the CFA that Sunny imagined they would have lined up to shelter him. ”Which family?”
He hesitated. ”Best not to say over the phone.”
”Of course not,” she said.
”Don't worry. We are well taken care of.” He chuckled. ”I already miss Yang's cooking, though.”
A lump formed in her throat. ”Simon, they have her.”
”Oh no.” Simon exhaled so heavily that the receiver whistled in her ear. ”She wouldn't leave with us, Sunny. As soon as we heard the trucks, we got out of there. Yang insisted on staying. Maybe they found our clothes or . . . I don't know.”
”Or perhaps Yang panicked?” Sunny suggested, desperate for a more benign explanation. ”Maybe that was the only reason they took her? You know how the j.a.panese terrify her.”
”That could explain it,” Simon said hopefully. ”Maybe they just took her in for questioning.”
But Simon's words rang hollow. There was no routine questioning when it came to the j.a.panese. ”It doesn't matter, does it?” Sunny sniffed. ”Even if they didn't find anything in her apartment, what difference will it make to Yang now that they have her?”
Simon's voice softened. ”She's a tougher bird than you give her credit for, Sunny.”
Sunny swallowed with difficulty. ”You will not be able to stay in the ghetto, Simon. Not for much longer.”
”Yeah, the j.a.ps are sweeping the place.”
”There was a bomb at the wharf. The j.a.panese are looking for subversives. Raiding the whole ghetto. We need to move you soon.” Sunny glanced over at Franz; he held up one finger. ”Within a day.”
”Charlie and I will be ready anytime.”
”How will we reach you?” she asked.
”I'll call you in an hour or two.”
”And if there is no telephone service?”
”I'll send someone to carry a message back to us.”
Sunny didn't like the idea of including anyone else in the plan, but there was no other option. ”All right.”
”Listen, Sunny, if something goes wrong . . . You and Franz will take care of Essie and Jakob for me, won't you?”
Sunny looked over at Esther, who was hanging on her every word. ”Of course. All will be fine. Telephone us again in two hours, Simon. We will have details then. Goodbye.”
As soon as Sunny hung up, Franz motioned to the couch where Jakob was sleeping. ”Perhaps we should move as well. At the very least we need to find somewhere for Essie, Jakob and Hannah to stay.”
”Why, Franz?” Sunny asked. ”We have nothing to hide.”
”True, but . . .” Franz refused to meet her eyes. ”Who knows where they might take Yang.”
Sunny cringed as she imagined Yang being tortured by some vicious interrogator. I should have never asked her to shelter Simon and Charlie. It's all my fault.
”Surely she would not tell them about us?” Esther murmured.
”I wouldn't blame her if she did.” Franz continued to stare at the ground. ”Last year, after they took me to Bridge House . . . I would have told them anything to make it stop.”
The door rattled with three slow knocks. There was a pause, followed by four taps. Esther rushed over to Jakob and swept him up protectively in her arms, but Sunny raced over to answer the door. It was a secret signal, dating back to her childhood when she and Jia-Li had lived three doors apart and would sneak over to each other's houses without their parents' approval.
Jia-Li stood at the threshold in a black suit and matching hat, her eyes smouldering. ”Everyone is gone,” she gasped as she stepped inside. ”And their flat was a disaster.”
Sunny hugged her best friend. ”Charlie and Simon are safe,” she sobbed. ”But they took Yang.”