Chapter 4
Inside the German Embassy people were everywhere; most were dressed in Nazi uniform attire and appeared to be right at home, while others who were not looked nervous and uncomfortable. Elizabeth was one of the latter. The man who had directed her to the waiting room had been cold and even smirked at her when she told him who she was to see and it gave her a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had been late, but it didn't seem to matter, the man had said it would still be quite a while before Colonel Landa would be able to see her.
The wait lasted over an hour and she wondered what in the hell he could be doing to be so late to his own appointment. The longer she was forced to wait the more anxious she became, and even her anger could not over power the fear. Her stomach dropped when she saw a man approach her. He was small and his uniform seemed too big him and didn't fit him right. It made it look as though he didn't belong in it and shouldn't be wearing it. However, what really set him apart was the fact that he wore a smile and seemed genuinely happy. He introduced himself as Herman and directed her to follow him to Colonel Landa's office.
The trip was a quick elevator ride to the third floor and a few short strides to a door which read 'Room 312 Colonel Hans Landa Schutzstaffel'. Herman seemed to notice her anxiety and gave her smile, "He's not so bad, don't worry. He's not a hawk, He won't swoop down he devour you." She knew his words were meant to relax her, but they just made her even more scared. He knocked the door three times and a voice yelled "Come In". Herman opened the door and motioned her inside. She apprehensively walked in and the door closed behind her. She had never felt so alone and vulnerable then in that moment.
She had never been inside an officer's office before, especially someone of such high ranking like a Colonel The room was cold and she was suddenly aware that in the chaos that morning she had forgotten her coat. It was also dark, cluttered but clean and there seemed to be hominess to the room. Which makes sense, she thought, he must practically live here anyway. After a brief glance around the room her eyes settled on the man sitting behind the desk at the far side of the room. She could tell from across the room that he was short, and he wore a large smile on his face, like Herman. Maybe not all Nazi's are bad after all she reasoned to herself.
He stood up and motioned with his hand for her sit across from him in one of the plush chairs. She did so and he sat back down. "Hello, my dear. My name is Colonel Landa, and I promise not to take up too much of your time. I simply need to ask you a few questions." Although he was still smiling, up close she could see that there was something about his eyes, they were nearly hawk like. She could see them taking everything in, calculating her every move. Herman's statement before she walked into the room echoed in her head and she could feel herself begin to sweat.
"You look nervous can I offer you a cigarette?" She answered yes a little too quickly and he passed her one. "German, not that French shit, I can't stand the taste," he said as he lit it for her. He sat back in his seat and watched her for moment. She was sure he could see her hands shaking as she puffed at the cigarette.
His face turned serious as he began to speak again. "What do know about the events that took place at apartment 110 this morning at approximately 1:00am"? He glanced up at her awaiting a response, his eyes dark and demanding.
"W-ell…" she stumbled. "I'm sure not what exactly happened. I heard a bunch of loud noises, but that's about it. An officer knocked on my door after and told me to come to this appointment, and that's all I can think of right now." She afraid of lying to him, but she was also afraid to disclose too much information. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know how much of a struggle there was, and that her neighbor was probably Jewish.
He looked in her in the eye like he knew that she was lying. "I see," he said. "Well, did you happen to see your neighbor, Frau Rosenburg yesterday? Did you speak with her perhaps?
This time she didn't have to lie. "No, sir, I wasn't close with her. As a matter of fact I'm not sure if I had even met her before. The tenants in my building tend to stick to themselves and we don't social that often." He seemed displeased with her answer but wrote it down on the white piece of paper in front him.
"Well, Miss Himmel everything seems in order. I told you I wouldn't take too much of your time."
She sighed in relief and began to gather herself to stand up, but he stopped her short. "Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you."
She looked up at him in surprise. "Yes?"
"Does the name Hugo Stiglitz ring a bell?" He grinned at her in victory as all the color in her face washed away.
She sat frozen in bother surprise in fear. How does he know anything about that? And why would matter? While, she was thinking of what to say, Hans stared at her with an intense look, making his eyes appear black. "I'm waiting," he reminded her. "Would it help you if I asked in you English?" he asked in perfect English.
"Excuse me?" Shock spread all over her body at hearing her native language.
"You heard me," he said unblinking.
The meeting had turned ugly, and as the seconds passed by she realized this was about more than about what happened last night. And that this was more of an interrogation than a simple meeting.
"I don't understand," she answered back in German, still confused and terrified.
"Do you, or don't you know Herr. Stiglitz? And before you decide to answer," He said with a glint in his eye "know that I already know the answer." He sat back and smiled, looking pleased with himself.
"I do know Hugo, or at least did know him. I haven't seen or heard from him since he joined the military a few years ago."
"I see, have you heard anything about him recently?"
"If you mean what's in the papers this morning then no. I saw his name in a headline, but I didn't have a chance to read the article as I was running fairly late."
"Then let me inform you of his current events. Herr Stiglitz decided that he should murder has many high ranking Nazi officers as possible. He was able to murder 13, before he was caught. They were murdered in the most horrible ways, they all had slow deaths. He says his only regret is that he wasn't able to kill more. His in currently in a prison here in the city, but is set to be transferred to Berlin within a couple weeks to be made an example of."
The news hit her like a ton of bricks, but she didn't let him see how much it hurt her. It made her sad, which is why he told her she was sure. He was trying to get a rise out of her. Somehow he had managed to look into her past and knew they had a close relationship…at one time anyway. She thought of Hugo's face, although tough it was soft and he always had a lop-sided grin on his face. Her mind drifted off to where she was home, many years before.
Authors Note:
Thank you to those who left a review, it means a lot to hear from readers and that they are enjoying the story so far. I have managed to slip in one more chapter before I leave, but it will be about a week until the next update. Still looking for beta readers if your interested, and I hope you have a wonderful week!
