~Chapter 2~
Herr Zeller sat behind his desk in a small office in Salzburg's Town Hall, which had been made into the Nazi headquarters for the entire Salzburg Bundesland.
He was not pleased. Not pleased at all. For four days now, Zeller had been trying to find a trace of the Von Trapp family, but it seemed they had vanished into thin air. Nobody knew where they were, nobody had seen them.
He had tried to put together a list of people who had attended the wedding, hoping to find somebody who knew where the family had gone. With the use of some, as he called it, "gentle persuasion", he had managed to get quite a large number of names together. He had questioned the cream of Salzburg's residents, but it seemed that all his work had lead to nothing, and the thought that Captain von Trapp could be getting further away from him with each passing day infuriated him.
The only trace they had was the car that was stolen on the night the Von Trapps had disappeared. They had found it, driven into a ditch out of town. There had been blood on the passenger's seat, but Zeller was not sure what to make of it. He did believe that Captain von Trapp had stolen the car, but why then would he have left it only a few miles out of town? And who was hurt, the Captain, or his wife? And how on earth had they been able to disappear so completely if one of them was hurt?
"I'll get him," he muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth.
A knock on the door startled him.
"Enter," he called curtly, annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted.
A uniformed soldier entered his room.
"Heil Hitler," he saluted.
Zeller looked at the youngest member of his squad in disdain. "What do you want, Jürgen?" he snapped at him.
"Well sir, I have some information for you, sir, regarding Captain von Trapp."
This perked Zeller's interest, and he motioned for the young soldier to carry on.
"Well, sir, we have been checking the house of Nikolas Lang in Anif regularly. First, his family disappeared, and now he has been gone for a few days, as well."
Zeller frowned, uncomprehending. "What does that have to do with Captain von Trapp?" He was clearly annoyed.
"Sir, they are considered heroes in Salzburg! They served together in the war!"
"Heroes?!" Zeller spat, enraged at the word. But the impact of what the soldier told him quickly took over.
The young soldier looked taken aback at Zeller's outburst, but hesitantly continued.
"Well, this morning I was going through the reports that came in over the last few days, looking for something that could help us along. And I noticed that a soldier called Reinhard stopped two men and a sick woman at the barricade near Anif a few days ago, and with the blood you found in that car. and Nikolas Lang disappearing around the same time. I thought." His voice trailed off and he looked sideways at Zeller, suddenly feeling that his theory was terrible and that he'd certainly be punished for wasting Herr Zeller's time.
But Zeller's expression had changed. Jürgen's words were playing through his head and his mind was racing, putting it all together.
"Reinhard, you say?" he inquired of Jürgen.
"Yes sir, he's under Captain Nussbaum's command," the boy supplied, still wondering if he had done the right thing by coming to Zeller.
Zeller grabbed behind him for his coat and hat, already on his way to pay a visit to this Reinhard. As he looked up, he saw that Jürgen was still standing near the door.
He motioned his with his hand for him to leave. The boy saluted and, looking confused, quickly disappeared.
***
Maria looked up from the stove as she heard someone entering the kitchen. Georg walked up to her and greeted her with a kiss.
"Hello darling," she said, kissing him back. "Did you get the information from the station?"
"Yes, I'll show you later. What are you doing?" he asked, shooting a surprised glance at the pots and pans that were covering the table and counter. He walked over to Marta and Gretl, who were cleaning strawberries by the sink, and kissed them on the heads. They looked up at their father and smiled.
"Look Father, we have strawberries," Marta stated the obvious and beamed at him.
"I see, what a treat," he smiled. "And they're not even blue!" The girls giggled at this remark.
Then Georg turned to face Maria, who'd sat down, and raised his eyebrows at her.
"I decided to cook us a celebration dinner," she told him, explaining the state of the kitchen.
"Celebration dinner? What celebration?" He looked at her, not understanding.
"Well, we're safe, we're all together, I'm feeling much better. I'd say all of that is enough reason to celebrate, don't you?" Maria was smiling, but her voice was quite serious.
Georg nodded. She was right. After all they'd been through in the last few weeks, it surely was worth celebrating that they were all safe, and complete as a family.
He walked up to her and kneeled next to her chair. Cupping her face in one hand, he kissed her softly.
"Just don't overdo it," he told her gently. "You still need to take it easy."
"I've been getting plenty of help," Maria smiled, nodding at the two girls. "Liesl is upstairs changing the beds, and Friedrich and Louisa went into town to pick up some things from the market for me. I thought you might have run into them."
"No, I didn't see them," Georg answered, glad that the children were trying so hard to help Maria. He got up and peered into the oven, attracted by the smell that came from it. "Is that Apfelstrudel?"
"Max's favourite," Maria nodded. "He's done so much for us, it's the least I could do." She grinned.
"Mother?" came Marta's voice from the sink. "We're finished with the strawberries!"
Maria looked up at her two youngest daughters. "Thank you darlings," she said. "I don't think I have anything else to do for you. Why don't you go see what Uncle Max and Kurt and Brigitta are doing? You can tell them dinner will be ready in half an hour."
Georg pulled up a chair to sit next to his wife, and together they watched the two little ones run out of the kitchen, calling out for their brother and sister.
Georg put his hand over Maria's and squeezed it. As they shared a happy glance, he put her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"I love you," he said, and they leaned in for a kiss.
"Ahem." Max cleared his throat to make his presence known. "Maybe I should leave you two alone," he suggested as Georg and Maria looked up at him.
"Please do," Georg said with mock seriousness, and turned back to Maria for another kiss. But she laughed at him and motioned to Max to sit down.
Georg sighed, knowing he was defeated.
"Tell me what they said at the train station," Maria asked Georg, as Max sat down.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, of course." Georg had been so taken with the scene he'd found upon coming home, that he had for a moment forgotten what he had gone into town for.
"They told me that there is a boat for America from Genua every Saturday morning. It's only about four hours by train from Milan to Genua, and there are trains every day, so it should be a fairly easy journey."
Max looked at his friend.
"So you have really decided to go to America, Georg?" he asked. "You don't want stay here for the winter, see what happens?"
Georg shook his head. "Maria and I have discussed this, Max. We can't stay here forever; we need to start building a new life. The war is getting the whole continent into its grip and it will become increasingly more difficult to get out of Europe. We want to leave while we still can."
Maria nodded. She and Georg shared a quick glance, and Maria turned to face Max. "We understand if you want to stay here, but we were hoping that you'd. perhaps want to join us?"
"Well, I can't go back to Austria," Max thought aloud. "I'll be arrested the moment I cross the border." He looked from Georg to Maria and back.
"There must be enough singing talent in America for me to discover, I suppose."
Maria smiled a broad smile at him. "Plenty," she told him.
"We can stay here for a few more weeks," Georg continued, also looking happy with Max's decision. "Until Maria's ribs have healed completely. We'll have plenty of time to prepare ourselves."
At that moment, the kitchen door flew open and Friedrich and Louisa stumbled in, panting heavily.
"Father!" Friedrich cried out. "We saw Nazis in the village!"
Herr Zeller sat behind his desk in a small office in Salzburg's Town Hall, which had been made into the Nazi headquarters for the entire Salzburg Bundesland.
He was not pleased. Not pleased at all. For four days now, Zeller had been trying to find a trace of the Von Trapp family, but it seemed they had vanished into thin air. Nobody knew where they were, nobody had seen them.
He had tried to put together a list of people who had attended the wedding, hoping to find somebody who knew where the family had gone. With the use of some, as he called it, "gentle persuasion", he had managed to get quite a large number of names together. He had questioned the cream of Salzburg's residents, but it seemed that all his work had lead to nothing, and the thought that Captain von Trapp could be getting further away from him with each passing day infuriated him.
The only trace they had was the car that was stolen on the night the Von Trapps had disappeared. They had found it, driven into a ditch out of town. There had been blood on the passenger's seat, but Zeller was not sure what to make of it. He did believe that Captain von Trapp had stolen the car, but why then would he have left it only a few miles out of town? And who was hurt, the Captain, or his wife? And how on earth had they been able to disappear so completely if one of them was hurt?
"I'll get him," he muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth.
A knock on the door startled him.
"Enter," he called curtly, annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted.
A uniformed soldier entered his room.
"Heil Hitler," he saluted.
Zeller looked at the youngest member of his squad in disdain. "What do you want, Jürgen?" he snapped at him.
"Well sir, I have some information for you, sir, regarding Captain von Trapp."
This perked Zeller's interest, and he motioned for the young soldier to carry on.
"Well, sir, we have been checking the house of Nikolas Lang in Anif regularly. First, his family disappeared, and now he has been gone for a few days, as well."
Zeller frowned, uncomprehending. "What does that have to do with Captain von Trapp?" He was clearly annoyed.
"Sir, they are considered heroes in Salzburg! They served together in the war!"
"Heroes?!" Zeller spat, enraged at the word. But the impact of what the soldier told him quickly took over.
The young soldier looked taken aback at Zeller's outburst, but hesitantly continued.
"Well, this morning I was going through the reports that came in over the last few days, looking for something that could help us along. And I noticed that a soldier called Reinhard stopped two men and a sick woman at the barricade near Anif a few days ago, and with the blood you found in that car. and Nikolas Lang disappearing around the same time. I thought." His voice trailed off and he looked sideways at Zeller, suddenly feeling that his theory was terrible and that he'd certainly be punished for wasting Herr Zeller's time.
But Zeller's expression had changed. Jürgen's words were playing through his head and his mind was racing, putting it all together.
"Reinhard, you say?" he inquired of Jürgen.
"Yes sir, he's under Captain Nussbaum's command," the boy supplied, still wondering if he had done the right thing by coming to Zeller.
Zeller grabbed behind him for his coat and hat, already on his way to pay a visit to this Reinhard. As he looked up, he saw that Jürgen was still standing near the door.
He motioned his with his hand for him to leave. The boy saluted and, looking confused, quickly disappeared.
***
Maria looked up from the stove as she heard someone entering the kitchen. Georg walked up to her and greeted her with a kiss.
"Hello darling," she said, kissing him back. "Did you get the information from the station?"
"Yes, I'll show you later. What are you doing?" he asked, shooting a surprised glance at the pots and pans that were covering the table and counter. He walked over to Marta and Gretl, who were cleaning strawberries by the sink, and kissed them on the heads. They looked up at their father and smiled.
"Look Father, we have strawberries," Marta stated the obvious and beamed at him.
"I see, what a treat," he smiled. "And they're not even blue!" The girls giggled at this remark.
Then Georg turned to face Maria, who'd sat down, and raised his eyebrows at her.
"I decided to cook us a celebration dinner," she told him, explaining the state of the kitchen.
"Celebration dinner? What celebration?" He looked at her, not understanding.
"Well, we're safe, we're all together, I'm feeling much better. I'd say all of that is enough reason to celebrate, don't you?" Maria was smiling, but her voice was quite serious.
Georg nodded. She was right. After all they'd been through in the last few weeks, it surely was worth celebrating that they were all safe, and complete as a family.
He walked up to her and kneeled next to her chair. Cupping her face in one hand, he kissed her softly.
"Just don't overdo it," he told her gently. "You still need to take it easy."
"I've been getting plenty of help," Maria smiled, nodding at the two girls. "Liesl is upstairs changing the beds, and Friedrich and Louisa went into town to pick up some things from the market for me. I thought you might have run into them."
"No, I didn't see them," Georg answered, glad that the children were trying so hard to help Maria. He got up and peered into the oven, attracted by the smell that came from it. "Is that Apfelstrudel?"
"Max's favourite," Maria nodded. "He's done so much for us, it's the least I could do." She grinned.
"Mother?" came Marta's voice from the sink. "We're finished with the strawberries!"
Maria looked up at her two youngest daughters. "Thank you darlings," she said. "I don't think I have anything else to do for you. Why don't you go see what Uncle Max and Kurt and Brigitta are doing? You can tell them dinner will be ready in half an hour."
Georg pulled up a chair to sit next to his wife, and together they watched the two little ones run out of the kitchen, calling out for their brother and sister.
Georg put his hand over Maria's and squeezed it. As they shared a happy glance, he put her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"I love you," he said, and they leaned in for a kiss.
"Ahem." Max cleared his throat to make his presence known. "Maybe I should leave you two alone," he suggested as Georg and Maria looked up at him.
"Please do," Georg said with mock seriousness, and turned back to Maria for another kiss. But she laughed at him and motioned to Max to sit down.
Georg sighed, knowing he was defeated.
"Tell me what they said at the train station," Maria asked Georg, as Max sat down.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, of course." Georg had been so taken with the scene he'd found upon coming home, that he had for a moment forgotten what he had gone into town for.
"They told me that there is a boat for America from Genua every Saturday morning. It's only about four hours by train from Milan to Genua, and there are trains every day, so it should be a fairly easy journey."
Max looked at his friend.
"So you have really decided to go to America, Georg?" he asked. "You don't want stay here for the winter, see what happens?"
Georg shook his head. "Maria and I have discussed this, Max. We can't stay here forever; we need to start building a new life. The war is getting the whole continent into its grip and it will become increasingly more difficult to get out of Europe. We want to leave while we still can."
Maria nodded. She and Georg shared a quick glance, and Maria turned to face Max. "We understand if you want to stay here, but we were hoping that you'd. perhaps want to join us?"
"Well, I can't go back to Austria," Max thought aloud. "I'll be arrested the moment I cross the border." He looked from Georg to Maria and back.
"There must be enough singing talent in America for me to discover, I suppose."
Maria smiled a broad smile at him. "Plenty," she told him.
"We can stay here for a few more weeks," Georg continued, also looking happy with Max's decision. "Until Maria's ribs have healed completely. We'll have plenty of time to prepare ourselves."
At that moment, the kitchen door flew open and Friedrich and Louisa stumbled in, panting heavily.
"Father!" Friedrich cried out. "We saw Nazis in the village!"