Berlin, Das Brauhaus
July 21, 1944, 1445 hours

Heidi was serving drinks to a table of Wehrmacht officers when she saw the two men, clad in the black uniforms of the SS, enter the Brauhaus and walk over to the bar. She kept an eye on them as she set the full steins of beer on the table, and when she saw Max point in her direction, she almost dropped one of the steins into the lap of a startled Colonel.

"Be careful!" the Colonel shouted as he brushed a few splashes from his jacket.

"Sorry," Heidi said, smiling and pulling out her rag to wipe the top of the table.

"Excuse me, are you Heidi Kaufmann?" one of the SS men asked as they arrived at the table.

Heidi straightened up abruptly. "Ja, I am Heidi," she replied nervously.

"Could you step over here for a moment, we would like to have a word with you," the man said, indicating an empty booth along the wall.

Heidi nodded and started to move towards the table indicated, but the Wehrmacht Colonel grabbed her arm. "Hey, you need to wipe this table first," he said angrily.

"She will wipe it when we are through talking with her," the SS man said.

"But the beer … it is dripping over the edge of the table," the Colonel exclaimed.

The SS man reached over and took the rag from Heidi's hand and tossed it to the Colonel. "Then I suggest you wipe it up," he said. The harsh tone in his voice warned the Colonel that he'd better say no more … and the Colonel heeded that warning and began wiping the table.

Heidi walked over to the empty booth followed by the two SS men. She took a seat and waited while one of the SS men sat across from her.

"We are looking for Major Hans Teppel," the SS man said. "Do you know him?"

Heidi nodded. "Ja, I know him," she replied.

"When was the last time you saw him?" he asked.

"Yesterday," she replied truthfully. "He came in here briefly and then left."

"Do you know where he is now?" he asked.

Heidi shook her head. "Nein," she replied.

"Did you talk to him while he was here yesterday?" he asked.

Heidi took a deep breath to mask her growing fear. Everything she was about to say was a lie, and even though she had rehearsed it in her mind many times that morning, she knew it was going to take all of her acting ability to be convincing enough for these men. "Ja, I talked to him," she said bitterly. "And I do not ever want to talk to him again!"

The SS man looked surprised for a moment. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because he's a schwein!" she spat. "He told me he loved me – and made me believe him. And then yesterday he comes in and tells me he cannot see me anymore." She paused and took a deep breath. "He made up some lie about being transferred to another city."

"That is a lie," he replied. "Major Teppel was not being transferred."

"Of course it is a lie!" she said forcefully. "A woman knows when she is being taken advantage of!"

The SS man was taken aback by her outburst, but continued to calmly ask questions. "How was Major Teppel taking advantage of you?" he asked.

Heidi glared at the SS man. "You men are all the same," she said angrily. "I suppose you think it is all right for a man to prey upon the virtue of a woman like me and then move on to another when he is tired of it?"

The SS man looked uncomfortable. "Um, did Major Teppel ever say anything that could be considered traitorous?" he asked.

"All he said was lies!" Heidi said loudly. "He told me loved me. He told me I was the only woman for him. He told me he could not live without me. And what does he do? He leaves me!" She took a few angry breaths. "And I know where he went!"

The SS man looked surprised. "You do?" he asked. "Maybe you can tell me."

"He took off with another woman!" she said.

The SS man tried to suppress a small laugh and ended up coughing. "Ah, I see," he said politely. "Well I think we have taken up enough of your time. If you happen to see Major Teppel …"

"If I happen to see him, I will kill him!" she said.

The SS man rose from the table. "Fraulein Kaufmann, if you see Major Teppel, please tell us," he said.

Heidi sat frozen in the booth watching the SS men walk out the door. She was surprised to think that her outburst had worked, but also scared – very scared – of what the SS men would do to her if they found out she was lying. She slowly got up and walked to the bar where Max was waiting. "Max, I need a few minutes to myself," she said softly.

"I could not help overhearing what you said," Max replied. "Heidi, I am sorry. Major Teppel had me fooled as well." He looked at Heidi with eyes that were full of sympathy. "Go. Take as much time as you need. I will cover for you out here."

"Danke, Max," she said. She slowly walked through the kitchen and into the small storage room. She locked the door behind her then slumped on the floor in the corner. Burying her face in her hands, she began crying. "Oh God, what have I got myself into?"