Chapter Seven - August, 1944 – Closing In
"Mother, can I go to Berin and punch the Fuhrer in the face?"
Gretchen chuckled, and put an arm around Carl, congratulating him on never speaking his true feelings when he is at a Hitler Youth rally or something. He didn't fight like he had years ago, but she could tell he needed to let off steam like this at times. "I know it is hard. But, we are all doing a tremendous job. And, one day soon, we will have freedom.
Gretchen smiled, grateful that her children still knew how to have fun. They had devoted lots of energy to preparedness, but had she not insisted on them getting out and playing, sometimes they would spend so much time indoors, down in the basement, they would almost feel like prisoners themselves.
The fact that her husband had known about this for almost two years helped, too. He'd gotten 24-hour passes here and there – he would sometimes speak of going in to town even if he came home, just to make the prisoners think he wasn't spending as much time there. He also had gotten a few three-day ones, including this one. It was likely the last long stretch he would be home before the end of the war.
"The Allies are in Europe now," Schultz said merrily as he helped to give Moses a sponge bath. "I am sure by next summer, you will all be outside playing."
"I knew you would tell noone, Father," Carl said as he brought a fresh canister down for going to the bathroom. "It has been so good to have you help us."
"it is like I told someone once; there are some things I do not even tell myself," he said merrily. "There you go; you are nice and clean. Do you need me to read you a story?"
"Nein, maybe later," Moses said. As they all got dressed to go to bed, Schultz went upstairs, proud to be able to make at least a little difference. Things were going well. Almost too well, it seemed, though they didn't know it.
As Carl climbed up the rope ladder, and opened the trap door, Albert ran in and said, "Level Two." He knew that meant a car was pulling up, but it didn't look like Gestapo. Technically they still liked to stay on that level, even if only Schultz was there, but it wasn't needed.
Carl wondered who would be coming. Innumerable plans could be put into effect in a situation like this; the box plan to carry the children had really been unusual. Who would be coming, he wondered as he emptied the old container into the toilet and flushed. Would the Gestapo...no, he told himself, why think such a thing? They would be higher than level 2, that was for sure.
He knew someone could be informing them of the Gestapo's imminent appearance - certainly better than hearing them at the door - but they had heard of nothing suspicious, and seen nobody watching them. Besides, he'd learned that such warnings usually came via phone.
Still, recognizing that the Spirit could be guiding him, he walked to Heinrich and Heidi's room, where they played a little before getting their baths. "Keep your clothes on just in case, and mind the windows a little."
"Are we on level three?" Heinrich inquired. Carl told him they might wind up there. Indeed, just as the family had grown accustomed to watching windows out the corners of their eyes, they'd grown used to worry...no, that wasn't the right word. They knew they were prepared, and could flee quickly. A heightened state of readiness was a good phrase, their mother had said. It was like the precautions taken by a goalie as an attacker neared with the ball; they felt little fear over ringing telephones, or over anyone approaching them. Instead, they merely prepared, knowing what must be done, and reminded themselves of it when the time came.
Meanwhile, after a moment, a knock came on their door. Schultz didn't think of how rare it would be for someone to knock, so he just casually opened it. "Hello," he said pleasantly, presuming the elderly lady was one of Gretchen's friends.
"Mr. Schultz?" He was. "I came from a wedding, and tried to stop by to see your neighbor, Mrs. Mueller, and there was no answer. She is not in thehospital again, is she?" the lady asked worriedly; that had been the excuse a couple times for why she shouldn't come.
"Nein, Mrs. Mueller..." Schultz began. Oskar, hearing the name, put down his bible and yelled "boom" at the top of his lungs, hoping to stun his father into silence. He did; Schultz gave him a strange look as Oskar and Gretchen ran to the door. "Albert just took..she...was is los?"
"Oh, yes," Gretchen said sorrowfully, "so nice of you to come. I am sorry, we meant to call you, but we were too busy. She passed away last week."
"Oh, that is too bad," Hans remarked with genuine sadness, recalling that they always cared for her. "Wait a minute..." he started, eyes widening before Oskar shushed him heavily, preventing him from saying that the last two days, they had taken food into her house.
The friends from Berlin were disappointed. "Well, I can understand; she wasn't well, was she? You always took such good care of her, Dear."
"Danke. Thankfully…it was not a long illness. She was just in the hospital one day, and the next, she was gone." Yes, Gretchen said, gone. Gone, just as this ploy was now gone. But, it was a wonderful plan while it lasted. And, surprisingly, she found herself getting misty-eyed thinking of her, and how for several years after she was gone, Mrs. Mueller had helped keep people alive.
"Perhaps…you can send the obituary to us?"
"I will try…if I still have it, I hope I did not throw it out. I believe I still have your address, from when we would write to her." Hans backed away, going into the younger childrens' bedroom to tell them that Mrs. Mueller had now passed away, unsure of what else he could do and getting a knot in his stomach. Or, rather, an "I know noth-ing" in his stomach.
"Well…danke. If you did not save it it is no problem. At least I got to meet the neighbors who had helped her for several years. You have a wonderful family." She waved goodbye, and Gretchen closed the door.
Schultz was telling Carl, Heinrich, and Heidi that Mrs. Mueller was dead, but getting a little confused. "I know she was already supposed to be dead, but what I am saying is, well…she died several days ago, I think." He thought for a moment as Gretchen walked in. "No, because we took food to her earlier today, which would mean…"
"Hans, you think too hard. In this business, you improvise. Now, I am going to call the doctor, and then get her to the hospital."
"But…if she is already dead…"
Gretchen sighed. "Nein, nein. Hans, I gave her date of death as last week. I am not a doctor, so although I thought years ago that I could say I'd found her gone, I needed to have her in a hospital so it threw suspicion off of me. Now, we can blame the hospital for losing the records."
"Let me see if I have this straight. Mrs. Mueller is supposed to have died last week. So, a doctor signs a death certificate this week that says last week, even though we took food to her this week, and she did not die either week." When told he was right, he threw up his hands. "It is a good thing I know nothing about any of this; if I did, I would always have a headache."
Gretchen had had the doctor sign the certificate, and had the hospital given a copy of it, as was the funeral home. She called and lambasted the funeral home for their extreme inefficiency.
The next morning, a Monday, Heinrich and Heidi played in the living room, employed in their favorite game - "the watching game," as Gretchen termed it. They loved to battle to see who could spot something - a color, a shape, whatever - first. As they searched for something yellow, the boy spied a strange car.
Excited to have noticed the Gestapo before his sister, he shouted "Maybe Ahab." Heidi observed it pull up to the Mueller's, and both shouted "Ahab's car, Level Three."
Soon, Gretchen ran through the house, grabbing papers and speaking in code to Oskar, Albert and Carl. Since Heinrich spotted it first, Heidi ran to the basement steps, where Carl raced down with her. Others scurried everywhere, and the commotion was such Hans expected Colonel Hogan to pop out of a cupboard from a secret tunnel.
Gretchen rapidly calculated several options. She knew Hans could be a hindrance to the children escaping if they all left at once. Also, the original plan stood even with Hans there and in the loop; if need be, Gretchen would draw the Gestapo's attention while the kids got away, and if there were no further problems, she would call them back, or they would flee with them.
Therefore, as Albert descended through the trap door and Oskar gathered several items, she instructed Heinrich "tell them I say 'level four,' use emergency two and wait at Esther's."
"Wass is los, wass is los," Hans wondered incredulously as Heinrich obeyed and Oskar followed, glancing back at his mother, whom he hated to leave under any circumstance. As the others disappeared, and Gretchen went out their front door, Hans recalled that he hadn't seen Albert depart. He checked in each bedroom and the bathroom, however, and found nobody. "What is going on here," he asked himself, quickly recalling times when prisoners would swiftly disappear. Only then did he recall the trap door. He really wished he could help, but they knew all the codes and plans, not him.
Heinrich speedily called down the orders as the Rubin children scampered toward the exit, with Albert leading them. Albert slowly lifted the rainwater barrel, peeking out before exiting. This evacuation proceeded on a slower pace than it would at Level Five, only because Level Four didn't necessarily mean the Gestapo were at the door; Level Five almost required that. The main crux was that Level Five required immediate flight to freedom, but that part didn't affect this part of the operation. Of course, Oskar could always bring a secondary command as he descended; to advance to Level Five, to call out positions, or to use or not use the box.
Carl and Heidi were next, and they helped Isaac and Moses up. Heinrich, Micah, and Oskar followed while Albert peered around to determine if anyone noticed them; they were on the other side of the house from Mrs. Mueller's. They remained unseen, so Oskar moved in front and led them through numerous back yards, their own bodies surrounding the Rubins' as best they could, using Albert's formation.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil," Oskar recited confidently, boosting everyone's spirit. "The Lord is with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Numerous other verses were spoken as they walked to the Hoovers'. The escape had been nearly flawless. Given time to think, Carl was a little concerned, but he kept muttering "greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world," and slowly became calmer.
Several seconds later, Hans checked downstairs. No children were present, no matter where he looked, thanks to the concealing of the tunnel entrance. He slowly backed away, whining "I see nothing, nothing!"
Gretchen, meanwhile, had walked over to Mrs. Mueller's. "Good morning," she spoke calmly to the men, "what brings you here today?"
With a condescending voice, one agent remarked that "we have come to see about Mrs. Mueller. There was no record of her death at the funeral home."
Gretchen nodded sadly, flailing a hand. "All the best men are at the front," she lamented as a two other agents looked around inside. "I called the funeral home myself and gave them a good tongue lashing for the way they treated our friend."
"Yes, they told us you were quite..." It took him a moment to think of the word. "Abrasive, I believe he said."
"I am sorry if they were hurt, it is just that I spend my whole time correcting my children, and making sure they treat the elderly with respect." She laughingly recalled something her husband had written once. "Hans, that is my husband, he says he often thinks of me during bayonet practice."
Coldly, with a look that said he could read her very thoughts, the agent asserted, "I know, we read that letter he sent you, one of many." The tone sent shivers down Gretchen's spine, though she hid it well. After they spoke for a few more minutes, he said, "Very well. That will be all for now, we will look at Mrs. Mueller's a second, and contact you if there is anything further."
"It will be nice to have new neighbors," commented Gretchen neutrally. Inside, she considered that their time may have run out in Heidelberg. Should we go right now, she wondered. No, they are waiting several hours, unless I call. I don't want them to go without me, and yet I don't know if Hans will come - no, I want to save Hans, too, so I had better stay. If we all go people will wonder why, and question him about his own loyalty or whatever. Besides, there might be nobody in that house until the war ends, she soothed herself.
Oskar, meanwhile, led his group several blocks to the Hoovers'. After much discussion, they had developed a formation wherein the children would walk so that nobody could gain a clear view of them. This required a good deal of position-shifting, of course, which had to look playful. As they prepared to round the corner, Oskar spied a motionless car with a person inside and froze, his hands telling the others to do the same. Could it be the Gestapo, he asked himself. Possessing false credentials, he determined that he could probably ask those in the car for directions. On the other hand, he assumed the Hoovers would know they were being watched, and could tell their mother if their phone wasn't tapped. The Jewish children trembled slightly, with Carl, Heinrich, and Heidi holding their hands. They were all in this together now.
Oskar instructed Albert, "go borrow a cup of sugar." The others walked to a nearby pine tree and stood behind it. Now, the tree was behind the Rubin children, with the Schultz's in front. Oskar knew Albert could be trusted to ask without showing signs of panic. Meanwhile, he wished to be the one leading the group should other dangers arise.
The thought that their closest contact - and his mother's greatest helper - could be discovered disturbed him, but he reminded himself and the slightly trembling youths of the Lord's promise, that He had overcome the world. He reinforced that through the Lord, they, too, could overcome this, while he himself tried to sound certain of it.
Albert obeyed and crossed the street while the others spoke of the weather and of various birds. He confidently trod up to the door, rapping on it to the tune of Beethoven's ninth. As Mr. Hoover opened it, he spoke. "I need to borrow a cup of sugar for Mrs. Gruber's special pies. There is a man outside who would love a piece," he stated much more lowly.
Mr. Hoover, unaccustomed to the Schultz's entire repertoire of codes, thought a moment before recognizing to whom he referred. "Yes, my wife will get it, please step inside." As Albert stepped in, Oskar exhaled deeply, wondering if the younger children really grasped the situation's gravity. Well, probably Carl does, though Oskar, but I don't know with the others.
As Albert stood in the foyer, Mr. Hoover motioned him into the kitchen. "You did not have a cup with you, I will give you one."
"As long as it could have been in my shirt," he remarked, his demeanor making him seem like a master spy. This confidence arose from his planning, for he had rehearsed endlessly for this and other events. As much as his siblings teased him about constant practices, those were nothing compared to what went on inside his head. And yet, he also knew he'd done a good job of not forcing it on everyone. They were making it enjoyable, too. "Have they watched you long?"
"A couple days. Not because of your friends, because of some...other work, my work. My wife handles the duties with the Jews," Mr. Hoover explained as he poured it. "Run along, they will wonder why you were in here so long otherwise."
"Mother is supposed to call if we can go home safely; your phone is not tapped?"
"We are not gone to let them tap it." He further remarked that "my wife is sending contacts word to steer clear of her for a few days, till the heat dies down. I do not believe they have anything concrete on us. The others may flee toward Sweden."
Gretchen informed the Gestapo agent that she needed to pick up her children from a friend's. She ignored her husband's confused questions, though she promised to explain once she got back. However, a call to the Hoovers' informed her that the children were at a further checkpoint, several miles away. "There are Gestapo agents watching, so they wanted to be careful. Albert borrowed a cup of sugar and we told them we radioed...well, Hans' friend," came Frederick, almost giving the man's regular code name.
"It seems strange, thinking of them going all that way," Gretchen mused. At least the children have practiced going those couple miles now, she told herself.
Gretchen called the storekeeper, who promised to tell her children, who had just arrived. "Hans," she remarked, turning toward her husband with uncertainty. Should she invite him? Or ask him to get help? "I know things have looked bizarre today, thank you for going along..."
The fat guard held up a hand. "Please, I have been in enough of these situations to know when it is time to know noth-ing."
She decided to take him with her. Gretchen observed the children with a small tinge of anxiety. She hoped nobody would stop them along these couple miles going back. Just in case, she told Hans to "go with the name 'Gruber' if we give it." Thankfully, no roadblocks existed, but this simply caused the lady to become more frazzled.
Hans, choosing to "hear, see, and know nothing," intentionally kept himself ignorant, playing with the children and enjoying the remaining hours with them. An unexpected calm seemed to prevail over the entire family; even the Jewish children felt more at ease. Gretchen appreciated the efforts Hans made, and his concerns. Hans, meanwhile, felt excited, though he hoped that he wouldn't' have to remember any codes..
Several days after Schultz returned to camp, the Hoovers announced they were back in business - for the time being, anyway. The calm which followed, however, was merely the eye of the hurricane. The most frightful part of their ordeal would soon commence. A couple weeks after that, a Gestapo agent moved next door, as a vacant home was needed by the government for one. The children remained on Level Three as the new neighbor and Gretchen spoke. He hadn't sounded overly aggressive. However, his warning tone about being sure they wouldn't try anything treasonous made her quite anxious.