“Not too badly, considering,” she replied.
“Come, child,” Licht said. “Let’s go to my office. We can talk in private.”
Gottlieb Lehrer was already there. He stood as soon as he saw Elise.
“Elise, this is Gottlieb Lehrer. Gottlieb, Nurse Elise Hess.”
“Guten tag,” Elise said. She looked at him closely. “Haven’t we—”
“—we met at the party,” Gottlieb said. “Yes—Clara Hess’s party. You assisted my girlfriend when she fainted. I’m grateful for your help, gnädiges Fräulein.”
“Of course,” Elise said, taking a seat.
“You’re Clara Hess’s daughter?” Gottlieb shook his head. “I don’t envy you.”
“And your escort that night, Margareta Hoffman—is she really your girlfriend, or one of us?”
Gottlieb smiled thinly. “The less you know, Fräulein Hess, the safer you are.”
Father Licht put his elbows on his desk and made a steeple of his hands. “Elise, Gottlieb is one of the people I work with on various projects, including transporting Jews to safety in Switzerland.”
“Really?” Elise said, leaning forward. “How have you been able to manage that?”
“I’ve been working with Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the Abwehr,” Gottlieb replied. “In short, the German reputation for mistreating Jews has started to get out and Goebbels wants to control Germany’s image. And so, to counteract this, we select some Jews to go to Switzerland, talk about how wonderfully they’re treated, how excited they are to go to Poland and then Madagascar—and then, well, somehow they just disappear.”
“Disappear?” Elise frowned.
“Of course we make sure they’re provided with money, papers, safe houses, and so on,” Gottlieb assured her. “We’ve been able to get a number of Jews out this way but not enough. And we can’t keep it up forever.”
“Well, I have two men I need to get out—what assistance can you offer?”
“We’re aware of the great sacrifice you’re making, Elise, and we’re looking into different safe houses. A more secure solution than Clara Hess’s attic,” Licht said.
Gottlieb whistled through his teeth. “You have two hideaways staying with you? Were they there during the party?”
“One was,” Elise admitted. “Hide in plain sight, as they say. What can you do for them?”
“We’re looking into various options, Elise. But I also want to talk to you both about the so-called children’s euthanasia program at Charité. Gottlieb,” the priest said. “Nurse Hess has worked with some of the patients at Charité murdered at Hadamar as part of that program. She is an eyewitness.”
“Ah,” Gottlieb said. He crossed himself.
Elise did as well. “The horrors I’ve witnessed are burned into my brain and my heart,” she said. “I will never forget—never. And as long as I have breath, I will make sure what these child murderers are doing will come to light.”
“You saw the actual crime—did you see any of the paperwork?”
“Some,” Elise said. “They’re quite cagey about it—using the names of fake staff members for letters, lying directly to the parents. I tried to copy some of the more incriminating files, but they’re now under lock and key.”
“What about the administrative offices?”
“The administrative offices?”
“Yes, all the higher-ups are at the Chancellery, part of the so-called State and Party Affairs, located at Tiergartenstrasse Four.”
“I work at Charité,” Elise said and shrugged. “I think that’s my best bet for access to paperwork. Although now the file rooms are triple-padlocked. The administrators in charge of records seem to have caught on to me. Now they’re going to great lengths to conceal evidence.”
Licht closed his eyes in silent prayer.
“I’ll keep trying,” Elise said, realizing that every day that passed, more children would be bused to Hadamar. “And I’ll pray to St. Jude,” Gottlieb said.
“Why, thank you so much for your vote of confidence,” she replied, hoping her sarcastic tone was not lost on him.
“Elise, did you know that, before the war, Gottlieb was studying to be a priest?” Father Licht intervened, before the young man could answer.
“And I was going to be a nun! Still plan on taking my vows after the war is over.”
Gottlieb scowled. Elise, with her Rhine maiden curves and dancing blue eyes, didn’t strike him as someone likely to become a nun. But she was used to such looks. “Let me guess,” she said to him. “Jesuit?”