Page 73 of Shadows In Paris
‘Is it safe for us to stay here tonight, do you think?’ Lizzie asked.
‘It’s about as safe as anywhere. We need to get off the streets, message Jack, and arrange a new pickup for you. Now tell me what you’ve been up to. When I saw you coming out of the German High Command. I could barely believe my eyes!’
Lizzie explained how she had got onto the cleaning team with Celine. ‘When you didn’t make the meeting yesterday, and didn’t return home either, I knew I had to get in there and see if you were alright.’
‘But I could have been anywhere,’ Hannah said.
‘That’s what Philippe said.’ Lizzie laughed. ‘But I had a feeling something had gone wrong at work.’
‘You were right. He was onto me, and I made the almost fatal error of allowing him to lure me into his private rooms.’
Hannah told Lizzie what happened. ‘He knew I was working with someone, so I had no choice but to kill him.’
‘And in what dramatic style!’ Lizzie said, her eyes wide. ‘I was terrified I was going to find you locked in the cupboard, but I should have known better.’
‘That bastard nearly got me,’ Hannah said. ‘It was the closest I’ve come to being caught in a long time. He was smarter than I realised.’
Hannah pulled a rug to one side and poked about on the floor until her fingers found a crack which she pulled, and a tile moved, revealing a space beneath. She bent down and heaved a big dusty bag from the hole, placing it on the table. Lizzie watched as she opened the bag and pulled out a wireless.
‘You are like a genie with a lamp!’ Lizzie said. ‘I never know what you’ve got hidden where.’
‘We have a few backup radios. Can’t rely on one safe house or I’d be long since dead. It’s the only way to outfox the Boche.’
Lizzie fumbled in her handbag and extracted her copy ofThe Count of Monte Cristo. ‘I’d better let Jack know we’re alive.’
CHAPTER 38
Hannah crossed to the window to check there were no ominous vehicles lurking outside. Moving safe house was always dangerous, but they had pushed their luck at the farmhouse and couldn’t stay any longer. On the way to work on the last day, she had taken anything vital with her and lodged some of it in a hiding place.She had several secret spots she used to store identity papers, money, and disguise props. Hannah left nothing incriminating behind.
Lizzie barely had any stuff and had brought her critical items with her. The wireless was hidden in the secret compartment, and they hoped no one would find it.
As soon as Lizzie was safely on the plane to England, Hannah planned to get out of Paris. She’d left a marking on Philippe’s mailbox to warn him to lay low for a while. Hannah scratched her forehead. The wig was itchy, and she longed to remove it, but she must stay in disguise until she was far away. Her face throbbed, and her lips were cracked. The carefully applied makeup covered the damage the Nazipig had done to her, but it didn’t stop the sting and the soreness of his merciless slaps and punches.
Hans was arrogant until the final moments of his life. When she’d bitten his most treasured possession, she’d taken full advantage of his weakness. She knew she would have to kill him.
Not that she regretted it for a minute, but it was obvious her undercover mission at German High Command was over, and he must die. It was him or her.
She had aimed her gun with the silencer at him, her hand steady, and released three shots. As the bullets ripped into him, two in his chest, and the third in his head, she said, ‘This one’s for Francois. This one is for my parents. And this one is for all the Jewish families you’ve persecuted and murdered.’
Hannah felt no emotion about killing Hans. He was evil and one less Nazi in the world would make it a better place. She knew from all the reports she had read that Hans was responsible for hundreds of deaths, and she had witnessed firsthand how he relished his work.
She turned from the window to see Lizzie watching her.
‘Are you alright?’ Lizzie asked. ‘You’ve had a tough few days.’
Hannah nodded. ‘I did what needed to be done. I thought about killing him before I even took the job. He is the very definition of Hitler’s henchmen, glorifying in the murder of Jews and anyone else who gets in their way.’ Hannah paused, then continued. ‘Francois is dead. I picked up a message from a contact at the morgue.’
Lizzie blanched. ‘I am so sorry, Hannah. What a good man he was. How unfair.’
‘It was as we suspected. He died from his wounds the day they shot him. That’s why no one came after us.’
Lizzie and Hannah looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Hannah said it first. ‘But they will come afterus now. The major general was a high-profile figure.’ Hannah remembered the dead body tied to the chair in the cupboard and hoped it was still there.
‘Yes, we need to get away as quickly as possible. His brother saw me as we were leaving. He came to visit him.’
Hannah’s eyes widened. ‘Merde. What happened?’
Lizzie explained how they’d escaped.
