Page 92 of Whispers At Dawn
The message said the driver and the informant will not be a problem, and they will monitor names from the notebook. All other loose ends are tied. Angel delivered the package to St. Girons. Whatever that means,’ she said, fixing a hard stare on Lizzie.
‘What a relief. There was so much to clean up after we had to fly out unexpectedly like that.’
‘And what was the package?’ Val asked.
‘Hannah came to drive the airmen to the border, but obviously plans changed by the time she arrived. It would havebeen a wasted journey, so she smuggled out the doctor who treated the airman.’
Val’s expression was glum. ‘Jewish?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘The statutes are just as oppressive under the Vichy regime as they are in Nazi occupied territory.’
Val didn’t reply. Later that day, when Lizzie filed the copy of her superior’s report, she noticed there was no mention of Angel’s extracurricular activities.
Some things were better left unsaid.
Lizzie let herself into Jack’s flat with her key and shook her umbrella in the hall. The rain was coming down hard, and it reminded her of the storm at the château. It was a shame she’d had to leave her reversible raincoat behind. Perhaps it would be waiting for her one day when they visited Luc after the war.
Jack heard her enter and called out from the bedroom.
She ran to the bed and leaned down to hug him. He groaned.
‘Oh sorry, darling, does it still hurt? I’ll have to remember to be gentle with you whilst you recuperate.’
‘I’ll be good as new soon. Sore, that’s all.’
Lizzie said she’d brought him a piece of war cake from home to cheer him up. ‘My mother calls youmy captain, you know.’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘She’s not wrong. I am lost when you’re gone. It’s strange without you beside me at night.’
‘For me too. Takes me ages to fall asleep. Still, at least there were no bloody air raids to deal with.’
‘Yes, the Boche seem to have laid off London. The Blitz stopped whilst we were away.’
‘All okay with your mother?’ Lizzie asked.
A shadow crossed Jack’s face. ‘I called her, and she sounded fine.’
‘Will you tell her you saw Luc?’
Jack lit a cigarette. ‘I wish I could, but I’d be breaking the Official Secrets Act.’
Lizzie sat beside Jack on the bed and studied his face as her emotions collided. His muscled bare chest was bronzed from working in the vineyards, and his shoulder was bound. ‘You look like a wounded soldier.’
‘I’m fine. How are you?’
‘The end of the mission was a whirlwind. It could have gone very differently. I keep thinking about how I could have lost you.’
‘I think he intended only to wound me so he could take me alive. British spies posing as French citizens and related to Luc Saint-Clair. We would have been a big catch for the Vichy regime. More valuable alive than dead.’
‘Ah, that makes sense. He wanted to be the hero and impress the commissaire and the Gestapo bully.’
A vision of the dying veteran flashed in front of her eyes.
‘I know that look. What’s troubling you, darling?’ Jack said as he studied her face.
‘Did I kill him for nothing?’ she asked.
‘No, of course not. He was a nasty piece of work. If you hadn’t shot him, Lev or Hannah would have finished him off seeing as I was out of action. You saw his notebook with all the names of innocent people his informants were spying on.’
