“Max, the Davisons don’t want me handing over their money until I check to see that the visas are correct. Go get the visas and let’s finish this thing. Just like we did the other times.”
Max turned his head from side to side, scanning the forest. “I don’t like the way this is going down,” he said in a surly tone. “I smell a rat.”
Bruchstein chuckled. “Max, you’re getting paranoid. Let’s make the exchange, get it over with and let me get back into camp. It’s cold out here.”
Max shook his head. “Nah. This isn’t right. I can feel it.” He turned and darted back to the car. As he opened the door, he was tackled from the side by an MP. Donnelly and his men quickly surrounded him. One of the MPs searched the car and came out holding two visas. “Aaron Davison and Yetta Davison, just like the man ordered.”
Eli came out of the woods and walked slowly toward the group.
With his hands cuffed behind his back, Max said, “Eli Rosen. Son of a bitch. I should have known. You’re always around when bad luck happens.”
* * *
Back at the administration office, Donnelly said, “All right, Eli, you have ten minutes.” He left and shut the door behind him.
Maximilian looked around the small office, uttered a snort and said, “You are one ungrateful bastard. After all I did for your family.”
“Which members of my family, Maximilian? My father, who was bludgeoned and shot to death by the Jew Hunters that you sent? My brother and his family, who were taken to Belzec with the entire Judenrat to be murdered? My sister-in-law, for whom we paid you ten thousand zloty to have released? Or would it be Esther, whom you swore to protect, swore to me even after you knew she had been shipped away? Which ones should I be grateful for, Maximilian?”
“I protected them all for as long as I could. I’m not the one to blame, you know. The SS command made the decision to close the Lipowa camp. What could I do about it?”
“That night when you gave me the keys to the truck, when I went home for my two-day visit, you and Globočnik ordered the ORPO to take Esther and lock her up in Lipowa. You also sent the Jew Hunters to grab my son.”
Maximilian shrugged. “My priorities changed. I needed leverage. I knew you were never going to come back to Lodz voluntarily. Talk about breaking promises—you were going to take your wife and son and leave me holding the bag in a brickyard that I couldn’t possibly run. Admit it, you were tossing me to the wolves. I had to protect myself. I didn’t know your father would be there.”
“Where is Esther?”
Maximilian sneered. “Well, maybe she’s still sitting at a sewing machine at Lipowa.”
Eli’s fist shot out and caught him flush on the mouth, knocking him off the chair and onto the floor. Eli reached down, grabbed a fistful of Maximilian’s shirt, lifted him to his feet and threw him into a chair.
“Wrong answer, asshole. Where is Esther?”
Maximilian sat back and wiped the blood off his lip. “Where is Esther? Where is Esther? And if I tell you?”
“Then you’ll live.”
Maximilian smiled and shook his head. “Empty threat, Eli. You’re not going to kill me. The MPs are standing outside the door waiting for you to finish.” He lowered his voice and said, “Maybe you and I can make a deal? Like old times? I can get you a couple of visas, free passes into the U.S. I can do it, you know; I have influential friends in the States. High up in government. Way high up. So how about it? Can we work something out?”
“Where’s Esther?”
Maximilian rubbed his jaw. “Where’s Esther today? I couldn’t possibly know. When they closed Lipowa, they split up the women. Some were sent to work camps, but most were … well, some unfortunately were sent to Majdanek.”
Eli’s face turned red. “Majdanek! Majdanek was a death camp. Those who were still alive in November 1943 were murdered in Aktion Erntefest. Forty thousand Jews in a single day! That’s how you protected my wife?”
Maximilian shrugged. “I didn’t say Esther was sent to Majdanek. I said most of them were. Some were sent elsewhere. There was a deportation list with names and destinations.”
“You bastard. You had to see the list. Where was Esther sent?”
He smiled. “You know, I just can’t remember right now. My memory is foggy.”
In a flash, Eli hit him again, knocking him back onto the floor. “You dare to smile?”
“Hey,” Maximilian shouted. “Hey, help me in here. Help! This man’s gone crazy.”
Eli shook his head. “My ten minutes isn’t up yet.”
“This is a waste of your time. Don’t you understand? I have connections. I’ve always had connections. This farce is going nowhere.”
“How are you still alive? I saw you being led out of Globočnik’s office. You were as good as dead.”
“True, but Globočnik sent me back to Zörner for further prosecution in the counterfeit Ausweis scheme. There were three others involved. He told Zörner to dispose of me.”
“And Zörner was your buddy.”
Maximilian nodded. “I had put a lot of money in his pocket, not to mention the few young ladies in his bed.”
“You filthy pig. Where’s Esther?”
“No matter how many times you hit me, I’m going to tell you the same thing: I don’t know.”
Major Donnelly opened the door. Eli knew he had gone as far as he could. Maximilian might know about Esther—he probably did—but he wasn’t about to give it up. Eli stood over him. “Who is your contact in the U.S.? Who’s supplying you with visas?”
“Go fuck yourself. That’s the last card I have left in my hand. I’m certainly not giving it to you.”
Eli shook his head. “He’s all yours, Major.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
FÖHRENWALD DP CAMP
AMERICAN ZONE
FEBRUARY 1947
Eli took a seat at the breakfast table. Adinah was at the stove making pancakes for Izaak. Eli laid his winter coat over the empty chair.
“Where are you going today, Papa?”
“I’m headed back to the U.S. Army garrison at Garmisch. Just for the day. Do you remember Maximilian Poleski from Lublin?”
“I think so. He was a tall, skinny guy with a pointy nose. He was always dressed real fancy when he came to the brickyard. Grandpa didn’t like him. Neither did Mama. She called him a snake.”
Eli nodded. “I’m afraid they were both right. He was a very dishonest man. Do you remember when I went to Landsberg two months ago with Major Donnelly?” Izaak nodded. “We were there to arrest Maximilian.”
“What did he do?”
Eli paused for a moment to consider how to answer the question, put his arm around Izaak and said, “A very, very long list of dishonest acts. But today he goes before a judge. He will receive formal charges, and they will set him for a trial before a military tribunal to answer for his crimes.”
* * *
The sun was shining and the road to Garmisch was clear. As he drove south, thoughts played out in Eli’s mind like the pages of a photo album: Lublin, Esther, his father, Louis, Zörner, Globočnik and the endless string of Maximilian betrayals. Now he would finally be brought to justice. Still, Eli felt a deep sense of disappointment. He had longed for the opportunity to confront Maximilian, to learn what had happened to Esther, but when the opportunity arrived, it was wholly unsatisfying. Maximilian showed no remorse and provided no information about Esther. She was right all along. Maximilian had no backbone, no integrity, no morals. Now he would serve his time.