“Eli? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Did she die at Ravensbrück?”
“No, not at Ravensbrück. We went through Ravensbrück records. Although they’re not complete, there are records from 1943, and we found no mention of Esther Rosen in any of the records: intake, transfer, totenbuch. We determined that she never entered the camp.”
“But, Ann…”
“Then we decided to check the Lublin records, especially those for the Lipowa labor camp, which the Nazis called Lindenstrasse. Beginning in 1942 and continuing to November 1943, Lipowa workers were routinely transported or marched to Majdanek. There is no record of sending those women to Ravensbrück.”
Eli interrupted again. “But Esther would have been a special exception. She was being protected by a Nazi collaborator. She could have been sent to Ravensbrück irrespective of the other Lipowa workers.”
“She would have been noted on the intake records, and her name is not there.”
“You don’t understand. She was under the protection of a man who had contacts with Commandant Zörner and Brigadeführer Globočnik. He was connected to the highest levels of the Nazi command. He could have arranged for Esther to be sent anywhere. He gave me a note that said Ravensbrück. Why would he do that if it wasn’t so? I’m pretty sure…”
“Eli, Eli … she didn’t make it. I’m so sorry, Eli, but Esther did not survive. I reviewed the Majdanek records for the women transported in 1942, specifically those transfers from Lublin and Lipowa. I found her name on a deportation list for October 1942. That transport went to the Majdanek camp. Those women … it was a killing center, Eli. They all perished. I’m so sorry.”
Eli stared at the telephone, at the black handset that had delivered the news. It had been five years since he had seen Esther, five years since he had held her or heard her voice, yet for him she was alive until this very moment.
“Eli, are you still there?”
His response was soft and slow. “What do I tell my son?”
“I wish I had an answer for you.”
Eli exhaled. “Thank you, Ann. I appreciate the work you did and that you made a personal call.”
“You take care, Eli.”
Adinah was hanging sheets on the line when she spotted Eli walking home. His gait was slow, his shoulders slumped, his eyes were red. Adinah dropped her laundry and ran to him. “Eli?”
It took effort, but he finally said, “She’s dead, Adinah. They murdered my Esther.”
“Oh, Eli,” Adinah cried. She put her arms around him and walked him into the house.
“I have to tell Izaak,” he said.
“Do you?”
“He needs to know the truth. I’ve always been honest with him.”
“Please, Eli, tell him only that she didn’t survive. Spare him the details. Don’t let his mind form a picture of his mother in that way. He has beautiful memories. Don’t let that gruesome image creep into his mind. Not now. Not at this young age.”
Eli nodded and walked back to Izaak’s room. A few minutes later, Izaak burst out of his room, running to Adinah, arms wide open, tears flowing. He sat on her lap while she cradled him and rocked him back and forth.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
ALBANY PARK
CHICAGO
ALBANY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
FEBRUARY 1966
Mimi braved the bitter winds and headed off on the five-block walk to Congressman Zielinski’s Albany Park residence. Once again, she was on a mission to plant a listening device and delude a woman who had shown her nothing but kindness since she was a child. She had strained to conjure up another pretext a mere three days after she had popped in unexpectedly with Christine’s sweater. She finally decided that returning a book was the best solution. Mimi and Christine had often exchanged books. That might also provide a reason to enter Vittie’s office. She could put the book onto the bookshelf and, in the process, hide the device.
She settled on Bel Kaufman’s Up the Down Staircase, which topped the bestseller lists the previous summer and was a fun read for the two of them. She remembered when Christine brought the book over and urged her to read it. They had chuckled about the tribulations of the dedicated first-year high school teacher and her students who couldn’t care less. She remembered the night they sat around and cast the principal characters with Von Steuben teachers and classmates, laughing until their sides hurt.
As she approached the driveway, she noticed a white Commonwealth Edison truck parked in front of the neighbor’s house. Pretty cold night for emergency service, she thought. Pretty cold night for lying to a lovely, unsuspecting woman. Pretty cold night for anything.
“Mimi! It’s great to see you again, but what brought you out on this nasty night?” Vera said, taking Mimi’s coat. Mimi glanced to the right and noticed that the light was on in Vittie’s office.
“I don’t mean to trouble you, Vera, but I forgot to bring this with me when I came by earlier in the week. Do you remember how much Chrissie loved Up the Down Staircase?”
“Oh Lord, yes. She urged me to read it, but I didn’t get the same enjoyment out of it that you two did.”
“This book belonged to her. It has her name written on the inside cover. I thought you should have it. It might bring back happy memories.”
“How thoughtful. Would you like some tea to warm you up on this bitter evening?”
“That would be very nice; thank you.” As Vera left for the kitchen, Mimi slipped into the office. A cabinet door was ajar, and Mimi could see that there were several green-bound ledger books stacked inside. “Well, lookie here,” she said to herself, “and now to get the replacement device onto the shelf.” She opened her purse, and a voice behind her said, “What in the hell are you doing in here?”
She spun around to see Michael Stanley, arms folded across his chest, peering down at her through his wire-framed glasses. A hawk on a branch.
“It’s not your concern,” Mimi said, quickly clasping her purse.
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. If you’re in this office, it’s my concern. If you’re in this house, it’s my concern. What are you doing in here? What are you looking for?”
“I don’t have to answer to you. I don’t work for you. I’m a guest in this house.” She turned to walk out the door, but Stanley stepped in front of her.
“Let me by.”
“What are you doing in my office?”
“Since when is it your office?” she said boldly, clutching her purse.
Stanley’s face broke into a satanic grin. “Are you looking for this?” He held up the first listening device and waved it in front of Mimi’s face. “I found this little thing sitting on the shelf yesterday. Imagine that.”
“It’s got nothing to do with me. Now let me go.”
Stanley stared. “What are you holding on to so dearly? What’s in your bag? Hand it over.” He reached for the purse with one hand and grabbed Mimi’s wrist with the other.
“Let me go! It’s none of your damn business.”
Stanley snatched the purse out of her hands, opened it and pulled out the new listening device. “You little bitch. Another one. Who put you up to this? Was it Thorsen? Was it Nicholas Bryant? Which one of those greedy assholes put you up to this?”