“ I think it is the same everywhere,” General Scheider replied. He was watching Noelle closely. She was acting strangely, talking too much. She noticed his look.
“ You make me feel like a schoolgirl,” Noelle said.“ I can’ t remember when I’ ve been so nervous.”
General Scheider smiled. So that was it. Or was she playing some kind of game with him? If she was, he would soon find it out. He glanced at his watch.“ If we do not leave now, we will get there very late.”
“ I’ m ready,” Noelle said. She prayed the others were.
When they reached the lobby, the concierge was standing there, his face chalk white. Noelle wondered if something had gone wrong. She looked at him for some signal, a sign, but before he could respond, the General had taken Noelle’ s arm and was leading her out the door.
General Scheider’ s limousine was parked directly in front of the door. The trunk of the car was closed. The street was deserted. The chauffeur sprang to open the rear door of the car. Noelle turned to look inside the lobby to see the concierge but the General moved in front of her and blocked her view. Deliberately? Noelle glanced at the closed trunk but it told her nothing. It would be hours before she knew whether her plan had succeeded, and the suspense was going to be unbearable.
“ Are you all right?” General Scheider was staring at her. She felt that something had gone terribly wrong. She had to find an excuse to go back into the lobby, to be alone with the concierge for a few seconds. She forced a smile to her lips.
“ I just remembered,” Noelle said.“ A friend is going to call me. I must leave a message—”
General Scheider gripped her arm.
“ Too late,” he smiled.“ From this moment on you must think only of me.” And he guided her into the car. A moment later they were on their way.
Five minutes after General Scheider’ s limousine drove away from the apartment building, a black Mercedes screeched to a stop in front of the building and Colonel Mueller and two other Gestapo men spilled out of the car. Colonel Mueller looked hurriedly up and down the street.“ They’ ve gone,” he said. The men sprinted into the lobby of Noelle’ s apartment building and rang the concierge’ s doorbell. The door opened and the concierge stood in the doorway, a startled expression on his face.“ What—?” Colonel Mueller shoved him inside his small apartment.
“ Fräulein Page!” he snapped.“ Where is she?” The concierge stared at him, panicky.“ She— she left,” he said.