Michael Russell - The City of Shadows

‘But she arrived in Danzig two days ago,’ continued Briscoe.

In December, Hannah had told Stefan she was going to England. That was nearly four months ago now. If she had intended to go to Danzig, why had it taken so long? He could feel the two men were skirting around something, something that made the simple fact of Hannah’s arrival in Danzig dangerous in some way. He was conscious of Briscoe’s hard eyes watching him, in the silence that hung over the dark sitting room, weighing him up.

Adam Rosen was Robert Briscoe’s friend, and his friend’s daughter needed help. Hannah had put herself at risk, and not only herself. Now someone had to bring her back. It was Brian Field who had suggested Stefan Gillespie. He was a policeman. He spoke good German. And he probably cared about Hannah. There had been something between her and the guard, at least that’s what her father thought. That was good. It was a lever, and where trust was an issue, perhaps it was something to put some trust in too.

‘The situation is complicated, Mr Gillespie,’ said Briscoe.

Stefan smiled. ‘That doesn’t surprise me, with Hannah.’

‘We can’t do anything openly in Danzig.’

‘I’m not sure I understand.’ Whatever Robert Briscoe and Adam Rosen were uncertain about Stefan knew that it must go deeper than Francis Byrne.

Briscoe looked at Adam Rosen again. Hannah’s father nodded. They had made the decision that Stefan Gillespie could be trusted, that he had to be trusted. It was the only way.

‘She was staying with some friends in Italy,’ said Hannah’s father. ‘She was meant to be sailing to Haifa three days ago, from Trieste. We do know she got as far as Trieste, but the boat sailed without her. She cancelled the booking. And then she took a train to Danzig the same night.’

‘She waited a long time,’ said Stefan, ‘but you know why she went?’

‘I know about Susan Field and the priest — ’

‘Francis Byrne. He was certainly in Danzig in December.’

‘We can’t make contact with her.’ Adam Rosen’s anxiety was clear. It seemed out of proportion, but it was clear.

‘Is that really such a big problem?’

‘Of course it bloody is,’ snapped Briscoe.

‘I don’t suppose she’s going to make herself very popular in ecclesiastical circles in Danzig,’ said Stefan, ‘but Father Byrne has already denied any kind of relationship with Susan Field. There’s a statement to that effect collecting dust in Dublin Castle. I don’t believe it any more than Hannah does, but that’s the Garda line here, and that’s all he’s going to say if she finds him. I doubt she’s going to beat the truth out of him, whatever it is.’

Hannah’s father shook his head. That wasn’t what this was about.

‘It’s not that simple.’ Briscoe was still watching Stefan intently. ‘Hannah needs to leave Danzig before anything happens. She’s not safe.’

‘If you’re worried, perhaps you should contact the police?’

‘The police?’ smiled the politician. ‘You really don’t understand — ’

‘Then maybe you’d better explain, Mr Briscoe.’

‘First of all, she wasn’t travelling under her own name.’

‘A false passport?’ It was a strange beginning.

‘For all practical purposes, yes.’

‘Why?’

The question went unanswered. ‘We have found out where she’s staying. Adam tried phoning the hotel. She hasn’t checked out, but they haven’t seen her since the morning after she arrived. She’s disappeared.’

‘I see. But if she’s missing, then surely the police — ’

‘She’s a Jew, Mr Gillespie,’ interrupted Adam Rosen, irritated, almost angry.

‘She’s an Irish citizen. Besides, Danzig’s not Germany.’

‘Not yet.’ Robert Briscoe shrugged. ‘Not quite yet.’

There were several long seconds of silence. Stefan’s tone was harder. It was his turn to show irritation.

‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or not?’

Briscoe nodded.

‘Do you know what the Haganah is?’ He put his cup down. There was a change of mood. He was more brusque.

Stefan shook his head.

‘The nearest thing would be the Volunteers here, under the British. It’s a Jewish self-defence force in Palestine. When the Arabs started attacking Jews about ten years ago it became clear the British weren’t going to do much about it. It wasn’t just that they didn’t want to take on the Arabs. There are people in the Mandate administration giving arms to the Arabs at the same time as they’re preventing the Jews getting any. The Haganah was formed to defend homes and farms, that was all, to begin with but it couldn’t really stay like that. It all changed one day in 1929. When sixty Jews were killed in Hebron.’

Stefan remembered. He’d read about it and forgotten about it. There was a lot of slaughter everywhere after all.

‘That was five years ago. Maybe the Mandate Police didn’t know it would be a massacre on that scale, but they knew enough to keep out of the way. While people were having their heads hacked off, they were nowhere to be seen. Of course, the Mandate Police aren’t exactly the British bobby on the beat. It collects up all sorts, including a few friends we know of old, Black and Tans who needed a job when they were kicked out of Ireland. The Empire’s always got dirty work for that sort somewhere. It’s got dirtier for everyone in Palestine now, Jews and Arabs. There’s a feeling that something bloody is on the way again. That means the Haganah has to be better armed. You know Hannah quite well. Perhaps you know who Benny Jacobson is?’

‘I know he’s Hannah’s fiance.’

‘He’s a Haganah commander too. And she’s a Haganah courier. She’s been collecting money in Europe for the last three months, to buy weapons.’

Stefan felt as if the months that had passed since he saw Hannah were shrinking away in front of him. What Briscoe had said surprised him, yet it made sense of her finally. It made sense of the moments when she was talking to him about Palestine and then, quite suddenly, she remembered to stop. Now he understood why it was so complicated for her. He also understood why she was at risk.

‘And who knows that? Who knows what she’s been doing?’

‘The Mandate Police must have a pretty good idea. That means British Special Branch too. If the British Consul and the British police get involved in Danzig, if Hannah’s arrested, I’ve no idea what sort of information they’d pass on if it suited them. I wouldn’t trust what they’d do, out of spite or sheer bloody stupidity.’

‘Danzig’s still a long way from Palestine, Mr Briscoe.’

‘It’s not a long way from Berlin. The SS and the Gestapo have people in Danzig. They wouldn’t care very much about her embarrassing a priest, but they care about other things. Hannah knows a lot of names. The Nazis like names, long lists of names. Long lists of Jewish names are even better.’

‘She must know that.’

‘As you said, Danzig isn’t Germany. I imagine she felt the same.’

‘She doesn’t know as much as she thinks.’ It was Hannah’s father who spoke again. There was almost a smile. Whatever else Hannah was, she was his daughter. He was remembering her as that now, strong-willed and wilful.

‘You speak good German, Mr Gillespie,’ continued Robert Briscoe.

‘Yes.’ He already knew why they were there.

‘Will you go and find her?’

‘I wouldn’t know where to start, Mr Briscoe.’

‘You’re a policeman.’

‘I’m not at the moment.’

‘I think you’re the policeman Hannah needs. Someone who’s not connected to her, someone who’s not Jewish, someone she cares about — ’

The politician smiled. He already knew Stefan cared about Hannah too.