“What did you overhear?” he asked, avoiding the question for the moment.
“Only that they thought it was Eisenjager who informed their superior that I would be passing that way. They were moving away from us at that point, and I couldn’t catch much else. Something about Himmler, and a bit about Eisenjager being a myth, but it didn’t make much sense.”
“And you’ve heard the name before?”
“Yes, but I don’t know where or how.” Evelyn rubbed her forehead tiredly. “I just know that it isn’t the first time I’ve come across it.”
Bill drank his tea, his mind spinning. If Eisenjager was involved, many more things were beginning to make sense. It explained why the Nazis had sent an SS unit so quickly to Steinkjer and how they knew she was coming. His lips tightened suddenly. If the notorious German assassin-turned-spy was involved, it was a bloody miracle Evelyn was sitting across from him now.
“What do you know of him?” Evelyn asked, her eyes on his. “Who is he?”
“He’s a German agent,” he said reluctantly, setting down his cup. “As far as we know, he began in the SS, trained before the war and hand-selected by Himmler himself. We think he was an assassin, a member of one of the death squads. However, recent information indicates that he has moved over to the Abwehr, Hitler’s intelligence division.”
“So now he’s a spy?”
“We believe so, yes, and a very dangerous one.” Bill shook his head. “If he was the one who informed the SS that you were in Norway, he must have been there as well.”
“And this is all because of a spy right here in London,” she muttered, pushing her empty cup away. “How did they know I was there? I thought you and Jasper had ensured that no one knew of my movements.”
“We’re working on it. To be honest, I don’t see how he could have known for sure. I’m of the opinion that he guessed.”
“Guessed? Well his guess was not only correct, but it cost the life of an innocent civilian who was doing everything he could to help me,” Evelyn said, her voice shaking with anger.
Bill nodded. She was right, and there was absolutely nothing he could say to defend it. Whoever this Henry was, he had caused an inordinate amount of damage already. It was only luck and fate that had brought Evelyn home, especially if Eisenjager had been put on her trail.
“We will find him.”
She sighed impatiently and stood up. “But in the meantime, I’m—”
She cut off abruptly as her face drained of color and she swayed on her feet. Bill jumped up, catching her just as she pitched sideways towards the counter. Her eyes had closed, her body a dead weight in his arms.
“Evie!” he exclaimed, patting her face. “Good God, Evie!”
She didn’t respond and he scooped her up into his arms, striding for the door. He carried her down the hallway to the front parlor where he knew from many previous visits that there was a long couch. A moment later, he laid her gently on the sheet-covered cushions. As he straightened up, she made a noise in her throat and came awake with a start.
“Oh!” she gasped, her eyes flaring wide.
Bill laid a firm hand on her shoulder when she would have tried to sit up.
“Oh no you don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “You stay right where you are.”
“What happened?”
“You fainted,” he told her bluntly. “You’re ill. I knew as soon as you opened the door.”
“Fainted?” she stared up at him, aghast. “Impossible! I’ve never fainted before in my life!”
“Well, you have now. Not surprising, really, after what you’ve been through.” He turned towards the door. “Is the telephone working?”
“Yes. Yes, I think so,” she said, frowning. “It was the last time I stayed here.”
“I’m calling for a doctor, and then I’m going to have one of the nurses from the agency come round. She can help you upstairs and into bed.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Evelyn protested. “That’s hardly necessary! I probably just need some rest, that’s all.”
He paused at the door and looked back at her.
“You may be right, but right now you’re having a doctor look at you to make sure. You can debrief once you’re well again. You’re absolutely no good to me dead, you know.”
She pulled a face but made no attempt to get up again.
“Bill!” she called as he was halfway out the door. “Why me?”
He frowned and turned back, looking at her questioningly. “Pardon?”
She was looking at him soberly from the couch, her eyes troubled.
“Why did you choose me last year? What made you think I would be good at this?”
Bill exhaled and met her gaze steadily.
“There are a number of reasons,” he said slowly, “but the one that matters right now is that you were made for this.”
She stared at him. “What?”
He smiled faintly. “You may not feel like it now, but you are one of the few who can handle this life. I saw it in your face when we had lunch and you spoke of Hitler and how important it was that he be stopped. It takes a certain kind of person to weather the kind of storm we’re going into, and you’re that person.”
“I don’t feel like I’m strong enough to weather anything,” she whispered. “I don’t know how I made it to Namsos. I really don’t.”
“And that, my dear, is precisely why you are strong enough. Strength isn’t something you’re aware of. It’s something that shows itself when there is no other choice.” He looked at her for a moment, then walked over to stand beside the couch. “You’ve changed drastically in the past three weeks. I can see that. Yet here you are. That is what I saw in Paris last year.”
“I killed a man, Bill,” she blurted out, her eyes dark and haunted. “I shot him and watched him die. Then I shot...oh, I don’t know how many more! Peder died because he was shot in his leg and
