She was seated at the end of a pew next to a large stone pillar about halfway down the main aisle. A small functional hat covered dark hair, and she had her head bent as if she were in prayer.
Hans stripped his gloves off as he strode forward and down the center aisle. When he reached her pew, he continued to the next one before moving into the row seating himself in front of her. As he did so, he heard her shift and then her head appeared near his shoulder as she settled on the kneeler behind him.
“Guten Morgen, Frau Lutz,” he murmured.
“Guten Morgen, Herr Schmidt,” she replied. “How are you finding Liège?”
“Very busy,” he said pointedly. “You have something for me?”
“Yes. As you requested, I’ve been remaining in close contact with our associates in Paris,” she said, abandoning small talk. “I took the liberty of advising them to monitor the airports and train depots in the region.”
“And?”
“Rätsel arrived at Orly on a British Overseas Airways flight two days ago.”
Hans turned his head, glancing at her face sharply. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. Our man there was certain. He described her perfectly.” Mira kept her face towards the alter, not looking at him. “She arrived alone and went straight to a waiting car.”
“Did she have anything with her?”
“A single suitcase and her purse.”
“And where did she go?”
There was the faintest of hesitations and his eyes narrowed.
“Marcus lost her after they entered Paris.”
Hans’ lips tightened and he turned his head back to stare forward.
“He’s watching the airport and alerted the men at the train stations. If she leaves Paris, they’ll know.”
“I’m not concerned with where she goes when she leaves Paris,” he snapped. “I want to know who she sees while she’s there.”
Mira was silent and, after a moment, Hans sighed imperceptibly.
“Tell him to watch the embassy and passport control offices,” he finally said. “If she’s in Paris for any length of time, she will go to one of them. The SIS keeps their agents there. We can pick her up again when she checks in.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then we have to wait for another opportunity.” He began to pull on his gloves. “Tell Marcus not to lose her next time.”
“If she does resurface, what then?”
“I want to know who she sees, where she’s staying, and what she does. I want to know all of it. But under absolutely no circumstances is she to be approached! Contact me directly if we regain contact.”
“Yes, Herr Schmidt.”
He nodded and stood, moving out of the pew. He walked back down the aisle without a backwards glance. Mira would relay his message and if Rätsel reappeared, he had no doubt that he would know of it within a few hours.
As he emerged back into the sunshine and went down the steps of the church, Hans felt a familiar feeling of elation. The hunt was on again.
And this time he would not fail.
––––––––
RAF Northolt
March 25, 1940
Evelyn hunched her shoulders against a brisk, stiff wind and put her head down to make her way across the road to her office building. She’d returned to London three days ago, but had ended up staying and going through a rather rigorous training refresher on code recognition. As a result, she’d just arrived back at Northolt this afternoon. She was tired, cranky, and wanted nothing more than her bed.
“Ooof!” Evelyn gasped as she collided with something tall and solid.
“Well well, if it isn’t Assistant Section Officer Ainsworth!” She tilted her head back and peered up at Fred. “How goes the training?”
“You mean, how went the training?” she asked, extracting herself from his arms and grimacing when a blast of wind smacked her in the face. “Where did you come from? I didn’t even see you!”
“I’d noticed. Funny how we keep running into each other this way. Only I recall that the last time you did that, you apologized.”
“I’m terribly sorry.” Evelyn tucked her arm into his and hurried him along towards the office building. “This wind is going to blow me away. Aren’t you bothered by it?”
“Lord no. These flight jackets are terribly warm, y’know.” Despite his words, Fred hunched his shoulders against another blast of wind. “’Course, the wind is jolly brutal today.”
They ran together up the steps of the building and sighed in unison as they burst into the warm interior.
“Come into my office and have some tea. You can tell me what exciting news I’ve missed,” she said, unbuttoning her coat.
“Where have you been?” he asked, following her down the hallway towards her office at the end. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“It’s only been two weeks, and you know I took some leave to visit my family,” she replied, opening the door and going into her office. Fred followed, closing it behind him as she took off her coat and hung it on the stand behind the door. “I was in Paris for a week, if you must know, having a wonderful time.”
She crossed to the desk, glancing at the stack of mail in the center before reaching for the telephone.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, glancing at him.
“Not a bit. Just tea, thanks.”
Evelyn nodded and dialed the canteen, requesting tea to be sent round. When she hung up, she looked up to find that he’d shrugged out of his flight jacket and was straightening his uniform.
“Paris? That sounds marvelous. Who do you know in Paris?” he asked, perching on the edge of her desk.
“My mother is from France. Her sister still lives there with her family.”
“Did you spend the whole week going to parties?”
“Something like that.” She paused and looked at him suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”
“I thought so.
