Rick understood it. He felt like a heel for eavesdropping. He needed to earn their complete trust so they would voluntarily share these things with him. But how could he do that?
“Rick, do you think Chaisley has put herself in unnecessary danger?” Melanie’s sharp Dutch echoed from the back seat.
One glance in the mirror showed him that Chaisley wasn’t a bit pleased with Melanie’s question.
He’d better choose his words carefully. “There’s a part of me that cheered her on for standing up to him and doing what she did. Then there’s another part of me that wanted to rush her offstage and away from him because my senses kept screaming, danger, danger, danger!”
“Don’t you thinkmysenses were screaming the same thing?” Chaisley wrapped her arms around her middle. “But staying in Hitler’s good graces right now might help us assist those in danger from him and his Third Reich.”
Her words told him that hehadgained Chaisley’s trust—otherwise she wouldn’t be so blunt.
“What has gotten into you?” Melanie shook her head. “I will support you no matter what, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time to what lengths you were willing to go.”
“I wasn’t expecting him to come onstage and speak to me personally about playing for him.”
“But you thought it could happen.”
Chaisley pursed her lips at Melanie’s assertion. “Yes, I did.”
Rick needed to defuse the moment and fast. He pulled over onto the side of the road, placed the car in park, and then turned around in his seat. “I don’t think the best use of our time is to squabble about how things unfolded. What we should be talking about is what we do from here. My job is to drive you and protect you. I can’t do that very well if you don’t tell me everything that is going on.”
Chaisley chewed on her bottom lip again. “Agreed.”
“Agreed.” Melanie didn’t look too happy about it, but dove into telling him about a letter Chaisley received before they left England. It was deplorable what had been done to this little girl and her mother. Rick’s respect for both the women in the back seat surged as he listened to them share their hearts about being challenged to find these two—and possibly others—to help them escape Hitler’s clutches.
So maybe he’d jumped to conclusions about their code and contacts. These women couldn’t be spies.
But then Chaisley mentioned her guardian. A doctor. Someone with contacts across Europe. Both women were vague. The only key factor was that they knew they had people that could help them should they need it.
Who was this doctor? Another agent? Someone Rick might know?
The other possibility was one he hated to consider. What if these two women were being used—by double agents?
Would Rick be able to save them before it was too late?
Two hours later,Rick waited on an informant in an alley that smelled worse than it looked. Which was saying a lot. He’d already spotted a dead rat, two dead birds, and what appeared to be a dead cat.
HQ had put him in touch with their last known informant who was still free, and the choice of meeting spots was looking worse by the second.
Why was the man late?
Rick shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He’d give him five more minutes, but it wouldn’t be safe to hang around much longer. Someone would surely notice him, and whether it was someone from this seedy side of town or the Gestapo, neither one would have pleasant results.
Shuffling from the other end of the alley made him turn around.
Sure enough, a man—way too skinny for his height—headed straight for him.
“G2586.” The man whispered into Rick’s ear.
“Eggs are good with toast.” Rick shoved out a hand.
But as they shook hands, nothing was passed between them.
The informant smiled wide and spoke through clenched teeth. “Nothing written.” He spoke English with an American accent. “Too risky.”
“Okay.” Rick nodded and smiled like they were old friends simply running into each other.
The man stepped closer. “Things are escalating at a rapid pace. They are growing their troops every day. Watching more and more people. Closing in on everyone they suspect. Arrests have grown in number, so I am leaving. Tell your boss or whoever needs to know. I haven’t seen my wife and kids in over a year. You need to focus on communications. The enemy is confiscating more and more each day and listening in on whatever they can access to try and stop any leaks.” His words were clipped and fast. “Word is anyone they find colluding with any country against Germany will be executed.”
