"Six, and that is the cruelest irony. There were two others who made it through the hells of Auschwitz. They were Polish Jews, a brother and sister in their early twenties. When they returned to the village they'd lived in, the nice Catholic Poles beat them to death for having the temerity to try to reclaim the property that was once theirs. The Russians are in control in Poland, and they have no wish to prosecute anyone for the harmless act of killing Jews. Now that almost all the Jews in Europe are dead, no one cares."
Debbie sagged. She was both Catholic and Polish, and Mr. G. knew that. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to leave?"
He ignored her comment. "What frightens me, Debbie, is that I'm learning to hate after all these years of trying to be a good Jew and not make waves. The war is over but the killing goes on. Now I am convinced that it will never stop for Jews so long as we have to live with non-Jews." He caught the hurt look on her face but did not back off. "I know what others say about me, and the fact of your working here. They say I'm not a bad man even though I'm a Jew, don't they?"
Debbie recalled some of her parents' comments about Jews. Some of their comments were quite harsh. Jews had killed Christ. Jews cheated. Jews were kikes with funny noses. "What about the four?" she asked.
"Three young men and one young woman. The two men are from my wife's side, and the others, a brother and a sister, from mine. The two from my wife's side have already made it to Palestine, while the others are in internment camps in France. The young woman, by the way, was forced to be a prostitute for the German soldiers, even though sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews was forbidden according to Nazi law. Tell me, what is the difference between a concentration camp and an internment camp? Nothing. If you are inside, surrounded by barbed wire, and you don't have the freedom to leave, there is no difference at all."
"What are you going to do?"
"Do?" He glared at her and she realized she had never seen Mr. Ginsberg so angry. "Do? I'm going to get the two in France out of those goddamned camps and over here if they wish. They can't get to Palestine because the British are afraid of offending the Arabs so they won't let any more Jews in, and they certainly won't be safe if they try to return to their homes. No, I will try to bring them here. Then I'm going to work for a separate state for my people, and the hell with the gentiles and the Arabs and anyone who stands in our way."
Debbie stood as well. "Do you want me to leave?" she repeated.
Mr. G. nodded sadly. "I think it would be best." She put on her coat and was headed for the door when he interrupted her. "Debbie, please give me a little time to get over the worst of this."
She smiled slightly. "Of course."
"Good," he sighed. "I will call you, and very soon. I am very fond of you and would not wish to lose your friendship. I also think I will need your help with the paperwork to bring my people over here. And I will continue to pray for your Paul's safe return. Now, on your way out, would you please get those two fools from across the street and tell them to start selling furniture. They are Jews too, thereby proving that even a Jew can be a fool, and I will wish to talk with them about my plans."
Bound hand and foot and blindfolded, Chambers woke up, helpless and immobile. His worst fears had come true; he had been recaptured by the Japanese. He moaned in fear and he heard a slight rustling.
"Listen to me and be quiet," a low, deep voice said, speaking almost into his ear. "You're wrapped up like this for your own protection. There are Jap soldiers only a couple of hundred yards from here, and neither of us wants to draw their attention, do we? Stay still. Do you understand that?"
Dennis nodded and tried to grunt a yes through the gag. Then he realized that the voice had spoken English. Hell, was he hallucinating? Or was he a prisoner and this was all part of some devious Japanese trick? His mind whirled in confusion.
After a period of further silence, he heard, perhaps felt, the presence of the other man. "Okay, Mr. Chambers, nothing has changed. You are still in very great danger and I will not hesitate to leave you here if you are so stupid as to do anything to draw attention to yourself.
For that matter, I will leave you if we are discovered even if it isn't your fault. Is that clearly understood?"
"Umph," Dennis grunted, and nodded vigorously. He was delighted at the sound of the other man's voice. The accent was clearly American. That meant that his captor was another escaped prisoner and not a Japanese.
