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instructions were to stay where I was, but I left a week ago when the police became suspicious of me.’
    ‘In what way?’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    He was beginning to look exasperated now. This was the third time they had been through the same set of questions. She sensed that he was primed for resistance, that he was only really at ease when interrogating people who refused to co-operate. That was what he was trained for, not someone apparently going out of their way to co-operate. He seemed uncomfortable in the face of such co-operation. She drew a deep breath, trying hard not to look put out at having to repeat herself.
    ‘What I mean is that I was worried that the police were interested in me. I told you, one of the nurses at the hospital said that someone had been asking her about me, whether I was ever involved in politics, that kind of thing.’
    ‘And the name of this nurse?’ He was sitting at the desk now, his pencil poised.
    ‘Thérèse.’
    He looked at her, saying nothing but raising his eyebrows, the very faintest hint of a smile appearing on his face. She knew what he was after.
    ‘I cannot remember her surname. We weren’t in the same department. I just knew her as Thérèse. In any case, that was not the only thing. I was followed home from work on more than one occasion and there always seemed to be a gendarme in our road. They never used to be there all the time. The day before I left, there was a car parked opposite with three men in it. I am certain they were police. That is why I decided to go. I couldn’t risk staying.’
    He looked unconvinced, but said nothing, tapping his pencil on the pad in front of him. They were on the top floor of the Hôtel de Ville, in a small room with the noise seeping in along with the sunlight through the closed shutters.
    There was a knock on the door and a soldier came in, handing over a small envelope. The Gestapo officer opened it, read it quickly and put the note back inside the envelope. He nodded at her. Carry on .
    ‘I know that my orders had been to stay at home and act normally and I would be contacted, but I panicked. Maybe I was wrong, I don’t know, but I was convinced they were after me. What use would I have been then? So that is why I escaped. I was not running away. I used my own identity, didn’t I? If I was running away, surely I would have changed that?’
    He nodded. Against his better judgement, it was hard to disbelieve her. Of course, he would have liked nothing better than for her to say nothing. He could cope with defiance, but he was unsure how to deal with her.
    ‘And tell me about your recruitment in Paris.’
    ‘Again?’
    ‘Yes please.’
    ‘I met Herr Lange at the German Embassy there in February 1938. He arranged for my training in Germany. He gave me my instructions. The last I heard from him was that I was to wait for him.’
    ‘Where was the Embassy?’
    ‘Pardon?’ It was the first time that he had asked this question.
    ‘I cannot remember the exact address.’
    He looked pleased, as if he had discovered a chink in her defence.
    ‘You cannot remember the address. I see. Where was it near?’
    ‘The river.’
    He snorted and got up from behind the desk and came to stand in front of her. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned over her.
    ‘ Everywhere in Paris is near the river. You will have to do better than that.’
    ‘It was near a station, the Gare d’Orsay — I remember that. And the National Assembly was nearby, of course.’
    ‘Of course.’ He was beginning to look disappointed. He had quite perked up at the prospect of having an excuse to hit her.
    ‘I remember now. It was in the Rue de Lille. That’s where it was!’
    He nodded and returned to his desk, gathering up his papers and kicking the chair back under the desk.
    ‘Well, you won’t have to wait very long now. Herr Lange is on his way.’
    ooo000ooo
    He arrived in the middle of the following afternoon. He was shorter than she remembered,