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From Chapter 1
The noise of the
van starting up and then a door opening. Nancy’s Resistance friends had seen
the signal.
Obermayer glanced
up at the old gas-powered fish van parked a little further down the road. His
lips tightened and his gaze snapped to meet hers. His eyes were grey and
knowing.
‘Excuse me,’ he
said swiftly to Elmo, and abruptly, he began to walk away, powering down the
street.
He’d smelled a
rat, and there was nothing she could do. Should she follow? Already, she was
conscious of her men moving on the street, closing in. They had to catch him
where they could get him to the van, which was kerb-crawling close behind him.
Elmo, the double-crossing swine, had melted away into the bank.
A glimpse of her
friend Josef. He had the chloroform bottle in his pocket. He swung out to
follow his quarry who was heading briskly for the Appololaan Hotel, a Nazi
stronghold, close to where five canals meet.
But Obermayer
didn’t get far before Josef leapt at him.
’Gestapo!’
Obermayer shouted, trying to summon help as he swung his fists at the men
wrestling to pin him down and disarm him.
He was still trying to get to his gun, but Wim was trying to crush his
hands together.
Josef brought out
the bottle of chloroform and the rag and unstoppered it, just as her friend Wim
swung his fist to hit the big man. Obermayer reeled, cannoned into Josef and
the chloroform bottle shot out of Josef’s hand.
A sharp inhalation
as the glass shattered. No. Don’t let him
get away.
The pavement glinted with shards of glass and
running liquid, as Obermayer lurched out of their grasp.
Nancy ran towards
them, uncertain what they could do now, but knowing the plan had failed. Obermayer drew a pistol from his coat and
aimed it at Wim.
But before he
could fire, two cracks. Eva, who had been in the getaway van, had panicked,
drawn out a revolver and fired two shots out of the window.
Obermayer hit the
ground like a collapsed building, his head smacking on to the pavement. One
bullet had gone through his head, the other his neck.
Shit. The sound of
the revolver instantly brought the Greens running. Like lice, they emerged from
the side-streets and buildings, shouting ‘Stop!’ ‘Stay where you are!’
The Greens were the Ordnungspolizei, the Order Police in green uniform who worked for Nazi
Germany and were responsible for carrying out Nazi orders. They were tasked
with the arrest, execution or deportation of what they called ’Enemies of the
Reich.’
Already Nancy’s
friends were scattering, leaving Obermayer’s body as a heap on the pavement.
Wim jumped into the van, as Josef set off running and Eva reversed as fast as
she could, foot hard on the gas pedal. Nancy was already on the move as she saw
Josef dodge between the military trucks that had appeared from nowhere, and
hare off alongside the canal. A patrol, alerted by the disturbance, was ready
for him and cut off the route. He was surrounded by Wehrmacht helmets within
seconds.
In the distance
she saw Koos, one of their lookouts, being led away to a truck. She must get
out of there. But slow. Act calm. Nothing
to do with me.
She increased her
pace and stepped straight into the chest of one of the Greens.
‘Name?’
‘Hendrika van
Hof.’ Her sixth false name.
‘Did you see what
happened there?’
‘No,’ Nancy said.
‘I just saw trouble. I was going to work, and now I must go another way.’
The man, a
grizzled-looking man in his forties, looked her up and down. ‘Where d’you
work?’
Her cover story
was solid now. ‘The Prisengracht hospital.’
‘But that’s the
other side of the city. What are you doing here on Nieuwmarkt?’
‘I needed to buy
some press-studs from the market,’ she said, smiling pleasantly though
light-headed with fear.
‘Well, Nurse Van
Hof, you want to have dinner with me?’
She blinked. With
him? He was old. The thought was repulsive. The question had come out of the
blue and she didn’t know how to answer.
‘I will have to
take you in for questioning,’ he said. ‘Or, you could answer my questions over
dinner.’
He had a
self-satisfied smugness about him that made her want to punch him, but she knew
she had no choice but to agree. All women had no choice but to agree with the
police in this war. And besides it would look more suspicious if she turned
down a free dinner. Not now Northern Holland was cut off from their food supply
lines. ‘That would be very nice,’ she said.
‘Tomorrow night at
seven o’clock. Hotel de Gersterkorrel, near Dam Square. Okay?’
‘Thank you.’
‘And I’ll need
your papers.’
In case I run away. She’d understood. Damn. She’d have
to hand them over. She opened her bag for the second time that day and took out
the papers. They were forged of course. Would he notice? Sweat gathered under
the neck of her coat.
He took them and
glanced at them again. ‘Aah, Hendrika.’ He rolled her name round his tongue. ‘I
will see you tomorrow.’
‘Call me Rika,’
she said.
The man puffed
himself up, pleased. Ugh. Every power-crazed Dutch creep had allied himself
with the Nazis. ‘And I am Dirk. Dirk Van Meveren. If anyone asks, tell them I
have your papers. They will be returned to you tomorrow. I look forward to our dinner.’
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The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries set in the 1970s |
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| The story of the events that led to The Battle of Hastings in 1066 Harold the King (UK edition) I Am The Chosen King (US edition) 1066 Turned Upside Down an anthology of 'What If'' tales |
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| The Forever Queen (US edition) a USA TODAY BESTSELLER A Hollow Crown (UK edition) |
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THE PENDRAGON's BANNER TRILOGY |
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| US editions |
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Historical Stories of Exile by 13 popular authors Cryssa Bazos, Anna Belfrage, Elizabeth Chadwick, Cathie Dunn, J.G. Harlond, Helen Hollick, Loretta Livingstone, Amy Maroney Alison Morton, Charlene Newcomb, Elizabeth St.John, Marian L Thorpe, Annie Whitehead. With an introduction by Deborah Swift |
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What I really appreciated about Operation Tulip is how much I learned from it. The thorough research shines through!
ReplyDeleteThat's tghe intreresting thing about well written - and well researched - historical fiction: an entertaining but also interesting read!
DeleteThank you for hosting my extract Helen!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :-)
DeleteI loved this trilogy, I'm a big fan of all your books so keep them coming.
ReplyDelete