of his seat. He watched the Nazi-hunter with quiet amazement. He was beginning to understand certain new things about being a survivor. What it meant to be a Strauss. David also had the feeling that Benjamin Rabinowitz was being cautious with him. Bringing him along slowly.
“For the moment, I think two things.” Rabinowitz clasped his hands once again. “
One
. Someone in the Strauss family has seriously frightened the Nazis. Somehow. I don’t know exactly how yet. That part confuses me. Okay?
“
Two
. We mustn’t limit our thinking to the old-time Nazis, David. Remember Franklin Roosevelt. Nazis take many odd shapes and forms today. As many shapes as evil itself. I mean that last very seriously.
“And Mr. Callaghan. If I was to take a guess, I would say that what is involved here could bring a serious war to entire countries. Big, big doings. Bigger than anyone might think to guess right now. A very interesting combination of things at work here.”
Benjamin Rabinowitz suddenly thrust his skinny hand across the table. He shook David’s hand with surprising strength.
“You’re a nice man, David. I wanted to meet you. This is a good start. This is terrific. Maybe we’re going to hunt Nazis, young man.”
CHAPTER 23
Benjamin Rabinowitz took a deep breath.
“Now I have to tell you a few things about your grandmother and myself.”
For the next hour, Rabinowitz patiently told David about the old days: some good; some not so good.
Rabinowitz even gave David the very vaguest details about a secret Jewish group that had been formed to ensure against another Holocaust. He told David about a meeting in Jerusalem—where David’s grandmother had underestimated the Fourth Reich.
At the same time, Benjamin Rabinowitz began to get the feeling that David knew almost nothing about the Jewish defense group.
Elena Strauss had kept this grandson out of it. She had shielded the doctor from any involvement whatsoever.
“In Jerusalem, we had wanted to try and stop the Reich once and for all, David. One final time, and then it would all be over. We wanted one last confrontation with the swine,” Rabinowitz rasped.
David Strauss couldn’t have agreed more.
Just one final battle with the Nazis would be perfect.
When they finally left the Wallkill Inn, it was minutes after nine on the beer sign glowing in the front window.
A bright green stoplight at the four corners shivered on a steel necklace hung across Main Street.
Maybe it was his imagination, but David felt a chill crawling up his back. His mind was racing with all the new possibilities. Extreme pressure was pushing in on his skull from all sides.
Actually, though, he felt pretty good, David thought. Better anyway. He was excited about working with Rabinowitz. The night was buzzing with possibilities and prospects.
“It will be interesting to see,” he heard the Nazi-hunter say in a dream voice. He felt the skinny hand on his arm. “I wouldn’t even discount Arabs. Black September. Even Arabs have to be a possibility at this point.”
Arabs. Franklin Roosevelt. Nazi conspiracies high up in the United States Government.
The important Nazis would have to be truly frightened to come out in the open after all these years.
The Reich moving once again. For whatever reasons.
David was actually beginning to think a little like a Nazi-hunter. It was a fait accompli, then. He was going to become involved. Amazing as it all seemed right at that moment.
“You must be careful now,” he heard Rabinowitz warn. “The Strauss heir must be careful, David. I begin to wonder if I shouldn’t respect your grandmother’s wish to keep you out of all this …” Rabinowitz’s voice trailed off.
As he got into the Lincoln, David noticed a tiny silver light flash across the darkness of Main Street.
A cigarette lighter, he thought after his initial start.
So this is how paranoia feels. So this is how it’s going to be from now on
, David realized with a shiver.
Just
Lesley Pearse
Taiyo Fujii
John D. MacDonald
Nick Quantrill
Elizabeth Finn
Steven Brust
Edward Carey
Morgan Llywelyn
Ingrid Reinke
Shelly Crane