Amerikan Eagle

There was a moment when the guilt struck him so hard that he almost turned around to go back into the camp. Now, dressed in his civilian clothes—which felt odd and constricting after the few days in the striped clothing, except for his hat, which was loose on his shorn head—and walking with Hanson, he saw a line of prisoners heading off to another part of the camp. The starved men stared him. He stared back and recognized his bunkmates, one face in particular. Otto, the Jew from Holland, the man who had risked so much to toss in a chunk of bread to Sam.

Otto stared at Sam in disbelief, and Sam could just imagine what was going through the prisoner’s mind. Sam must have been a spy. Sam must have been a turncoat. Now everyone in Barracks Six was at terrible risk, for the friendliness shown an American who was going to betray them all.

He thought of shouting something to them, but realized it was a waste of time. Instead, he watched the line of men shuffling away to their work, and then he returned to whatever freedom awaited him.

PART FIVE

The Office of the Commandant

Department of the Interior

Burdick, Vermont

Sir,

As a follow-up to our phone call earlier, I am compelled to yet again protest in the most serious terms of the release of the prisoner Sam Miller of Portsmouth, N.H., on 10 May. Due to the intercession of others and the presence of Harold Hanson, Colonel, New Hampshire National Guard, Miller was released into the custody of Hanson at this duty station on the above-referenced date.

However, I still strongly believe that the release of Miller seriously jeopardizes the security of this facility. Notwithstanding this concern, I do understand that Miller’s release was also due in part to his importance to the upcoming Portsmouth summit. I therefore recommend, upon the completion of Miller’s duties of the summit, that

A. Miller be arrested and returned to this facility forthwith and;

B. That within the next twenty-four hours, the occupants of Barracks Six, which worked with Miller, be turned over to German authorities for immediate deportation to their respective internment facilities in Europe, so that security is maintained here as well.

Respectfully submitted,

Royal LaBayeux, Commandant

__x__ Approve

_____ Disapprove

Royal, wait until the summit is over before deporting those yids. Things are complicated enough without taking this step. But agreed, let’s get Miller back where he belongs; sticks in my craw that a mere flatfoot got away with this. Tom

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Sam’s front door was open.

His hand fumbled as he reached down for his revolver, liberated that morning from the Burdick camp. “Sarah?”

Nothing.

Thinking, he said, “Tony?”

Still no answer.

He pushed a switch to turn on the light.

Disaster.

Before him was the living room, with the chairs and couches that Sarah had so carefully picked from her father’s showroom, jumbled, fabric ripped and stuffing torn out.

“Oh, Sarah,” he whispered. His feet crunched on broken glass from shattered picture frames. Books and papers were tossed in a pile, the torn pages looking like crumpled leaves. In the kitchen, plates and saucers and cups and glassware were broken. Their bedroom… clothes ripped, the bed tossed on its side, the bureau drawers broken open…