July brought insupportable heat to Warsaw, and Lotte spent her lunch hour in the Saxony Gardens, the small park adjacent to the German House, wishing she could get away from her work occasionally and dive into the cold waters of the Vistula River as she’d seen local boys do. It brought back pleasant memories of her childhood and especially her brother Richard. Of course, being a woman and an employee of the Wehrmacht made that notion out of the question; she could just imagine the pursed lips and raised eyebrows of Oberführerin Kaiser at such a crazy request.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Johann’s sonorous voice broke through her daydreams.
She jerked her head around. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
“May I sit down?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Sure.” Lotte scooted down the bench to make spa
