Kirstin Beck was better prepared the next time she communicated with her friend at the window in West Berlin. She had a small chalkboard, chalk, and an eraser staged by the window of her second bedroom, which she used as an office, editing books for universities, publishers, and the State.
Steiner was downstairs, either correcting papers from his classes or enjoying his radio programs, so she had to be careful, listening for his footsteps on the stairs. If she heard him, she would put the chalkboard behind a bookcase, or underneath a chair, and turn off the floor lamp by the window. Then she would grab a folder off her desk as she left the office, acting like she planned to do some editing. She often sat in the parlor, or lay in bed at night, and went through notes, so it wouldn’t seem su
