Werner put his fact close to Josef’s face. “If you are not telling me the truth, you will end up in jail, or worse. Now, do you want to reconsider your answer?”
Hoffmann did not have to think about it, “No.”
Werner tried to get information out of Greta Hoffmann when he warned her, “A wife remaining silent when her husband does not tell the truth is a criminal offense.” Werner attempted to hit her in a vulnerable spot. He surveyed her expanded midsection and added, “One must think of the wellbeing of a child. It would be a pity if a child grew up without having its mother and father around. After all, who would raise it?” Werner said in a sadistic tone, “Who would feed it? Who would keep it safe from the elements if something unfortunate should happen to its mother and father?” He paused to let what he said sink in, then asked the very scared woman, “I will ask you once- have you seen a man dressed as a food servant go by?”
Mrs. Hoffmann was fearful as she stood there being put on the spot. She had often heard SS men make idle threats about all sorts of things. That was what they were good at. Though Werner did frighten her with his words, she was smart enough to know that it was a scare tactic to get her to talk. Greta would not rat on someone who had just saved her and her family’s life.
“No,” she said firmly.
SS Officer Werner gave the couple a thorough lookover, as if taking a mental picture. Abruptly, he ordered his driver, “Move it out.”
Wayne ran down a narrow street lined with apartment buildings, shops, and cafes. His eyes searching desperately for a place to hide. He checked doors of storefronts to see if one might be unlocked — maybe he could slip into one and hide out there.
It was clear to Wayne why Dr. Hoffmann had chosen him to go back in time; why she had wanted to get to know him. He had only a few minutes ago saved her life as well as her parent’s lives. Dr. Hoffmann must have known that one night in 1933 a man named Wayne Goldberg would save her parent’s lives. And it blew Wayne’s mind that it was himself. His head pounded with questions as he ran like a panic stricken mouse down the street. What if Lisa Hoffmann, unborn child, died tonight? Then I could not be here in Nazi Germany because a Dr. Lisa Hoffmann would never have invented a time machine. But how could I save Lisa Hoffmann if she was only an unborn child and didn’t even invent a time machine yet? Was that the reason she was keeping me in 1933 Germany so long?
Three Gestapo vehicles led by Werner turned onto Wilhelm Street. “That son-of-a-bitch is all mine,” he said.
Wayne saw the cars and knew exactly what the words State Police implied and knew it was himself they were after. Having no other place to go, Wayne dashed into a dark alley that was located behind the stores.
The back alley dead-ended into the back of an apartment building. The wall of the dwelling towered twelve stories above him. He could go no further. Wayne kicked himself for being so stupid. How could he let himself get cornered like that?
On the ground, besides trashcans too small for a person to fit into, was a large pile of flattened cardboard packing boxes. Wayne figured he was beat, but crawled anyway into the pile of boxes so that he was hidden.
A squad of six SS Nazis, led by SS Officer Werner, entered the dark alley, illuminating their way with flashlights. They began to search every nook and cranny of the alley. The SS men kicked over trashcans, and kicked though small mounds of scattered debris, as they neared Wayne’s hiding place.
This was it, Wayne thought — his final moments on Earth. He thought about his impending death. Would it hurt? Would there be a heaven? Could this be it- you live, you die- and that is it? He was sorry he hadn’t called Lauren before he left on this insane escapade. He would miss her more than anything else.
Werner and his men neared the end of the alley. Werner eyed the pile of boxes, lit up by the Nazi’s torchlights. The SS men had their firearms at the pile.
A flash of brilliant white light surrounded the heap of boxes and a loud, mysterious crackling noise rang out.
The SS men stopped dead in their tracks. None of the men had ever witnessed so bizarre an incident. These trained men of steel, including Officer Werner, became apprehensive about what they had just seen.
“Check it out,” Werner cautiously said to his men.
Obeying directions from a superior, the five men, with weapons drawn, slowly pulled apart the pile of boxes. Nothing was found except for a few red ants scurrying about.
Everybody was speechless. The men knew they had seen their fugitive run down into this alley. There was no other place he could have hid or could have gone to. Wanting not to appear weak in front of his men, SS Officer Werner simply said, “Move it out.” His men complied.
The occurrence did haunt Werner, though. The once proud SS officer became a heavy drinker, and then a full-fledged alcoholic. He would die of liver failure in 1938 before the war broke out. His family never would understand why he became what he did, but to the five SS men with him on that night in that dark alley, there was little doubt as to what had caused Werner’s confidence to have been shaken and what had led to his inevitable decline.
CHAPTER THREE
Wayne materialized in the time machine in Dr. Hoffmann’s laboratory. Dr. Hoffmann was nowhere in sight. He got out of the contraption, stroked his ruffled hair, and exhaled deeply. He was relieved to be back home, and not a minute too soon.
“I’ve been planning this for years. Nothing can go wrong,” Wayne said imitating Dr. Hoffmann. “Yeah, right.”
The door to the lab was opened. In walked Dr. Lisa Hoffmann. Wayne noticied something was odd immediately.
Dr. Hoffmann’s glasses were gone. Her hair had a sharp blond tint to it compared to the brown it had always been previously and was cut quite short, much like a military haircut. She was also less frail than she had looked when Wayne had last seen her. Dr. Hoffmann was more muscular and athletic.
Wayne’s anger slipped away as he relaxed. He had planned on really letting Dr. Hoffmann know how angry he was with her for letting him stay in Nazi Germany for so long and for not telling him the real reason why she had sent him back, but he couldn’t muster the energy.
“Boy, am I glad to finally see you!” Wayne blurted out. “You kept me there almost long enough to get me killed. But I’m back, damn it! And I ain’t never leaving again.”
“Wie ist Ihr Name?” Dr. Hoffmann said with a German accent.
“I did it, Doc. I did it! Just like you planned it.”
“Wie ist Ihr Name?” Dr. Hoffmann said with annoyance.
“What did you say?” Wayne asked.
“Who are you?” Dr. Hoffmann wanted to know.
“Hey, how long was I gone? Why didn’t you bring me back the same night I left? Did you cut your hair? I think I liked it better longer. Anyway, I—”
Dr. Hoffmann stood firm. “You have three seconds to tell me who you are and what you are doing in my lab.”
“Let me tell you, Dr. Hoffmann, you have a weird sense of humor. It’s me, Wayne Goldberg, who do you think?” Dr. Hoffmann did not look amused at all.
“I can’t believe I actually did it,” Wayne continued. “I slipped the stuff into the drink, then he croaked, and then, these fuckin’ Nazi soldiers…”
Dr. Hoffmann walked out of the lab, closing and locking the door behind her.
Wayne was bewildered. “Doc, where are you going?” he yelled. He attempted to open the door, but couldn’t. Wayne looked at the clock on the wall. It read 9:35. Wayne sat down and tried to figure out what Dr. Hoffmann was up to. Is this how he would be thanked for risking his life for her?
Ten minutes later, Wayne was pacing back and forth. “I don’t know,” he thought out loud, “maybe she soaked up too much radiation and that made her go bonkers.” Wayne heard the sound of the lab door being unlocked. “It’s about time.” The door swung open.