Carla said: “You know we aren’t going to do that. You must go—you have no life left here. But we’re staying.”

“What about Father’s work?”

“For now, I carry on,” Werner said. He was no longer able to go to the factory he owned because it was in West Berlin. He was trying to manage it remotely, but that was nearly impossible. There was no telephone service between the two Berlins, so he had to do everything by mail, which was always liable to be delayed by the censors.

This was agony for Rebecca. Her family was the most important thing in the world to her, but she was being forced to leave them. “Well, no wall lasts forever,” she said. “One day Berlin will be reunited, and then we can be together again.”

There was a ring at the doorbell, and Lili jumped up from the table. Werner said: “I hope that’s the postman with the factory accounts.”

Walli said: “I’m going to cross the Wall as soon as I can. I’m not going to spend my life in the East, with some old Communist telling me what music to play.”

Carla said: “You can make your own decision—as soon as you’re an adult.”

Lili came back into the kitchen looking scared. “It’s not the postman,” she said. “It’s Hans.”

Rebecca let out a small scream. Surely her estranged husband could not know about her escape plan?

Werner said: “Is he alone?”

“I think so.”

Grandma Maud said to Carla: “Remember how we dealt with Joachim Koch?”

Carla looked at the children. Obviously they were not supposed to know how Joachim Koch had been dealt with.

Werner went to the kitchen cupboard and opened the bottom drawer. It contained heavy pans. He pulled the drawer all the way out and set it on the floor. Then he reached deep into the cavity and brought out a black pistol with a brown grip and a small box of ammunition.

Bernd said: “Jesus.”

Rebecca did not know much about guns, but she thought it was a Walther P38. Werner must have kept it after the war.

What had happened to Joachim Koch, Rebecca wondered? Had he been killed?

By Mother? And Grandma?

Werner said to Rebecca: “If Hans Hoffmann takes you out of this house we will never see you again.” Then he began to load the gun.

Carla said: “He may not be here to arrest Rebecca.”

“True,” said Werner. He said to Rebecca: “Talk to him. Find out what he wants. Scream if you need to.”

Rebecca stood up. Bernd did the same. “Not you,” Werner said to Bernd. “The sight of you might anger him.”

“But—”

Rebecca said: “Father’s right. Just be ready to come if I call.”

“All right.”

Rebecca took a deep breath, made herself calm, and went into the hall.

Hans stood there in his new blue-gray suit, wearing a striped tie that Rebecca had given him for his last birthday. He said: “I got the divorce papers.”