As they stepped out into the night, Roz kept her fingers crossed that they wouldn’t be spotted. The last thing they needed was for someone to raise the alarm and alert the soldiers to their movements. Using the cover of the buildings, they made their way to where her father had parked his car a couple of streets away. Looking over his shoulder as he unlocked the doors, Samuel ushered his family inside, whilst he took the crank handle from under the driving seat. He placed it into the slot just below the grill and gave it a few turns, but the engine was cold and didn’t want to start. With a look of grim determination, Samuel continued to crank the handle until the engine eventually roared into life. Relieved that they were finally on their way, he took his place behind the wheel. He turned to his wife, who nodded, then his daughter, but as he did so, to his horror, he saw several soldiers running towards them. Assuming that they must have been alerted by his starting the engine, Samuel thrust the car into gear and pulled away from the kerb. His mouth went dry as he called out to Roz, who had turned in her seat to watch the soldiers who had doubled their efforts to catch up. But they were no match for a car and several of them had already given up and turned back. Grinning, Roz made a rather rude gesture at the last soldier, before settling back in her seat.

‘We’re free!’ she cried, a relieved smile spreading across her face.

‘Not yet, we aren’t,’ hissed Inge. ‘We’ll not be free until we’re on that ferry.’

‘They’ll not catch us now,’ Roz said confidently, ‘not on foot.’

Inge arched her beautifully shaped eyebrows. ‘Do you not think they also have cars?’

Fear flooded Roz. Of course they had cars, and what’s more, she had just made the sort of gesture which would shock her parents, and probably cause the soldier to be more determined than ever to catch them. She looked over her shoulder, but it was impossible to see anything in such darkness. She turned back to stare out of the windscreen. ‘Where will we go? We’re too early for a train …’

Her mother turned to face Roz, a reassuring smile on her lips. ‘We can park near the station. Your father scouted the area the other day, and he found a wonderful spot where we can sit nestled behind some trees, out of sight from prying eyes. We should be safe there until the train arrives.’

Roz relaxed a little. ‘What about the car?’

Her father shrugged. ‘I’m sure they’ll discover it sooner or later, but we’ll be long gone by then and there won’t be anything they can do about it.’