A Safe Place

By Mary Kendall

A Safe Place tells the story of Jakob and Marta Stehl. Evil officials force Marta to work for them. Along the way gypsies and missionaries are encountered, plus a parrot named Adam. A Safe Place is an absolutely delightful read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098029692

Book preview

Chapter 1

Asad-looking small woman stood looking at the sleeping baby, tears silently rolling down her face. Her mind was in turmoil. How could she live if she left the tiny infant? Turning, the woman saw a shadow darken her window, and she knew—knew that by her staying, the baby and her husband would die. Going away was her only option. She heard the door handle rattle, so she picked up her handbag with one hand and opened the door with the other.

I am ready, Herr Zimmerman, the woman said in a low voice.

I am glad to hear that, Frau Stehl. You have eluded us for two years, and now it is time to pay your debt. Remember, your husband and child as well as your parents and brother will be safe as long as you do as you are told. We are not heartless people. The ‘cause’ is atonement for everyone, and you must pay your debt. Come, Zimmerman said as he motioned to a nearby officer to pick up the woman’s suitcase.

Zimmerman led the way past two men standing lookout. He turned to the last man and whispered, You know what to do. Do it as soon as we leave.

The man nodded and indicated to other lookout to follow their boss and the woman.

Just as the official car left and the man left behind started up the steps, a cheerful whistling tune filled the tiny woodland clearing. The officer stopped, turned, and melted into the forest. Abruptly the tune ended, and he could hear a man talking to someone. As he watched, a large, red-headed man came in view. Beside him was the tallest dog Dominick had ever seen. The dog’s head was as high as the man’s waist. The man spoke to the huge dog, and Dominick could hear every word.

You stay outside because Lara may be napping, and Marta gets upset if we go in and wake her. Marta will have our supper shortly, and you can come in and eat. You are a fine dog, and today you proved your mettle. The fur from the mountain lion you helped kill will make Lara nice warm clothes.

The big man went to the door and slowly opened it. That’s strange, he thought to himself. Marta is usually waiting when I come home. He looked at the slow-burning fire in the fireplace and then glanced at the cradle. Tiny hands were dancing to and fro in the firelight, and a happy gurgle came across the room. He walked to the baby and bent over her. She smiled at her daddy and kicked her feet.

Hey, little one. You’ll get cold if you kick off your covers. Come to Poppa. Let’s find Momma and ask why you are in here all by yourself.

The man picked up the infant girl, and she gurgled again and pulled at his red beard. He turned when he heard a knock at the door. Going to the door with the baby in his arms, he opened it and was rudely shoved back into the room.

Whoa, what’s your problem? This is my firstborn you’re manhandling, so your excuse better be very good, Jakob said to the intruder as the man continued into the room. He reopened the door and called, Rollo. Come.

The left-behind lookout drew in a sharp breath and reached inside his coat. He looked up and saw the barrel of a gun looking him squarely between his eyes. He dropped his hand.

I know how this appears, but I had to make it look convincing when I shoved you and the baby, sir, Dominick stammered. I don’t know if they left anyone to check on me, but they may have.

What do you mean ‘convincing,’ and who are they?

By now, Lara had grown tired of pulling her daddy’s beard and was patting his face with her tiny hands.

The stranger crossed to the one window and pulled the curtain to cover it. The fire crackled and hissed in the fireplace. Turning to Jakob and the baby, he said, I am Dominick Speer, and I am a Christian. I have been recruited by the American government to infiltrate the Russian KGB. If you tell anyone what I just said, it will be death for all three of us.

Jakob was stunned but he answered the man. I also am a Christian, and your secret is safe with me. I just don’t understand why you felt it necessary to tell me this.

The man glanced at the bearded giant holding the tiny baby and took a deep breath. I told because I was left behind to kill you and your child. Your wife went with Herr Zimmerman. They would have killed the baby in front of her and then waited for you and killed you had she refused. She wept, but she went with them. Two years ago she slipped their yoke when she found you. She was spotted a few days ago, and it was just a question of time before they moved in on her and forced her to return to their service.

Jakob shifted the tiny baby in his arms. Dominick could see tears running down his cheek.

I knew there was something incorrect with Marta, but I never dreamed she was with the spy contingent. She is a furiously devout Christian, and I cannot imagine her being a spy. I never found her to be false. She always put the baby and me first.

I am sorry, Herr Stehl. Your wife is the very best decoder they have, and they need her. They hold the safety of you, your baby, her parents, and her brother over her. Her parents and her brother live on the outskirts of Moscow. The KGB keeps up with all their business. I know your wife thought she was safe, but she wasn’t. Moscow is a hotbed of spies. I’ve known all along that she married you and lived here in the forest. We took a terrible risk three years ago when we let each other know we followed Christ. You and I must think what we will do to convince the KGB that you and the baby died here in this house.

Jakob thought for a moment and then said, First, let us check the stove and see if Marta left any food to eat. I’ve been in the forest all day, and I need food. Lara should need changing, and I’m sure she needs a bottle.

After the meal and with Lara asleep, both men sat in companionable silence in front of the fire.

The men looked across at each other, and they both began to talk at once.

Dom—

Jak—

The men laughed, and it felt good. They hadn’t had anything to laugh about since an hour before when Jakob came home and Marta was gone.

Dominick began again, Jakob, have you given any thought as to how I am to let you and Lara live?

He waited as Jakob looked around the beloved room, the room where he and Marta had come to live when they married two years ago, the room where their daughter was born just three months ago. Jakob hung his head and sighed a deep sigh, a deep-down-to-his-bones deep sigh.

Yah, I know you must make our deaths believable, but I hate to leave here. This is where Marta came to truly love me enough to introduce me to her God. I know God is with her wherever they have taken her, and I know He is with Lara and me. But it is not easy, Dominick.

No, Jakob, it is not easy. I do not envy what you are going through, nor what you will be going through in the days to come.

Jakob stood and stretched and laid another log on the fire. Then he began to talk. This hut will have to be destroyed. We’ll burn this place. In a few days, snow will come and cover everything. By spring, when someone comes to check on us, all they’ll find is a burned-out hull. They’ll think wild animals dragged us off after we died in the fire.

Unknown to the two men in the solidly built hut, the wind had begun to blow harder outside, and snow was softly filtering down. Fortunately, the second lookout who had gone with Zimmerman did not like being cold, particularly being cold in snow. He had ridden with Zimmerman and Marta to a tiny town right outside the forest. He was waiting for Dominick to join him. He knew Dominick was a party man and would do the job.

Dominick was doing the job, all right. He had a heavily bundled Lara in his arms and was loading her on a sled. He looked at Jakob and then at Rollo.

Jakob, I hope that dog can be trusted, he said.

With mine or Lara’s life, answered Jakob. He came to us wounded and sick. Marta and I nursed him back to health. He would give his life for us.

Okay, Dominick said, I will trust him with this precious bundle. I will be glad when our evil work here is done and you and Lara leave for good. Don’t tell me where you plan to go. Then no one can make me tell if they don’t believe me when I say you are no longer alive.

But ’tis true, said Jakob, until Marta comes back to us, I am no longer alive. Only tell her when and if you see her, all is well.

Meanwhile, the two men had packed clothes, blankets, and food onto the sled with the baby. The snow continued to fall as the last item was secured in place. Lara slept through it all.

No need to wait any longer, Jakob said. He took fuel and poured it over the floor and around the fireplace. All of a sudden, there was a swoosh, and the tiny hut became engulfed in flames. Jakob backed away and went to stand beside Dominick and the sleeping baby. The roof caught fire and caved in.

Only the walls need to burn now.

Dominick looked at Jakob, and tears were streaming down the grieving man’s face.

He spoke with sobbing gulps, Had it been the other man, we would have been inside that cabin instead of safe out here.

Yes, Dominick replied, but our God chose for you and Lara to live. You have things to accomplish, and He means to give you the chance to do whatever it is He wants.

In town at the local hotel, the second lookout was busy being a royal pain. He had walked outside and had thought to return to the hut where Dominick was to kill Frau Stehl’s husband and child. The snow had begun to come down in sheets of blinding white, so he shrugged and went back inside to warmth and vodka.

Had he returned to the hut in the forest, he would have seen a strange sight to someone who believed only in the preservation of self, by self. Two men who had come together as total strangers were, by the grace of God, firm friends. Each clasped the other and then let go and wiped tears.

Jakob, I will pray each morning and each night that you and Lara are safe and that your Marta will come to you someday. Now I must return to headquarters and see what atrocities they’ve thought up. You and Lara, go with God.

You too, Dominick! Go with our Almighty God! Jakob called as he motioned to Rollo to pull against his harness. The sled moved steadily toward the dark forest, and the tiny baby girl slept on in her bundle of furs.

Chapter 2

Almost an hour had passed as the man and dog pushed and pulled the sled through the snowy forest. A faint trail ran through the tall firs, and their scent was sweet and sharp in the fridge air. As they started around a boulder that sat boldly in the middle of their path, the man and dog heard music. Rollo’s ears came forward. Jakob had come from behind the sled and, laying a hand on the handsome head of the dog, whispered, No, Rollo, don’t bark. We must first find out if they are going to be our friends. I have prayed to God that we will find someone to help us. This may be our answer.

Jakob removed his hand and, turning, lifted the furs that covered his tiny daughter. She was sleeping peacefully.

As the dog inched forward, Jakob walked softly beside him. He knew this part of the forest often served as a refuge for gypsies, thieves, and escapees of the law. He listened to the lively music and decided it was the former. Going out into the firelight of the camp, what he saw delighted him.

A small child of about three turned and dipped to the haunting music. As man and dog rounded the boulder, a red-faced bearded giant noticed them and raised his hand. The music stopped instantly, and the silence was deafening. The small child continued dancing to music that only she heard until she realized everyone had stopped clapping his hands. She stopped dancing and hurried to the giant’s side. He held her close and said, Hello, and greetings to you and your dog. You are welcome in our home.

Jakob walked to the man who had by this time bent down and picked up the little girl. He answered him, Thank you. We have food that we will be glad to share. Our home burned a few hours ago, but we escaped. My daughter is three months old and is asleep on the sled. I am Jakob. My dog is Rollo.

When Jakob mentioned daughter, the giant’s eyes lit up, and he called, Momma, Momma. Come! We need you!

A nicely rounded lady came to the door of one of the wagons in the caravan. She started down the steps while asking softly, Josef, why are you so excited? Anna just went to sleep, and now you call making noise.

Momma, answered the giant, we have a friend here who has come out of the night to be with us. He has a daughter. We will need to make a place for poppa and daughter to sleep tonight. Yes!

The woman stared at the stranger. She was not nearly as trusting as her husband. With hands on her hips, she looked him in the eyes and began to speak. We are simple folk. Have you come to gather evidence on us so you can take it back to the city and they will come find us and kill us? Why are you out on such a night if you don’t mean evil? Besides, we are gypsies, and your kind don’t mingle with us.

Momma, Momma, Josef interrupted her tirade, he just escaped with his life from a fire. He has not told me if his wife died in the fire, but his daughter of three months is with him. Her name is Lara. If he meant us harm, he would not have brought along an infant.

The woman looked first at her husband, then at Jakob, and finally at the bundle of furs on the sled.

All right. Where is this baby, and where is your wife?

Jakob shook his head. My wife does not live with us. She lives in Moscow. Stooping by the sled, he picked up Lara, and the baby smiled in her sleep. Here is Lara. She is three months old and the light of my life.

Elana gasped. May I hold her?

Certainly, answered Jakob. She is a good solid sleeper, but even if she wakes, she’ll go right back off to sleep with a bottle. I brought enough milk for two days. I’ll have to find more before that’s used up.

Do not worry. We have a two month old, and I will give this baby milk. Please understand. We meet many people who wish us harm. You and your daughter are welcome here as long as you need to stay. We also welcome your dog. He will need to make a place for himself among our dogs, but with his size, I don’t think he’ll have any trouble. Tomorrow will be soon enough to introduce him to them. Tonight he will sleep with you and the baby in Carlos’s wagon.

Jakob spoke up when she mentioned Carlos’s wagon. We don’t want to put Carlos in a bind and just move in on him. We can pitch a tent and sleep here by the fire.

Elana drew herself up until she looked six feet tall instead of the five feet one inch she really was.

Carlos is our nephew. The KGB took him two weeks ago when we crossed Herr Abbott’s land. He is in prison. We do not know what the authorities plan to do to him. He would want you to use his wagon. You and the baby will be warm and dry inside.

With a wide awake Lara in her arms, Elana turned to her husband and said, Josef, please. Go and start a fire for them.

The two men pushed the sled up to the rear of Carlos’s wagon and walked up the steps. Opening the door, Josef said, I will show you how to start the fire, and you and the baby will be warm. Carlos keeps a neat home. We have three other children besides the baby, and Momma does well to see all of us fed. She says there will be time to clean when all the small ones are grown.

Rollo had attempted to go with Elana when she went inside her wagon with Lara. Elana had firmly closed the door on the huge dog and told him to go away. He looked around for his master and walked over to the wagon where he had last seen Jakob. The door was closed, so he gave a soft woof.

The door opened, and Jakob looked down. So you have decided to join me. I could have told you to come, but it is better if you learn Frau Elana’s ways. Now you know she won’t have you in her wagon. Don’t worry about Lara. As soon as it warms up in here, I’ll go for her.

Jakob turned as Josef stopped beside him. The fire is burning nicely, and in a few minutes it will be warm in here. That’s an early snow out there, so maybe tomorrow we will have sunshine. If we do, what’s on the ground will melt. Come for the baby when you want. It will soon be warmer in here, and she can rest in a place of her own.

Josef hesitated before opening the door and then said, We hope our nephew will come back to us. Many of our people are taken, and we never see them again. That is why my wife was unfriendly when she first met you.

Jakob nodded his head in