Mrs Henderson's Limp
Copyright© 2021 by Iskander
Epilogue
Tulle, August – London, December 1945
For the rest of June and all of July, Elise’s days were spent in a self-imposed purgatory as she worked through the rehabilitation exercises. Once a week, the French surgeon came to check on her. By the first week of July, his observations were full of smiles at Elise’s progress. At the end of July, the hospital wanted her bed. Through a nurse, she contacted “the girl at the Pharmacie” – Elise did not know her real name. Genevieve – Marie – visited her in hospital and, with poor grace after the slaps, accepted her return to the house, where Elise stayed, helping in the shop. After a week, she walked up into the woods leaning on a cane, watching for followers. Opening the crate, she found no note from Victor. Water and a leaking battery had wrecked the radio. She retrieved her pistol with its patina of rust but reburied the useless radio. The walk down to the town drained her resources and her knee blazed with pain. Careful enquiries about Victor drew a complete blank.
By the time the Americans and the Free French swept north in August, Elise no longer used a stick. She barely limped as she walked into the US Headquarters the day after they arrived. She demanded to speak to army intelligence. Perhaps because of her attitude, they kept her waiting for an hour before she met with a captain. She related the parts of her story she deemed safe and needful to secure passage home. The captain seemed bored – until she mentioned that she had witnessed the hangings. That moved her up the tree and she retold her story to a lieutenant colonel. Two days later, having written a detailed report of what she saw, she flew to England.
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