The Dark Arena - Mario Puzo [81]
It was almost dawn when they woke, and they made the long ride to Bremen without further conversation than was necessary. The afternoon sun had just begun its voyage west when they rode through the outskirts of Bremen, and Leo stopped the jeep at the house where the professor had his room.
Leo raced the motor to drown out the old man's polite gratitude. He drove away quickly. He felt cold, fatigued, but not ready for sleep. He drove through the town, past the Polizeihaus and down the Schwachhauser, then made the turn into the Kurfursten Allee. He drove slowly down the long, curved tree-lined avenue, the sunlight and warm afternoon breeze giving him new strength. As he approached Mosca's house he took his foot off the gas pedal and bumped over the curb so that the jeep was tilted, one side on the street and one on the walk. He steered into the tree to stop the slowly rolling jeep but he had been going faster than he thought and the shock of contact snapped his head back. He cursed, leaned against the cushion, and lit a cigarette, then honked the jeep horn three times.
The window went up quickly, but instead of Hella it was Frau Saunders who put her head out. She called down to him, “Frau Mosca is not here. She was taken this morning to the hospital. The child came early.’
Leo in his excitement stood up in the jeep. “Ah, no, is she all right?”
“She's fine,” Frau Saunders said. “The child is a boy. Everything, went well. Herr Mosca is there now.”
Leo didn't wait to answer her. He roared the jeep into action and made the turn that would take him to the city hospital. On the way he stopped by the Officers’ Club and gave a German servant a papk of cigarettes for a great bouquet of flowers.
sixteen
Mosca heard Inge calling him to the phone in the outer office. He went in, picked up the receiver, and said hello. A woman's voice answered in German. “Herr Mosca, here is Frau Saunders. They took your wife to the hospital an hour ago. I think it is die baby.”
Mosca paused, looking at Inge and Eddie, as if they could hear the voice over the phone. They were both busy, bent over their desks.
“But it's two weeks early,” Mosca said and saw Eddie look up and Inge turn around to watch him.
“I think it is the baby,” Frau Saunders was saying. “She had pains this morning after you left I called the hospital and they sent an ambulance.”
“Okay,” Mosca said, “Til go right away.”
“Will you telephone me when you find out?” Frau Saunders asked.
“All right,” Mosca said and then before he hung up he heard Frau Saunders say, “She told me to tell you not to be worried.”
Eddie Cassin raised his eyebrows when Mosca told him the news. Eddie picked up the phone and ordered a vehicle from the motor pool.
When the jeep came Eddie silli “I'll meet you at the RathskeUar for supper if you can make it. Give me a ring if anything happens.”
“It may not even be the baby,” Mosca said, “she's not too rugged.”
“She'll be okay,” Eddie said reassuringly. “It's the baby all right. They come early and they come late. I've gone through all that.” He put out his hand to shake Mosca's and said, “Here's luck.”
On the drive to town, Mosca became anxious, really worried. Without warning a great wave of fear flooded over him, so powerful that he was sure that she was ill and said to the driver, “Go faster.”
The driver