Page 62 of Be Less Panda
She got out of bed and almost fell over as she walked into the lounge.
Olivia rushed over to grab her. ‘What’s wrong with you?’
‘I came over all faint.’
‘That’s not surprising, considering you haven’t eaten properly for two days. I’ll cook you some scrambled eggs.’
‘Oh god, no. I can’t face that. Tea will do.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, honestly.’ She headed for the dining table and dropped into one of the chairs.Deep breaths, Nancy. You’ll be fine.
‘What’s the plan then?’ Olivia asked while she filled the kettle.
‘I’m going to go to Fischer Exportations before I go to work. Ingrid’s coming with me, in case I need her German skills. We’re going to demand to know what’s going on.’
Olivia put the tea in front of Nancy and sat opposite her, nursing a cup of coffee. ‘Is that wise?’ she asked.
‘I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to know why they’ve sent my boyfriend away without giving him enough time to leave me a note.’
‘He might be planning to write to you from Berlin or wherever he’s gone?’
‘If you suddenly had to drop everything and go home, wouldn’t you get a message to Pierre somehow? Not leave him wondering whether you were alive or dead?’
‘It is odd. But that’s not the only odd thing.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I probably should’ve said this before, but you don’t think Hans is a spy, do you?’
Olivia had outrageous ideas sometimes, but this one was at a whole new level of ridiculousness.
‘What on earth makes you say that?’
‘It’s just I have a feeling his friend Dieter is.’
‘What? Cute little Dieter?’
‘Cute little Dieter has Ingrid eating out of his hand. She’s even more besotted with him now they’re married. I’m surprised she makes it to work some mornings after her accounts of what they get up to every night. I think she’s been smuggling out papers for him.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘She accidentally dropped some on the pavement when we were walking back from work together last week. I helped her pick them up before the wind blew them away. It looked like she’d folded them up and tucked them in her bra.’
‘What makes you think they were for Dieter?’
‘We aren’t supposed to bring work home. Any work you haven’t finished by the end of the day is supposed to be locked away in your drawer until the following morning.’
‘Not tucked down your cleavage?’ Nancy said.
‘Exactly.’
‘Did you ask her why?’
‘She said she was behind with her translation work, and she needed to do some at home to catch up.’
‘Ingrid always complains that her boss is a slave driver. I can imagine she might have to sneak work home with her to make sure she doesn’t fall behind. What’s that principle - Occam’s Razor? The simplest explanation is usually the best one. And Dieter’s a biologist. Why would a biologist want papers about missiles or whatever it is you’re working on there?’