A little boy raced into the clinic and tugged on her skirt. Isolde looked into his bright blue eyes and smiled kindly,<br/>“Excuse me, Mr. Klein,” she said to the elder man she was treating for gout. Turning to the boy, she asked,” How may I help you?”<br/><br/>He held out a grubby hand with a crumpled scrap of paper as if he were handing her a bunch of wildflowers. Ruffling his blond hair, Isolde took it and handed him a bit of hard candy from her pocket.<br/><br/>“Run along home now. Your mother will be worried.” She commanded. As he scampered off, she sank onto a hard chair and read over the note. A frown crossed her face. This explained why none of the other staff came to work today and warned her of an impending raid on the clinic. Isolde decided to send the patients home and to close up shop early.<br/><br/>“Mr. Klein,” she said, as she returned to the examination room. “The clinic is closing now. Here is some medication and I will come to your house to check on you tomorrow. “ She was practically pushing him out the door now and shooing the other three patients who were waiting. “ I will drop by each of your houses later today. Tell your neighbors the clinic is closed indefinitely. If you need me, send word to the St. Charles hotel. Leave word with the man at the front desk. I will check in with him every few days. I’m so sorry, but I can no longer serve you daily. Believe for miracles and stay well.”<br/><br/>Isolde’s heart was pounding as she locked the door behind the last person out. She yanked down the blinds and blew out the lights. In the half light from the windows, she lovingly put away all the equipment and wiped down the tables as if she would be coming back to work tomorrow. She thought about the content of the note. The church had suffered attack and the rumor was the clinic was next. Isolde took no thought for herself but she would not allow the innocents to be caught in web of evil.<br/><br/>While she cleaned, Isolde thought of the desperate measures she had taken that had caused her to become entangled with Erlind. She cursed herself for her penchant for loving demons. She was drawn to him and felt so hurt by his betrayal. She had thought he would be able to unravel the dilemma of the missing Jewish health staff and somehow create a miracle to restore them to their rightful place in the community. Isolde silently shrugged at her naivety.<br/><br/>At Dr. Silverstein's desk, she gave pause. Nurses didn't usually pry into a doctor's private notes but something about his journal caught her eye. Turning to the last pages, she realized he had been documenting the strange phenomenon of the nearly catatonic or at best, robotic people. He had underlined the words, Demonic Possession with red ink. A cold chill ran over her.<br/><br/>The small fire that still burned in the metal 50 gallon drum received page after page of the carefully detailed journal. Isolde's blood turned to ice as she realized the lists of names and addresses of the patients that were written there as well. If the Nazi's were indeed coming to the clinic, she would be the only shred of evidence they found. Heaven help them if they did find her there. She would not hold back. No more, no longer.<br/><br/>As the last of the pages were turned to ashes, she made plans to move from her flat. She would not go back there tonight, but would make her way back to Herr Buchannon's and hope to fade into anonymity.