Summary

Hannah Vredenburg takes care of her father’s pigeons, which are still used for communication. Pigeons have been banned for Jews, and Hannah and her father are nervous about releasing the pigeons now: they are afraid of repercussions. Hannah’s father asks Helen to write a note to his partners in Amsterdam: kill my pigeons. Hannah writes it before her younger brother comes up. Tobias will be upset by the death of the pigeons, which he dotes on.

The message is sent too late: the partner had already released the pigeons, which bear the news that the Germans have seized the diamond trade in Amsterdam. Now the pigeons will all have to be killed.

Reflecting on these troubles, Hannah looks at the painting of the girl looking out the window, which is hung above the mantel. Her father had bought the painting in 1940, and she was...