Chapter 9
February 15, 2024 at 10:14 PM
The ringing of the doorbell and the following knocking were loud and immediate. Adler and Ehrman had secured several people to make searching the house easier. Adler got tired of the homeowner ignoring the doorbell, and at the end he began banging loudly on the door with his fist. Ehrman noted it was just a matter of time when Adler would knock that door off its hinges with his foot.
Wilhelm came out to them slightly dishevelled, sleepy and completely clueless what was going on.
“Good evening, what’s the matter?”, asked Wilhelm, looking out from behind Ehrman’s shoulder. Adler barely concealed the impulse to arrest him here and now. He was seething with anger and undisguised dislike for this bastard.
“Good evening, Mr. Fuchsmann, though it will hardly be a good evening, we have a warrant to search your house,” Adler concluded and took a decisive step forward, pushing Wilhelm into his house and letting Ehrman and the soldiers in. They immediately started searching the second and third floors. Ehrman gave orders while Adler explained to Wilhelm what was going on.
“By what right?!”, Wilhelm yelled at the soldiers who were sprawled around the house, searching everything in their path. There were no servants at home as it was late evening. The snow laid thickly on the ground. The streetlights casted bizarre silhouettes.
“You are accused of the murder of Ingrid Fuchsmann as well as of smuggling diamonds worth about a million marks,” sweetly said Adler. Wilhelm paused for a moment; his voice trailed off. He was only confused for a fraction of a second, but that was enough for Adler.
“I’m sorry, what are you talking about? I don’t understand you. What kind of smuggling are we talking about? Besides, this accusation that I killed Ingrid is completely unreasonable. Could you please leave my house?”, Wilhelm pressed Adler’s chest. However, Adler did not even move. He was taller and stronger than Wilhelm.
“Really? Your friend doesn’t think so,” Adler took Wilhelm under his elbow and dragged him forcefully to the nearest table on the ground floor. The man stumbled and struggled as hard as he could, but still tried to stay on his feet. He did not succeed though.
Ehrman, on the other hand, was exploring the house with the soldiers, there was a growing certainty in him that everything was contraband. From the wallpaper to the chandeliers, carpets and kitchen set. The gold chandeliers, velvet-covered staircase, dark red sofas, armchairs in every room, thick linen curtains and the record players were all too improbable. The kitchen table where Wilhelm and Adler were sitting was made of mahogany. Moreover, there was a pile of rifles and pistols hanging on the walls in the corridor.
Ehrman watched as Adler, sitting half-turned, put pressure on Wilhelm, trying to expose him here and now. Of course Ehrman knew that Wilhelm would not expose himself now, only in the SS cellars where all the worst things on Earth lurked. Under a steady stream of torture, he would confess for sure.
“So, Mr. Fuchsmann, you do realise there are too many things you’re accused of, don’t you?”, Adler delayed his arrest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wilhelm denied everything, like any cornered victim. His eyes were running feverishly, he was sweating profusely. Besides, Adler would not be able to enjoy the torture chamber if he smashed his face in at that moment.
“Well, how about this morning, on the day of your sister’s funeral? You suddenly dissolved abruptly after my colleague went to talk to your friend Herman. Do you remember him?”
Wilhelm shook his head. For a second or two something similar to accepting defeat slipped into his soul, but in the same instant Wilhelm straightened his back and adopted a stony expression.
“He claimed that he drove you to your sister’s house the day she was murdered. He’s also involved in the case of the stolen diamonds. A case which, by the way, includes you,” continued Adler. “The fact that you got away from it that time will only make your situation worse today.”
“Let’s suppose I didn’t tell you about visiting my sister, and it’s true. I didn’t think it appropriate because I visited her at about nine or maybe half past ten in the evening, I don’t remember exactly. We discussed with her a present for our father. I didn’t do anything else there,” Wilhelm looked out the window defiantly.
“Was it a coincidence that Ingrid was poisoned and then stabbed in the stomach? You’re a chemist by your first education, aren’t you?”, Adler unfolded more and more details, adding pieces of information while Wilhelm, sitting in the chair in front of him, slouched more and more. It was evident that he had nothing to say.
“But I didn’t poison Ingrid. You can check the tea in my kitchen. It’s exactly the same. If I had thought of such a thing, it’s unlikely I wouldn’t have run away on the first day.”
“Well, what about the rings found at Ingrid’s place?”
Wilhelm blanched, exhaling and speaking quickly:
“One ring I bought for Ingrid, the other ring she found at my place…” he said after a slight hesitation. “Yes, I stole something from that batch, but only that ring, nothing else!”, Wilhelm shrank back in his chair. That was enough for Adler. Ehrman’s voice came from somewhere above, Adler hurried upstairs, leaving Wilhelm distraught. He would get the rest information from the man later.
“What did you find here?”, taking a breath and going upstairs, said Adler.
“We found diamonds,” Ehrman pointed to a small bag found in one of the house’s hiding places between the floorboards.
“He confessed to being involved in the smuggling, but he won’t admit to killing Ingrid. Okay, what else haven’t you had a chance to look at?”
“The lower floors and the basement. It has to be here for sure,” before Ehrman could say it, there was a crack of glass and a gunshot from the ground floor. Adler immediately rushed to Wilhelm, the shot was heard from the side where he was sitting. Ehrman burst after him.
After descending, all they found was Wilhelm’s breathless body with a bullet in his forehead. Ehrman quickly ordered half of their staff to spread out around the perimeter and search for the shooter. Ehrman immediately determined that the shooter was a well-trained sniper who did it from a nearby tree.
“Shit!”, Adler cursed and rolled his eyes to the sky, “another dead body.”
“Yeah, he had a lot to say,” Ehrman headed down to the basement with the soldiers.
Adler grabbed the nearest phone to call Wieland, but decided he would help Ehrman first.
In the basement, Ehrman was finishing the search. Adler took a closer look: there was not anything interesting to him. Food and wine were stored there. Adler assumed they had also made their way to the owner of the estate illegally. He walked round the small room and found a rug lying there. After stepping on it a few times, Adler realised that the floor at this exact place differed from the rest.
“Ehrman, come here and shine a light for me,” Adler called out to the man, the latter, shining his torch, was very surprised. “Are you wondering the same thing too?”, Ehrman shook his head, they ordered the carpet to be removed. The soldiers pulled it away and another hatch was revealed underneath. Ehrman opened the hatch and shone a light.
“Looks like there’s something shiny in there,” muttered Ehrman. Adler pointed the torch beam to make sure of it.
“We need to go down,” Adler went down first holding the torch, Ehrman followed him. The plank stairs were half-rotten, so Ehrman was afraid of falling down and breaking his leg.
Once they both were downstairs, there was no end to their surprise and shock. They had to reach for another torch. They shone it, both stood there in great shock at what they saw: an even row of human jaws was laying in the cellar. All of them were golden. In one corner only there were only golden dental crowns, a little closer to the centre there were golden dental bridges. In the corner there was a box of teeth, next to it they found a container of acid to clean the teeth of gum residue. The unpleasant smell of rot and human remains immediately hit the nose as they both realised what the smell was. It was cold in the cellar.
“Oh my god. Where did he get all that from?!”, that’s all that Ehrman was able to utter.
“So he was definitely dealing on the black market. We need to find out who all these teeth belong to,” Adler turned away and took a breath. The air in here was soaked with decay. “Ehrman, let’s get out of here. We have to call Wieland and tell him everything. Let’s go,” Adler literally dragged Ehrman away, shocked by the sight in front of him.
Once upstairs, Ehrman ordered everything to be taken out, the house to be cordoned off, and the seizure procedure to be carried out according to all documents. Wilhelm’s body was taken to the morgue for autopsy. Adler dialled Wieland’s phone, saying they had a lot of news.
