Chapter 14
March 21, 2024 at 12:27 PM
The day had been a mess from the start.
Adler was arguing with his subordinates who had mixed up the dates on the filing documents, then the entire department had to redo all the documentation for the last six months. The case of Wilhelm’s death was not moving much either, which was boring. It seemed that Ingrid’s death was a very easy case compared to her brother’s one.
Wieland and Ehrman were angry, too. They tested the theories one by one, but each time they ran into a dead end and had to start all over again. It seemed as if they were slowly sinking into a swamp. Last night they went to their separate departments. There was no point in getting together, they would soon quarrel if things went on like this. They had become intemperate and unkind to each other.
The phone call, which clearly meant nothing good, was received by Adler as the worst thing on Earth. He abruptly picked up the telephone receiver and angrily answered it. It turned out to be a private of the main office of the Gestapo. When he was asked what was needed, the answer was clear and precise: one had to go to the main office. Adler hung up the phone and estimated, looking at the clock on the wall: the time was rolling towards evening. If they had pulled him, they had probably pulled Ehrman and Wieland too. What the hell did they want? They did not need to be told off.
***
Adler knocked on the solid oak door, a faint voice came from behind it, telling him to come in. Adler hesitantly opened the door and slowly stepped into the office, surprised at the sight before him. In front of him Wieland and Ehrman were sitting on one side of the desk, while a Gestapo officer was sitting on the other one. It surprised him a lot.
The man made his way quietly to his seat. The atmosphere could hardly be called pleasant, rather dark and mysterious; notes of cigarette smoke, alcohol, tobacco and perfume, chocolate and many other things flew in the office. Everyone was silent, no one wanted to start. However, the Gestapo man sat demurely, Adler was beginning to guess that something had happened and it had something to do with Ingrid and Wilhelm’s case. Wieland thought that they had crossed the line somewhere, deciding that they were allowed to do everything, but at that moment the case would not be theirs to handle. Ehrman prepared himself for the worst, namely, his dismissal. But the relaxed face of the Gestapo man sitting opposite to him said otherwise, which confused all of them.
“Gentlemen, relax, I need your help,” the man said and put out his cigarette. His smoothly combed hair, well-fitting uniform and epaulettes made all three of them realise at once that he was a man above their rank. His gaze was not arrogant, but there was a sternness in his eyes.
“Good day,” said Wieland. “Could you please introduce yourself first?”
The man smiled, squinting his eyes slightly.
“Ah yeah, I forgot. Forgive my rudeness,” The man folded his hands in a lock and placed them on the table. It seemed that these two, if they were not acquaintances, had met each other at common events. “My name is Peter, an investigator in the 15th district of Berlin from the Gestapo,” he took his ID card out of his tunic pocket, opened it and showed it to Ehrman and Adler.
“My name is Wieland Lange, this is Adler Schiller and Ehrman Weber. I think you’ve already known that,” Wieland pointed to his right and left. Adler and Ehrman greeted the man.
“Something has happened, so I would like to ask for your help,” Peter repeated in an even and calm voice.
“Tell us what happened, since you need information,” Adler looked at him insistently. “The Gestapo itself came to us. It’s very surprising.”
Peter smiled a cynical smile, the way victors smiled after a battle.
“Adler, you often look like a child, wondering about simple things,” Peter turned to Adler. “What happened is that,” making a pause, the man slowly, as if it was deliberately, pulled one sheet after another from the folder, everyone was waiting patiently. “This morning, this man was discovered,” Peter pulled out photos and reports. “Does he look familiar to you?”
Wieland, Adler and Ehrman shook their heads.
“He…” Peter continued with a slight playfulness in his voice, “was a forty-eight-year-old man, Heinrich Hosting. He was found in his living room with a bullet wound. The body had been in that condition for just over 24 hours. This is the man we’ve been looking for for a long time.”
“And what has honoured him with such attention from your side?” questioned Wieland, turning the photograph closer to him. “You weren’t just looking for him or following him.”
“He’s been a liaison since the First World War. First he fought for us, then defected to the British, selling information. After the war a lot of people had been chasing him. A lot of people wanted to buy him, but he stayed here in Germany. He disappeared from police sight about ten years ago. They thought he had emigrated to America till the moment he was found dead,” the man said with some annoyance.
“And what does that have to do with our investigation? Ehrman interjected, Peter ignored his remark and continued talking.
“Many things were found in his flat that point to your case…” the man continued, everyone was listening intently. One inhaled a cigarette, the other refilled their water. The third was sniffing his nose. “It’s quite interesting that some letters were found in his flat addressed to the sender. Ingrid Fuchsmann and Wilhelm Fuchsmann. With instructions to deliver the goods. On top of that there were a lot of letters, they were all going to be sent Britain,” Peter finished. “I need your cooperation. I wouldn’t just pull you out,” Peter, having finished his story, leaned back in his chair, giving himself time to think. “We believe he may have been helping them. At the very least, we think there’s more to his murder. We think it has something to do with Ingrid and Wilhelm’s murder.”
“What kind of assistance would you like exactly?”, Adler raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, looking down at his opponent. “If the Gestapo is involved in the case, especially voluntarily, then you would like to kill two birds with one stone and make your job easier in some way?”
“Are you assuming that I would come to you wilfully? We’d just like to speed up the process. Because, as you all know, it’s dangerous to drag these things out,” Everyone was silent. “I’d like to get what you have on the Ingrid Fuchsmann’s case. As everyone knows, you were in charge of her murder investigation, while you’re investigating the murder of her brother now.”
“Mr. Peter, fine, we’ll give you access to Ingrid’s case,” Wieland interjected, “but in return you’ll give us the letters, access to Heinrich’s flat and information. you’ve discovered about him.”
“Okay, we’ll give you access to the flat. Poke around there as much as you want,” Peter repeated in a firm and cold voice, no one wanted to appear weak. “When can I review Ingrid’s file?”
“In the next few days, I think. Today or tomorrow at latest,” Adler leaned back on his elbows.
“I don’t know any more than you do,” Peter twirled the cigarette in his hand, flicking the ash away.
“Yes, Ingrid was indeed involved in the black market, but we are only assuming that she was in charge of the money part, while Wilhelm was in charge of transporting the goods. And by the looks of it, we’re talking about gold jaws. In Wilhelm’s flat we found a letter written by a foreigner,” Adler finished his thought and cleared his throat, giving Ehrman the floor.
“We have found no further traces, we can also assume that Ingrid wished to leave the country, but that is only an assumption. We don’t know anything else.”
“It turns out that we are all at an impasse,” summarised Peter. “Let’s think together, then. There have been three murders in the city,” he lit a cigarette, stood up and started pacing around the room, “and all three were killed by the same person. That’s just a theory,” he emphasised. “But all the tracks most likely lead to Britain. What could they be doing there?”
“It’s better to ask: who is waiting for them there?”, Wieland, adjusting his cap, inserted his line.
“Britain is separate from Europe and America,” Adler began to make his argument, “it could have been a staging point. The terminus was America.”
“Or Canada,” Peter pulled out a paper and pen.
“Okay, how could they get there?”, Ehrman asked the question to everyone present.
“Either by plane, as Wilhelm did, or by sea. But then the roads lead to Denmark,” Adler wriggled out, crunching his spine.
“Why is it Denmark?”, Wieland turned to Adler. Adler rolled his eyes.
“Because it has cheap ports, also because it’s a country that gets half of its profits through the sea. We need to find out what everyone who works in this place has in common.”
“Maybe they’re poor,” suggested Ehrman.
“Definitely. And obviously without parents,” added Wieland. “We’re not considering Ingrid and Wilhelm right now, that’s a different situation.”
“So they left for lack of purpose to stay here,” Peter gathered all the papers together.
“So, I’m taking the lead,” Peter began.
“Why is it you?”, asked Wieland.
“Because I have a brain. Since you want to solve this case as much as I do, listen to me, you need to bring up the cases of everyone who has ever left Germany since the beginning of the century,” Peter spoke clearly and imperiously. “It has to be all people who have ever been in contact with them. Even if they’re just childhood friends.”
“That’s too much work,” Adler pointed out, spreading his hands. Peter looked over, smirking.
“I don’t think so. We need to check everyone.”
“Okay, I hear you,” replied Wieland, standing up and walking away.
“I’ll need the files of all the thieves from the police. They must have been involved there since their childhood. Or they must have joined this organisation through acquaintances.”
“You think so?”, Ehrman dressed as he walked.
“Yes, I’m sure, Ehrman. People for the black market are brought in by acquaintances, or they take part on their own when they hear about the big money.”
“And what are we going to do?”, Adler, standing nearby with joy in his eyes and a mixture of excitement, looked at Wieland.
“You and I are going to Wilhelm’s house one more time. I’m sure we can still find something there.”
Everyone split up to participate in a race to see who could dig up the most. Time was not working for them, unfortunately, the possibility of someone finding another body was too high. There was no doubt that someone was protecting themselves and covering their tracks by killing these people one by one.
