Colton Banyon Mysteries 1-3: Colton Banyon Mysteries (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 20)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  FDR had learned there was a secret German society, alive and well in New York City that favored the Nazi agenda. They were originally called the “Free Society of Teutonia.” The society was actually a European organization which had a long history of promoting the superiority of white men. When Germans immigrated to America, they carried their beliefs with them. The center for the activities of the society was located in the heavily German populated section of Manhattan named Yorkville. FDR had suggested that someone should infiltrate the organization. Wesley was the only person in the room.

  His instructions were to become involved in the movement but to be careful. The German population in the United States was large and the ever-political FDR did not want to lose their votes in future elections.

  Wesley had devised a simple plan. He could easily pass for a German and could speak the many dialects. With FDR’s approval, he had decided he would join the organization and learn what they knew about Himmler and the Black Diamond, and at the same time he’d keep an eye on the Nazi movement in America.

  He had a secondary reason for moving back to New York. FDR had decided to run for president of the United States and the governorship of New York would be vacated. FDR wanted his old buddy William Joseph Donovan to take over the position. Donovan had meet FDR and Wesley at Columbia and was a war hero. He was currently the district attorney for Western New York and a confidant of FDR.

  Donovan eventually lost the election, but Wesley had successfully infiltrated the Nazi organization and had become a trusted member. Most of the men he had met were blowhards who demanded respect because of their ancestry. Few actually displayed leadership qualities and true conviction. Most were loud, table-thumping talkers with little backbone for trouble, but one man stood out. His name was Fritz Kuhn. Kuhn was a German who had come to America after the Great War. He had served in the German army and idolized Hitler. He had become an American citizen and wanted the organization to become the American Nazi party with him as the “American Fuhrer.”

  By 1934, Kuhn had wrestled the leadership away from weaker men and changed the party name to the “German American Bund.” In 1936, Kuhn had gone to Berlin during the Olympics to meet with Hitler. He came back from the meeting with his new title.

  Hitler had not actually given him the title. Hitler wanted the German organization to remain low-key and obscure in America. He did not want the America people to choose sides. Kuhn, however, was strong headed and fiery and never avoided conflict. As a result, Kuhn had set the organization on a path that could only lead to confrontation. Without permission from Berlin, he had organized “summer camps,” which were really boot camps for German youths. He also organized marches and protests in New York City. The marchers often wore their fake German uniforms and paraded around like they were part of the establishment in Germany. In October of 1939, Kuhn planned his biggest march yet. The parade was to be twenty-thousand strong. Unfortunately, Hitler had begun his invasion of Poland in September of 1939, so the tide had already turned against German pride.

  Wesley was there for all of Bund events and often talked to people in the local coffee houses and delicatessens to gauge the feelings of ordinary Germans. Everyone was afraid of Kuhn and also afraid the U.S. government would step in and break up the parade. Wesley didn’t want American Germans to be caught in the middle, so he went to talk to Kuhn at party headquarters one day before the march.

  “You say my people are afraid,” shouted Kuhn as he shook with rage. “Germans never back down from a fight.”

  “What I’m saying is that you don’t have the support you expected,” replied a calm Wesley.

  “That Jew-lover F.D. Rosenfield needs to be aware of how strong we are. If they attack us, we will bloody their noses,” Kuhn snorted as spittle flew from his pig-like mouth.

  Wesley was angry that Kuhn often referred to his friend Roosevelt as Rosenfield and couldn’t stop himself from replying sarcastically.

  “Not only do you look like an ostrich, but you act like one, too. You bury your head in the sand and act like nothing else is going on in the world. You strive to lead an organization, but your leadership will bury the Bund. Are you not aware that Hitler has invaded Poland? World opinion has shifted away from Germany. This march is going to be a disaster.”

  “Get out of my office!” screamed Kuhn. “You are no longer part of this organization. If I see you around our meeting, I will have you disposed of. Am I clear?”

  “What organization? Your world has just ended,” replied Wesley as he hit the door.

  ***

  Once Wesley had calmed down a little, he called Bill Donovan, who was now a powerful Wall Street lawyer in New York. Donovan had deep ties to law enforcement.

  “Bill, I believe it’s time to shut down that stupid Nazi organization in New York,” an angry Wesley said.

  “I was wondering when you’d be calling. We have plenty of evidence to take him down, but strategically we want to bleed the organization of their funds while doing it. Otherwise some other hothead will take over. We’ll get him indicted on tax evasion and work him over for a few years. That sound alright?”

  “I’ll get you my evidence today. I’m going abroad to Germany.”

  “What? You can’t go to Germany. Especially now. The British and French have been dragged into the fight. It’s too dangerous.”

  “We’re a neutral country no matter what anyone says. It’s my right to go, and I’m going,” Wesley declared.

  “Adam, what’s gotten into you lately? You’re so irritable, and frankly, you don’t look well. Are you sick?”

  “Bill, I can’t tell you everything about me, but I have been on a lifelong mission. I sense it will soon be over and I’ll be free of the burden. Franklin knows something about it, but I’ve sworn him to secrecy. I’ll see you later today.”

  ***

  When Wesley entered the law offices of Bill Donovan with all the evidence he had collected on the Bund, he was shocked to find two army MPs standing at attention.

  “What’s going on?” he exclaimed.

  “You’ve been conscripted,” Donovan responded.

  “What? You can’t do this. I’m over sixty years old.”

  “Yes, we can. You have special talents that we need. FDR is just planning for the future. America will eventually enter the war, and we will need you.”

  “But I need to get to Germany now,” Wesley desperately replied.

  “Oh…you’re going abroad, but to England for now.”

  “How did this happen?”

  “FDR shared some information with me,” Donavon replied.

  “Then you know that I must find the diamond before it is too late.”

  “I am going to help you when the time is right.”

  “Why not now?”

  “There is currently no evidence that Himmler is implementing a plan.”

  “But, what if he does?”

  “Then you will be there, I promise,” Donavon said.

  Chapter Sixty

  Captain Adam Wesley was very busy. The small office in the embassy in London was cluttered with books and diagrams. He had no staff and reported directly to Bill Donovan, despite the fact that Donovan didn’t hold a military title. Donovan did, however, report to his old buddy FDR. The year was 1943.

  Wesley was still angry with FDR for waylaying him from entering Germany, but he understood the logic. The war had become destructive and far-reaching. With the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis had proven to be brutal and greedy. They had become very good at plundering. Works of famous art, family heirlooms, and anything that had value was systemically moved to German hiding places. These hiding places would hold immense fortunes and also the Black Diamond. He had seen it in his sinister dreams. Wesley was preparing to find the diamond when the war spread from Germany.

  His army position was to catalogue the missing artifacts and attempt to pinpoint where they were stored in Germany. It was a very large task, as all of the Nazi hierar
chy received plunder, while some also was sent to remote locations for storage. Most of Wesley’s time out of the office was consumed with private interviews. Refuges, deserters, and captured Nazis were his primary sources of information from a changing war front. Wesley had done his job well and was aware of several potential stores of plunder. If fact, he had accumulated so much data that Donovan had requested that Wesley make a presentation to the Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The big man was waiting for him at Allied Headquarters.

  ***

  The smoky room was cramped, hot, and nondescript. It contained a large square table and six folding chairs. However, there were only three people: Eisenhower, Donovan, and Wesley. Wesley presented for two hours and noted the worried look on the commander’s face. He had said nothing during the session.

  “Captain Wesley,” Eisenhower finally began. “I’ve always understood the phrase, ‘to the victor belong the spoils,’ but this seems to be well beyond that. Am I correct?”

  “Yes,” replied Wesley with a nod of his head.

  “When we win this war, do we get to keep the plunder?” The general was thinking about the huge cost of war.

  No,” Wesley shook his head. “World opinion would crucify us. We will need to return the documented artifacts.”

  “Some of our people will plunder, too. Am I right about that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bill, what do you think?” Eisenhower was very political and often sought opinions.

  “We need to make a statement now to the troops. In addition, we need to set up some specialized group to handle the documentation and return of the art. It could take years, Ike.”

  “What does FDR think?” Ike queried, knowing Donovan had the president’s ear.

  As you know, he recently made me head of a new organization, the OSS. That’s the Office of Strategic Command. I’ve also been given the army title of colonel. We will be conducting covert activities—worldwide. I think this task should be under my organization.”

  “No offense, but I was against the OSS. We can do our own covert activities, but FDR is the boss. This decision is above my pay grade, but I think it should be under the army banner. Moving the art will be a logistical nightmare. The people like Captain Wesley here will need protection. That’s what we’ll do.”

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Eight months later, June 1, 1944, Wesley was in the midst of packing his belongings. He was very excited and also worried. He was finally going to set foot on mainland Europe. The invasion of France was only a few days away and all expectations were that the Allies would be in Germany by Christmas.

  Captain Adam Wesley was now part of a new organization, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, or the MFAA. The MFAA was under a civilian group known as the “Roberts Commission.” Owen J. Roberts was a Supreme Court Judge who was appointed by FDR to prevent damage to monuments and recover looted artifacts in Europe. Bill Donovan had not gotten his way. True to his word, Ike provided protection and support for the “Monument Men,” as they were called, and also forbade his troops from looting any findings. Wesley would be part of the third wave of men to hit the beaches of Europe.

  His was worried because he had no idea where the Black Diamond was currently located. The sinister dreams had stuck with him the entire time he was posted in England, but they hadn’t increased in intensity or frequency. He reasoned that this meant the diamond was packed away and not being used by the Nazis. But there could be other reasons—the diamond was, after all, supernatural. His beloved Anna had become a faded memory. He had lost all hope of finding her alive. He was sure she was dead. His goal was now only to find and protect the diamond, a mission he had started over forty years ago.

  The MFAA had identified over a thousand sites that could hold valuable treasures. Wesley was assigned the central region of Germany. He had seen mountains in his dreams and had lobbied for the area.

  But first he would need to help the MFAA group that was already scheduled to go to Paris.

  Several months later in Paris, Wesley was shocked to find he had been assigned a personal bodyguard named Corporal Larry Jones. Jones was to stay with Wesley no matter where the professor went. There were fewer than four hundred Monument Men; they were considered too valuable to lose. Jones also served as assistant for Wesley, as Wesley was now sixty-nine years old.

  Jones was an army corporal, but secretly, he actually worked for the OSS. Donovan had given Jones a top secret clearance and had told him everything he knew about the Black Diamond. FDR had ordered Donovan to do it without Wesley’s knowledge. FDR feared that Germany was developing a group of super soldiers enhanced by the diamond. He wanted the diamond for America. Jones’s real job was to make sure that happened. This was typical FDR—plots within plots.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Wesley now resided in Paris. He had been there for three months and was looking forward to entering Germany. Jones suddenly burst into the room and told Wesley to stop packing. Wesley eyed him with a puzzled look.

  “We’re not going for a couple of days, Professor,” Jones announced in a deep, rich voice that said Alabama.

  Wesley stared at the six-four strapping wall of granite and wondered how Jones would know the crossing of the Rhine into Germany had been put off. “How do you know this, Jones?”

  “I just came from the motor pool,” he replied with a straight face. “They told me. They know everything.”

  Wesley had already suspected that Jones was not an ordinary grunt. He was too smart and too informed, but he was very good protection. “So what does the motor pool say?”

  “We’ll be heading out in about two weeks,” he responded as if someone had written the script for him.

  “Mister Jones, I suspect you are someone very special. I think we work together just fine.”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied with a hint of a grin.

  ***

  Actually, Jones had not been to the motor pool. He had been across the street, meeting with another captain. The captain was a Ranger, the most feared military group in the U.S. army. The captain controlled a company of Rangers who were all in civilian clothes. They followed Wesley everywhere he went and had protected him on several occasions without Wesley being aware they even existed. They were experts in killing and had cleaned out several looted locations before Wesley arrived. FDR wanted the Black Diamond and had put the plan together without notifying anyone, including Donovan. Jones had been informed of his true mission by General Eisenhower. With FDR, it was always a devious plan.

  ***

  Jones had proven to be a capable assistant. Whenever Wesley required information or a person to interview, Jones was always called on and completed the task. He had also proven to be a fearsome fighter. They had been ambushed on one occasion when Wesley was traveling to a chateau south of Paris. It had been rumored the chateau had been used to store art looted by the regional Nazi overlord. The man had been captured and gave everything up to save his own skin. He had failed to inform the Allies that there were twenty trusted Germans guarding the house. The faux pas eventually cost him his life.

  When Wesley, Jones, and two assistants pulled into the graveled circular driveway of the chateau, the German guards immediately shot out the tires of the jeep. Jones was quickly on the radio and then positioned Wesley and the assistants behind the jeep. Without hesitation, Jones lobbed a grenade near the front door and bolted through the opening as soon as it exploded. Wesley crouched behind the jeep. He heard many gunshots and much screaming. This lasted for only a few minutes, and then all was quiet. Jones appeared at the door breathing heavily and waved them inside just as several truckloads of Rangers poured into the front yard.

  The carnage was everywhere. All twenty Germans had been taken out. Some by knife, some by multiple gunshots, and some were just broken and twisted. Jones was a super killer.

  Wesley had been suddenly caught with the notion that Jones had touched the Black Diamond, but he realized i
t had not happened. He shuddered when he considered the capabilities of soldiers trained like Jones and protected by the diamond. What have I done? he thought. FDR wanted it for sure. But did he want it for offense or defense?

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Wesley stood just outside the entrance to a large salt mine. It was located in the mining town of Merkers, Germany. It was simply called the Merkers Salt Mines. It was April 7, 1945. He was sure he was in the right place. Beginning in January, Wesley had again been hounded by the sinister dreams. The Black Diamond sometimes talked to him in the sexy but scary voice.

  “Come find me. I have watched over her. I keep her by my side. I protect her,” often back-grounded his nightmares. In the dreams, he saw the entrance to a dark hole.

  The opening of his dreams now stood in front of him. His body was flushed. His heart beat heavily in his chest. Is it excitement or fear? he wondered. A nagging question filled his mind: Why is the Black Diamond here in a salt mine? Himmler certainly knew of the powers of the diamond. He could have easily developed a super army. Why hadn’t it happened?

  “You can go in now,” a sentry noted. “Just remember you can’t take anything from the mine. Your assignment is to identify the artwork, and then one of the protection team will pack and move it. You have a big job ahead of you. It’s unbelievable down there.”

  “Truer words were never spoken,” replied a nervous Wesley.

  ***

  The hole in the ground had originally been a salt mine. It was nestled in the hills surrounding the small town. The mine was very deep and old but was surprisingly well lit and roomy inside.

  Wesley maneuvered past several checkpoints and noticed about fifty workers were packing and crating gold bars and currency. He now understood why everyone was subjected to a body search—there was just too much temptation. He had a guide to take him to the art. Jones, as usual, was two steps behind and very alert.