Leeburg and Frau Alrich had never been friendly or unfriendly. She had always treated him as she had any other visitor or guest to the household with a correct, cool manner. Leeburg in turn had always treated her with respect and courtesy, unlike Erich Reitzer whose attitude had been that of master and servant. Leeburg had never seen her react to any particular type of approach or indeed show any kind of emotion. He was rather surprised, therefore, when he saw her smile a welcome to him as she ushered him into the hallway.
‘It is good to see you again, Herr Leeburg,’ she said.
‘And you, Frau Alrich,’ Leeburg replied, taken aback by her friendly greeting. ‘I am pleased to see that you are well.’
‘Yes, we are well,’ she said. ‘We have a lot to be thankful for.’ She ushered him into a seat close to the log fire. ‘I will tell Frau Reitzer that you are here. She is with some of her guests.’
Leeburg watched her enter the lounge and caught a quick flash of khaki uniforms.
Presently she returned. ‘Frau Reitzer will join you in a moment,’ she said. ‘If you will come with me.’
She led him up the stairs and into a large room on the first floor, which Frau Reitzer used as her own private lounge. Leeburg had never been in the room before. When he was left on his own, he stood in the middle of the thick carpet and glanced about him. He liked the room, he liked its atmosphere. In one corner was the circular window of the turret with its commanding view of the valley. In another was a grand piano on which stood photographs of Frau Reitzer’s family and grandchildren. The furniture was comfortable looking and expensive ornaments adorned the marble mantle of the fireplace and several small tables.
Yes, Leeburg thought. He liked the room. It had an air of privacy and comfort about it. It seemed cut off from the cold world outside.
He walked over to the piano and studied the photographs. Erich Reitzer was wearing his officer’s uniform. He looked like a proud, handsome, gladiator. You could never tell what a person was like from a photograph, Leeburg thought to himself. They showed only the physical features, not the person’s personality or character.
He turned to the photograph of Frau Reitzer’s two daughters with their families, but before he had time to study them closely, Frau Reitzer entered the room. Leeburg was immediately struck by her figure and appearance. She was wearing an expensive, pale green, silk dress, and fine mesh nylon stockings, something which Leeburg hadn’t seen for a long time. Her face was an older version of her daughter’s features. It was slightly flushed and her eyes faintly bloodshot. Her hair was grey, but tinted, and looked soft and fine. But it was her figure which really held his attention. The dress fitted like a glove accentuating her full bosom, most of which seemed to be spilling out over her low neckline, and her broad hips and narrow waist. She was a grandmother in her sixties, but she had an air of excitement about her which made age a minor factor.
Leeburg was visibly impressed. ‘Good afternoon, Frau Reitzer,’ he mumbled.
Frau Reitzer smiled. She knew he was impressed by her figure. They all were, and if it had been anyone other than Leeburg she would have taken a delight in arousing his curiosity and desire. As it was, Leeburg was a symbol of the past which she was wanting to forget. And there was the American Colonel in the study downstairs chafing at the bit.
Leeburg had called at an inconvenient moment. The French Captain had decided to spend a couple of hours skiing, leaving Frau Reitzer with her two other guests, an American Colonel and his second-in-command. But already Frau Reitzer had decided it was to be the Colonel for her. She had never slept with an American before and he had been so generous with his presents that she felt very friendly towards him. Besides, the Colonel was a younger and a more virile man than the Major. She knew he was just waiting for her to give him the signal and she would have given him it if Leeburg hadn’t unexpectedly arrived.
‘Hullo, Paul,’ she smiled. ‘It is nice to see you again.’
She crossed over to him and allowed him to kiss her on the cheek.
Leeburg got the whiff of her expensive perfume and numerous glasses of wine which had caused her flushed appearance.
‘Do sit down.’
Leeburg took a seat and watched Frau Reitzer make herself comfortable. She had a faint whimsical air about her. She seemed to be smiling to herself as if her thoughts were elsewhere.
‘I heard you had returned, Paul,’ she said in her high pitched voice which had a catching break in its delivery. ‘How is everyone?’
‘Very well, thank you,’ Leeburg replied. ‘And you Frau Reitzer?’
‘Oh! we get by. I have some guests staying this weekend. They are very kind.’
Again she looked far away. Leeburg wondered whether she was high with her thoughts, or the drink.
‘Frau Reitzer,’ he said seriously. ‘I was wondering if you have any news about Erich?’
He noticed the question seemed to jolt her, but before she could answer, the door opened and Frau Alrich entered carrying a tray with two coffee cups. Frau Reitzer was both annoyed and relieved at the timing of her entry. Annoyed that Frau Alrich had presented Leeburg with an opportunity of remaining longer than she would have otherwise permitted, and relieved because she hadn’t quite decided what to say to Leeburg in reply to his question. He had taken her somewhat by surprise. She was a little uncertain what to tell him. She smiled sweetly as Frau Alrich laid out the coffee cups.
‘Perhaps you would like something stronger?’ Frau Reitzer asked.
‘No thank you,’ Leeburg replied. ‘Coffee will be very nice.’
‘Our guests,’ Frau Reitzer explained. ‘They are so generous.’ She decided not to hedge the question any longer. ‘I am afraid I have no news at all about Erich,’ she said.
Leeburg was taken aback. He looked at her almost disbelievingly. ‘Not even from the Red Cross?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Frau Reitzer said sadly. ‘The last I heard from Erich was when he was fighting in Northern Italy in the spring of 1945.’
Before the 12th Army had surrendered, Leeburg thought. ‘It has been suggested that he might have escaped into Switzerland. Are you sure you have not heard anything which might confirm this? It is very important to me.’
He looked at her appealingly. He felt there was a strong possibility that she was lying.
‘And to me, Paul,’ Frau Reitzer replied, pointedly. ‘I am his mother.’
‘Yes.’ Leeburg mumbled. ‘I am very sorry. I did not mean to be impertinent.’
He looked away and saw Frau Alrich leave the room. Silently he drank his coffee.
‘But no news is good news, Paul,’ Frau Reitzer said cheerfully. ‘I am sure he will come back one day.’
It was very surprising that she had heard nothing at all, Leeburg though.
‘What about Colonel Von Lesting?’ he asked. ‘Has he written to you?’
‘Yes, and I have written to several other highly placed officers who knew Erich. Their answers have all been the same. He was last seen with his troops fighting near Turin.’
‘Which suggests he could have escaped into Switzerland.’
‘And don’t you think he would have informed me?’ Frau Reitzer asked.
‘Yes,’ Leeburg agreed. ‘I do.’
He was genuinely puzzled. The war in Italy had finished in the April of 1945, and it was not like the Eastern front. He would have thought Frau Reitzer would have had some news of her son’s fate, even if unconfirmed. He was also suspicious of her attitude. Even allowing for the effect of alcohol, she was unusually optimistic and obviously unworried about her son’s fate.
Frau Reitzer drank her coffee and replaced the cup with a gesture which was meant to suggest to Leeburg that they had little else to discuss. She was getting a little concerned in case the American Colonel might impair his virility and desire with too much of the brandy. The Major wouldn’t, she knew. He was holding back with his drinking like an outsider in a race waiting to grasp the lead. But she wasn’t interested in th
e Major. It was to be the Colonel.
Leeburg realized it was time for him to leave. He stood up and shook her hand.
‘If you do hear anything, you will let me know?’ he said.
‘Certainly, Paul.’
She rang a small hand bell and Frau Alrich entered the room.
‘Herr Leeburg is leaving,’ she explained.
As Leeburg passed through the doorway, Frau Reitzer called the housekeeper back into the room. ‘Tell the American Colonel that I am having my coffee up here in the lounge. Ask him if he would like to join me.’
She glanced around the room as Frau Alrich closed the door. Yes, she thought, it would be much nicer in this room. The settee was so comfortable. She sat back and waited for the Colonel. Suddenly it struck her that Leeburg had been very concerned about her son’s welfare. Why? she wondered. It wasn’t as if they were still very close friends. Hadn’t Erich made it plain that Leeburg was something of the past? Why was Leeburg so interested? Why was it so important for him to find Erich? Momentarily it bothered her, but she put it to the back of her mind and prepared herself for the Colonel.
Sadly, Leeburg followed Frau Alrich down the staircase into the entrance hall. He had been building up his hopes that Reitzer was alive and somewhere in Switzerland, and that Frau Reitzer would have helped him find her son. Now he had no hope at all. At the entrance door he turned to Frau Alrich. ‘Thank you,’ he said politely and stepped through the threshold.
‘Wait!’ Frau Alrich whispered.
Leeburg stopped in his tracks, surprised at the urgency in her voice.
‘Come to the rear entrance,’ she whispered. ‘I must talk to you.’
Before Leeburg could reply, the housekeeper had closed the door.
With mounting curiosity, he walked along the driveway. When he was out of view of Frau Reitzer’s window, he quickly darted through the trees and slipped into the outhouse attached to the kitchen porch. Presently, Frau Alrich appeared. She ushered him into the kitchen. Puzzled, Leeburg waited for her explanation.
‘I heard you say it was important that you found the Major,’ she said.
Leeburg nodded his head in agreement.
‘The Major is alive and in Switzerland,’ Frau Alrich said quietly.
Leeburg’s pulse quickened. He looked into her cold, grey eyes. Was she telling the truth? Could he believe her? Why should she help him?
‘What makes you so sure?’ he asked.
‘About two years ago a man came to speak to Frau Reitzer from Bregenz. A week later Frau Reitzer took some of her valuables into Bregenz. It was for the Major. To be smuggled into Switzerland for him.’
‘Who was this man?’ Leeburg asked.
‘He gave his name as Alfoss. He was a small, slimly built man.’
Small! Slimly built! Nothing much to go on, Leeburg thought. ‘Did he ever come back again?’
‘No,’ Frau Alrich replied. ‘But Frau Reitzer has visited Bregenz twice since her first visit, and on each occasion she has taken some of her valuables with her.’
‘Did she see this man, Alfoss, on each of her visits?’
‘I don’t know, she never took me with her. She went alone.’
‘Have you any idea of his address?’
Frau Alrich shook her head. ‘No.’
‘But you are sure he came from Bregenz?’
‘My brother-in-law is the station master,’ Frau Alrich said without a trace of a smile. ‘He told me he had a ticket for Bregenz. It was one of the first trains to operate after the end of the war.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell me about him?’
But Frau Alrich’s memory was not so good as he had hoped. She shook her head, regretfully.
Leeburg tried another tack. ‘Has Frau Reitzer heard from the Major?’ he asked.
‘I do not know, but she has received a number of letters from Switzerland.’
‘Which could have been from the Major?’
‘They were not in his handwriting.’
‘From her daughter?’
‘Some were, some weren’t.’
‘Those that weren’t, where had they been posted?’
‘Klisters.’
Klisters! Where Frau Reitzer’s son-in-law had his estate. Klisters! On the other side of the mountains. Could Reitzer really be there? Could he believe Frau Alrich? Why was she being so helpful? She had earned a reputation for keeping her own counsel. Why was she now being so informative? He decided to ask her. ‘You have been most helpful,’ he said seriously. ‘I am very grateful,’ he paused and added, ‘Why have you helped me?’
Her facial expression didn’t change. It was almost as if she had been expecting the question. ‘We have had some very difficult times,’ she said, holding Leeburg in her steady gaze. ‘If your brother had not helped us on several occasions, we would not have survived.’
Karl! Leeburg knew that he had been involved with rationing and food distribution for the Germans as well as the French. He hadn’t realized that his brother had tried to help others as well as himself. It was to Karl’s credit and Leeburg’s good fortune.
‘The Major never had much time for me,’ Frau Alrich added solemnly.
So it had bothered her after all, Leeburg thought. Beneath her hard exterior she had felt it. He felt a moment of sympathy for her.
‘Thank you for your help,’ he said tenderly.
She gave a faint smile and wished him well.
Leeburg left her and picked his way thoughtfully through the trees to the road. So Erich Reitzer was alive! There could be no other explanation for Frau Reitzer’s actions or her casual attitude. Reitzer was alive and in hiding in Switzerland, probably in one of his brother-in-law’s estates, until the time was ripe for him to return home. And this man Alfoss was the go-between.
Leeburg came to the road and walked along the hard, snow-crusted surface. If Alfoss lived in Bregenz, then Kurtz was the man to help Leeburg find him. He knew everyone, or so he had implied, and he had also hinted of his connections with the underworld of the black market. Yes, Leeburg thought, Kurtz was his man. He increased his pace. The following day was Saturday, he was free for the weekend after midday. He would go and see Kurtz then.
Having resolved upon a plan of action he felt more at ease. The fact that Frau Alrich had confirmed that Reitzer was alive and in Switzerland gave him hope. No matter whether he located this man, Alfoss, or not, he would find Reitzer. Somehow he would find him.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone calling his name. He looked up and saw Elka on the slopes directly above him. She was waving a ski stick. Leeburg waved back and watched her ski towards him. He hadn’t seen her since they had last talked together at the Post Hotel, but he hadn’t forgotten about her. She had unsettled him. He didn’t understand her attitude, but he still felt attracted to her.
She skied on to the road, close to where he was standing, and unfastened her bindings. ‘I saw you go to Frau Reitzer’s villa,’ she said, ‘so I waited. I wanted to speak to you.’ She wiped the snow off her skis and fastened them together. ‘Do you mind if I walk with you?’ she asked.
‘Certainly not,’ Leeburg smiled. ‘I am pleased to see we are still friends.’
He took the skis from her and carried them on his shoulder.
‘That’s what I want to talk to you about,’ she said. He saw the sparkle in her eyes and the flash of white of her smile and felt a strange feeling deep inside of him.
‘I must have sounded very priggish and disloyal to you the other evening.’
Leeburg shrugged. ‘We are all entitled to our own opinions,’ he said. ‘You will have your reasons.’
‘I have,’ she said seriously, ‘and I would like to explain them to you.’
Leeburg stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. ‘No,’ he said. ‘There is no need. Often there are some things which it is better to keep to yourself. You have no need to tell me anything.’
He didn’t want her to confess anythi
ng to him because he didn’t want to feel obligated into taking her into his own confidence.
‘I would rather tell you,’ she said quietly.
They carried on walking. If he tried to stop her again it would be impertinent, but he didn’t want to hear her confession.
‘My father was a lecturer in Economics at Vienna University,’ she said. ‘We lived in the university grounds, in one of their apartments. When the Germans came the Faculty Head was changed for a man with fascist sympathies. However, my father was not really affected. He kept very much to himself and didn’t get involved with politics.
‘Towards the end of 1943 he was at a private dinner party at the university. During the course of the evening he made what must have been an indiscreet remark about the future economy of our country. I remember when he came back from the dinner he just sat in the chair in front of the fire for a long time. It was almost as if he was waiting for them to come for him.
‘The following day he was arrested by the Gestapo. His indiscretion had been reported to them by the Faculty Head.’ She paused and breathed heavily. ‘We never saw my father again. We heard, about six months later, that he had died in prison.’
They walked a short distance in silence.
‘I hated the fascists then and I hate them now,’ she said vehemently, ‘and all those who supported them.’
Leeburg remained silent.
‘After my father was arrested we had to leave our apartment. My mother had to go out to work. The only work she was permitted to do was to clean out Government offices.’ She sighed. ‘She died two years ago and I came to live with Uncle Otto.’
Again they walked in silence.
‘That has nothing to do with Erich Reitzer,’ she said ruefully, ‘but it lets you know how I feel about people like Reitzer.’
‘How do you know what Reitzer is like?’ Leeburg asked.
‘Oh! I know a lot about him,’ she said. ‘I knew him when he was at school in Vienna. It was close to the university and he used to visit some of my parents’ friends. I was quite young then, but I can remember him, and then during the first year of the war the son of another University lecturer sent a photograph to his parents. It was of a group of soldiers in uniform. One of them was you, another was Erich Reitzer — Corporal Reitzer.’
The Fallen Eagles Page 11