Grantville Gazette, Volume 70

by Bjorn Hasseler

  "Vaguely."

  "It's part of the barracks. It was quarters for the officers and their headquarters. They didn't like the spaces in the barracks proper so they included that building when they appropriated the property for the barracks. I was told Buch had owned it before it was seized by the Swedes."

  "That explains much."

  "Yes, it does."

  "I didn't go in today but I think we should give it a look over as soon as we can."

  "I agree. Tomorrow?"

  "Let's see, the carpenter and stonemason are coming in the morning. We could go with them. I don't remember any other appointments, do you?"

  Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on their door. The innkeeper entered. "Herr Marshal, this message just arrived for you."

  "Danke. I appreciate your promptness."

  The innkeeper left to return to the taproom in the front of the inn. Archie tried to read the message but it was handwritten, and poorly at that. "Can you read this, Dieter?"

  "Well. Uh, it's from Heinrich Buch. I think he is offering an apology and would like to meet you tonight at…" he glanced at his watch, a gift from Greta, "at around 9 PM, if I'm reading this right. His handwriting is terrible!"

  "Huh! I wonder what he wants? After the meeting today, I wouldn't think he wants to meet for hugs and kisses."

  "What?" It was another of Archie's witticisms that always surprised Dieter.

  "Never mind. Ask the innkeeper to send a messenger to Buch and tell him I'll be there. Remind me that we need to budget for messenger service."

  "I'll do that. Is it alright if I don't go with you? One of my horses has cast a shoe. I'd like to take it to Christian Zeitts and get it shod."

  "Go ahead. I don't think Buch is going to try anything, not now that all has been exposed."

  ****

  Archie entered Buch's shop. The smell of burned powder still lingering on his duster and clothes.

  Heinrich Buch approached from the rear of the cabinetry shop. "Herr Marshal."

  "Herr Buch. I think you have a mess out front. There are four dead bodies."

  "I heard." He sighed. "I need to confess."

  "Luring me here to be killed?"

  "No! No, I …I didn't know what was planned. My son-in-law told me to invite you here. He …uh …he forced me."

  "How?"

  "My daughter. She's six months with child. Achen beats her. I'm afraid he'll kill her."

  "Isn't that frowned upon?"

  "Yes, no, the church won't interfere. It's not against the law if it's just a beating. There's no one."

  "I know how that can be. I've seen it often enough. Back up-time, if something like this occurred, a man gathered his friends and family and fixed the problem, put the son of a bitch in the hospital. No one talks, nothing can be proved."

  "I don't have anyone that I could trust to not talk. This whole scheme with the barracks is his idea. He told me to build a warehouse and storefront at the barracks. When finished, it and the building next to it could be sold for three times what it cost me."

  "And what did it cost you to buy the barracks?"

  The price Buch gave was astonishingly low. "Who pushed this through the council? You?"

  "Feld. He gets a percentage of the profit when the buildings are sold."

  "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

  "Now, where can I find your son-in-law?"

  "He's usually at Der Bulle und Bär this time of night. He lives, sometimes, here with my daughter. They have rooms upstairs. But most of the time he's there."

  "Will he be there tomorrow?"

  "He should be."

  "Don't warn him I'm coming."

  "No—no, I won't."

  "I think Suhl needs a new councilman and bürgermeister, don't you?"

  Buch didn't speak but just nodded and hung his head. He'd be lucky to get off with some jail time and a heavy fine. He and Feld both. The SoTF was hard on public corruption.

  ****

  Archie wished he hadn't given Dieter time off to get his horse shod. He wasn't up to bracing Achen in his own territory. He didn't know how many men Achen had. Seven of them were now pushing up daisies. He could easily have more. Tomorrow would do. He and Dieter would scout Der Bulle und Bär. If Achen was there, he and Dieter would arrest him …one way or another.

  He headed back to the Boar's Head. He felt fine. The adrenaline hit made his aches and pains slip away.

  He walked through the Boar's Head doorway and made his way over to a table in the corner. He didn't drink much but once in a while, he liked a beer. "Ein bier, Mein Herr," he called to the innkeeper. The beer arrived in a large mug, still foaming. The innkeeper brewed it himself. It wasn't what he liked, but in the time since the Ring of Fire, he had become accustomed to the down-time brew. It would do.

  ****

  Archie slept late the next morning. He had left Dieter a note on his bedroom door to postpone the follow-up with the carpenter and stonemason for a day. He and Dieter had law business to attend to today.

  A visit to the jakes, a bath, and he was ready. He retrieved his Model 1897 shotgun from their makeshift armory and dumped a handful of double-aught shells in his side coat pocket. He loaded the shotgun with five more shells of double-aught buck. The shotgun was once known as a trench gun. It had a twenty-inch barrel, and, at one time, a bayonet lug. Archie had never owned a bayonet for the shotgun. He was well off without it. All a bayonet did, in close quarters, was get in the way.

  Dieter stood waiting. He, too, had his double-barreled shotgun ready and his Colt 1911 on his belt. The two walked out through the front of the Boar's Head Inn, Archie in front with Dieter following. The innkeeper did a double-take as they passed. They were armed and appeared ready for business.

  Der Bulle und Bär was in a part of Suhl that Archie had not yet visited. It was nestled in the shade of the city wall. Archie and Dieter walked up to the entrance. Dieter opened the door and stepped aside to let Archie enter first.

  Archie walked in and stepped to one side. Dieter followed and stepped to the other side. Neither were silhouetted against the open doorway.

  Schlick-schlock! The strange sound caused Achen to look up, interrupting his conversation with his last two men.

  "Friedrich Achen," Archie said. "You are under arrest for fraud, extortion, assault on a SoTF marshal, and murder. Place your hands on your head and stand up!"

  Achen looked into three shotgun barrels, the double-barrel in Dieter's hands and the one in Archie's. Both marshals stood covering the inn's common room, their six-pointed badges clearly visible in the dimness of the inn.

  No one moved. Then, Achen slowly raised his hands, put them on his head and slowly rose. The other two sitting at his table didn't move, neither scarcely breathed.

  "Step forward and turn around."

  Achen did so.

  "I'm using my good steel handcuffs on you, Achen. The rest of you—don't interfere. Stay where you are and don't move until we're gone. Don't follow us either. We can take you all out if necessary."

  The room remained silent. None doubted his word. Archie and Dieter pulled Achen with them and backed out of the room. Dieter kept watch as they headed for Ruben Blumroder's shop.

  "We REALLY need a jail, Dieter." Archie said as they neared the gunshop. "This is just getting repetitious."

  ****

  Mid-May, 1634,

  Suhl

  A Mounted Constabulary trooper dismounted outside the entrance of the Boar's Head Inn. The inn's stableboy took the horse's reins and led it to the stables in back for watering while the trooper went inside the inn. "Where may I find Marshal Mitchell?" he asked.

  "He's in back. Wait. I'll get him," the innkeeper replied and disappeared into the rear of the inn to reappear a few minutes later with the Marshal.

  "I'm Marshal Mitchell." he told the trooper.

  "Sir, the 1st Mounted Constabulary Troop with Frau Mitchell and Frau Issler should arrive in two hours. Captain Gruber sent
me ahead to tell you."

  "That's very good news, trooper." Archie, walked back to the rear doorway and shouted, "Dieter! They're here. Want to ride out to greet them?"

  "Yes!" Dieter replied from the rear of the inn.

  Archie returned to the trooper and said, "Have a beer on me while we saddle our horses. We'll ride back with you."

  "Danke, Herr Marshal." The trooper never refused a free beer. He took his time to finish it and then walked out the front entrance in time to see Archie and Dieter appear on horseback with the stableboy leading the trooper's horse.

  "Lead off," Archie instructed after the trooper had mounted, and the three departed.

  They rode down the road that ran along the river until they found the troop and several accompanying wagons coming towards them. Archie saw Marjorie sitting on one wagon. Greta was seated on another. Both wagons, covered by waterproof tarps, were heavily loaded and driven by MC troopers.

  "I think Majorie and Greta brought everything but the kitchen sink," Archie said to Dieter as they approached the troop. Archie greeted the officer in the lead and then rode down the column until he reached Marjorie's wagon. Dieter rode on to the next wagon and Greta.

  "Hi, Marj, I've missed you," Archie said pulling up next to the wagon.

  "Arch, I missed you, too...I'm glad to be here. You're looking good."

  "Feel good, too. I was really whupped when I first got here. Dieter and I had some troubles but that's all cleared up."

  "I see you got a new saddle."

  "Yeah, I made a good deal. Where're your horses?"

  "My mare and the gelding are in the string back behind the wagons with the MC's spare horses. I rode most of the time, but too much made my rear hurt. I'm not up for long rides on horseback anymore."

  "I hear ya. Dieter and I found a nice house in town. It's two stories and big enough for all of us with room to spare. It's not far from some new friends of mine, Johann Zeitts and his family. I think you'll like them."

  "I brought your recliner and our bed. I had to disassemble them to get everything in the wagon but I knew you'd want them."

  "Thank you. I really miss that recliner. The beds here are OK, but my leg starts hurting in the middle of the night."

  Captain Gruber rode up next to Archie and introduced himself. "Is the barracks ready, Marshal?"

  "Almost. The workmen should finish up today—just minor stuff. The trooper barracks and the stables were finished first. I left two tall trees standing for the radio antenna according to the instructions I received."

  "Good. I brought a permanent radio station with me and two radio operators. They'll work for the court. Did you find a blacksmith, farrier, and saddler?"

  "Yes, I did. Johann Zeitts and his son, Christian. I have them under contract to give you twenty hours each, each week. Johann Zeitts is a saddler. He made the saddle I'm sitting on. His son, Christian, is a journeyman blacksmith and farrier. I don't think you'd need them more than twenty hours a week."

  "No, that should be sufficient. The horses were all shod before we left."

  "Before I forget, I did make one commitment for you."

  "Oh?"

  "There's been a shakeup in the Suhl city council. The city watch has been pretty much ineffectual. They've not been competently led. The militia has been manning the gates and the walls but that's all. The new city council has asked for some suitable watchtmeister candidates. I told the council that you would provide troopers to help train the watch and help patrol the city until a new wachtmeister takes over or for two months whichever occurs first."

  "Hmmm. I think I can do that. Some of them can do double-duty for a while."

  "I'm glad you agree. I was put into a spot, and I hate to make commitments for other people. My deputy and I have been helping to improve the watch's overall capability and with some on-the-job training on a few promising watchmen. We've been making random patrols through the city with them but we're just two and when the court is established, we'll have our own work to do."

  "I must start sending out patrols as soon as I can, but we'll need some time to get everything set up and to rest the horses and men before we start. I think we can work something out."

  "Thank you, Captain."

  "You are very welcome, Herr Marshal." Gruber kicked his heels and rode up to the head of the column. Archie stayed with the wagon and Marjorie.

  They rode silently for some time, he on horseback and she on the wagon seat next to the driver. Archie broke the silence, "I really missed you, Marj. I don't like living alone."

  "What? No dancing girls in that inn?"

  Archie laughed, "No, no dancing girls. I hope you like the place Dieter and I found for us. It was a bakery at one time. I had some walls added to divide it into two apartments, one for us and the other for Dieter and Greta."

  "It sounds good, Arch …Arch, I'm ready to go home."

  "Me too, Marj, me too."

  ****

  Even Monsters Die by Eric S. Brown and A.G. Carpenter

  Early Spring, 1635

  Natalie pulled on her boots and grabbed her backpack off the bed. The weather had been mostly wet and grey as spring slowly replaced winter, so she hoped the puddle-filled streets would be enough of an excuse to be wearing boots instead of her normal sneakers. If Mom even notices.

  She shoved her textbooks a little further under the edge of her bed with her foot, then stepped out into the hall. "Hey, Mom. I'm headed for school. I'll see you this afternoon." She headed for the door, trying not to look like she was in a rush. Trying not to look guilty.

  "Wait a minute, Natalie." Mom poked her head out of the kitchen. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

  Natalie paused, fidgeting. "Uh…"

  "Lunch," Mom said with a smile. She came down the hallway with the lunchbox.

  "Oh. Right." Natalie took it from her with a nod. "Thanks, Mom."

  "You're in a hurry this morning." Mom paused, looking at her more closely. "Everything okay?"

  "Yeah. Fine. Just …there might be a pop quiz this morning." It wasn't a lie. There might be a pop quiz, but even if there was Natalie didn't plan to be there.

  Mom nodded. "All right. I'm sure you'll do fine." She gave Natalie a quick hug. "Go on, then. And be careful. There's still ice in some places."

  "Right, Mom." Natalie waved as she hurried down the steps toward the street. "See you this afternoon."

  She waited until she reached the street corner before she stopped to unzip her backpack and stuff the lunchbox inside. There was already other food in the bag where her school books would normally be. She zipped it back up, glanced over her shoulder to make sure Mom wasn't still watching her from the house, then turned left at the corner and headed for the edge of Grantville instead of continuing up the street toward the school.

  There were some other folks out, but none of them paid any attention as Natalie hurried past. Not even the other kids headed to school seemed to notice she was headed in the wrong direction. She wasn't even sure they noticed her at all. One advantage to having no friends. No one really cared where she was going.

  She tucked her thumbs through the straps on her backpack, pulling it more snugly against her back so it wouldn't jostle as she walked, and hurried on.

  By the time she reached the edge of town and the big tree by the crossroad, she was breathing hard—cheeks and nose prickling from walking in the chilly morning.

  "Red? Henrietta?" Natalie paused, wondering if the other girl had already left without her. "Henrietta?" she called again.

  "It's about time you showed up." Henrietta stepped out from behind the tree. She was wearing a plain gray cloak, her red hair hidden under a white cap with frayed ribbons that tied loosely under her chin. A sack containing what looked to be her Monster Society costume rested in the grass beside the tree.

  Natalie blinked, barely recognizing her without the trademark crimson cloak she wore when they were campaigning. "Hey. Didn't see you there."

  "I was just a
bout to give up on you." Henrietta crossed her arms over her chest.

  "Yeah. Sorry. Mom wanted to chat right before I left." Natalie shook her head. "Thanks for waiting. I'm not sure I know where …Konrad lives."

  Henrietta nodded. "We should probably get started. It's a bit of a walk and you said you have to get back by the afternoon."

  "Yeah. By the time school gets out. Otherwise my mom'll start to worry." Natalie fell into step beside her longer-legged friend.

  "You sure it's okay for you to …skip? I thought that school was important to you." Henrietta looked at her, part frown and part curious.

  "Yes. But I've been doing all the extra credit for the past week so it's not like I'm falling behind or anything."

  "Extra credit?"

  Belated, Natalie remembered that Henrietta didn't go to school—not even the old-fashioned school in the down-timer village. "They send home work each day. A kind of review of what we've studied so we can practice at home. There are always a few extra questions that we don't have to do unless we did bad on a test or missed a day or something."

  "Oh." Henrietta nodded.

  They walked a little further, squeezing over to the muddy verge of the road as a man with a cart passed them going the opposite direction.

  Natalie stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. "Are you okay?"

  "What?" Henrietta looked at her with a frown.

  "You just look worried. It is okay that we're going to visit …Konrad?"

  "Yeah." She made a face. "You say his name funny."

  "Just not used to it. But I figure his mom might not like me calling him Ray." She grinned. "John called me Scully in front of my mom and her face…" She puckered her mouth up in an imitation.

  "Yeah." Henrietta nodded. "Sure."

  "You don't sound—"

  "When I saw John last week he said Konrad was pretty sick, but he should be better soon. But I overheard a couple of folks in the village talking and they seemed to think …he was still really sick." She looked at Natalie, and she looked more than worried.

  Natalie swallowed hard. She looks scared. "John would have told us if it were something serious, right?" She put her hand on Henrietta's shoulder awkwardly. "I'm sure they were just gossiping. My dad says anytime a down-timer has a cold for more than a couple of days everyone starts wondering if it's the plague."