by Shane Crosby
“Ain’t that the truth.”
CHAPTER THIRTY - ONE
BACK TO BASICS
BERLIN – BUNKER
Dub, Mase, Trevor, Don
We left D.C. and gave Jared specific instructions to remove any photos or any type of references to me and the others. We didn’t know who we were dealing with. He’d be there alone, unprotected and I didn’t like that at all. We gave him some pointers on how to protect himself and what to look for. I just hope he listened and took us seriously. It could possibly save his life.
We arrived back in Berlin late in the evening. All I wanted to do was shower, eat and lay it down, but the others, had more in store. Mainly, they wanted to know what we uncovered from our visit with Marylyn Briggs. I guess rest will have to come later.
The first thing we started with was the little mini investigation I went on. I explained about the unexplained disappearances and how I hadn’t figured out a connection to each case other than they, too had disappeared like the others.
The next item everyone wanted to know about was the bag we received from Mrs. Briggs. Don and I wanted to wait until tomorrow to go over all the items within the bag, but we were outnumbered.
The first thing we removed from the box were the pictures. None of us could figure out what they were for, but we all agreed they had to mean something if he kept them. Don’s theory about them being similar to war criminals wasn’t shared. However, the doc, being Jewish wanted to take a look at them.
The other information we removed was the papers regarding murders and missing people, which was of particular interest to Trevor.
“Dub, I thought you said these were some kind of clippings.”
“Clippings, paper, whatever.”
“No, not whatever. Man these are police reports. Don, you didn’t know what these were?”
“I didn’t look at them that hard.”
“Oh my God, you two together equal part of the stooges.”
“Trevor, we were busy watching our backs and Jared’s. We weren’t trying to close the case on one visit.”
“Good thing, too because you wouldn’t be able to.”
“Man shut up and tell us why this is significant.”
“Why would an Attorney General have police reports? He was never an officer. How did he get these? Why does he have them? He has information in here on my case in Gochian.”
I kept shuffling the reports just glancing through them. They were all just a part of a police case didn’t mean anything until I was slapped in the face with a name. The name was Shana Washington. There was a missing person’s report and a missing person’s report on her parents.
“Trev.”
“Yeah.”
“You alright?”
“Uh, yeah, yeah, I’m fine. You know what I want to look at these two, if you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all. It mean something to you?”
“I just want to look through them. I’ll let you know more if I find something.”
“Okay, so what else?”
“We need to get a Ouija board.”
“A Ouija board? For what?”
“What’s wrong with you Mase? You been flying too high?”
Mase laughed. “No fool.”
“Why do you think we need a Ouija board Mase? I’m almost afraid to ask that.”
“We have to figure out what a dead man was thinking, right?”
“Aww, man that’s lame.”
“Man don’t leave the military. You’ll never make it as a comedian.”
“You know that was good. Come on. You got to give it to me.”
“I’m going to bed.”
“I don’t I can sleep after that.”
“Fellas, you just jealous of my talent.”
“Goodnight Mase.”
“They always have been jealous of me.”
THE NEXT MORNING
STIRRING UP BAD MEMORIES
BUNKER
Doc, Dub, Trevor, Mase, Don
We’ve all spent time in the military at some point in our lives. Therefore, we all keep the same schedule. We’re early risers. And, the content of that box was even more of an incentive to get an early start.
We all went straight into the room with the contents of the Attorney General’s bag and safety deposit box. I was eager to start and so were the rest of the fellas. We were dived right in and picked up where we left off.
“Doc, you still have those pictures?”
“Yes, I want to keep looking at them.”
“Okay, no problem. I hope you can tell us what the Attorney General was thinking when he kept them.”
“I doubt it, but I’ll do my best.”
I started to view the pictures. I picked them up one by one to look at them closer. Initially, I’d shuffled through them quickly, believing I couldn’t be of help. I just wanted to view them because of my Jewish faith and one of the brothers stated they were reminiscent of photos they show for war criminals. But, I found myself going back to this group of pictures. I spread them out onto the table. I held them in my hand one by one. There was one face among the rest that resonated with me. I held it longer carefully studying the details of the face, hair, stance and the picture in its entirety. It was like it was speaking to me. Every inch of it was reaching out to me from the paper. I couldn’t understand it at first but like lightening it became clear. I had seen this picture before or rather I’d seen this face before. It had been etched into my brain from a small child.
My grandmother and her sister were at Auschwitz. They told us of the horror they went through there. They were the only survivors left of their family. While there, somehow, they managed to obtain pictures of Hitler’s SS soldiers and decades later, they still had them. There was one solider in particular they used to speak about. He was particularly brutal. If they were fed at all that day, he would eat the food and spit it out on the ground and make them eat it. He beat them. He raped them. He made them dig their own graves. She told how they were in the yard and he walked up and punched their brother in the face and kicked him in the head repeatedly until he stopped moving. All the other guards laughed as this was happening. They took her brother away and they never saw him again.
I was transfixed. And the picture I was looking at now held the face of the same monster that peered out at me as a child; Gerhardt Richter.
“DOC! DOC!”
“Y-Y-Yes, I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“We were all saying what the heck is wrong with you?”
“Are you ok? We’ve been calling you for like five minutes. What’s up?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly and then another. I pointed to the picture and asked, “Where did you get this picture?”
“It was in the things that Marylyn Briggs gave us.”
“Are you ok, Doc? Seriously, you’re starting to worry me.”
“Me, too.”
“I was worried thirty seconds after he blanked out. Don’t know why it took you guys five minutes to notice he wasn’t right.”
“Man, be quiet.”
“Doc, what’s upsetting you about this picture?”
“This picture is of one of Hitler’s soldiers at Auschwitz, my grandmother’s family were prisoners there. They had this picture of him and tried to look for him to have him imprisoned for war crimes. They were never successful at locating him. That’s why I asked how you came about it.”
“Now this is getting even more mysterious. Why would the US Attorney General have a picture of some guy who was a part of the Holocaust?”
“You took those words right out of my head. He can’t possibly have a connection to this guy.”
“It may not be family relation but it’s related some kind of way.”
“I definitely want to help with this.”
“Yeah, we figured as much. After we heard your story we knew we wouldn’t be able to get rid of you.”
Trevor hobbles over to him and puts his hand on his
shoulder.
“Welcome aboard, Doc! You’re officially on board of the murder train.”
We all start throwing napkins at him.
“Awwwww, man that’s lame!”
“Hey, just letting him know what he’s up against. Geesh!”
“We don’t need all of that. What we need you to do is get over here and lend a hand.”
“Good thing we don’t need a leg.”
“True. He only has one good one left.”
“Very funny...don’t stop being a soldier, okay.”
Dub laughs. “How long you going to walk like Herman Munster?”
“Several more weeks, remember? It hasn’t been that long. I can still crack a case. I still have my mind.”
“Good. Let’s put it to use right now because your body is useless.”
“I can still punch you in the face, too.”
“You violent; always have been.”
“Man, shut up and tell me the plan.”
THE UNITED STATES
WEN
EVENING NEWS
Americans are continuing to hold their breaths hoping the economy continues to improve. We don’t know what magic bullet the President and his staff has shot into the economy but it seems to be working. Economists continue to report a steady and some have described as almost rapid growth to the economy. Jobs have increased by Two hundred and fifty thousand over the past six months last year there was only an increase of seventy thousand jobs so you can see the significant increase there. The new cases of unemployment claims have fallen every week. Congress is proposing to add more money to Education and Medicaid programs. And in a continuing shocking trend, families on Aid to dependent children has continued to decline. President Bryan has signed off on legislation to eliminate the program. But, don’t worry, you’ll have two years to prove you’re taking steps to get off Welfare and this is in effect immediately. The US Government has done it’s best to put working class Americans minds at ease by telling them their Social Security benefits will increase and Social Security will be around when they retire. They’ve also dropped the age of retirement from sixty-seven to sixty. For the average worker who works thirty years now the most you’ll make is about seventeen thousand dollars a year. With the new plan, you’ll make twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars a year, this figure is guaranteed for every working American. Healthcare costs are being cut, meaning, the US Government for the first time in history will provide free healthcare for all Americans. The level of care will be equal for everyone. In recent years we’ve had an overflow of Americans leaving this country to retire elsewhere due to the rising healthcare and housing costs now with the economic growth projected to continue for decades after you and I have stopped working more seniors are thinking of staying within their home country. I have to admit this is wonderful for Americans everywhere. We look forward to several more years under this administration. Back to you Chris.
WORKING DAY AND NIGHT
BUNKER
Trevor, Dub, Mase, Don, Doc
Amazing how small the world is. One dead body half way around the world has united brothers in this fight against and unknown killer. And, turns out, a doctor that I’ve never met has been touched by this case as well. Although all of this is surprising, I’m still convinced that nothing just happens. There’s always a reason behind it. We just haven’t figured out our reason.
We’d removed most of the contents from the bag. The pictures that had the doc so mesmerized is something that’s put a spell over all of us. They have us all wondering if they’re going to lead us down a hole so far and deep we’ll never be able to get out. As it stands, we’re waist deep in with no was of escape in sight.
Today, we’re planning to come up with a plan of action on how to proceed with what we have.
Knocking on the door....
“I’ll get it.”
“Hey, make sure you know who it is first.”
I peered out the peep hole and saw another brother trying to get in on the case. I opened the door without hesitation.
“Hey Mase. Welcome to the murder express.”
“Man let it go. How you doin?”
“I’m getting better. Another couple of weeks and I’m cast free.”
“Good. You look like you’re in better spirits.”
“I am. I still have rehab, but that’s better than this.”
“You can knock that out with one punch.”
“That’s what I’m planning. Come on in here you’re just in time for some spaghetti and meatballs.”
“Good cause I’m starving.”
We walked into the kitchen where everyone else was.
“Hey Mase, have a sit down. I hope you’re hungry.”
“He always hungry.”
“Yep, just like Dub since we were kids.”
“You just jealous of my physique.”
“Man, no, you just all out of line with that one.”
“Cut it out. Let’s get down to business. Where going to start with the case?”
“Trevor, it’s your case. Where do you suggest we begin?”
“Let’s start with the missing person’s reports. Why did he have those? Why are they significant? To be honest, that’s the only thing we have to go on that’s tangible. The bodies, we’ll never be able to match them with anything. Maybe the ones before they started burning them, but the others, no way.”
“What will we do with those once sorted?”
“Interview the people who made the report and go from there.”
“I agree. We’re at a dead end with the burned bodies.”
“I’d like to know how far this goes. We already know they found the same dead bodies in Amsterdam, Germany and Paris. I had them in Gochian. We met the detective in Phoenix. I wonder if it stops there.”
“That’s a good question.”
“Come on Trev. A serial killer who’s international? No way.”
“I agree. I’ve never heard of that.”
“Me either.”
“Me either, but they haven’t cornered the market on everything pertaining to serial killers. I agree, it’s uncharacteristic of a serial killer. They usually kill in familiar surroundings. But, they’ve been known to branch out. One case I remember was the guy who was a truck driver. He was killing women all over his routes.”
“But, that’s in the United States. You’re suggesting international and all over Europe the same killer?”
“Unbelievable.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not possible guys. Doesn’t matter how ugly it is, it’s still the truth.”
“Clichés? Really?”
“You won’t listen any other way.”
“Trevor, if we follow this theory and come up empty that’s a lot of our time wasted.”
“If we don’t follow it, I believe we’re going to come up empty anyway. And, being a homicide detective means you’re willing to go wherever the case takes you.”
“He’s right Dub. We don’t have the same cases as the civilian world, but we have the same methodology. I would go wherever that case took me.”
“I don’t know. I mean, they’re trying to kill us. Any time wasted is the longer we’re on the chopping block.”
“Dub I agree with Trevor. We gotta follow the theory. Since we’re the ones with the investigative experience, I say we go with in that direction.”
“We’re overruling you.”
“I’m the oldest. You can’t overrule me.”
“We just did big guy.”
“What’s the plan?”
“The Attorney General has reports on the murders. He kept the names of the detectives who worked the cases. I will start there.”
“Good place to start. They’ll probably refer you to other cases, if they heard of any.”
“Right. I’ll bet they have. I know this isn’t just confined to Gochian and three countries in Europe.”
“I’ll work on the missing people.”
“Good. Mase and D
ub can figure out the coordinates and maps he left. I have no idea what those are.”
“Me either, but I’m thinking coordinates. I believe he tried to disguise them.
“Oh, so no one would figure it out.”
“That’s my guess.”
“Okay, you guys start with those. Me and Don will start on ours.”
“Got it. We’ll regroup in a couple of days.”
“Sounds good.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
MOVING FORWARD
BERLIN
Trevor
My theory has always been there’s a link to those gentlemen clubs and the dead bodies showing up all over the world. I wanted to call other areas to see if they had the same bodies being dumped within their cities and states. Once I confirm they have the same problem, the information the AG left will let me know if there were clubs in those areas as well. The problem being, the clubs in Europe are owned by one company and the ones in Gochian and Wisconsin showed a different owner, but the design of each is strikingly similar.
Before the accident and attack on our family, I was in the process of proving my theory. When my family was taken, I lost focus and had to leave Gochian to regroup. I didn’t think I was going to be able to recover from this, but I’m starting to see the top of the hole these people flung me into. Tonight, I’ll make a few calls, listen to their story and compare what we have. As badly as I want to bury the people who were responsible for bury my family, I know I need to learn patience. Every step they take, I’ll be there waiting to match it to the other one hundred they’ve taken. Until eventually, I’ll be standing on their front door. And, this time, it won’t be just me and Jack, it’ll be an army of brothers banded together by loss, tragedy and an unrelenting spirit to get to the bottom of whatever is going on in this world.
For the next few days, I made calls to the United States. I touched each state and city that was in the AG’s bag of tricks. Each officer relived the sickening feeling they experienced when they discovered those bodies. As I listened to them struggle through what was for most, the worst cases they’ve caught in their careers, I couldn’t stop myself from becoming emotional. As they were telling their stories, I was in the midst of living through my nightmare. It was difficult and I know it’ll continue to be right up until the day I can look them in the eye and shut the cell door in their faces.