A Walk Among the Dead

by Fanning, Fred

  “Freda where is Kurt?”

  “He is dead.”

  “What happened?”

  “The policewoman on stake out apparently saw us and moved in. She called out and Kurt turned, but she shot him first. I fired once then she shot me.”

  “Dammit, how could things go so badly?”

  “The Silke kidnapping wasn’t worth the risk.”

  “The von Manntoell building had a very convenient back maintenance door.”

  “It is too late now. We have one of them, and as far as I’m concerned, the better of the two.”

  Erich was concerned with Freda and pleaded.

  “Reinhardt, we need to get Freda to a clinic.”

  “No, she would just be arrested.”

  “Then we have to do something. She is bleeding badly.”

  “Calm down, Erich, and get me some hot water.”

  As Erich got a pot and filled it with hot water from the sink, Reinhardt moved to help Freda.

  “Freda, sit here in the chair.”

  Freda was speaking slowly gasping for air between words. “I’m hit in the back, feels like it is below my shoulder blade. I think the bullet came out here. She pulled up her shirt to point to a hole in her side.

  Reinhardt pulled off her coat and shirt. “It looks like you have this figured out. I see the entry wound in the back and the exit wound here.”

  “What you can’t see is if any damage was done inside her,” said Erich “Here is the water, Reinhardt.”

  Erich took some of the towels, moistened them with the hot water and washed her wounds.

  “I am going to look for bandages,” said Reinhardt as he went out to Erich’s car and got the first aid kit. He walked over to Freda’s car and grabbed her kit too. Armed with two first aid kits, he returned to the kitchen. “Here, I’ve got medical supplies that we can use.”

  “Is there enough there?” asked Freda.

  “There has to be. Just sit there while Erich cleans you up,” said Reinhardt.

  “We need to end this now and get her medical attention,” said Erich.

  “Erich, I told you once. The clinic will call the police and she will be arrested.”

  “That is better than being dead,” said Erich.

  “Erich, dear, Reinhardt is right. I don’t want to go to prison.”

  Erich wiped down both wounds. The bleeding slowed but didn’t stop. Reinhardt took out four large gauze bandages and gave them to Erich.

  “Hold two bandages on the front wound and two on the back.”

  “Got it. Now, what?”

  “I am going to use these two arm slings to wrap around her torso to hold those bandages in place.”

  As Reinhardt wrapped the bandage, Erich said, “It looks like it is working.”

  “It does. I need just a little more bandage.”

  Johann was still passed out in a chair on the opposite side of the table from the chloroform. He was oblivious to the movement around him.

  “Here is another roll of gauze,” said Erich.

  “Great that will do it.”

  With two bandages on each wound and the gauze wrapped around to hold them on, the bleeding slowed and then it stopped. Freda took a second, long drink of the liquor.

  “Help her to the bedroom to lie down,” said Reinhardt.

  Erich laid her down on the bed, covering her with a blanket from the chair. He turned on the radiator for heat and then returned to the kitchen.

  Johann was regaining consciousness. Reinhardt gave him a few seconds to fully come to his senses then started the interrogation. He questioned him about the location of the money that was left from the closure of the Berlin Society of Theosophy. Unfortunately, Johann didn’t know the answer so he was beaten severely in the face and head by Reinhardt’s fists. Johann passed out and Reinhardt took a break from the exhaustive work of interrogation.

  Johann’s mind was whirling. As he came in and out of consciousness, he was seeing visions and hearing conversations that had occurred over the past few days. His mind began to focus on the names and inscriptions in his family mausoleum, but why? Before he could figure anything out, he lost consciousness again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Meanwhile, Maggie and most of the Berlin Police were looking for Johann. Maggie had a second officer explain what had happened to Silke and to remain stationed outside her flat. Maggie called her.

  “Maggie, I’m afraid.”

  “You’re okay Silke. The police stopped the kidnapping attempt and we have an officer outside your building and a second at your door.”

  “What about Johann?”

  “Silke he’s been kidnapped.”

  “My God, what can we do?”

  “We have police out everywhere searching for him.”

  “Can I do anything to help?”

  “Yes, that’s why I am calling.”

  “Silke, I need you to find that lost money. That is what they are trying to get from Johann.”

  “He doesn’t know where it is.”

  “He’s still in danger.”

  “I’ve got it, Maggie. I’ll call you when I get something.”

  “Thanks, Silke, and I’ll find Johann.”

  Silke went over every clue they had. Silke noticed something strange. She read the description of the Manntoell Family Mausoleum. The notes said there were several empty vaults. Each vault had a scripture written in the gray stone.

  She immediately had the police officer take her to the von Manntoell family mausoleum. There in the dark, cold edifice, she went to each door of the empty vaults. She wrote down what each one said and returned to her flat.

  At the farmhouse, Johann woke to a loud crash as he and the chair he was tied to crashed to the floor. His head struck the clay tile floor. Reinhardt was standing over him smiling. Reinhardt lifted the chair back onto its legs.

  “Johann, you must tell me where the money is.”

  “I keep telling you, I don’t know.”

  “You must know. If you don’t, I have no further use for you.”

  “It doesn’t matter, I don’t know.”

  “Your father told you.”

  “He didn’t.”

  As he tried to clear his mind, Johann was connecting the dots. If he could survive this interrogation, he would solve this mystery and find the treasure. He didn’t care what his parents had done, he’d always love them.

  Reinhardt struck Johann twice in the head. Johann reeled from the blows. He tried to remain conscious, but couldn’t.

  “Reinhardt, if you beat him too badly he won’t be able to tell us anything,” said Erich.

  “I know what I am doing.”

  “I’m sure you do, but what if he doesn’t know?”

  “He knows. It would be ridiculous for a father not to share a secret like that with his son.”

  “I’m just concerned we won’t get anything out of him.”

  “Erich, pour a pitcher of cold water on him. That’ll bring him back to consciousness.”

  In a dream, Johann made the connection between the empty vaults in his family mausoleum. He remembered the vault with a verse from Matthew inscribed:

  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”

  Erich poured a pitcher of cold water on Johann, but it had no effect on him. Johann was tied with his hands behind the chair he was sitting in. His upper body slumped forward with his head hanging heavy on his chest. Blood and fluid were seeping from his mouth. There were several cuts and abrasions on his face. Blood trickled from his left ear.

  “What do we do now?”

  “We take a break.”

  “I’m going to check on Freda.”

  Reinhardt walked over to the refrigerator and got a beer. He then took a sea
t at the table. He drank the beer as he waited for Johann to regain consciousness. Erich walked to the bedroom and checked on Freda. She was asleep. He checked her wounds and saw a little bleeding through the bandages. He sat on the edge of the bed holding her hand. He wondered how she could sleep through all the noise in the kitchen.

  As he sat there with her, he wished they hadn’t got involved with Reinhardt. Sure, she was fired from the police department, but jumping to work for a criminal organization like Reinhardt’s was too much. Now it was too late. She laid next to him with a life-threatening wound. He bent over to kiss her on the forehead.

  “Erich, come here.”

  “Coming, Reinhardt.”

  “Get a beer and sit for a while.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “She is asleep, but the bleeding has nearly stopped.”

  “She’s got a clean wound.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Means the bullet went straight through. That means that it probably didn’t damage any internal organs and since it’s out she won’t have to go through the pain of having it removed.”

  “I hope so. I can’t lose her.”

  “You won’t, she will be okay.”

  “I hope so.”

  “What we need to worry about is wrapping this up before the police figure out where we’re at.”

  “Think they have figured out I’m involved?”

  “No, they won’t figure that out for a day or two. We have to get this man to tell us where the money is so we can get out of here.”

  “The money has to be some place he would be assured no one would bother.”

  “That’s correct, but where is that?”

  Erich looked through some documents on the table to see if there were any connections. As he read through the material, he saw that the money from the Society did exist and that it was missing. The likely person to have kept the money was the Treasurer Hans von Manntoell. What he couldn’t figure out was if he had the money, why he hadn’t taken it for himself.

  “Reinhardt, if he had the money why didn’t he spend it?”

  “I don’t know, but I know he had it.”

  “Why would someone have all that money and not spend any?”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “I am just trying to understand.”

  “How will that help?”

  “I don’t know, but right now we need answers.”

  “We need just one answer now.”

  Johann stirred in his chair. He moaned and said something incoherent. Reinhardt took the opportunity to start interrogating him again.

  “Johann, tell me where the money is.”

  “Hmm, don’t know.”

  “You have to tell me or you won’t survive.”

  “Don’t know.”

  “If you tell me, you can leave or we can take you to a clinic.”

  Before he could answer, Johann’s head fell to his chest. Erich jumped up and checked for a pulse. He felt a rapid pulse and Johann was breathing. He was out cold and it could be some time before he woke again. Reinhardt and Erich walked into the living room and sat in the two stuffed chairs. They sat quietly.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  As the police searched through arrest records and prison documents, they found a connection between Günter and Kurt and a new man named Reinhardt Kantor. There had been communication between the three of them while Günter Eckersley was in prison. The transcripts of the conversations were rather dull, but could have been in code. The police were now searching for Kantor.

  A SWAT team was sent to Reinhardt’s address. There was a fenced-in yard with a gate locked at the driveway. The team moved in on foot, surrounded the home, and forced their way into the front door.

  “Police! Put your hands in the air,” yelled the team leader.

  The team split to check each room.

  “Living room clear,” yelled a team member.

  “Kitchen clear,” shouted another.

  “Dining room clear,” declared a third.

  The team moved upstairs to the bedrooms. All three bedrooms and the bathroom were cleared.

  The team retreated to the back door and the team chief announced on the radio that the suspect was not on site. The officers moved back to their police vehicles and returned to the station.

  The desk sergeant at the police station got a fax with the results of the analysis of the stones and gravel in Silke Mencken’s wounds. The report noted it came from a quarry nearby that had a unique mixture. The desk sergeant called the Chief Inspector in the Emergency Operations Center.

  “Chief, this is Brunner. I just got a fax.”

  “What’s it say, Otto?”

  “It says that the stones and gravel from Silke Mencken’s hair are from a quarry just outside the city.”

  “Great work. Get the name and address to the aviation support office. I want a helicopter in the air within 10 minutes.”

  “Got it, Chief.”

  The helicopter pilot reported over the radio that the quarry was very active, with at least a dozen work trucks excavating minerals. The pilot further reported that there was an old farm house with a barn right on the edge of the quarry with no activity, but two cars.

  Maggie grabbed the radio and directed all police personnel to converge on the farmhouse and barn. She requested the helicopter pick her up at the station. The chopper was there by the time she got to the roof. She quickly climbed on board and the pilot took off. The Chief Inspector directed SWAT to report to Maggie. The pilot pointed out an area behind some trees that would hide them from the house and barn, then called for SWAT to report to this location.

  The SWAT team dismounted behind the tree line. They moved through the trees towards the house and barn. Team Alpha surrounded the barn and awaited further instructions. Maggie gave Alpha permission to enter. The team took the door down with a ram and searched. Clear.

  Team Bravo surrounded the house. The Bravo leader moved into place and informed Maggie that he had eyes on the victim in the kitchen of the house, sitting in a chair. He reported that a second team member had eyes on two suspects in the living room. Maggie asked Team Alpha to provide a reserve for Team Bravo. After a quick analysis, Maggie ordered Bravo in. Bravo crashed the back and front doors of the house.

  “Police! Put your hands in the air!” yelled the team leader.

  Hammer fired the first shots as SWAT broke through the door. Gunfire was exchanged in the living room of the house. Reinhardt and Erich were both shot and killed in the exchange. Two SWAT team members were shot, but the bullets were stopped by their vest.

  “Kitchen clear, the victim, is secure,” yelled another team member. He then checked Johann for a pulse and breathing. A second team member stood on the other side of Johann.

  “Victim secured,” came the call from that team member.

  “Living room cleared,” yelled the team chief.

  More gunfire sounded as the group moved further into the house. Freda was shot in her right thigh as she was trying to escape out the window.

  “Third suspect acquired, wounded,” came the call.

  “Bedroom clear,” said another team member.

  “All clear,” yelled the Team Chief.

  Maggie ran into the house through the back door to check on Johann. The emergency medical technicians and the doctor were right behind her. She stepped aside so they could work on Johann. Her heart was racing as she panted to catch her breath. She was shocked to see him so badly beaten.

  “Ma’am, the victim, has been severely beaten, but he’s alive,” said the emergency doctor.

  “Thanks, doc, we have a medical helicopter landing now.”

  The doctor and technicians gave Johann lifesaving treatment and prepared him for the ride to the clinic.

  “Ready to transport,” yelled the doctor.

  “All clear doc,” shouted Maggie.

  The technicians carried Joh
ann out of the house and to the helicopter. Within minutes, the helicopter was airborne.

  A few minutes later the Chief Inspector arrived. He headed straight for Maggie.

  “Well done, Maggie, well done.”

  “Thank you, Chief. Johann is being airlifted to the clinic. The doctor says he should survive. We have two dead suspects and one wounded.”

  “You got Johann alive, that’s what is important.”

  “Chief, I think you should know that one of the dead is Officer Erich Hammer.”

  “My God, we lost an officer?”

  “Not exactly, sir. He was with the suspects.”

  “Are you saying he was one of them?”

  “Yes, sir that is exactly what I’m saying.”

  The Chief Inspector threw his hands in the air and his head back. “That isn’t good news.”

  “There is more. The wounded suspect has been identified as former police officer Freda Stern.”

  “Can this get any worse, Maggie?”

  “That’s as bad as it gets here.”

  “Who is the other suspect?”

  “He could be Kantor, but were not sure Chief, we don’t have a picture of him to compare.”

  “Well, this is still excellent work Maggie. Let’s turn this over to forensics.”

  “Got it, Chief!”

  Freda was taken to the clinic by an ambulance, where she was arrested and handcuffed to the bed. A police officer was stationed outside her door. The bodies of Reinhardt and Erich remained on the site for forensics.

  The Police Department’s public affairs officer arrived and set up a press area. Within twenty minutes, the local press was on site. A forensic team also headed to Kantor’s home to gather evidence.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  When Maggie returned to headquarters, she called Silke to tell her about Johann. Silke immediately had the police outside her flat take her to the clinic.

  Silke arrived to find Johann still in the emergency room. The police officer guarding the room informed her that he was in critical condition.

  Maggie drove from the police station to the clinic, white knuckled and with a pounding heart. Silke met her at the door.