The Kammersee Affair

by John Holt

  Bannister leaned forward, placing his hand on Scott’s arm. “That’s not fair, George,” he said gently. “And you know it.”

  Scott ignored Bannister’s remark, and shrugged the hand away. “Maybe it doesn’t mean anything to you?” he said, staring straight at Kadowski. “Perhaps you don’t even care.”

  “Come on, George,” Bartelli tried to placate his friend. “We are all bitterly sorry about Terry. You know that. What happened was terrible, no question about that. It shouldn’t have happened but it did. There’s no point attacking Frank. It wasn’t his fault.”

  “That’s okay, Tony,” Kadowski said in a hushed voice. He looked at Scott for a few moments. “George, I haven’t forgotten, none of us have. I’ll never forget what happened. It was a tough break for the kid, but we can’t change anything. What is done is done. It could have been anyone of us. I can’t put the clock back, can I? I can’t bring him back. I wish I could. He was a good kid, and he didn’t deserve to die.” He stopped momentarily, looking at the others for a sign of support and encouragement. “Tony here, and Tom, they both feel the same way. We are all totally helpless. It’s war. It’s not pleasant, but there it is. There’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

  Scott suddenly stood up, knocking his chair backwards, his drink falling to the floor, the glass smashing. He was shaking violently. He clenched his fists. Then he raised his right hand high into the air, and then smashed it violently down on to the table in front of him. “Well there’s something I can do about it,” he shouted angrily. “And for Terry’s sake, I’ll do whatever I need to. Whatever it takes and however long it takes.”

  Complete silence fell upon the bar. People close by stared across at the men, wondering what the commotion was about. “Keep it down, you guys,” yelled the bar man. “I’ll have no trouble here, understand.”

  Bannister looked over, and waved an acknowledgement. “Okay, it’s all right,” he said. “It’s nothing serious.” Although he said it, he wasn’t actually convinced.

  “Any more trouble and I’ll call the police,” the bar man continued. He then turned away, back to the counter, continuing to serve. The bar gradually returned back to normal.

  Kadowski was stunned. The intensity in Scott’s voice was frightening. He had never seen Scott like this before. He did not know what Scott had actually meant, but whatever it was he was absolutely serious. Of that Kadowski had no doubts. Bartelli quietly picked up Scott’s chair, and held it behind Scott. He placed his left hand on to Scott’s shoulder, and tried to calm him. “Okay George,” he said gently. “Come on, sit down, and let’s have a drink, shall we.”

  Scott looked round and down at the chair, and then looked at Kadowski. He then turned his gaze away and back to Bartelli. “Yes, yes, sure Tony, why not,” he said, and sat down.

  For a while the four men sat silently. Not a word was spoken. No one knew what to say, or do. Scott sat staring down at the table, nervously tapping his fingers. Bartelli sat next to him, looking first at Kadowski, then to Bannister, hoping that one of them would relieve the tension. Kadowski kept his eyes firmly on Scott, wondering what he might do next. Bartelli caught the eye of the waiter and indicated that another round was required.

  “Well Tony,” Bannister said, tentatively trying to start a conversation. “What plans do you have?”

  Bartelli was taken by surprise, and didn’t know what to say. “Plans?” he repeated. “Oh, I haven’t given that any thought yet. I don’t know, I might stay in the army. What about you?”

  “Oh I haven’t really given it much thought, either,” Bannister replied, and the conversation was over as quickly as it had begun.

  The men sat in silence once more. Scott had not moved. His hands held tightly together, and his eyes just staring at the floor. Kadowski still kept a close watch.

  “George, what plans do you have?” asked Bartelli nervously, completely unsure of what response there would be.

  Scott slowly looked up, and turned to face Bartelli. “Back to the Chrysler factory I suppose,” he blandly replied. Then he became anxious and angry again. “Plans, you talk about plans. You guys, what the hell are you talking about. What plans does Terry have now? Tell me that. He had his whole life just starting. And now what does he have? I’ll tell you what he has. Nothing, that’s what he has, nothing but a dark watery grave.”

  The others said nothing, and merely sat watching Scott. He fell silent for a time. Then suddenly he continued, although much calmer, more relaxed this time. “No, it won’t be Chryslers,” he said quietly. “At least not for too long, I have far more important plans than that.”

  Kadowski looked up. There was something about the way Scott spoke; the way he looked. He seemed so threatening somehow. Just what was he talking about? Kadowski didn’t like what was going on. He didn’t like what he heard. He was frightened that something terrible was going to happen. He didn’t know what it would be, or when. Yet he knew that he would be powerless to prevent it, whatever it was.

  Scott suddenly became agitated once again. He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I have to go guys,” he simply said, and without further comment he hurried out of the bar, taking the others completely by surprise. By the time they realised what was happening, Scott had already disappeared.

  “Get after him, Tom,” shouted Kadowski. “Quickly! Tony you go with him.” The two quickly moved toward the exit. “And be careful,” Kadowski added. He wasn’t quite sure why he had said that. He didn’t really think Scott was a danger, not to Bartelli and Bannister anyway. Nonetheless he had an uneasy feeling that he could not fully explain. He had never seen Scott act like this before. He didn’t like what he saw. Exercising cautious seemed to be a very sensible idea.

  Fifteen minutes later the two men returned. There was no sign of Scott. He could be anywhere by now. “We went as far as the station, and down to the platform. The train to Detroit isn’t due for another hour or more.”

  “As far as we could see he was nowhere in the station. Of course he could have gone completely in the opposite direction,” said Bannister. “We’ve no way of knowing where he went.”

  “Okay, guys, there’s nothing more we can do,” said Kadowski, trying to hide his concern. “Sit down, and let’s have a quiet drink to unwind. Tony, call the waiter over, and we’ll have another round.”

  Bartelli caught the waiter’s attention, and ordered the drinks. The three men lay back in their seats, silently waiting for the drinks to arrive.

  Bartelli was the first to break the silence. “I hope George will be all right,” he said. “And not do anything stupid.” Kadowski and Bannister both sat up. Bartelli had just expressed what they were both thinking. They said nothing. A few moments later the drinks arrived.

  “Sarge, he wouldn’t really go after that SS Officer would he?” Bartelli asked.

  “Of course he wouldn’t,” interjected Bannister. Kadowski said nothing. The three men remained silent once more.

  Suddenly Bartelli spoke again. “Sarge, would you really have shot that officer?” he asked. “You know when we were back at the lake.”

  Kadowski was stunned by the question. “Yes. Yes I would have,” he said without thinking.

  “No way, Frank,” said Bannister. “There’s no way you could have done a thing like that. You would never shoot anyone in cold blood.”

  “You may be right, but you don’t know that for sure,” said Kadowski. “I don’t know. I think I would have, to keep the gold a secret. Anyway we’ll never be sure now will we?”

  “Well I know,” said Bannister. “You would have just taken him prisoner, and handed him over to the MP’s.”

  “What about the gold?” Kadowski asked. “What if he mentioned it?”

  “Frank there is no gold. And even if there was, that SS officer wouldn’t have said a word about it,” said Bannister. “No, you wouldn’t have killed him. You know it, and I know it.”

  “Tom, let’s say you’re right, I would not have killed
him,” said Kadowski. “The problem now is that I believe that George would, and there’s not a thing I can do about it. I’m only glad that officer is over three thousand miles away.”

  Bannister said nothing for a while. He looked at Bartelli. His face was ashen, his hand shaking. “That’s right,” he said at last. “That’s an awfully long way. There’s no possibility of George doing anything. No possibility whatsoever. Am I right, Tony, or am I right?”

  Bartelli wasn’t at all sure. His mind was in turmoil. All of this talk about killing someone. Come on fellows, the war is over we are supposed to be celebrating our homecoming. “Yes, Tom,” he said. “You’re absolutely right.”

  “Well Tony what are you plans for the next ten days?” Kadowski asked, changing the subject, and trying to put thoughts of Scott to one side.

  Bartelli didn’t really know what he would do. The truth of the matter was that he had no real plans. He was more concerned about what happened when they returned to the barracks at the end of their leave. “Oh, visits with the family I suppose,” he said lightly. Then after some thought he asked the big question that concerned him. “Sarge, what about the war in the Pacific? I mean the war might be finished in Europe, but we are still fighting the Japanese aren’t we?”

  “What are you getting at, Tony?” Kadowski asked.

  “Well, do you think we could be sent back out again?” Bartelli explained. “I mean to the Pacific?”

  Kadowski did not know the answer to that. He didn’t know how long that war would continue. It was possible that their unit could be re-grouped of course, and re-assigned. He sincerely hoped not. “I don’t really know much about that aspect,” he said. “Now that we have been brought back home, I can’t really imagine that they would send us out again. What do you think, Tom?”

  Bannister didn’t know for sure either, but he thought that it was highly unlikely. “I very much doubt it. From an economic point of view, it would be wildly expensive,” he said. “Anyway, the fighting can’t last much longer now, can it?”

  “No,” said Kadowski. “I’m sure you’re right Tom. No, I don’t think we need to be concerned on that score. I’m ninety nine per cent sure that our fighting is over for good.” He was far from ninety nine per cent sure, but he hoped that he was correct.

  “I’ll drink to that,” said Bannister, raising his glass.

  “Same here,” said Bartelli, breaking into a huge smile.

  “Come on Tony, drink up.” Kadowski checked his watch. “It’s almost time for your train. You better get going.” Kadowski put his arms around Bartelli’s shoulders, and hugged him.

  Bartelli finished his drink. “Yes, I guess you’re right Sarge,” he said. “I’m sure going to miss you guys.” His voice began to choke, and his eyes started to glisten with moisture.

  “Go on,” Kadowski said. “Get outta here.”

  Bartelli smiled and turned toward the exit. “Bye, Tom,” he yelled. Bannister waved. “Bye, Sarge, keep in touch.” He turned smartly and walked out of the bar.

  As Bartelli disappeared, the two men that remained sat down. “He’s a good man, is our Tony,” said Kadowski.

  “He certainly is,” said Bannister. “How about another drink?”

  “Why not,” Kadowski replied. “How long have you got before your train?”

  “A little over an hour,” Bannister replied. He signalled over to the waiter, doing a circular movement with his hand. “Two scotches,” he said. “Doubles.”

  “You know Tom, I still can’t shake off this feeling I have about Scott,” Kadowski said. “I hope he’ll be okay.”

  “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” said Bannister.

  Nonetheless, Kadowski couldn’t get Scott’s words out of his mind. “I don’t know. He was so intense, so passionate. I don’t mind telling you Tom, I was frightened,” he said. “I don’t think I have ever been so frightened before.”

  “What do you mean when you say frightened?” Bannister asked. “You don’t think he means you any harm do you?”

  “No, not at all,” said Kadowski. “I’m not frightened for myself. He’s not planning on hurting me. No, what frightens me is what harm might come to himself.” Kadowski sat silently for a moment. “You don’t suppose he actually meant what he said, do you?”

  The drinks arrived, and Bannister passed a glass toward Kadowski. “Oh come on, Frank. What could he mean? After all what did he actually say? I’m sure I don’t know what he was talking about.”

  “Well I know it’s probably crazy, and I’m probably talking a lot of nonsense, but to me it sounded like he was threatening some kind of revenge on that German officer, somehow.”

  “That is crazy. How could he? He doesn’t have a clue where that SS officer is, does he?” Bannister was trying very hard to stop Kadowski from worrying. “He couldn’t possibly find him.”

  “No, I suppose you’re right,” agreed Kadowski. “But I can’t help worrying.”

  “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about,” said Bannister. “Scott has always had that careless manner about him, you know that. Totally reckless, caution thrown to the wind, it’s nothing new.”

  Kadowski was far from convinced. “Yes, sure, he’s reckless, foolhardy. We know that. Nonetheless you must agree that there is something wrong. This is different. He’s fanatical almost. George hasn’t been the same since Terry was killed. I know they were very close, but he really is taking it very badly.”

  “I’m sure that you’re worrying for nothing. It’s just talk. Some kind of mental reaction brought on by depression. Don’t forget we all went through a lot over in Europe. That affects people in different ways. Let’s hope now that he’s back home, he’ll snap out of it,” Bannister said. “Anyway we’ll see him back at camp in a couple of weeks, and we’ll see how he is then.”

  “Yes, that’s right,” said Kadowski, still very unsure. “We’ll see.”

  “Well Frank what are your plans, now that we’re back,” said Bannister, changing the subject.

  Kadowski was pleased to be distracted. “Oh, well I shall definitely be leaving the army,” he said. “You know, I’ve been a soldier for well over twenty-five years.” He stopped for a moment, trying to re-collect. “In fact, it’s almost thirty years. Enough’s enough I reckon.”

  “Thirty years,” said Bannister. “More than enough I’d say. You know I wasn’t even born when you joined up. But what will you do? I mean you can’t just retire can you?”

  “You’re right there,” said Kadowski. “The pension won’t be too bad, but I will certainly need to work. I’ll probably get a job somewhere, maybe at one of the local factories. Or perhaps down at the dockyard. It’s close to where I live. Nice and handy. What about you, Tom?”

  “Oh, I’m not really sure,” Bannister replied. “I expect I’ll go back to the hardware store where I used to work. Assuming they’ll take me back, that is. I expect they will.”

  The two men sat silent for a while. Shortly afterwards Bannister continued. “Now what about that gold?” he said to Kadowski. “Do you think you’ll go back to find it?”

  Kadowski was taken by surprise. “Maybe, who knows,” he replied. “Although what do I have to go on? Some broken bits of timber; four dead German soldiers, and a gut feeling, not much is it?”

  “I suppose not,” replied Bannister. “But you were so sure, back there.”

  Kadowski sat silently, thinking back to the lake. Yes he had been sure then, well ninety per cent at least. No, it was more than that. He just knew there was gold there somewhere. That’s all, he just knew.

  “Yes, you’re right,” he said to Bannister. “I was absolutely convinced. I don’t know. Now that we’re back I’m not so sure anymore. It’s almost like a dream, like I imagined it. Or maybe I was just building it up out of all proportion. Maybe I wanted it to be that way.”

  “What would it take to go back and find out?” asked Bannister.

  Kadowski wasn’t expecting that. “I don’t really k
now,” he said. “I haven’t given it much thought before.”

  “Well, do it now,” Bannister insisted.

  “Well, I suppose we would need some diving equipment,” Kadowski thinking hard. “Have you ever done any diving, Tom?” he asked.

  Bannister hadn’t. “We would need to get someone. Someone who knew what they were doing. What else?”

  “Transport,” Kadowski replied thinking hard. “We would need some means of transportation. I don’t know how much we would need. That obviously depends on how much gold there was.” He paused, and then added as an afterthought. “If any, that is.”

  “Let’s say one truck could handle about ten crates,” Bannister was beginning to sound quite enthusiastic. “One truck each would be more than sufficient, for one trip at least. So say three trucks. That should be more than adequate. Now what else needs to be considered?”

  “The Austrian authorities; the US Military Police; you name it,” Kadowski continued. “They will probably be all over the area. We probably wouldn’t get a look in.”

  “Why do you say that?” Bannister asked. “Why would they have any interest in the lake? They don’t know about the gold do they?”

  “No,” Kadowski simply replied. “At least, I don’t think so. How could they?”

  “Then I doubt if they would be bothered,” Bannister said. “They will have far too many other things to be concerned with. A small lake in Austria would be the last thing on their list of things to do.”

  “You might be right,” said Kadowski. “I don’t know. But there would certainly be a problem financing the trip. It could be quite expensive.”

  “What do you mean, Frank?” Bannister asked.

  “The main problem, as I see it, would be expenses,” said Kadowski. “Getting the three of us back over there would be expensive. About one thousand dollars I would guess. Then there would be the cost of living over there for a short period. I imagine the whole exercise could take as much as three or four weeks. Add on incidentals; the trucks; the diving equipment; tents. You name it. There would be a hundred and one things. I don’t know for sure.”