Ruins of War

by John A. Connell

  Colonel Walton started to leave, but Mason cut him off, putting his face in the colonel’s. “Your raid can wait a few hours. That girl can’t!”

  “Get out of my way before I have you arrested.”

  Mason was too crazed to move.

  “You’re goddamned pissing me off, Collins. You want to have the entire battalion running around looking for this girl, when, based on your previous track record, the only way you’re going to find her is after her butchered carcass is strung up on a church wall.”

  Mason grabbed Colonel Walton’s coat and shoved him into a file cabinet. “You bastard. You’re not a cop. You’re an empty uniform.”

  Wolski trapped Mason’s arms and pulled him off. “Take it easy!”

  Mason didn’t fight back as Wolski pulled him across to the other side of the room. A group of MPs ran into the office.

  Colonel Walton straightened his shirt and pointed to Mason. “Arrest him.”

  “Colonel, please,” Wolski said. “May I respectfully submit, sir, that what you said was way out of line.”

  The MPs tried to take Mason’s arms, but Wolski refused to release Mason. “Colonel, Mason is under a lot of strain. This butcher has gotten under all our skins, sir. Please.”

  The MPs stepped back and removed their nightsticks.

  “Forget it,” Colonel Walton said to the MPs. “You can leave.”

  When the MPs left, Wolski released Mason.

  “Get the hell out of my sight, both of you,” Colonel Walton said.

  Mason glared at Colonel Walton before finally exiting the office. A moment later, Colonel Walton stormed out. A flood of men followed him down the stairs, leaving the squad room virtually empty.

  Mason and Wolski entered Mason’s office. Mason dropped in his chair and caught his breath.

  “You nearly shot yourself in the foot with that crap,” Wolski said. “He could have thrown you in the stockade for years. Then there’d be no investigation at all.”

  “I meant what I said. He’s a bureaucrat, not a cop. This DP raid will give him brownie points, and he considers our case a lost cause. You didn’t convince him to let me go. He keeps me on the case, but hamstrings me by reallocating my manpower. That way, if the case falls apart and the brass boot me off, he avoids the blame.”

  “He could have easily arrested you for insubordination,” Wolski said. “Then all he’d have to do is show that you’re mentally incompetent to continue. That would have been the easiest way to deflect blame. Bottom line is, you screwed up in there. You’ve got to clear your head.”

  Mason took deep breaths in a struggle to calm down.

  “You don’t have to worry about Laura, at least,” Wolski said. “I found some sharp guys who will keep her safe.”

  Mason nodded. “Thanks. I hate saying it, but I can’t wait for her to get out of town.” He reined in his worries about Laura. The search for Angela would need all his attention. “How many men do we have left to search for Angela?”

  “Today? You and me. Maybe two MPs. The raid has taken just about every other warm body.”

  “The DP camp raid will probably take most of Becker’s men, too.”

  Mason’s phone rang. He answered, “CID, Collins.” He listened. “When?”

  Mason felt so excited that he slammed the phone down onto the cradle. “That was the MP station. An MP who just came on duty recognized the girl from the sketch we dropped off earlier. He and his partner picked up a girl matching her sketch and description around three this morning. She was naked and in shock, but not physically harmed. They dropped her off at the LMU hospital. Get someone to go pick up Becker. I want him in on this.”

  FORTY-TWO

  On the pediatrics floor of Ludwig-Maximilians-University hospital, Mason, Wolski, and Becker were directed to the child recovery center. The “center” was a large room with twenty beds, each sectioned off by side curtains. A German police sergeant sitting at the foot of Angela’s bed shot to attention and saluted as Becker approached.

  “This is definitely Angela,” Mason said.

  Angela lay under a thick blanket up to her neck with her right arm exposed for an IV drip. Her thin face was more gray than white. Her blank eyes stared at nothing.

  A doctor attending an emaciated boy furrowed his brow at the disturbance and marched up to them.

  “This is Dr. Riesler,” the sergeant said.

  “Who are these people?” Dr. Riesler asked.

  Mason, Wolski, and Becker introduced themselves and explained their connection to Angela. The information seemed to satisfy Dr. Riesler, and they gathered around the bed.

  “Has she said anything?” Mason asked.

  “She’s in a state of shock and has not been responsive to stimuli since the American police brought her in. She was also hypothermic and dehydrated. She’s obviously suffered extreme psychological distress. Though physically she’s recovering, only time will tell about the state of her mental faculties.”

  “How long before she’s responsive?” Wolski asked.

  “Assuming she hasn’t sustained any profound psychological damage, she could come out of her stupor at any time. It rarely lasts more than a few days. She might respond better to a family member.”

  “She’s an orphan,” Mason said.

  “We don’t even know her family name,” Becker added.

  “What a pity,” Dr. Riesler said. “There are so many orphans.” A thought came to him. “Perhaps a friend or close companion. Someone she feels safe with could possibly get her to respond.”

  As soon as the doctor said that, Mason knew what he had to do. “You two stay here. Talk to her. I know someone who might be able to help.” He left Wolski and Becker to wonder where he was going in such a hurry.

  • • •

  It took almost an hour for Mason to persuade Kurt to trust him enough to leave the safety of the shelter. Kurt was suspicious of most adults, especially those in uniform. Nurses and doctors terrified him, so just getting him to enter the hospital required another ten minutes of negotiation. Mason enjoyed his role as Kurt’s guardian and protector, and by the time they had reached the pediatrics floor, Kurt had glued himself to Mason’s leg. As soon as Kurt breached the door to the recovery center, he locked his feet when he saw Becker and the uniformed German policeman.

  “It’s all right,” Mason said. “They’re here to protect Angela.”

  “They won’t take me away?”

  “No. I promise.”

  Kurt stayed behind Mason’s thigh all the same until he saw Angela. He sprinted the last few yards and stood by her bed, staring down at her.

  “Angela, it’s me, Kurt.” No response. “When’s she going to wake up?”

  “Like I told you before, we hope when she hears your voice and knows you’re here it might make her feel better.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “The man who said he was her father really wanted to do bad things to her.”

  “She escaped?”

  “We don’t know.”

  Dr. Riesler watched from across the room. A couple of nurses hovered nearby.

  “I think she escaped,” Kurt said, keeping his gaze on the little girl. “She was brave and fought him off.”

  “Maybe.”

  Angela shuddered once then exhaled. A tear formed in the corner of her eye.

  “Angela, come on, wake up. I’m really happy you’re okay.” Kurt looked up at Mason. “Can I touch her?”

  Mason nodded, and Kurt used the back of his hand to stroke her cheek. Angela blinked.

  “I think she’s waking up!” Kurt said.

  Mason put his finger to his mouth, warning Kurt not to yell.

  Angela’s eyes widened from an unseen fear. A low moan emerged from her throat and then she gasped as if remembering the terror. On impulse,
Kurt hopped on the bed. Remaining on his knees, he held her cheeks and leaned in, his face close to hers.

  “It’s okay, Angela, I’m here. There’s no bad man. You’re safe.”

  Mason was impressed by Kurt’s sudden expert bedside manner. Kurt spoke gently but with authority. Angela’s breathing calmed and she stirred.

  “Maybe we should step back,” Mason whispered. “Three big men hovering over her . . .” He gestured for the others to move.

  They stepped back a few feet and watched Kurt do his magic. Angela whimpered and pulled her free arm out of the blanket to hug Kurt.

  “That man . . .” Angela said. “He lied. Oh, Kurt, it was horrible.”

  “You’re safe now. You’re in a hospital. There are police here to protect you. He can’t get you anymore.”

  Angela saw Mason and his companions for the first time. “You remember the American policeman?” Kurt said.

  To Mason’s relief, Angela looked at him with a calm, neutral expression—the expression she usually gave him, the expression of a child who had lost her parents, her leg, everything. Mason took a chance and stepped forward.

  “Hello, Angela. You’ve been a brave girl. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “A man . . .” was all she could get out before collapsing into sobs.

  Kurt tried to comfort her. The doctor came over when he heard Angela cry.

  “She should rest. If you make her talk it might be too much for her.”

  Mason said in a low voice, “Doctor, the murderer who butchered those people is the one who took Angela. I don’t know how she managed to survive, but if we could just get her to tell us where he took her, we might be able to capture him.”

  “If you push her too hard she might suffer too much mental trauma, and you won’t get anything at all. Also, I must advise you that many people after suffering such a mental shock have anterograde amnesia. She may not remember a thing from the recent past. In the interests of the girl’s health, I must ask you to give her some time to recover. Maybe in two or three days . . .”

  “Two or three days? Doctor, the killer could move on by then. He may have just discovered she’s gone. He’ll find another place to cut up his victims and start hunting another child. I’m sure you don’t want that to happen.”

  “Of course not, but—”

  “How about if I have the boy ask her the questions? I’ll tell him to avoid asking about the traumatic details of the abduction. I just need to see if she can identify the place the killer took her.”

  Riesler thought a moment. “If you limit it to a few questions and have the boy ask them.”

  Mason stepped up to Kurt, who sat on the bed holding Angela’s hand. In a hushed tone Mason said, “Kurt, can you hop off the bed for a moment?”

  “Don’t make him go,” Angela said.

  “He’ll be right back. I promise.”

  Mason led Kurt away from Angela’s bed and squatted to be on Kurt’s level. “I need you to ask Angela a few questions. It might be really hard for her to remember what happened, but we need to find out where the man took her. Then we can go capture the man and put him in jail. Do you understand?” Kurt nodded. Mason continued, “Don’t rush her, and be gentle. And don’t ask her anything but where she was.”

  “I can pretend I want to know so I can tell the others how brave she was.”

  Mason smiled at the boy’s insight. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to step away so she isn’t afraid to say anything. Try to remember every detail of what she tells you. And take your time.”

  Kurt crawled back on the bed. Mason joined Becker and the doctor in the middle of the aisle. He could hear Kurt speaking in a tender voice.

  “The doctor and I were speculating as to whether the girl escaped or he let her go,” Becker said.

  Dr. Riesler nodded. “From what Herr Oberinspektor Becker tells me about this man, it seems impossible that a twelve-year-old girl could escape.”

  “If he let her go, then perhaps even he has limits,” Becker said.

  “Whatever the reason,” Mason said, “if he’s taken one child, then he could go after another. And my guess is he won’t let the next one go.”

  Wolski entered the room from the hallway at a fast pace. “I used the nurses’ station phone to call the MP station. I talked to the MP who found her. He said she was limping along with her crutches like a zombie, but going at a pretty fast clip. She was heading south a block from the train tracks on Tumblingerstrasse.”

  “And she was totally naked?”

  “Yeah, he verified that.”

  “How long could she go before succumbing to hypothermia?” Becker asked Dr. Riesler.

  “It never got much below freezing last night, and I’m sure her flight instincts pumped her full of adrenaline. My best guess would be no more than an hour before exhaustion and the cold would get the best of her.”

  “Have you got your map with you?” Mason asked Wolski.

  Wolski pulled out a map from his coat and folded it so that it showed that section of Munich.

  “She might get three miles at her speed,” Mason said.

  “She was delirious, so she could have changed directions numerous times, or gone in circles,” Wolski said.

  “Ramek must be further south than we thought. We’ll start the search between Theresienwiese and the Isar and work our way south.”

  “It is still a very big area to cover with our limited forces,” Becker said.

  Mason turned at the sound of Angela weeping softly. Kurt tried to comfort her.

  Dr. Riesler glanced at Kurt and Angela then signaled for a nurse. “I’m giving the boy about one more minute, then I must insist she rest.”

  Kurt didn’t need the extra minute. After promising Angela he’d be right back, he came over to the group.

  “Did she say where the man took her?” Mason asked.

  “She doesn’t know.”

  Mason felt the weight of disappointment. “Does she remember the street?”

  Kurt shook his head. “She’s never been in that part of the city. She said it was a big building that was bombed. It looked like a giant’s kitchen.”

  “Do you know what she meant by that?”

  “Huge machines and giant ovens. The man took her into a basement with long hallways and into a room with the scariest ovens she’d ever seen.”

  “Did she describe the rest of the building?”

  “No, but I can ask her.”

  “That’s enough questions,” Dr. Riesler said. “Please, gentlemen, I must insist.”

  “Just one or two,” Mason said. “We need to get a clearer picture—” He stopped and turned to Wolski and Becker when an idea came to him. “Ramek’s operating table from the workshop and the army rations in his house . . .” He looked at Wolski’s map. “One of the plants we were to search today is near that area, right?”

  “Yes,” Becker said excitedly. “Just east of where the officers picked up Angela, there is a large complex that processed and canned potted pork rations for the German army.”

  Mason dropped to one knee and held Kurt’s arms. “You did a great job, Kurt. I’m proud of you. Take care of Angela. Okay? We’re going to get the man who took her.”

  FORTY-THREE

  Through his binoculars, Mason scanned the immense meat-processing plant. The plant’s three buildings formed a U shape and took up a two-by-three-city-block rectangle. The open end of the U provided the main access for delivery trucks and a small parking lot. Though most of the outer walls remained intact, he could see an interior filled with a tangled mass of blackened metal and broken concrete.

  Wolski, Becker, and Mannheim stood next to Mason, each with his own binoculars.

  Wolski whistled. “A hundred guys could hide out in that place. Our twenty-eight are just going to get swallowed up.”
>
  “We go with what we’ve got, since Colonel Walton refused to request infantry backup. He’s afraid he’s going to look bad if Ramek isn’t in there.”

  Corporal Manganella’s jeep pulled up behind them, and Lieutenant Edwards, the engineer, jumped out. He came up to the group and unfurled a blueprint across the hood of the jeep.

  “This is all I could get on short notice,” Edwards said. “It’s the main complex layout.” He pointed to the largest of the three buildings. “This is the processing facility with the main offices above. There are two sublevels with machinery and maintenance corridors. In fact, there’s a whole network of maintenance corridors and tunnels connecting the buildings and the central furnaces.”

  Wolski pointed to the second-largest building. “That’s the canning facility?”

  “Canning and packing, with can manufacturing on sublevel one. The third building is receiving and cold storage.” Edwards looked at Mason. “It’s at least five hundred thousand square feet of unstable structures. I know this building. German locals, then the army, tried salvaging operations to recover some of the machinery and raw materials. Both times sections collapsed. Ya’ll go in there at your own risk.”

  “That’s why your team and the medics are here.” Mason pointed to various points on the blueprint. “We’ll break up into four teams of six. The teams will enter from the four sides. Have the troop trucks and ambulance drive into the interior courtyard. Wolski and I will take our two MPs and two of Inspector Becker’s men into the processing building. My bet is that’s where he’ll be set up. Inspector, if you could organize your men into three teams to enter the canning facility and the storage building, and your remaining four to each take an outside corner and maintain clear sightlines on the four bordering streets. The idea is to encircle the complex and slowly work our way into a tighter circle. Clear up, clear down, then move in, converging on the processing plant. Everyone understand?”

  After everyone nodded, Mason said, “Whether the girl escaped or he let her go, chances are he’s moved on. I acknowledge that, but I still want everyone on alert. We have Handie-Talkies, but they’ll be pretty useless in there. Everyone make sure your flashlights work and you have a couple of flares. Use your whistles only if you spot him. Guns out and eyes sharp. Any questions?”