The Colonel's Wife

by J. Robert Kennedy

  “Yes, Joachim mentioned his younger brother remembered.”

  Konrad shook his head. “All he remembered was the name. He has an imaginary friend that he talks to, and he gave her the same name.”

  Vogel chuckled. “Children and their imaginations. My mother insists I had an imaginary friend named Karl. I have no recollection of that, however, why should I doubt my own mother?” He returned to his notes. “Can I see this photograph?”

  Konrad’s stomach flipped. “I’m afraid not. In an overabundance of caution to prevent a recurrence, I ordered my wife to burn the photo.”

  Vogel frowned. “That’s unfortunate, and I would think unnecessary.”

  “Unfortunately, the existence of Frida could become an issue. With my position, some might question why we kept her hidden. It could lead to suspicions that aren’t, well, to be risked these days.”

  Vogel regarded him, not saying anything, and Konrad had a sense the detective didn’t believe him. Sweat trickled down Konrad’s back, and he prayed his face remained dry. “Your son said Corporal Griese knew the secret as well.”

  Konrad nodded. “Apparently, he walked in on my wife sitting at her vanity, looking at the photo. He couldn’t have known her name or who exactly she was, though it was a family portrait, so he must have surmised.”

  “Did he say anything?”

  “No. In fact, he only made it to the inner doorway before he immediately left the room without saying anything. I’m not sure he ever knew my wife had spotted him.”

  “Why do you think Joachim would have wanted to kill him for knowing?”

  “It would have been unfortunate for my corporal to know our family secret, though really little harm would have come of it as it’s no crime to be private in these matters unless directly asked. I would have merely told Griese to please respect our privacy, and in fact, I had told my aide to have Griese report to my office after the close of the party.”

  Vogel’s eyes narrowed. “Really? I thought the meeting was to have him transferred to the Eastern Front.”

  Konrad’s heart hammered. How much had Joachim told this man? How much did Joachim actually know? He was already regretting having let the children participate last night, but now he was convinced it had been a terrible idea that would never be repeated if they made it out of this. “The meeting had two purposes, yes.”

  “What exactly did Corporal Griese do to merit such punishment?”

  Konrad chewed his cheek for a moment, choosing his words very carefully. “He embarrassed one of our guests. An important guest.”

  “How?”

  “He neglected to pay attention to the length of a young lady’s dress, and allowed her escort to exit his vehicle early. The man stepped on the dress, causing a bit of a scene.”

  “Seems rather trivial, don’t you think?”

  Konrad nodded slightly. “I’m afraid this is not for me to say.”

  “And just who was this guest?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t remember the young lady’s name.”

  Vogel smiled slightly at his useless dodge. “I mean her escort.”

  “I’m afraid the guest list is classified.”

  Vogel leaned back in his chair, his pencil tapping on his pad. “I can run this up the chain of command and get the complete list, as you well know. And in a murder investigation, I have that right, and likely that necessity. You and I both know that it was General Graf, so why not just admit it?”

  “You appear to be very well informed.”

  “I make it my business to know as much as is humanly possible. So, General Graf was embarrassed, ordered you to have him sent to the Eastern Front, then this same man is accused of taking a shot at the dinner party. I’m assuming the general thought the shot was meant for him?”

  Konrad frowned. “He didn’t say, though I think your assumption is reasonable.”

  “And then Griese ends up dead shortly after that.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know who killed him?”

  “No.”

  “Do you think the general might have?”

  Konrad’s heart hammered with the idea. Could he direct the suspicion toward the general? If he could, there was no way any police detective would dare continue the investigation. It would be suicide. Yet he had to be careful. “The general couldn’t have personally done it, no. He was in the bomb shelter with the rest of the guests.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes.”

  “Could one of his men?”

  Konrad made a show of slowly bobbing his head and staring into the distance as if deep in thought. “I suppose that’s possible. There was a special contingent of half a dozen men here because of him. I suppose he could have sent them out to find Griese with orders to shoot him.” He tossed some doubt in there for good measure. “But didn’t you say Griese was found naked? Why would the general do that? I mean, he wouldn’t need to have the shooting covered up.” He let his jaw sag slightly. “Ahh, maybe he wanted to humiliate him?”

  Vogel didn’t appear to be taking the bait. “Then why the second body with Griese’s identity papers and uniform?”

  Konrad gripped the arms of his chair tightly, his knuckles turning white. Vogel’s eyes fixed on them momentarily and he forced himself to relax. This was quickly falling apart. He felt as if every answer he gave was being picked apart by this detective, a man old enough to obviously have a lot of experience in dealing with the criminal element. If things kept going the way they were, they were all at risk.

  He had to do something.

  And he could think of only one thing.

  “Detective, can I speak to you father to father?”

  Vogel regarded him for a moment then nodded, flipping his notebook shut. “Of course.”

  Konrad rose and retrieved his wallet. He reached into a hidden fold and pulled out a small photo. He closed his eyes for a moment, the tears burning, then handed the photo to Vogel. Vogel’s eyes widened and he fell back in his chair.

  “This is Frida?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is your family’s secret?”

  “Yes.”

  Vogel handed the photo back and Konrad returned it to its hiding place. “I can see why you wanted no one to know. What do they call that condition?”

  “Down Syndrome.”

  “And with Aktion T4 in place, now would be a terrible time for such a discovery to be made.”

  “Exactly.” Konrad sat back down, his heart pounding, though the weight on his shoulders slightly lighter. “She did die six years ago in a car accident. Nothing of what I told you is a lie. But now you know why we had to keep it a secret. Now you know why Joachim was so upset when he saw the photo. He realized the implications. If Command were to discover we had a mentally handicapped child, I would be blacklisted. I’d lose my position, my career, and my son, who has dreams of being an SS general some day, would have no hope of being anything of value in the Reich. His entire future was crumbling around him last night. He had already been embarrassed, and evidently blamed Griese. He retrieved the gun to seek his own childish justice when he saw the photo. Then his future truly collapsed. Somehow, he must have found out Griese knew, shot at him, then ran away.”

  “Apparently Griese told him that he knew the secret.”

  “Then that settles it. And it’s what I feared as I began to piece things together last night. My wife told me that Griese had caught her looking at the photo, we discovered the gun missing along with our son’s Hitler Youth dagger on the floor, so we knew he had seen the photo as well. I went out in search of my son and…”

  Vogel leaned forward. “And?”

  “This, sir, is where I must ask you to listen to what I have to say with the ear of a father.”

  “Of course.”

  “I found Griese. Dead. Shot in the back.”

  Vogel’s eyes widened. “You found the body? Was he stripped?”

  Konrad shook his head. “This is where I�
�m ashamed to admit I panicked. I assumed my son had shot him. I was terrified that if the authorities found out, that questions would be asked, and with my son’s state of mind, the truth about Frida might be revealed, and we would be ruined. In my panic, I dragged the body into an alleyway and buried him under a bunch of trash. I returned home to see if Joachim had come back and he hadn’t. Troops were arriving en masse to begin a search, and I knew they might find the body and Joachim might be accused. I took my car, stripped Griese of his clothing and ID, then headed toward where the bombing had occurred. Fortunately, I quickly came upon an area close by where an enemy bomber had crashed into a house. I found a body inside the building badly maimed. There was no one around, so I put him in Griese’s uniform, burned the photo off his ID, then planted it on him. I returned home, no one the wiser.”

  Vogel’s head slowly shook in disbelief. “But why?”

  Konrad tensed. “What?”

  “Why go to all the trouble?”

  “To protect my son.”

  “How does that protect your son?”

  The world closed in on Konrad as he debated what to say. “I was on a deadline.”

  Vogel’s eyebrows shot up. “A deadline?”

  “General Graf gave me twenty-four hours to find Griese. I couldn’t exactly tell everyone where he was, because I wasn’t supposed to know, and I believed my son had shot him. By planting the papers at a site damaged in the air raid, I knew he’d be identified and reported very quickly so I could satisfy the general. As well, by making it look like he had been murdered some distance away, it meant Joachim couldn’t be the killer so he wouldn’t be questioned.”

  “And when the real Griese was discovered?”

  “I had hoped Joachim would be home by then, and we’d have had a chance to calm him down and explain to him about Frida. With Griese dead, and Joachim calmed, no one would know our secret, and certainly no one would suspect our involvement with the deception, so life would go on with a mystery that might never be solved.”

  Vogel pursed his lips, staring uncomfortably at Konrad. “You know, this causes me problems.”

  Konrad nodded. “I’m aware. I just hope you realize that I did what I did to protect my son, as any father would.”

  Vogel drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Yes, I see that, and while I might not have done the same, I can’t declare unequivocally that I wouldn’t.”

  “So, what do we do now? Do you have to report this?”

  “So many problems.” Vogel sighed. “If I report that you did this, your career is over.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And questions will be asked as to why you did it. Those will inevitably lead back to Joachim. He will be questioned, alone, and will likely be told that if he cooperates and tells them the truth, he will continue on to the glorious future he has planned for himself, and may even be told the same will be true for you. In his youthful exuberance, he will reveal the secret of Frida, and both your careers will be ended.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s exactly how I see this playing out as well.”

  Vogel eyed him. “You took an awful chance telling me this.”

  “I sense you are an honorable man.”

  Air exploded from Vogel’s mouth as he sat forward. “Unfortunately, my partner isn’t, and he heard every word Joachim said earlier. He’s going to demand answers.”

  “And what will you tell him?”

  Vogel intertwined his fingers in front of him, staring at the floor for a moment. “The truth. A partial truth. Frida demands an explanation. Your initial one was good. She was your daughter who died six years ago in a car accident. To protect the boys from the trauma, you told them she went away, and then never mentioned her again. Last night, in a fit of rage at being embarrassed, Joachim went to retrieve the gun he knew his mother kept in her vanity so he could punish Corporal Griese. He found the photo, his memories came back, and when Griese admitted he too knew the secret, Joachim shot him in a fit of rage.”

  Konrad raised a finger. “Umm, is there any way to keep that out of the official record? General Graf probably won’t take too kindly to having been shot at, however indirectly, by my son.”

  “Unfortunately, my partner knows this part of the story, and we have to be very careful to make certain there’s nothing that contradicts what he knows. General Graf will hopefully forgive you.”

  Konrad grunted. “That’s unlikely, though I fear his opinion of me is pretty low right now, regardless.”

  “Well, hopefully we can have your involvement in this sorted in short order and he’ll lose interest. So, your son shoots, hits Griese in the ear, then runs off into the dark, dropping the gun in your yard in the process. You go out to find him, return unsuccessful, then take your car out to cover more territory before returning to coordinate the efforts to find Griese and your son from your residence. Am I missing anything?”

  Konrad was filled with hope, his chest swelling at what this stranger was willing to do for him and his family. It renewed his faith that there was a greater Germany that was inherently good, despite so many having been taken in by the madmen now in charge. “Not that I can think of.”

  “Then that is our story.”

  Konrad hesitated to ask the question that demanded asking. “What about the murder investigation? Where do you stand on that?”

  “Well, a few questions have been answered that I no longer have to try and run down, though I’m not much closer to finding out why he was shot in the first place. Assuming, of course, that what you’re telling me is the truth.”

  Konrad tensed. “I assure you, every word is true.”

  Vogel smiled slightly. “And every guilty man would say the same. For the moment, however, let’s go under the assumption you are indeed telling the truth. I do have some additional questions for you.”

  “Of course.”

  “Your son says he fired the gun then turned and ran, dropping it almost immediately. That means it should be in the backyard, but it wasn’t. Who could have picked it up?”

  Konrad shook his head. “I’m not sure. Griese?”

  “That’s a possibility, but I know he was shot in the shoulder, just a graze, by a small-caliber weapon. We’re assuming it was that gun.”

  “Any number of people could have found it, I suppose. I was out there briefly, I think my aide Captain Hoffman was, probably all of the guards at one point.” He shrugged. “Anybody, really.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure it was the same weapon? Could it have just been a coincidence?”

  “Possibly, though it would be one hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

  Konrad grunted. “I’m not familiar with the business of murder, sir, so I will bow to your superior knowledge on the subject. Did you have any other questions?”

  “Yes, where was your wife during all of this?”

  Konrad’s heart hammered. “You suspect her?”

  “Just routine.”

  “I must confess, she did go out in search of Joachim very briefly, but wisely returned after only a few minutes. In fact, she was waiting at the gate for me when I returned the first time.”

  “Did anyone see her?”

  “I’m not sure. I would assume someone saw her leave the premises, though there was an air raid underway, so perhaps not.”

  “I assume your wife knows how to fire her own weapon?”

  Konrad wasn’t certain how to answer. If he told the truth, it could implicate her, but if he lied, and the truth was later found out, she might come under the microscope, something they couldn’t afford. A thought occurred to him. “Yes. She’s quite the shot, actually. She used to compete in her youth. I can assure you, if she shot at Griese with that weapon, there was no way she’d graze his shoulder. She’d have hit him dead center.”

  Vogel smiled. “We should put her on the front. Perhaps she could teach our boys a thing or two.”

  He chuckled. “She could end the war in two weeks.”

  Vogel flipp
ed his notebook shut and rose, extending his hand. “I think we’re done for now. I’ll probably need to talk to you again, perhaps to your wife and staff. I’ll try to keep Joachim out of this as much as possible. I’m going to go now and write up my official report as we discussed.”

  “Your discretion is appreciated.”

  Vogel smiled. “I’m a father too.” He headed for the door then stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. Classified or not, I’m going to need a list of all your guests, including their escorts, as well as any personnel, staff, chauffeurs and whatnot that were here last night.”

  Konrad frowned. “Is that necessary?”

  “I’m afraid it is.”

  “Very well. I’ll have my aide put the list together. He’s not here right now, so it might be later in the day.”

  “Good. The sooner I get the list, the sooner we can figure out who did this, and you and your family can put this behind you.”

  Vogel bowed his head then left, leaving Konrad partly relieved at what had just happened, and equally nervous about providing the list. If the police began questioning his guests, especially the likes of General Graf, the end result they had just avoided might be worse.

  We’re not out of this yet.

  43 |

  Kriminalpolizei Headquarters Prinz-Albrecht Straße, Berlin, Nazi Germany

  Stadler stared at a map of the city, several pins stuck in it marking the Konrad residence, where the two different bodies had been discovered, and where the boy Joachim had been found. They had now confirmed that Griese’s uniform had been on the second body. That could only mean that whoever had killed him had also dressed the bombing victim in his clothes. The distance was at least several kilometers between the two bodies, a distance that couldn’t have been covered in the timeframe in question.

  At least not on foot.

  It meant someone with a vehicle had done it, and that narrowed the suspect pool down dramatically, for there weren’t many civilian vehicles anymore, not with the war. And those would be few and far between at night, just after an air raid.