Katlin glanced over curiously as a BMW 326 stopped at the curb. Gerhard looked over as the front and rear doors opened, and two men with pistols stepped out.

  “Get down!” a voice shouted.

  Reacting quickly, Gerhard showed his wife to the ground. As he dropped, he pushed the carriage behind one of the concrete planters. Katlin screamed at the fusillade of gunshots. He pulled his pistol from under his shirt and rolled over to protect them, expecting one of the gunmen to come around the planter.

  It seemed like the gunfire continued for minutes, although it lasted only seconds. Amid the noise, people screamed, and shop windows shattered, lending confusion to the scene. Eventually, things grew still, and Gerhard started to pick himself up. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Please stay down, Herr Wicklein.”

  Katlin wept, and Gerhard could hear other people moaning.

  “Okay, Herr Wicklein, it is safe to get up.”

  He helped his wife to her feet, and she quickly swung around to pull a terrified child from the carriage. Little Karl was screaming, and the baby cried too. Gerhard lifted the baby from the carriage and held him to his shoulder. The man who had remained by their side held up a wallet with a Party ID card.

  “I’m glad you reacted so quickly,” Wicklein said.

  “We were afraid of something like this happening,” the party guard said.

  He tilted his head at the sound of sirens in the distance. “Come, let’s get you away from here. We can let Herr Rainer talk to the Polizei.”

  “What about the other people?” Gerhard asked.

  “Other than the people in the car, it looks like no one was injured. Now, come.”

  Gerhard and Katlin allowed the guard to lead them away. He led them around the corner, where a Mercedes 170V waited at the curb. Four more guards stepped out of the car and helped them to enter. The guards placed the carriage in the trunk, although the lid would not close. Another car, an Opel Kapitän, pulled up behind, and four more guards climbed out.

  Once Gerhard and his family were in the back seat of the Mercedes, two guards climbed in front and began the short drive to their apartment. The remaining guards followed in the other car.

  “You were quick off the mark tonight,” Gerhard commented as they moved along the streets of Berlin.

  “I am delighted it ended well for you,” replied the guard in the passenger seat. “It could have been very bad.”

  “I hope we will find out who it was,” Katlin said.

  “We probably know who was behind it,” Gerhard said.

  “Then we should do something about it,” she insisted.

  “That would be my desire,” the guard said. “People are investigating already.”

  The driver stopped in front of the house, and the guards helped Gerhard and Katlin to their upstairs apartment. Little Karl had settled down quickly after being frightened by the noise and the tumult. The baby was asleep. One guard remained outside the door to the apartment, and the others patrolled the property.

  Gerhard looked out the sitting room window at the cars parked in the street below and the men walking around the house. He turned back to look at Katlin, who was gazing at him. He raised his hands in a helpless gesture.

  “I don’t know what to say, Katlin. To have my family caught in the crossfire is my worst nightmare. I wonder if we should just leave Germany.”

  “And run from our problems?” she answered. “I’m sorry, Gerhard. It will follow us wherever we go if we don’t figure this out now.”

  “But I am trying to protect you and the children.”

  “That is a false dichotomy,” she argued back. “I was terrified when the shooting started, but I could as easily be run over by a car while crossing the street or have an airplane fall on the house; God help us.”

  “I don’t think you are considering the risks,” he said. “Somebody has it in for me, and I can deal with that. But whoever it is has little care for the collateral damage.”

  “You are just going to have to deal with it,” she shouted. “I am not running away from this!”

  They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Gerhard walked quickly over and pulled it open. Karl Rainer stood outside.

  “Come in, Karl,” Gerhard said.

  “Quite the evening,” Rainer said. “I am thankful that no one was hurt.”

  Katlin walked over and touched his arm. “Oh, Karl, thanks for coming. That was a frightening experience. However, we are fine.”

  “Well, I tore my trousers and skinned my knee when we dropped to the ground,” Gerhard said. “But I think I will survive.”

  “You ended in better shape than the assailants. They are dead.”

  “The Party guards were alert. They reacted instantly. That is what saved us.”

  “I’m glad they were there,” Katlin said.

  “I don’t think your assailants knew the guards were around. Their tradecraft was poor, thankfully.”

  “Do we know who they were?” Gerhard asked.

  “One of the assailants directly worked for Marcel Daumer,” Rainer said. “I spoke with the Parteileiter before I came over. Herr Schloss agreed that we are finally in a position to do something about it.”

  “When are we going to Munich?” Gerhard asked.

  “You are not going to Munich,” Rainer smiled. “It is better that you remain in Berlin for the moment. Herr Pankow’s audit of the Munich party will come in useful.”

  “I feel kind of useless,” Gerhard said.

  “No, you are doing what you are supposed to do. Your audit and investigation work is exactly what we need.”

  “But I feel like I need to be your enforcer too. I know how to deal with people, Karl.”

  Rainer smiled. “No, Gerhard. The Parteileiter and I will deal with this directly. You have given us the opening we need. Katlin needs you in Berlin.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Listen to him,” Katlin insisted. “We both trust Karl. Let him do his job.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” Rainer said. “We can talk then.”

  After Rainer left, Gerhard looked at his wife. “Who am I to argue with my wife and my boss?”

  She chuckled and pulled him into a hug. “I am glad you can learn things like that, Darling.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  July 2, 1941, 6 PM

  Nazi Party Headquarters

  Berlin, Germany

  “Has the amount of inflated membership listings shocked you, Ludwig?” Gerhard asked.

  “Shocked? Yes, but not really surprised,” Ludwig Pankow answered. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when Herr Rainer assigned me to your team, Gerhard. Since I was given the task, I assumed I would uncover problems. I didn’t realize things were as excessive and widespread.”

  “You have a good eye for it. You are catching things I probably would have missed.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Pankow replied. “I’ve seen your work, and don’t think you miss anything.”

  “One would hope not.”

  Wicklein stood next to Pankow’s desk as they conversed. Most of the office workers had vanished at five o’clock. Brucks worked at his desk. Gerhard usually worked later because there was much to do. Pankow did not seem eager to leave, either.

  “It seems like I will not run out of things to audit soon,” Pankow commented.

  “I hope that once we make an example out of several local party directors around the country, people will take the hint and resist the temptation to steal.”

  “Is that likely?”

  “I would hope so,” Gerhard replied. “Rainer wants to make the malefactors repay what they stole and send them to prison. And he wants to publicize it widely.”

  “Will he be allowed to do that?” Pankow asked.

  “You may have noticed, Ludwig, that since our Führer’s untimely demise,” Gerhard said with a wink, “the Parteileiter has been able to exercise a great deal of latitude in his actions.”

  “There is no one to stop him, in other words.”

  “I suspect there are limits to what he can accomplish,” Wicklein said. “But so far, he has done quite a lot.”

  “It’s like the Parteileiter is a different man.”

  “How so?” Wicklein was curious as to what the other man would say.

  “He seems more… driven, I guess I would say. It’s like he no longer has time for idle conversation. Well, perhaps I wouldn’t call it idle. But he seems obsessed with the big things.”

  “It’s been just a month since his wife died,” Gerhard said. “I imagine that has something to do with it.”

  “And somehow, he takes the time to go home in the evenings,” Pankow continued. “He used to work to all hours.”

  “When you receive multiple shocks like that, I suspect it can change you.”

  “Obviously so,” Pankow chuckled. “I haven’t decided whether I like the change, but I believe our Parteileiter is destined for great things.”

  Gerhard had grown uncomfortable with the conversation and wasn’t sure why. He decided it was a good time to change the subject.

  “Speaking of audits, Ludwig, Herr Rainer has mentioned a need to look at the Kdf organization. A lot of money flows through there, and there is little accountability.”

  Pankow looked down at his desk, picked up his pencil, and began tapping it on a notepad.

  “There have got to be fifteen million people paying into the Kdf,” Pankow speculated.

  “Perhaps closer to twenty million,” Wicklein clarified. “And the organization has over seven thousand employees.”

  “There’s a lot of Reichsmarks floating around there, then.”

  “You got it. We will not start on this project immediately, but I wanted you to start thinking about it.”

  “It will take more than just the two of us, Gerhard.”

  “There is no question about that,” Gerhard replied. “When we get to that point, I think we will assemble a much larger team. Meanwhile, we still have the Party rolls to investigate.”

  “That is very true. Have you heard anything about the Parteileiter’s Munich trip?”

  “Not other than what Rainer told me the other day. They were going down to get Brown House under control. Without Hitler to protect the managers there, Rainer hopes to accomplish something. But there is a lot to clean up.”

  They looked up as Heinrich Schloss, the Parteileiter, marched into the office, followed by Karl Rainer. They stopped at Pankow’s desk.

  “Herr Pankow, thank you for your hard work on the Munich audit. You gave us exactly what we needed and did an excellent job.”

  “Thank you, Herr Parteileiter.”

  Schloss then glanced at Wicklein and nodded slightly. He then continued to his office and closed the door. Rainer looked over at Wicklein.

  “Gerhard, come on into my office, please.”

  “Of course, Herr Rainer.”

  Wicklein moved to his usual chair in Rainer’s office and sat down. Rainer tossed his hat and tunic across the other chair and moved behind his desk.

  “I don’t understand him,” Rainer began.

  “Why is that, Karl?”

  “I don’t want to minimize Pankow’s work on the Munich audit, but it wouldn’t have gotten done without your guidance. You deserve the credit as much as Ludwig does.”

  Gerhard shrugged. “I’m not doing this for personal recognition. It’s a job that must be done, and I know I can do it well.”

  “I know, and I appreciate your attitude. Just understand that I haven’t forgotten you.”

  “Thank you, Herr Rainer. What happened in Munich?”

  “Daumer is dead. When we went in to arrest him, he pulled out a gun and tried to shoot Herr Schloss. I shot Daumer. For a moment, I thought Herr Schloss had been hit. It was frightening.”

  “Was Daumer that stupid?”

  “No, but he was probably desperate. Word had gotten around about your audits of the Party rolls. I’m convinced that drove the attempts on your life here in Berlin. Daumer knew that the results of the audit would be damning. When we walked into his office with the two Gestapo agents, there was no mistaking the ultimate outcome. I think he hoped to shoot the four of us and make an escape.”

  “I don’t think Daumer was too bright,” Gerhard commented. “I’m surprised he let himself get backed into a corner like that.”

  “I suspect there were some people in Brown House pulling his strings,” Rainer said. “I didn’t think he was smart enough to pull some of the things he did.”

  “Merten Burkhart.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Rainer conceded. “Is he capable of that?”

  “He’s pretty sly,” Wicklein said.

  “That’s what I thought. I hope that they heed the message Herr Schloss sent yesterday.”

  “Do you still want me to take over the offices down there?” Wicklein asked.

  Rainer shook his head. “Herr Schloss decided to put Georg Zindanfel back in charge temporarily. For some reason, he didn’t seem interested in putting you there. To tell the truth, I would prefer to wait until we are sure the attacks on you cease. It’s easier to protect you here in Berlin.”

  “I understand. After last week's attack, I was suddenly less anxious to return to Munich. I was frightened for Katlin and the boys.”

  “As was I.”

  “I was ready to leave Germany,” Gerhard confessed. “I would take her and the boys and go to America or something.”

  “Is that what you two argued about when I came to the door?”

  Gerhard gave him a sheepish smile. “I guess we were getting loud. But Katlin refused. She wants to fight her battles now because she thinks it will only worsen.”

  “I don’t like to admit it,” Rainer said, “but I think she’s right. She’s a strong woman. You need to listen to her.”

  “Oh, I do. But I don’t like what’s going on.”

  “None of us do, Gerhard.”

  “And then just a while ago, the Parteileiter came in and praised Ludwig to the skies and didn’t say a word to me.”

  “And that bothered you?”

  “Hey, I like praise as much as the next man, but I was glad to see Ludwig getting credit. But, it bothered me that he acted like he didn’t know me.”

  “That bothered me, too.”

  “What’s going on, Karl?”

  “I don’t know, really,” Rainer mused. “It started the day the Führer died. Herr Schloss was horribly confused after the plane crash. But once we returned to the offices, it was like he was on a mission. He and I have talked about the what-ifs, but I never expected to be able to make changes like this.”

  “You have never struck me as being timid, Karl,” Gerhard commented.

  “I’ve never thought of myself that way. But Herr Schloss has always been reluctant to make big decisions. He was close to Hitler but was careful about getting him upset. I guess he’s now in a position to do what he really wants to do.”

  “That makes sense,” Gerhard said. “But it really doesn’t explain why acts this way. And it’s not just me.”

  “I know.” Rainer folded his arms. “Since he is making a lot of good decisions, I would suggest that we not do anything to get him upset. Whatever else we can say, there’s nothing wrong with his temper.”

  “I’ve heard,” Gerhard said dryly.

  “Right. And have you given thought to how to approach an audit of the Kdf organization?”

  “A change of subject, Herr Rainer?”

  “You can be replaced, you know.”

  Wicklein laughed out loud. “Then who would do your work?”

  “A good point.”

  “I think if we are going to tackle Robert Ley, we will need an audit team. More than just Ludwig and me. I think we could manage the team between the two of us, but for something the size of Kdf, we would need fifteen or twenty people.”

  Rainer shook his head. “I don’t think we could put a team of that size together without attracting unwanted attention.”

  “Ley has, what, six or seven separate departments and a bunch of employees. There are huge amounts of money flowing through that place. Ley has bought several cruise ships, for example. And there’s no telling how many phantom employees he has on the payroll.”

  “How many people would it take to find a few things that would impale Ley?” Rainer asked. “If we can take him down, then we could appoint a team to do a thorough audit. You are more of a trouble-shooter, anyway.”

  “Let me kick this around with Ludwig,” Gerhard said. “I think we could do a targeted audit.”

  “And it would have to be done in a way that doesn’t call attention to us. Kdf is an independent organization. Ley reported to Hitler.”

  “Is he looking for a new boss? Is this something the Parteileiter could engineer?”

  “I suspect Himmler or Göring will try to absorb it, but things are still unsettled at the Reich Chancellery.”

  “So, we won’t appoint Hess as the new Führer?”

  Rainer snorted. “Not likely. Oh, he wants badly to move into the Führer’s apartments. But nobody will support him. He’s already made a fool of himself a couple of times about that.”

  “What about Herr Schloss?”

  “As the Führer? No, he doesn’t work like that. He prefers to stay in the background, and he is much more effective that way. If anybody manages to declare himself as the new Führer, all he will be doing is painting a target on his back.”

  “Lovely government we have,” Wicklein commented.

  “Isn’t it, though?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  August 12, 1941, 2 PM

  Nazi Party Headquarters

  Berlin, Germany

  “The Gestapo now likes you,” Rainer said.

  “What? I don’t think I heard you correctly,” Wicklein responded.

  “I said the Gestapo now likes you – well, as much as they like anybody.”

  “That’s what I thought you said. That doesn’t make sense.”

  “You and Erich impressed them during your last trip to Munich. You treated them well and deferred to them when necessary.”

  “I’ve always thought there was nothing wrong with being nice to people. And most Gestapo agents are people, even if they are swine.”

 

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