The first change that I was aware of was that of his breathing, which became progressively slower and deeper. After a while it was almost undetectable and, but for his grip, which had slackened considerably, I might have said he had disappeared.
Finally he spoke, but it was in a voice that made my flesh creep and my hair prickle.
'I have a wise king here from long, long ago,' he said, his grip tightening suddenly. 'From a time when three suns shone in the northern sky.' He uttered a long, sepulchral sigh. 'He suffered a terrible defeat in battle at the hands of Charlemagne and his Christian army.'
'Were you Saxon?' Rahn asked quietly.
'Aye, Saxon. The Franks called them pagans, and put them to death for it.
Agonizing deaths, that were full of blood and pain.' He seemed to hesitate.
'It's difficult to say this. He says that blood must be paid for. He says that German paganism is grown strong again, and must be revenged on the Franks and their religion, in the name of the old gods.' Then he grunted almost as if he had been struck and went quiet again.
'Don't be alarmed,' Rahn murmured. 'Spirit can leave quite violently sometimes.'
After several minutes, Weisthor spoke again.
'Who are you?' he asked softly. 'A girl? Will you tell us your name, child? No?
Come now '
'Don't be afraid,' said Rahn. 'Please come forward to us.'
'Her name is Emmeline,' said Weisthor.
I heard Hildegard gasp.
'Is your name Emmeline Steininger?' Rahn asked. 'If so, then your mother and father are here to speak to you, child.'
'She says that she is not a child,' whispered Weisthor. 'And that one of these two people is not her real parent at all.'
I stiffened. Could it be genuine after all? Did Weisthor really have mediumistic powers?
'I'm her stepmother,' said Hildegard tremulously, and I wondered if she had recognized that Weisthor should have said that neither of us was Emmeline's real parent.
'She says that she misses her dancing. But especially she misses you both.'
'We miss you too, darling.'
'Where are you, Emmeline?' I asked. There was a long silence, and so I repeated the question.
'They killed her,' said Weisthor falteringly. 'And hid her somewhere.'
'Emmeline, you must try and help us,' said Rahn. 'Can you tell us anything about where they put you?'
'Yes, I'll tell them. She says that outside the window, there's a hill. At the bottom of the hill is a pretty waterfall. What's that? A cross, or maybe something else that's high, like a tower is on top of the hill.'
'The Kreuzberg?' I said.
'Is it the Kreuzberg?' Rahn asked.
'She doesn't know the name,' whispered Weisthor. 'Where's that? Oh how terrible.
She says she's in a box. I'm sorry, Emmeline, but I don't think I can have heard you properly. Not in a box? A barrel? Yes, a barrel. A rotten smelly old barrel in an old cellar full of rotten old barrels.'
'Sounds like a brewery,' said Kindermann.
'Could you be referring to the Schultheiss Brewery?' said Rahn.
'She thinks that it must be, although it doesn't seem like a place where lots of people go. Some of the barrels are old and have holes in them. She can see out of one of them. No, my dear, it wouldn't be very good for holding beer, I quite agree.'
Hildegard whispered something that I failed to hear.
'Courage, dear lady,' Rahn said. 'Courage.' Then more loudly: 'Who was it that killed you, Emmeline? And can you tell us why?'
Weisthor groaned deeply. 'She doesn't know their names, but she thinks that it was for the Blood Mystery. How did you find out about that, Emmeline? That's one of the many thousands of things you learn about when you die, I see. They killed her like they kill their animals, and then her blood was mixed with the wine and the bread. She thinks that it must have been for religious rites, but not the sort she had ever seen before.'
'Emmeline,' said a voice which I thought must be Himmler's. 'Was it the Jews who murdered you? Was it Jews who used your blood?'
Another long silence.
'She doesn't know,' said Weisthor. 'They didn't say who or what they were. They didn't look like any of the pictures she's seen of Jews. What's that, my dear?
She says that it might have been but she doesn't want to get anyone into trouble, no matter what they did to her. She says that if it was the Jews then they were just bad Jews, and that not all Jews would have approved of such a thing. She doesn't want to say any more about that. She just wants someone to go and get her out of that dirty barrel. Yes, I'm sure someone will organize it, Emmeline. Don't worry.'
'Tell her that I shall personally see to it that it happens tonight,' said Himmler. 'The child has my own word on that.'
'What's that you said? All right. Emmeline says to thank you for trying to help her. And she says to tell mother and father that she loves them very much indeed, but not to worry about her now. Nothing can bring her back. You should both get on with your lives and put what has happened behind you. Try and be happy. Emmeline has to go now.'
'Goodbye, Emmeline,' sobbed Hildegard.
'Goodbye,' I said.
Once again there was silence, but for the sound of the blood rushing in my ears.
I was glad of the darkness because it hid my face, which must have shown my anger, and afforded me an opportunity to breathe my way back to a semblance of quiet sadness and resignation. If it hadn't been for the two or three minutes that elapsed from the end of Weisthor's performance and the raising of the lights, I think that I would have shot them all where they sat: Weisthor, Rahn, Vogelmann, Lange shit, I'd have murdered the whole dirty lot of them just for the sheer satisfaction of it. I'd have made them take the barrel in their mouths and blown the backs of their heads on to each other's faces. An extra nostril for Himmler. A third eye-socket for Kindermann.
I was still breathing heavily when the lights went up again, but this was easily mistaken for grief. Hildegard's face was shiny with tears, which provoked Himmler to put his arm around her. Catching my eye he nodded grimly.
Weisthor was the last to get to his feet. He swayed for a moment as if he would fall, and Rahn took hold of him by the elbow. Weisthor smiled, and patted his friend's hand gratefully.
'I can see by your face, my dear lady, that your daughter came through.'
She nodded. 'I want to thank you, Herr Weisthor. Thank you so much for helping us.' She sniffed loudly and found her handkerchief.
'Karl, you were excellent tonight,' said Himmler. 'Quite remarkable.' There was a murmur of assent from the rest of the table, myself included. Himmler was still shaking his head in wonder. 'Quite, quite remarkable,' he repeated. 'You may all rest assured that I shall contact the proper authorities myself, and order that a squad of police be sent immediately to search the Schultheiss Brewery for the unfortunate child's body.' Himmler was staring at me now, and I nodded dumbly in response to what he was saying.
'But I don't doubt for a minute that they will find her there. I have every confidence that what we have just heard was the child speaking to Karl in order that both your minds may now be put at rest. I think that the best thing for you to do now would be to go home and wait to hear from the police.'
'Yes, of course,' I said and, walking round the table, I took Hildegard by the hand and led her away from the ReichsFnhrer's embrace. Then we shook hands with the assembled company, accepted their condolences and allowed Rahn to escort us to the door.
'What can one say?' he said with great gravitas. 'Naturally I am very sorry that Emmeline has passed on to the other side, but as the ReichsFnhrer himself said, it's a blessing that now you can know for sure.'
'Yes,' Hildegard sniffed. 'It's best to know, I think.'
Rahn narrowed his eyes and looked slightly pained as he grasped me by the forearm.
