“You’re lucky you didn’t get shot. What were you doing down there?”
“It was the guy from the plane.”
“What guy?”
“Tully. The kid with the boots.”
“But how-?”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” A brusque MR “Fun’s over.”
They were herded behind the others to the car park. Before they reached the gravel, Jake turned, looking back toward the lake.
“What the hell was he doing in Potsdam?” he said to himself.
“Maybe he’s with the delegation.”
Jake shook his head.
“Does it matter? Maybe he fell in the lake.”
He turned to her. “He was shot.”
Liz looked at him, then nervously back to the cars. “Come on, Jake. Let’s get out of here.”
“But why Potsdam?” In the park, a few of the bills still bounced along the grass, like leaves waiting to be raked. “With all that money.”
“Did you get any?”
He uncrumpled the salvaged note in his hand.
“A hundred marks,” Liz said. “Lucky you. Ten whole dollars.”
But there’d been more. Thousands more. And a man with a bullet in his chest.
“Come on, the others have gone,” Liz said.
Back to the press camp to drink beer. Jake smiled to himself, his mind racing, no longer walking dazed through ruins. A crime. The way in. His Berlin story.
II. Occupation
CHAPTER THREE
Word had already gotten around the press camp by the time Jake got back.
“Just the man I’m looking for,” Tommy Ottinger said, looming over the typewriter Jake was using to peck out some notes. “First thing that’s happened all week and there you are, right on the spot. How, by the way? ”
Jake smiled. “Just taking some pictures.”
“And?”
“And nothing. Dead soldier washed up in the lake.”
“Come on, I’ve got to go on tonight. You can take your own sweet time with Collier’s. Who was he?”
“How would I know?”
“Well, you might have checked his tags,” Tommy said, waiting.
“I wish I’d thought of that.”
Tommy stared at him.
“Really,” Jake said.
“Some reporter.”
“What does Ron say?”
“A John Doe. No tags.”
Jake looked at him for a second, thinking. “So why did you ask me?”
“ ‘Cause I don’t trust Ron. I trust you.”
“Look, Tommy, here’s what I know. A stiff washes up. Dead about a day, I’d say. He had some money on him, which got the Russians all excited. The Big Three left in a hurry. I’ll give you my notes. Use whatever you want. Stalin’s face-it’s a nice touch.” He stopped, meeting Tommy’s stare. “He had tags. I just didn’t look. So why would Ron-?”
Tommy smiled and took a chair. “Because that’s what Ron does. Covers ass. His own. The army’s. We don’t want to embarrass the army. Especially in front of the Russians.”
“Why would they be embarrassed?”
“They don’t know what they have yet. Except a soldier in Potsdam.”
“And that’s embarrassing?”
“It might be,” Tommy said, lighting a cigarette. “Potsdam’s the biggest black market center in Berlin.”
“I thought the Reichstag.”
“The Reichstag, Zoo Station. But Potsdam’s the biggest.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s in the Russian zone,” Tommy said simply, surprised at the question. “No MPs. The Russians don’t care. They are the black market. They’ll buy anything. The others-the MPs’ll make a sweep every once in a while, arrest a few Germans just to keep up appearances. Not that it matters. The Russians don’t even bother. Every day’s Saturday on Main Street in Potsdam.”
Jake smiled. “So he wasn’t attending the conference.”
“Not a chance.”
“And Ron doesn’t want his mother to read about her boy in the papers.”
“Not that way.” Tommy looked behind Jake. “Do you, Ron?”
“I want to talk to you,” Ron said to Jake, visibly annoyed. “Where’d you get the pass?”
“I didn’t. Nobody asked,” Jake said.
“You know, we’ve got a waiting list for press credentials here. I could free up a slot any time I want.”
“Relax. I didn’t see a thing. See?” He waved at the paper in the typewriter. “Geranium star. Lots of chimneys. Local color, that’s all. Unless you’ve got an ID for me?”
Ron sighed. “Don’t push me on this, okay? The Russians find out there was press there, they’ll make a formal protest and I’ll have your ass out of here on the first truck.”
Jake spread his hands. “I’ll never go to Potsdam again. Okay? Now have a beer and tell us where the body is.”
“The Russians have it. We’re trying to get it released.”
“Why the delay?”
“There’s no delay. They’re fucking Russians.‘” He paused. “It’s probably the money. They’re trying to figure out how much they can keep.” He glanced at Jake. “How much did he have?”
“No idea. A lot. Thousands. Double whatever they give you.”
“I’m on tonight,” Tommy said. “You going to have an official statement?”
“I don’t have an official anything,” Ron said. “As far as I know, somebody got drunk and fell in the lake. If you think that’s a story, be my guest.” Jake looked at him. No tags. No bullet. But Ron was rushing on. “We will have a release on the first session, though, in a couple of hours. If anybody cares.”
“Warm greetings were exchanged by the Allies,” Tommy said. “Generalissimo Stalin made a statement expressing a wish for a lasting peace. An agenda for the conference was approved.”
Ron grinned. “And to think you weren’t even there. No wonder you’re the best.”
“And a soldier happened to fall in the lake.”
“That’s what they tell me.” He turned to Jake. “Stay in town. I mean it.”
Jake watched him walk off. “When did the Russians close off Potsdam?” he said to Tommy.
“Over the weekend. Before the conference.” He looked at Jake. “What?”
“He’d only been in the water a day.”
“How do you know?” Tommy said, alert.
Jake waved his hand. “I don’t, for sure. But he wasn’t that bloated.”
