Bedford?'
'It would probably be hard for him not to. But-' Major Clark snorted an interruption.
'The Negro is here for less than two weeks and already we have a fight where he takes a cheap shot at a brother officer, and higher-ranking to boot, we have probably well-founded accusations of theft, and then an alleged incident at the wire…' He stopped abruptly, then asked, 'You're from Vermont-correct, Hart?
There are no Negro problems in Vermont that I know of, correct?'
'Yes sir. Manchester, Vermont. And we don't have any problems that
I'm aware of, sir. But we're not currently in Manchester, Vermont.'
'That is obvious, lieutenant,' Clark said sharply, his voice rising slightly with anger.
Von Reiter, who had been sitting quietly, spoke out briskly.
'I would think the lieutenant would be an appropriate choice for your task, colonel, judging from the careful way he answers your inquiries.
You are a lawyer, not a soldier, lieutenant, this is true?'
'I was in my final year at Harvard Law School when I enlisted. Right after Pearl Harbor.'
'Ah.' Von Reiter smiled, but humorlessly.
'Harvard. A justly famed institution for learning. I attended the
University of Heidelberg, myself. I intended to become a physician, until my country summoned me.'
Colonel MacNamara coughed, clearing his voice.
'Were you aware of Captain Bedford's combat record, lieutenant?'
'No sir.'
'A Distinguished Flying Cross with oak clusters. A Purple Heart. A
Silver Star for action above Germany. He did his tour of twenty-five, then volunteered for a second tour. More than thirty-two missions before being shot down-' Von Reiter interrupted.
'A most decorated and impressive flier, lieutenant. A war hero.' The commandant wore a shining black iron cross on a ribbon around his own neck, and he fingered it as he spoke.
'An adversary that any fighter of the air would respect.'
'Yes sir,' Tommy said.
'But I don't understand…'
Colonel MacNamara took a deep breath and then spoke sullenly, in a voice of barely restrained rage.
'Captain Vincent Bedford of the United States Army Air Corps was murdered sometime after lights out last night here within the confines of Stalag Luft Thirteen.'
Tommy's jaw dropped open slightly.
'Murdered, but how…'
'Murdered by Lieutenant Lincoln Scott,' MacNamara said briskly.
'I don't believe-' 'There is ample evidence, lieutenant,' Major Clark interrupted sharply.
'Enough to court-martial him today.'
'But…' 'Of course, we won't do that. Not today, at least. But soon.'
We expect to form a military court of justice shortly to hear the charges against Lieutenant Scott. The Germans'-and here MacNamara made a small gesture toward Commandant Von Reiter-'have consented to allow us to do this. In addition, they will comply with the court's sentence. Whatever it might be.'
Von Reiter nodded.
'We request only that I be allowed to assign an officer to observe all details of the case, so that he may report the outcome to my superiors in Berlin. And, of course, should a firing squad be necessitated, we would provide the men. You Americans, surely, would be present at any execution, though-' 'A what? 'Tommy blurted.
'You're joking, sir.'
No one' of course, was joking, a fact he understood instantly.
He took a deep breath. His head seemed to spin dizzily, and he struggled to keep control. He detected that his voice had risen when he asked, 'But what do you want from me, sir?' He directed the question to Colonel MacNamara.
'We would like you to represent the accused, lieutenant.'
'Me, sir? But I'm not-' 'You have the legal knowledge. Your bunk is filled with texts on the law, surely there's something there about military justice. And your task is relatively simple. You need merely to make certain that Lieutenant Scott's military and constitutional rights are protected while justice is done.'
'But, sir-' Major Clark snapped his interruption sharply: 'Look, Hart.
It's an open-and-shut case. We have evidence. We have witnesses. We have motive. We have opportunity. We have well-documented hatred. And we damn well don't want a riot on our hands when the rest of the camp finds out that a damn nig…' he started, then stopped, paused, and rephrased his sentence '… when the camp finds out Lieutenant Scott killed an extremely popular, well-known, and highly respected, decorated, and dedicated officer. And killed him in a brutal, savage fashion. We will not have a lynching, lieutenant.
Not while we are in command. The Germans want to avoid this, as well.
Hence, due process. Of which you are to be an important part. Someone needs to make a show of defending Scott. And that, lieutenant, is an order. From me, from Colonel MacNamara, and from Oberst Von Reiter, as well.'
Tommy Hart inhaled deeply.
'Yes sir,' he said.
'I understand.'
'Good.'
Major Clark nodded.
'I will personally handle the prosecution of the case. I would think a week, ten days from now, we can schedule our tribunal. Best to get this over with quickly, commandant.'
Von Reiter nodded.
'Yes,' the German said, 'we should move with diligence. To hurry might be unseemly. But lengthy delay would create as many problems. Let us move with all due speed.'
Colonel MacNamara turned to the commandant.
'I will have the names of the officers selected for the court-martial tribunal in your hands by this afternoon.'
'Excellent.'
'And,' the colonel continued, 'I think we can safely conclude business by the end of the month. Early June at the latest.'
'That, too, would be acceptable. I have already summoned a man whom I will designate as the liaison officer between your proceedings and the
Luftwaffe. Hauptmann Visser is enroute. He will be here within the hour…'
'Excuse me, colonel,' Tommy said quietly.
MacNamara pivoted in his direction.
'Yes, lieutenant?
What is it?'
'Well, sir,' Tommy spoke with some hesitation, 'I understand the need for tying this up rapidly, but I have a few requests, sir. If that's okay…'
'What is it. Hart?' Clark spoke briskly.
'Well, I need to know precisely what this 'evidence' you have consists of, sir. And the names of any witnesses. I don't mean any disrespect, major, but I also need to personally inspect the murder scene. I may also need someone to help me prepare a defense. Even for an open-and-shut case.'
'Someone to help? Whatever for?'
