AL01 - Murder in the Marais

Ilse did a double take. 'What's that on your hand?'

Startled, Hartmuth looked at the rusty crescents of dried blood in his palm. The fluffy white duvet cover on his bed was streaked with brown stains, too. He knew he clenched his fists to combat his stutter. Had he done this in his sleep?

Ilse's eyes narrowed. She hesitated, as if making a decision, then thrust the blue leatherette pouch at him. 'Diplomatic courier pouch, sir.'

'Ja, call me before the meeting, Ilse.'

'I'll organize the trade comparisons, sir,' she said, and closed the door of the adjoining room behind her.

Hartmuth punched 6:03 A.M. into the keypad attached to the pouch handle and then his four-digit code. He waited for a series of beeps, then entered his alphanumeric access code. He paused, recalling a time when a courier's honor had been enough.

A hasp clicked open, revealing new addenda restricting immigration. He shook his head, remembering. These were like the old Vichy laws, only then it had been quotas for the Jews.

The treaty mandated that any immigrant without proper documentation would be incarcerated, without benefit of a trial. He knew France's crippling 12.8 percent unemployment rate, highest since the war, was the reason behind this. Even Germany's unemployment statistics had grown alarmingly since the Reunification.

The phone trilled insistently next to him, jolting him back to the present.

'Grussen Sie, Hartmuth,' came the unmistakable grating voice from Bonn. 'The prime minister wishes to thank you for excellent work so far.'

So far?

Mentally snapping to attention, Hartmuth replied, 'Thank you sir, I feel prepared.'

He wasn't prepared for what came next, however. 'He is also appointing you senior trade advisor. Hearty congratulations!'

Stunned, Hartmuth remained silent.

'After you sign the treaty, Hartmuth,' the voice continued, 'the French trade minister will expect you to stay and lead the tariff delegation.'

More surprise. Fear jolted up his spine.

'But, sir, this is beyond my scope. My ministry only analyzes reports from participating countries.' He scrambled to make sense of this. 'Wouldn't you call this posting to the European Union more of a figurehead position?'

The voice ignored his question. 'Sunday at the Place de la Concorde, all the European Union delegates will attend the trade summit opening. In the tariff negotiations you will propel the new addenda towards a consensus. By that, we mean a unanimous approval. A masterful double stroke, wouldn't you agree?'

Hartmuth began, 'I don't understand. Surely for an internal advisory post, this seems. . .'

The voice interrupted.

'You will sign the treaty, Hartmuth. We will be watching. Unter den Linden.'

The voice cut off. Hartmuth's hand shook as he replaced the receiver.

Unter den Linden. Circa 1943, when Nazi generals realized Hitler was losing the war, the SS had organized into a political group, code word 'Werewolf,' to continue the thousand-year Reich. When they'd helped him escape death in a Siberian POW camp in 1946, these same generals had bestowed a new identity on him—that of Hartmuth Griffe, a blameless Wehrmacht foot soldier fallen at Stalingrad with no Gestapo or SS connections. This identity gave Hartmuth a clean bill of social health acceptable to the occupying Allied forces, a common though secret practice used to launder Nazi pasts. These 'clean' pasts had to be real, so they were plucked from the dead. With typical Werewolf efficiency, names were chosen closest to the person's own so they would be comfortable using them and less prone to mistakes. How could the dead contest? But if, by chance, someone survived or a family member questioned, there were more mountains of dead to choose from. Besides, who would check?

The Werewolves demanded repayment, which translated to a lifetime commitment. Ilse was here to guarantee it.

He felt trapped, suffocated. He quickly pulled on his double-breasted suit from the day before, smoothing out the wrinkles, and strode into the adjoining suite. Ilse looked up in surprise from her laptop.

'I'll return for the meeting,' he said, escaping before she could reply.

He had to get out. Clear out the memories. Breaking into a cold sweat, he almost flew down the hallway.

He turned the corner, abruptly bouncing into a stocky black-suited figure ahead of him.

'Ca va, Monsieur Griffe? So wonderful you are here,' said Henri Quimper, rosy- cheeked and smiling.

Too late to escape. Henri Quimper, Hartmuth's Belgian trade counterpart, embraced and kissed him on both cheeks. He nudged Hartmuth conspiratorially. 'The French think they can put one over on us, eh?'

Hartmuth, his brow beading with sweat, nodded uneasily. He had no idea what Quimper meant.

Heralded by prodigious clouds of cigar smoke, a group of delegates walked towards them down the hall.

Cazaux, the French trade minister and probable appointee for the prime minister, strode among them. He beamed, seeing Quimper and Hartmuth together.

'Ah, Monsieur Griffe, bienvenu!' he said, greeting Hartmuth warmly and gripping his shoulder. His cheeks were mapped by spidery purple veins. 'Spare me a few words? All these meetings. . .' Cazaux shrugged, smiling.

Hartmuth had forgotten how Frenchmen punctuated their sentences by throwing their arms in the air. The muscles in Cazaux's ropy neck twitched when he spoke.

Hartmuth nodded. He knew the election was to take place the next week, and Cazaux's party was heavily invested in the trade issue. Hartmuth's job would be to bolster Cazaux by signing the trade agreement. The Werewolves had ordered it. Unter den Linden.

Cazaux and Hartmuth moved to an alcove overlooking the limestone courtyard.

'I'm concerned,' Cazaux said. 'This new addendum, these exclusionary quotas—frankly, I'm worried about what might happen.'

'Minister Cazaux, I'm not sure of your meaning,' Hartmuth replied cautiously.

'You know and I know parts of this treaty carry things a bit far,' Cazaux said. 'I'll speak for myself. The quotas border on fascism.'

Mentally, Hartmuth agreed. After being in diplomatic circles for so many years, however, he knew enough to keep his real feeling to himself. 'After a thorough review I'll have a better understanding,' he said.

'I feel our thinking is probably very close on this,' Cazaux said, lowering his voice. 'A dilemma for me because my government prefers to maintain the status quo, reduce unemployment, and pacify les conservatives. This treaty is the only way we can pass economic benefits on throughout Europe, standardize trade, and get uniform guidelines.'

'I understand,' Hartmuth said, not eager for Cazaux's added pressure. No more needed to be said.

The two men rejoined Quimper and the other delegates in the hall. More kissing and jovial greetings were exchanged. Hartmuth excused himself as soon as it was diplomatically possible and escaped down the staircase. He paused on the marble landing, a floor below, and leaned against an antique tapestry, a forested scene with a naked wood nymph stuffing grapes into her mouth, juice dribbling down her chin.

As he stood there, alone between floors, Sarah's face appeared to him in a vision, her incredibly blue eyes laughing. What he wouldn't give to change the past!

But he was just a lonely old man full of regrets he'd tried to leave behind with the war. I'm pathetic, he thought, and waited for the ache in his heart to subside to a dull throb.

Thursday Afternoon

A PUNGENT SMELL OF cabbage borscht clung to the hallway of 64 rue des Rosiers.