Colonel Berry

38. David Turns Interrogator

As the young Leutnant escorted David out of the building and into the street, he asked, "How do you know Prinz Wilhelm?"

"We met at a lunch in Worms, then later in a vintner's cellar for a wine tasting." David shrugged and lifted his wrist. "He was intrigued by the accuracy of this watch, and we met again to negotiate supplying them to all the officers in his Fifth Army."

"This still seems unbelievable."

"The truth is often that way. Lies are generally simplistic, and when we examine them sufficiently long, they become contradictory. The truth, however, has many layers, and as these are examined, each layer adds support to the increasing complexity. It's important to be able to discern the difference, particularly in a position such as yours."

The officer's face reddened. "You have a depth of wisdom, and you carry an uncommon confidence."

"Years of climbing alone in the mountains instils such things." David shrugged. "Also, I'm an instructor in the Swiss Army, and –"

"You're in the Swiss Army?"

"Every able-bodied man must go through indoctrination training when they reach the age of twenty. Then, we serve two weeks to refresh our skills and knowledge every year or so. Before commissioning, officers must serve many years, so they understand the implications of giving orders."

While the officer nodded in silence, David continued, "Though we were rather intimate during your questioning, we've not been properly introduced." He chuckled and held out his hand to shake. "I'm David Meier."

"Manfred Langwerth von Simmern." He took David's hand and shook.

No wonder the attitude. Noble birth and upbringing. David pointed to the sign as they passed it. "I see now why the doctor arrived so soon. The interrogation rooms are attached to the hospital."

"Yes, they're here for convenience. The guilty are all chopped, and the medical school uses them for experimentation. The ones which die are used for autopsy and anatomy training. It's a very efficient system."

David nodded, suppressing his revulsion. "The guilty by judgment. But what about those who admit their guilt?"

"After we sense we've extracted all the information they have, we chop them, and they are used for surgical training."

"Yes, I suppose. Can't free them, and holding them as prisoners requires guards and food."

"Bad enough that we're forced to house and feed captured soldiers, but holding enemy agents would be inconceivable." He shook his head.

They remained silent for a while as they walked, then David reached into his pocket, retrieved the keys for the Lancia and handed them to Manfred. "The square-headed one unlocks the door. The tools, repair kit and air pump are beneath the driver's seat. The round-head key fits into the dashboard and switches on the electrical system. There's a foot button on the floor to the left of the pedals for the automatic starter. Do you know how to drive?"

"No, why would I?." He sniffed. "Such work is for the servants."

"Take someone with you who can and who is handy at tyre repair. If you were listening to my answers, you know where my auto is, and I expect to see it outside the General's office when I've finished my meeting."

"Yes, Sir."

They continued walking in silence, then Manfred asked as he nodded down David's front, "Are all Swiss ones that size?"

"Some are larger. Have you not before seen a Swiss one?"

He shook his head. "We get mainly sympathisers from Lorthingen and Elsass, plus a few French, Belgian and British. You're the first Swiss we've had since I've been here."

"How long is that?"

"Only about five centimetres, but almost nine when stiff."

Oh, God! How focused on it. "No, I mean, how long have you been here?"

Manfred blushed. "When I finished my commissioning training. Nearly four months now. My uncle arranged the position to keep me from the fighting. He's a Baron and the Director of Foreign Legations in Berlin."

"You must keep the contents of the letter secret, even from him, else you risk the Prinz sending you to the trenches." David shrugged. "And your uncle would be of no help in preventing that."

The young officer grimaced, and they continued along the cobblestoned street in silence again for a short while before he asked, "Is it easier to satisfy a woman?"

"I don't know; I've no experience with a small one. But I suppose it would be." David chuckled. "Also, I would think this is easier to find when I wish to haul it out for a piss."

"Yeah." Manfred nodded. "Tough sometimes in winter clothing." He raised his arm to the right. "This is the Headquarters building, and the entrance is around the corner."

At the second set of doors, Manfred explained David's appointment to the guard. As they waited for an escort, he asked, "You said it is just before the curve on the road to Rüppurr?"

"I did. It's likely the only Lancia along there with two flat tyres, so it should be easy to identify."

"Lancia? What's that?"

"It's an Italian make. It's become difficult to get German autos now with much of the factory production dedicated to vehicles for war."

"True." He tilted his head. "So you sell watches?"

"As I told you from the beginning." David grinned at him. "And as you would have seen in the letter, I also sell artillery fuses."

"And the wine? He wrote a lot about wine."

"We share an appreciation. My family owns vineyards and wineries, and were it not for the disruption of the war, I would be selling wine to provide enjoyment rather than fuses to enable destruction."

"Yes. I cannot understand why the French don't surrender. They've dragged this on for nearly two years, brought in countries from around the world without effect, and yet they continue."

"They're a stubborn and proud people." David shrugged. "I would think they feel affronted by the attempt to subjugate them, much as would the Germanic States have felt when Napoleon overran them."

After he watched Manfred nod, he continued. "And as those in Elsass and Lorthingen felt when you absorbed them forty or fifty years ago. After two generations, there remain many French sympathisers there. The ones you say are interrogated here – surely they are not all apprehended in Karlsruhe."

"No, with the needs of the medical schools, they are now brought to centres such as this one. I'm told that before I arrived, much more was done in the field by untrained and inexperienced interrogators."

"And, you consider yourself trained? Experienced?"

"I have erred only once."

"Once of which you are aware. How many others have there been? How many other emissaries of Prinz Wilhelm? Or of the Kaiser? Or simple, ordinary people going about their innocent business?"

The Leutnant's face reddened, and as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a voice, "Herr Meier, I'm Oberst Grünewald. Prinz Wilhelm is awaiting you in the General's office. Accompany me, please."