War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 250

Chapter 28

A

fter getting a good night’s sleep for the first time in… so long he couldn’t remember when, and eating a breakfast that didn’t include wild plants or dirty water, Richard kissed Katrina good-bye for the day and made his way to Sergeant Raymond’s office.

During his briefing he soon found out that Raymond was a strict but just man. Still, Richard found his current situation peculiar. For six years he had been drilled to consider the Allies the enemy, had fought against the Russians at the front and had killed his share of soldiers from the other side.

And now he was supposed to work with the former enemy, turning in his own compatriots. Notwithstanding the atrocities committed by the SS men, they were still Germans and handing them over to the Amis felt… simply wrong. Dishonorable.

The Amis were no fools either and didn’t fully trust him. They had Private Dennis Jones shadow his every step. Over the course of the next days the two of them became, if not friends, then at least good companions.

“Believe it or not, you are doing the right thing here, Richard,” Dennis said, after yet another interrogation.

“My logic says yes, but still… telling on people, on my compatriots, knowing they will be punished, just doesn’t feel right, Dennis. In fact, I kind of feel sick to my stomach.”

“If you have to puke, do it outside in the bushes or you’re cleaning it up,” Dennis countered with a grin.

“I’ll do my best to remember.” Richard nodded as he sat down at the table in the interrogation room, waiting for the next suspected war criminal. Usually he and Dennis would start the interrogation and at some point either Corporal Purvis or Sergeant Raymond would join them. Sometimes they would introduce Richard as the interpreter, not giving away that both American officers spoke passable German themselves.

On his first day, Richard interrogated three men, but thankfully all of them turned out to be mere foot soldiers, who’d been chancing their luck trying to escape into the American sector. He couldn’t hold it against them. Rumors about the

Russenschreck

kept every single Wehrmacht soldier in its grip, fearing for the worst.

His heart wept when he told them they’d been remanded into custody of the Soviets as per the agreement between the Allied powers. The hopeless horror in their eyes gutted him and every time it happened, he needed a puke break.

It seemed so unjust. Here he was, safe, well-fed and clean, while he sent others into captivity. But those were the rules of war. The men of the defeated nation had to tolerate captivity until a peace treaty was signed. Richard consoled himself with the fact that it wouldn’t be for long.

One afternoon, he entered the interrogation room, where another suspect waited for him. Richard’s blood ran cold the instant he saw the man. After several years he might be wrong. But then he shook his head of the clouds of distant memory. He

was

certain.

He knew this man. He’d never forget these smug steel-blue eyes. Had seen him in the garrison in Lodz strutting about in his black SS uniform. Had heard him making cruel jokes about the Jews in the Ghetto.

“What was your role in the Wehrmacht?” Richard asked.

“I don’t have an answer for that,” the man replied, a blasé expression on his face.

So you think, you’re too canny to be caught?

“You deny having participated in the closing of the Lodz Ghetto?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am just a humble farmer…”

Richard shook his head, acknowledging that Corporal Purvis was intently listening to the exchange, his eyes glued to the expression on the presumed farmer’s face.

Richard saw through the man’s blatant lies, he just needed to reveal them. He racked his brain trying to remember the man’s name.

“Heinz,” he suddenly said. “You’re Heinz.”

The man’s eyes twitched nervously, and he stuttered, “I-I’m n-not Heinz Singer. You must confuse me with someone else.”

It was all the proof Richard needed. The man had condemned himself.

“I’ve seen that man before,” he told his new employers after Singer had been returned to the holding cell.

“He didn’t seem to recognize you, but your allegation certainly disturbed him,” Purvis said.

“He’s Waffen-SS. His unit was stationed at the garrison in Lodz at the same time I was there. I only saw him once or twice, but I’m sure it’s him.”

“You actually witnessed him committing heinous crimes?”

“No.” Richard shook his head. “Not personally. I only heard what his unit had done, but was never present.”

“That will be enough to take him to court-martial.” After a glance at Richard’s contorted face, Purvis added. “That’s it for the day. You can go back to the barracks.”

Richard wandered around the garrison, trying to come to terms with his emotions. Black and white didn’t exist in this twisted situation, only eternal shades of gray. While he certainly didn’t condone the barbaric actions Singer’s unit had performed, a cloud of doubt stayed with him. He’d never personally witnessed either Singer or his unit executing these unlawful orders. What if Heinz had been the admonishing voice in the background, intent on tamping down the brutality of his comrades? What if Heinz had been forced into the Waffen-SS by some cruel twist of fate?

The possibility existed, albeit a very small one.

Richard’s stomach flipped over again, unable to cope with his inner dissent, until he realized it was almost dark outside and Katrina would be worrying about him. He changed direction and headed for the barracks they now lived in.

He was almost across the yard, when the sound of gunshots rang out over the compound and he froze, swallowing back the bile that threatened to come up. Had the Amis really shot Heinz Singer mere hours after he, Richard, had identified him as being a member of the Waffen-SS?

His knees gave out and he had to lean against the nearest building, dancing black dots blurring his vision.

This man deserved to be punished for his crimes

. But the fact that he’d been the one to turn in the man gutted him and somehow, he’d have to do it all over again tomorrow.

Katrina paced the room,

glancing out the window, wondering why Richard hadn’t returned on time. He’d withdrawn from her over the past days and it broke her heart to see how much he struggled with his new role.

Shots rang through the air and she jumped, fearing for the worst. What if… could he possibly have done something stupid and their new benefactors had decided to rid themselves of him?

When she heard the door open, she turned and one glance at his face told her he was at a breaking point. She walked over, wrapped her arms around his waist, and asked, “What happened?”

Richard just held her for the longest time, sobs of deep trouble leaving his throat every minute or so. After a while, he mumbled, “I knew the man. He was in Lodz. Waffen-SS.”

It didn’t take much for her to piece the facts together. Having had several encounters with SS-men herself, she didn’t actually understand why he felt bad about this man getting his just punishment and said, “If he was SS then he definitely deserved what he got.”

Richard buried his face against her shoulder. “Logically, I know it, but… I thought once the war ended I could leave all of this behind. The killing of my fellowmen. The memories… Every time I interrogate one of those poor devils, the image of my friend Karl sneaks up on me. How he died, leaning against me… Will this never end? For how long do we humans want to keep on killing each other?”

Katrina felt his tears wetting her shoulder, but she had no words of solace to offer. After a while, he let go of her, wiped his face and said, “Care to go for a walk?”

She hadn’t eaten, because she’d anxiously been waiting for him to return from work, but she sensed his need to walk off his scruples and decided food could wait until the morning.

“I’d love to,” she said, taking his hand. Richard kept quiet throughout their walk and she knew he was lost in his thoughts. Searching for a positive topic to coax him from his depressions, she said, “I talked to Sergeant Raymond today. He issued a travel permit for me to move freely within the American zone, although he said that I should not leave the garrison by myself. It might not be safe with the endless stream of refugees passing through each day.”

“That’s good news,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “What about me?”

“Since you don’t have a valid ID, and haven’t been properly discharged from the Wehrmacht, it’s a bit more difficult, he says. But he promised me he’d issue temporary papers for you, so we can leave the garrison together and go into town. Although he warned me there’s really not much to see and do.”

“That I believe.” As they reached the farthest end of the fenced compound, he turned to look at her. She could see the tension lifting from his face. Meanwhile darkness had completely settled over the garrison and only a few dim lights from the border checkpoint shone across to them.

“There are so many stars out tonight,” she said, leaning into him.

“We’ve been sleeping out in the open for months and didn’t once notice the beauty of a star-filled sky.”

“No. We were too busy worrying,” she murmured. “But those days are over. We have a roof above our heads, enough food, and you even get paid for your work.”

“You know, I’m on to what you’re doing here. Trying to distract me,” Richard said, his eyes gazing at her in that special way that still made her insides turn to mush.

“You caught me.”

“There are better ways to distract a man,” he murmured, tipping her head up and placing his lips over hers. He kissed her until she had to come up for air.

“Wow. I think I like your way much better,” she smiled, feeling the warmth of love spreading into every last one of her cells.

“Oh really? Then let’s try it again with a little more… effort.”

He leaned her back against his arm slightly and kissed her. Deep, drugging kisses that stole her breath, thought and sanity. Everything faded away until there was nothing left but them and the unbreakable power of their love.