Thorpe's Candle

U-396

Skyler looked up through his face mask at Candice waving at him from the rear deck of the Pegasus. In the blinding glare of the Caribbean noonday sun, he squinted as he waved back. Then he adjusted his mouthpiece and swam over to a bright orange buoy a few meters away. Gates treaded water nearby, his eyes wide with the same excitement from the thrill of the hunt, the quest for treasure. Every cell in his body was in overdrive as Skyler gave Gates a thumbs-up and grabbed the descent line connected to the buoy. In the next instance, Skyler was engulfed in an emerald world of shimmering sunbeams. The white nylon line faded into an endless expanse as he followed it down 47 meters to the ocean floor.

Skyler took his time pausing twice to clear his ears. When the bottom finally rose up and surrounded him, he adjusted his buoyancy compensator vest and checked his air pressure gauge. Gates arrived beside him and gave a thumbs up. Skyler noted the time on his watch and took a bearing from his wrist compass. He pointed to his right and started swimming across the flat sandy bottom. A few moments later, a V-shaped trench appeared in the dim light filtering through the clear water. Both men glided over the edge and dropped down along its side — a layered wall of limestone and coral — until they reached the bottom 10 meters below. Changing direction, they followed the trench for another minute or two.

Skyler had spent the morning studying records, photos, and blueprints from the Howarldtswerke AG shipyards in Kiel. Howarldtswerke built 31 U-boats between 1939 and 1944—U-396 was commissioned October 16, 1943. Originally it was reported sunk in April of 1945 in the North Atlantic southwest off the Shetlands by depth charges from a British Liberator. It was not until the post-Cold War archives suggested the Martin Bormann connection that Germany contracted OceanQuest to conduct a search.

U-396 was a 67-meter-long, VIIC-type diesel with five torpedo tubes — four in the bow and one at the stern. Like many VIIC’s, 396 was fitted with a snorkel — a device allowing the boat to run its diesels submerged, giving it a significant boost in underwater speed over its electric motors. U-396 was also equipped with a powerful 3.5-inch deck cannon.

Running these details over in his mind, Skyler smiled as he saw the dark form of the U-boat materialize out of the shadows. It listed slightly, its keel fitting snugly in the bottom of the trench. As he swam up over the bow, he recognized the type VIIC features — it was one of the most common submarines in the German Kriegsmarine. The deck cannon, now swollen twice its original size with a heavy layer of coral and sponge, passed under him. He saw the conning tower looming ahead. Despite patches of marine growth encrusting it, he could make out parts of a number on its side—396. The control room and attack periscopes along with the snorkel still stood at attention atop the tower. The once-feared pride of the Third Reich had been converted into a home to parrot fish, spotted grouper, and yellow-tailed snapper along with thousands of other species of tropical marine life.

Skyler and Gates circled around the conning tower then swam along the port side. Halfway between the tower and the stern the trench opened slightly revealing a gaping cut about five meters long and a meter wide just below the boat’s water line. Skyler knew it was the result of a collision with a large object, one of the many reefs dotting the area, no doubt. U-396 was probably running on the surface and could easily have been blown off course in a storm, struck the jagged teeth of a coral reef, and sunk fast — a terrible death for all on board.

He swung the lantern beam inside the opening and saw a huge metallic flash as the light reflected off a tightly packed school of tiny silverfish. With a nod toward Gates, he slipped through the opening into the galley. Moving past the oddly deformed shapes of the stove and pantry, he edged his way down a narrow passage. Within a few meters, a watertight door blocked his progress — closed and sealed — standard procedure in a time of crisis. Skyler tested the heavily encrusted unlocking wheel but it was hopelessly frozen.

He saw a partially opened door to his left leading to what he knew was the small captain’s cabin. If Bormann had been on board, such a VIP would undoubtedly have been given use of this accommodation. He pushed hard, managing to open the space just enough to squeeze through. Shining his lantern beam around the compact quarters, he recognized a writing desk, some pigeonhole storage slots above it, and to the side what was once a bunk. A dark space attracted his attention beneath the bed.

He moved closer, brought the beam down, and shined it toward the space. There was a mass of sponges, and a grandfather-size lobster stood his ground for a moment before scurrying across the floor, leaving Skyler alone.

He swung the beam closer. Suddenly, in a streak of shimmering, undulating silver ribbon, prehistoric-like teeth, and empty black eyes, a moray shot out, striking the lantern with such a force it knocked the lamp from Skyler’s hand. Stopping only to reclaim its ground, the moray struck the light again.

As Skyler recoiled, a shaft shot across the light beam and impaled the eel. The deadly barbs of the spear stuck out of the side of the monster as Gates moved into the cramped cabin, pushing the body of the dead creature out of the way with the end of the spear gun.

Skyler gestured a grateful OK, and turned back to retrieve his lantern. It was then that he saw a handle attached to what appeared to be a small suitcase or attaché case. With a bit of hesitation, not knowing if the eel had a roommate, he reached to grab the handle. A chill ran through him as he pulled the heavily encrusted metal case from underneath the bunk. Bones, perhaps human, drifted out in the smoky swirls of its wake. First, a femur, then a few vertebrae, and finally a skull rolled in slow motion out of the sediment. Skyler took the skull, examined it, and handed it to Gates. With a firm grip on the case, he looked at his watch then motioned upwards. Gates nodded and they started back through the cabin door.

Out of the jagged wound in the side of U-396, the two men emerged and glided across the crusty deck of the boat and up the wall of the trench. They paused for a moment at the base of the buoy line before beginning the recommended one-foot-per-second ascent.

Skyler felt the heavy case pull against him almost as if it were reluctant to reenter the world of the living. Finally breaking the surface, he waved to the group gathered on the stern of the Pegasus a dozen meters away. He pulled the mouthpiece from his teeth and shouted, “Toss down a basket.” Seconds later, they dropped a metal frame basket over the side. With Gates’ help, Skyler hoisted the case in and carefully placed the skull beside it. Then Skyler motioned to the crew to pull it up. Soon, the two men sat on the dive platform slipping off their tanks and belts.

“Thanks, Mick.” Skyler patted his friend on the back. “That moray caught me totally by surprise. I was distracted with the idea of feasting on that lobster.”

“Good thing it went for the lantern and not your arm.” Gates ran his fingers through his thick hair. “So who do you think that skull belonged to?”

“Good question. That’s why I love this job. There’s always another mystery to solve.” Skyler beamed with a smile as broad as a young boy’s on Christmas morning.

The two stood and headed up the ladder to the deck of the converted Coast Guard Cutter. A group had already gathered around the two prizes, inspecting and probing. Candice greeted Skyler with a kiss and slipped her arm around his waist as they strolled across the deck.

“This just keeps getting better and better, Sky,” called the heavily accented voice of Chief Inspector Walter Smyth. The pudgy little Englishman stood in sandals, a bright Hawaiian shirt and shorts, dark sunglasses and a straw hat. He offered Skyler, Candy and Gates each a cold beer.

“You’re right, Inspector. Let’s hope we’re not disappointed.” Skyler downed half his beer in one gulp.

“I’m so glad you insisted I come on vacation to the Caribbean.” Smyth beamed. “Sure beats Greenland.”

“No chance of freezing to death here.” Gates wiped the cold beer can across his brow.

Skyler moved over to the table where the skull and case lay. The case was encrusted with marine life and mud but seemed intact. After an initial inspection, he had a crewman retrieve a wire brush. Using it, he removed the layers of sediment.

“Aluminum,” Gates said as the brush quickly exposed the metal surface.

“And look what we have here.” Skyler’s brush strokes revealed markings in the upper right corner — the faint image of an Eagle with its wings spread. Below it was the unmistakable symbol of the Nazi swastika. Finally, engraved below the emblem of the Third Reich, were the initials: A.H.

A hush fell over the group as Skyler tried the two clamps holding the lid shut. They resisted. A crewman handed the marine explorer a screwdriver, and with a bit of force, the first clamp snapped open. Then the other. Slowly, he raised the lid.

The ocean seemed to calm, the breeze stilled, the clouds faded into the deep blue of the sky, and the bright Caribbean sun blazed down, reflecting off the brilliant surface of twelve gold bars.

Two days later, having conducted a thorough search of U-396, the OceanQuest crew spent the last evening celebrating and enjoying the warm Caribbean night. Tomorrow, the Pegasus would sail for Key West and their next assignment.

Skyler stood at the stern railing of the ship, his arm around Candice Stevens. She looked up at his rough and weathered face. He smiled down at her and held her tight.

“The German authorities must have been ecstatic when you told them about the gold,” she said.

“By today’s prices, it’s only worth a couple million dollars. However, its real value to collectors is tenfold, maybe a hundred-fold. If the Germans sell it, the proceeds will go a long way in the efforts to repay the Holocaust survivors.”

“And the skull? Who do you really think it is?”

“I have no idea. Could be the captain, a crewman…”

“Or Martin Bormann?”

Skyler shrugged. “We may never know, Candy.”

The stars glistened off the dark water as the research ship rolled on the gentle swells.

“Sky?”

He turned to see Gates coming across the deck toward them. “What’s up, Mick?”

“A fax from the Frankfurt justice officials. The courier delivered the skull yesterday afternoon. A forensic science professor from Munich University conducted preliminary tests. He had Bormann’s dental and medical records on file.”

“And?” Skyler asked.

“It’s not Bormann.”

“So who then?” Candice said.

“Well, the commander of U-396 was Hilmar Siemon, so he’s out. I checked the crew roster, there were 44 souls, none with the initials A.H.”

Then Candice said, “Do you suppose A.H. could stand for…?”

There was a long silence as Skyler and Gates stared at each other.

“Nah,” they finally said in unison with a chuckle.

Skyler glanced one last time over the rail at the buoy that marked the final resting-place of U-396. Then he turned around, “Sounds like we’re missing a good party.”

Arm-in-arm, the three headed across the deck in the direction of Calypso music and laughter.