Echo of the Reich

35

25 July 2012

Klaus Drescher knocked on the door of Wolf’s study and then walked in.

“I’ve had a call from Oskar,” he said. “I think he was afraid to call you.”

Wolf grunted his displeasure. “I presume that he has failed to find Bronson?”

“You assume correctly,” Drescher confirmed. “He did as you requested. He organized a watch through the local police, for both patrol cars and surveillance cameras, but so far there has been no sighting of either the car or Bronson. Of course, that situation might change at any moment.”

“I hope that’s not all Oskar has done.”

“No. He’s organized three teams, a driver and an observer in each one, and they’ve been on the road almost continuously, searching the area around this house and steadily moving further afield. They’ve seen absolutely no sign of Bronson or the car, and I think they’re running out of ideas.”

Wolf nodded but didn’t reply for a few moments. Then he glanced up at Drescher.

“I suppose there’s one other possibility that we haven’t considered. I still don’t think Bronson would have returned to Britain. I’ve given Georg details of the car so that he can put the team in place at Dover, at the ferry port, and also at the exit from the Channel Tunnel. They’ve seen nothing so far. So if Bronson isn’t somewhere near this house, trying to work out how to get inside it, and he hasn’t crossed the Channel back to England, there’s only one other place that he might have gone.”

Wolf gave a rueful smile before he continued speaking.

“And it could be my fault,” he added.

“What do you mean?” Drescher asked.

“After the execution, I talked to Bronson for a few minutes before my men drove him back to the station car park. I mentioned the Laternentrager to him, just in conversation, and I know that he noticed it, because he asked me what the word meant.”

“But that’s ancient history, and not really relevant to what we’re doing.”

“I know,” Wolf agreed, “but if Bronson decides to investigate the meaning of that word, we both know what he will find out. Enough has been written about Die Glocke for him to discover what happened at the Wenceslas Mine in nineteen forty-five. And if he decides to try to pick up that trail, he might think that a visit to the site where it all began would be a good place to start.”

“But there’s nothing there,” Drescher objected.

“We know that, but Bronson doesn’t. I think it’s worth a try. Give Oskar a call and tell him I have new orders for him. He’s to keep two of the teams searching in this area, but he himself is to proceed at once to Ludwikowice and check the Wenceslas Mine. And if Bronson is there, the mine can become his tomb.”