Greg Iles - The Spandau Phoenix

translate that KGB. I know it would be stupid for them to use one here,

but they've made stupid mistakes before. I also happen to know that, in

spite of the drawbacks of the 7.65 cartridge, several Berlin-based KGB

agents still favor the Skorpion. Granted, burglars could use one, but I

haven't seen any pass through the evidence room lately."

Rose eyed the German with increasing interest.

"Then there's the weapon that killed Seeckt. If burglars faked a

suicide, they had to shoot Seeckt, wipe the pistol, then press a set of

his fingerprints onto it. Leaving what?

One good set of Seeckt's prints. But there were dozens. If they used

gloves, they'd have smudged many of Seeckt's original prints. But they

didn't. So what happened? Burglars forced Seeckt to kill himself?

Unlikely. But the'KGB? It's possible. If KGB agents had just

discovered that Richardson had turned Seeckt, for example, Seeckt might

have preferred a quick bullet to what would have been waiting for him in

Lubyanka. My trieb, Colonel-my instinct-tells me that's what happened.

The question is, what was your man doing there in the first place? Was

Klaus Seeckt working for you?"

Rose said nothing.

"One more thing," Schneider added. "There was blood near the card."

Rose winced.

"A good bit of it, too. Colonel, I think Richardson, dropped that card

as an SOS. Why else would it be there?"

Without really knowing why, Rose decided to trust the German.. He

really didn't have much choice. "Harry Richardson's an exceptional

officer," he said tersely. "A bit of a loner, maybe, but sound as a

K-bar. Especially in tradecraft.

But even if he has been kidnapped, what makes you think he's not still

in West Berlin?"

Schneider's barrel chest swelled a size; he recognized the respect that

came with Rose's decision to trust him. "Because Russians wouldn't have

the nerve to keep him here," he explained. "East Germans would-the

Stasi has assets all over the city. But this crime scene was too clumsy

for tt Stasi.

They would never, never use weapons of Eastern manufacture in the West.

Also, burglars-turned-kidnappers would soon recognize their mistake in

snatching an American officer. Unless they were part-time terrorists,

it would scare them to death. That leaves one option-KGB.

It has to be."

"Alert the checkpoints," said Rose, his voice taking on the weight of

command. "See if any known agents have passed through tonight@' "I've

already checked," Schneider told him. "It's too late.

A bordet officer at Heinrich-Heine Strasse told me four KGB agents with

flawless cover passed through at elevenfifteen tonight.

Richardson was probably inside that car."

"Goddamn!"

"What was Richardson working on, Colonel?"

"Sorry, Schneider. I can't go that far."

"I see," the German said icily. "Well, then. I'll leave you to

discover the remaining facts for yourself."

Rose slammed on the brakes and glared at Schneider.

"Don't you hold out on me, Schneider! This is still a U.S.

military zone of occupation. I can have you r ass detained for a year

if I need to!"

"That is true," Schneider retorted. "But while you carry out that

useless exercise, your man could be dying in a KGB cell. Or worse yet,

he could be on the next flight to Moscow.

Even the KGB is smart enough to know that in East Berlin, a live

American major is more of a liability than an asset."

"You're pushing, Schneider."

The German's voice hardened. "I want this case, Colonel."

Rose pursed his lips and leaned back into his seat. "Okay, Detective,"

he said finally. "Quid pro quo. You give me everything you've got, and

I'll see you're included in any developments on this side of the Wall."

Schneider searched out Rose's eyes in the darkness. "You give me your

word as an American officer and a gentleman?"

Rose eyed the German strangely. "I didn't think that bought much

overseas anymore."

"It does from me," Schneider said solemnly.

Rose felt as if he had somehow stepped back in time. "As an officer and

a gentleman, then," he vowed.

"Gut, " grunted the German. Quickly he told Rose about Lieutenant

Luhr's unusual appearance at the murder scene, and his interest in

Richardson's card. When Schneider revealed that Prefect Funk was

personally directing the Spandau case from Abschnitt 53, Rose looked

very uncomfortable.

"Was Richardson working on something related to the Spandau incident?"

Schneider asked.

Rose nodded slowly.

The German shook his large head. "Something very big is happening,

Colonel. I can feel it. At 10:20 Pm. the prefect issued an

all-district alert for two police officers who allegedly murdered a

third in a dispute over drugs. And this murder supposedly took place in

that police station."

"What?"

Schneider nodded. "One of the 'fugitives' is a decorated officer, a

GSG-9 adviser, no less. And both"-the German smiled thinly-"were on the

team assigned to guard Spandau Prison last night."

Rose's eyes widened. "Holy shit!"

Schneider smiled with satisfaction. "Stasi agents call you 'God, the

All-Knowing,' Colonel. Did you know that?"

"I've heard," Rose answered, barely listening.

"I guess they exaggerate."

Rose grabbed the German's beefy shoulder. "Okay, Schneider, you listen.

Richardson wasn't due to report until 0800 this morning, so technically

he's still on schedule. But I've got a bad feeling about this. My

sphincter's twitching, and that ain't good." He paused.

"You got any whiskey on you?"

Schneider shook his head, nonplussed by the American's sudden change of

demeanor.

"Okay, here's the deal. Harry was looking into the Spandau thing for

me. He thought there was a lot more to it than your bosses were letting

on, and with the damned State Department and the Brits breathing down my

neck, I was all too willing to give him room to maneuver." Rose paused

angrily. "If you're right, and the Soviets have taken my boy over that

Wall .. ."

He smashed his fist against the Ford's dashboard. With an oath he

jerked the car into gear, made a screeching U-turn in the wooded lane,

jammed the accelerator to the floor and bored through the ranks of

frozen trees, making for the forest's edge.

"You gotta be anywhere, Schneider?" he growled.

"Nein. "

"You wanna be temporarily seconded to my command?"

"Jawohl, Herr Oberst!"

"Jesus Christ," Rose snorted. "Will you cut out that Kraut lingo?

Makes me nervous. You sound like you're in a goddamn John Wayne movie."

He glanced suspiciously at the German. "And on the wrong side."

Schneider choked off an acid reply.

To the German's astonishment, Rose snatched up a radiotelephone and

began transmitting en clair. Schneider couldn't believe it.

Hundreds of listening devices constantly sampled the ether over Berlin

and fed the intercepted transmissions into tape recorders in every

sector of the city.

Rose's call would be heard by at least a hundred people before morning,

yet he seemed unconcerned"Clary!" he shouted.

"Who's this?" came the sleepy reply.

"Wake up, son!"

"Colonel?"

"Clary, we've got a loose fish tonight, you copy that?"

Schneider heard deep breathing. He imagined the stunned sergeant,

wakened from a dead sleep to crazy code words coming from his telephone.

"Roger that, sir," Clary mumbled. "Loose fish. Is the fish still in

the boat?"

"Probable negative on that, Clary. The fish is out, repeat, out of the