The Abbeville Boys
Chapter 27: The Nazi Threat is Real
As the officers approached the man on the bench Hans said, “Let me see your papers.”
The man stood up and reached inside his overcoat and came out with paperwork. Hans read it, “Your name is Peter Von Striker?”
“Yes sir.”
“You’re here from Germany?”
“Yes sir.”
Suddenly Niklaus reached out and grabbed the guy and put handcuffs on him. Von Striker protested, “What are you doing, I have done nothing. You can’t do this.”
Hans looked at Niklaus, “What’s wrong?”
Niklaus pulled down his collar and there was a tattoo on his neck that said SS. All SS members were required to get them. He was a Nazi. The government told all police to arrest any Nazis found in the country. The Swiss were fine with the German people, but the only reason a Nazi went somewhere was to cause trouble. They were to be arrested and deported. If they came back into the country, the Nazi would be put in prison.
They walked back towards the jail and Von Striker tried to pull away from Niklaus and turned towards Hans to kick him. Hans punched him the stomach and then grabbed his face, “I’m taking to jail, and if I see you around here again, I’ll kill you. Understand?”
Von Striker looked shocked as he nodded his head yes. The officers took Von Striker to the jail where he was processed out of the country. The next morning the officers were talking outside the apartment as Gretchen walked out. She had a big smile, “Good morning Hans, good morning Niklaus.”
Both officers said good morning as Hans walked up, “You won’t have any more trouble with your German friend. He was a Nazi, and we had him deported. That’s good work you did figuring out he was a Nazi.”
“I lived around some of them in Germany. That man scared me. At one point the SS kidnapped me and took me to a house in Bremen to breed with SS officers. I escaped the first day. I then married Kurt and came here.”
Hans had his head down, “I’m sorry to hear it Gretchen. Don’t worry though. If you have any trouble or something is bothering you, just let myself or Niklaus know, and we’ll take care of the problem.”
Gretchen had a concerned look on her face, “Thank you so much Hans. You make me feel safe. I better get to work.”
Hans tipped his hat, “You’re welcome, Gretchen. I’ll see you later.”
She waved as she walked towards the store. Walking to the store something was bothering her. That guy was definitely watching her. She started wondering, are there SS officers here investigating her. Maybe they’re investigating Kurt also. She didn’t want to tell Kurt because he would get furious and want her to stay in the house. Now, she’s worried and decided she better tell him.
Gretchen went into work and Willamena would start by putting dresses on racks and taking others off racks. They talked and laughed. It was a great atmosphere. It was lunch time and Willamena ordered from a restaurant and had it delivered. They brought a large amount of bread and several different melted cheeses. There were also four bottles of red wine. After everything arrived the mood became even more festive. Customers came in and started eating the bread and cheese. They also drank the wine. This was the reason the boutique was so popular. It became an afternoon party. More customers came in and it turned into a town gossip session. Gretchen was at the cash register checking out women talking and buying merchandise. Willamena’s marketing strategy was brilliant. She did this about two or three times a week and always let the local women know about it. They loved the tradition.
Gretchen went home that afternoon feeling good. She went up to the apartment to get undressed and went to close the curtains. As she looked at the park, she saw another man in a black overcoat and fedora. Was it another man or the same one she saw before. She quickly closed the curtains and changed clothes. She was scared again and didn’t know what was happening. She started cooking Kurt’s dinner. An hour later Kurt came through the door. They hugged and kissed as she smiled, “I’ve got dinner ready. Let’s sit down and eat.”
She walked into the bedroom to look out the window. The man was gone. She went back in and served dinner. They talked about each other’s day. Kurt explained to her he made two long flights, and it caused him to be late. Gretchen looked at him and said, “There was a man watching me for several days. He scared me and I told Hans and Niklaus. They went over to him, and he was a Nazi. They had him deported. Just now I saw another guy who was dressed like him in the park watching our window.”
Kurt became upset. He got up and walked into the bedroom. He looked out the window and saw nothing. Gretchen followed him into the room, “He’s gone now just relax. I’ll tell Hans tomorrow.”
Kurt got his Luger. He made sure it was loaded and ready to go. He turned to Gretchen and hugged her while kissing her, “I’m going to leave this here for you tomorrow. You keep it in your purse. All you have to do is point and pull the trigger. I think you should stay home from the shop.”
She looked at him, “No, it’ll be alright. Hans and Niklaus will take care of me. I’m going in.”
Kurt was frustrated but said, “Okay my sweetheart, you go to the store but take the gun and make sure the police are outside.”
She hugged and kissed him, “Okay darling. Everything will be fine.”
Kurt immediately went to call Joseph. He answered the phone and Kurt said, “Joseph, we’ve got some things going on over here I think you need to know about.” Kurt explained the situation to him, and he understood. Joseph was now on high alert.
Kurt asked Joseph, “Can you and Helga stop by tomorrow afternoon and check on Gretchen? I might be late flying to different cities, I want to keep everyone safe.”
“Yes sir, you got it. We’ll be there at the shop and walk her home.”
“Joseph, also look for a dog. Maybe a German shepherd. I need a dog who’ll protect Gretchen.”
Again, Joseph acknowledged. Kurt was feeling a little at ease, but something was wrong. Why was the SS in this city, in this particular area, at this time? The police were right, whenever Nazis were around there was trouble. The routine went on for several days with no problems.
One morning at about 8:30, Willamena had just gotten to the shop. She started moving dresses around. She didn’t hear a man come in the back door. He wore a black trench coat and black fedora. He stood inside and gently closed the door. He slowly maneuvered himself behind her. As she hung some dresses close to the front door, he quickly walked up behind her and grabbed her hair. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to scream. He pulled her head back by the hair and slit her throat with a dagger. Willamena fell to the floor squirming as blood poured out of her neck onto the floor. The man stepped back and left through the back door. She struggled for less than a minute and she was dead.
Gretchen came out to walk to work. She saw Hans and Niklaus standing there. She stopped and made small talk for a minute and then walked to the shop. She opened the door and Willamena was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. There was blood all over the floor. Gretchen froze, her eyes became wide, and she put her hand over her mouth. She was breathing heavy and then started screaming. She ran out yelling at Hans and Niklaus. They came running. She pointed in the store,” Willamena is in there and I think she’s dead.”