The Abbeville Boys

Chapter 29: Willamena's Killer

      Kurt and Gretchen established a routine, and it worked well. For the time being Gretchen stayed at home during the day with Zeus while Kurt went to work. Gretchen felt safe with the dog. They played in the apartment and went to the park while Hans came around the corner and watched them. One morning Hans brought a small ball and gave it to Gretchen to throw for Zeus. The dog went wild over the ball. Hans and the dog became close friends. He would run to get it and bring the ball back to do it again. He did it for a long time, over and over. All the exercise tired him out and he was a little more subdued in the apartment. This went on for several weeks without incident.

      One late morning she looked out the bedroom window and saw the man in the park. She closed the shade and waited a few minutes and looked again. He was gone. This bothered her but she found out one thing, the guy apparently spooks easily. She was confident Hans was on the job and would not let anything happen. Over the next week it happened several times and she told Kurt.

      Kurt said, “When I’m here in the evening we have Zeus and a gun. During the day you have Zeus and Hans. When I leave tomorrow, I’ll talk to Hans. We’ll get these guys.”

      Gretchen smiled, as she started hugging and kissing Kurt. She had to hurry because Zeus would quickly come in wanting his hugs and kisses.

      The next morning Kurt went down for work and Hans was just coming on duty. Kurt had come out in the mornings and saw Hans and Niklaus before but just waved as he walked to his car. This morning however Kurt walked up to him, “Hi, I’m Kurt Reichard, and Gretchen is my wife.” He reached out to shake Hans’ hand.

      Hans shook his hand and said, “Are you Kurt Reichard the fighter pilot?”

      “Yes sir. I fought with JG 26 in Abbeville.”

      Hans was smiling, “Yes, I heard of you. You’re a great pilot. It’s nice to meet you.”

      Kurt still being modest, “Thanks. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you watching out for Gretchen. It’s put a lot of strain on her. She’s better now that we have the dog.”

      “Don’t you worry Mr. Reichard…”

      Kurt interrupted him, “Please, call me Kurt.”

      “Don’t worry Kurt, we’ll take care of her.”

      “Thanks. I’ve got to get to work. It was great meeting you.”

      Hans did his usual tipping the cap and smiled. Kurt got to the airfield and had three flights scheduled for the day. Fortunately, they were short ones. He might still be late getting home but not as late if they would’ve been long ones.

      While Kurt was flying, Gretchen was playing with the dog. She decided it was time to go to the park and throw the ball. She didn’t look out the window. She walked down the stairs and unbeknownst to her Hans decided to check the park at that moment. The timing was perfect. Gretchen came out of the apartment and saw Hans walk around the corner. Hans looked and the guy in the black trench coat was sitting across the park. Hans started running towards him and the guy took off. Gretchen and Zeus came around the corner and he started barking and tugging at the leash. Gretchen could barely control him. She decided to unleash him. She took it off and Zeus ran towards the guys. He was quickly catching up to Hans and blew past him. He went straight for the bad guy and jumped up on him grabbing his arm with his teeth. This sent the guy tumbling on the ground when Zeus went for the throat. The guy was screaming in a high-pitched voice, “Stop, somebody help me!”

      Hans arrived and pulled Zeus back by his collar. Niklaus came up and grabbed the bad guy. Gretchen ran up and put the leash back on Zeus. She pulled him back. Hans and Niklaus got him to his feet and pulled down his collar. There it was, the SS tattoo on his neck. He was searched and they found ID. Hans said, “So you’re Karl Braun. We’ve been looking for you. You supposedly burned a small government building down a year ago.” Braun didn’t say anything.

      Niklaus searched further and found a dagger. Hans examined it. There was a slight bit of blood on it. Hans put the dagger right in Braun’s face, “You used this to Kill Willamena.”

      Braun protested, “I didn’t kill anybody. That’s not my knife.”

      Hans just smiled, “It is now. You’re not going to be deported; you’re going to prison for the rest of your life. If they prove espionage, you’ll be shot.” Hans jerked the guy and said, “come on let’s go.”

      Hans stopped and walked over to Zeus and bent over patting him. He was excited wagging his tail. Hans said. “Good boy. You’re a good dog.” He looked at Gretchen, “That’s a good dog you have there. Good work by both of you. I’ll come by later and tell you what this guy says. You need to go back to the apartment until we figure out what’s going on.”

      “Yes, thank you so much Hans.” She walked back to the apartment and had to confine herself with a dog who was still on an adrenaline high. They played in the apartment as Gretchen threw the ball. It wore him down a little but not much.

      An hour later Hans showed up at the door. Gretchen invited him in. She asked, “Would you like some coffee?”

      “No thanks I can only stay a few minutes. I wanted to tell you what we learned from Braun. He became talkative once we got him to the station. He killed Willamena.”

      Gretchen put her face in her hands and started to cry but looked back up at Hans as he continued, “He said he knew Willamena from Germany and saw her on the street that morning. He could tell she recognized him. He figured she would report him. So, he snuck in the back and slit her throat. I’m going to tell you what else he said, and I don’t want you to get upset. He said there’s a network of Nazis in Switzerland and their job is to sabotage buildings and kill Germans who have defected. He also said they know about you and Kurt. They know he didn't die in the plane crash. They're after both of you. He didn't mention Joseph, but he needs to be careful. Any escaped Jews they find will be elminated. He gave us the names of Nazis here. The government is organizing a group of officers right now to find all these people. We will get rid of this threat. I met your husband Kurt this morning. He’s a good guy and seems like he can take care of himself. From now on if anything is bothering you two, let Niklaus or myself know.”

      She put her hand on his hand, “Thank you Hans. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

      Hans smiled, “I’m just glad everything has worked out. By the way, you keep that dog no matter what. He’s amazing.” They laughed and talked as Hans petted Zeus. After a few more minutes Hans had to leave.