Cold Lonely Courage (Madeleine Toche Series) by Petrek Soren

Author:Petrek, Soren [Petrek, Soren]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Soren Petrek
Published: 2011-11-17T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Stenger sat with his feet up on the desk, pushing around a few files. Willi was in his customary position; hat tilted back, unabashedly snoozing. Stenger smiled, knowing Willi purposefully cultivated his laid back manner. It must be nice to have that kind of contentment. I just don’t have it, he thought. Every time I try to sit still, I get more restless. Out of curiosity, he picked up a file with SS markings. He opened it and noted that it was a theft case. Finally he had something where the culprit might have exercised a little ingenuity and not just wanton violence or unplanned killing. During his time in the civilian police force, murders were the exception, not the norm. Financial crimes and large-scale thefts with intricate planning and execution, now those were the crimes that are worth investigating, Stenger thought. At least thieves consider their work an occupation, just like the traditional jobs that people go to every day. The illegality and the prison time associated with getting caught is just part of the equation. Catching them was one thing, convicting them was another.

The file Stenger held was a priority for the SS. He read that varying amounts of gold had been disappearing with some regularity in the Limoges region in the western part of France. With Hitler shooting generals for little reason, nobody was above suspicion. With the threat of invasion and increased Resistance activity, there were few resources for an in-depth investigation. Nobody had interviewed the commanding general in the area, Heinz Lammerding. In fact, nobody seemed interested in questioning anyone from the General’s SS division. Stenger read further. A note had been attached about the Das Reich Division. They had seen some of the bloodiest and most vicious combat along the eastern front, fighting the Russians. He thought about the Russian civilians that were tortured and killed indiscriminately. Whole villages were decimated. The Russians retaliated in kind. Some of these atrocities took place within sight of both enemy forces, like some horrible tit-for-tat game of death with women and children used as pawns. Presently, Das Reich was regrouping and resting up in the Limoges region, apparently in anticipation of the invasion. He shook his head. I hope that the allied generals don’t think the invasion will be easy, he thought. With soldiers like Das Reich, killing is like eating or sleeping. You send men with no combat experience up against those kinds of troops and you’ll see hell. He paused while he thumbed through the last few documents. His memory went back to the terror of battle and the knowledge of how effective seasoned troops could be. These were men with the stare that never seemed to settle on anything but were aware of everything. It was the result of endless fighting. He had it and Willi had it. It never left. He had heard it called the thousand-yard stare; the one searching for the enemy, knowing they were coming.

Stenger’s silence alerted Willi, who glanced up and saw the look on his face.

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