Lethbridge-Stewart - The Laughing Gnome: Rise of the Dominator. A Doctor Who spin-off novel. by Robert Mammone

Author:Robert Mammone [Mammone, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Candy Jar Books
Published: 2019-04-03T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Conversation Place

‘I met von Werner once, before the war. At a conference, of all places,’ Professor Mazurski began. ‘He was obsessed with the Sumerians. Had spent time in Mesopotamia, digging into the ruins there. He knew of my research, and sought me out.’

Anne felt her heart go out to the old man, and for a moment she saw her father sitting there. Tired and frail; the final image she had of him before he went off to Tibet… Almost four years ago, and yet, for her, over forty. And still she remembered it as clear as day.

‘We exchanged some letters, but then the war came and communication was impossible. By then, I thought the man was obsessed to the point of madness.’ Mazurski’s voice fell away, then he glanced at his visitors. ‘We fled Warsaw early in the war, to my family’s home village. Von Werner tracked us there.’

‘Why did he want you?’ Bill asked.

‘Knowledge.’ Mazurski sighed. ‘The knowledge only I had.’

‘What sort of knowledge would lead a man to murder your compatriots and burn your village down?’

Mazurski shrugged, then coughed, a prolonged fit that left him gasping. Magda attended him, looking angrily at Bill, until the professor relaxed back into his chair. His breath whistled like a steaming kettle.

‘Why are you both here, really?’ Mazurski asked. ‘I am simply an old man.’

Feeling an intuition, Anne leaned forward. ‘Describe von Werner.’

Mazurski swallowed. ‘Black hair, pale, scarred face. They say he was badly wounded when a mortar round landed near him on the Eastern Front in 1942. He began using a wolf-headed cane…’

Taking an envelope from a folder, Anne removed a sheaf of photographs and laid them on the table. Mazurski looked warily at them. In the end, his daughter picked them up for him. Anne watched Magda shiver as she leafed through the grainy images, then pause on one. With a trembling hand, Magda handed the photograph to her father.

‘Where was this taken?’ he asked, eyes fixed on the image.

‘Surveillance team. In Soho,’ Bill said. ‘Not ten miles from here. It seems he has an association with a criminal organisation known as the Black Sons. Is the name familiar to you?’

Mazurski and his daughter exchanged a glance.

‘When was it taken?’ Magda asked. Her face was like wax.

‘Less than forty-eight hours ago. It’s him, isn’t it?’ Anne asked, leaning forward. ‘Von Werner?’

Magda exchanged a glance with her father. He nodded, minutely.

‘Yes.’ Magda sighed, almost sobbing. She grimaced, trying to control her emotions. Her eyes were red, but she stared defiantly at the image.

‘I’m sorry this is hard for you,’ Anne said.

Mazurski passed a trembling hand over his face. Magda leaned over him, but he waved her off. ‘You tell them.’

‘Several members of the Nazi High Command were fervent believers in the occult,’ Magda explained. ‘Hitler wasn’t, but then he would never have considered anyone or anything more powerful than he. Hess did, but his flight to Scotland saw occult practitioners within the Reich purged. Himmler was a believer. Given his power and influence, he was allowed to continue his interest in it.

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