Papen thought a moment. “Well, you can etch glass with it. You can use it on metals. You clean things with it, but not at that strength. Besides chemicals, there is not much use, especially around here,” he said.
Prost nodded. “Yes, but look at the amount. That could only mean an industrial use unless you wanted to dissolve a building.” That thought sparked his imagination. “Do you suppose someone might be planning some sort of sabotage? Use it on a dam or bridge?” he asked suddenly concerned.
“But here? If the Soviets were planning something, they wouldn’t be here, and they wouldn’t need to steal it,” Papen said.
“Yes, but there are all sorts of small groups that might start something. This isn’t some sort of theft of a tool or a bag of fertilizer for a garden. It is thousands of gallons of acid. I think we’ll call this one in to the police,” Prost said. He picked up the phone and dialed the number himself.
Kurt Dresner was not having a good month. Besides his normal work routine, his office was still searching for a downed helicopter pilot who went missing six weeks before. The Americans were still scouring the area for a missing truck filled with spare parts for their military and now he was on his way to the fertilizer plant where it appeared someone stole a lake full of acid. The only good thing for the month was that his friend Al Anderson was finishing up his house, despite finding out about two of his cars.
The Mercedes had indeed been purchased by the German government in 1936 for Hitler, and it had been used until the war when it appeared to have been lost in the myriad of vehicles owned by the government. Why it had turned up here had been a mystery until the Volkswagen arrived in Wolfsburg. Someone checked the serial numbers and tag on it as well. It had been presented to Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche as the first “People’s Car” to come rolling out of the plant. There were even photos of it during the presentation and with Hitler riding in it.
The Rolls had no documentation at all. With two cars belonging to Hitler in one place, Dresner agreed with Anderson that this was some sort of getaway house and speculated that the house might have been for Borman or one of the other high party leaders who went missing after the war. It really made no difference. It had been seventeen years since the war ended. Hitler’s own home, as with many of the Nazi hierarchy, was a bombed out cinder. Anderson agreed. He decided that the cars belonged in a museum and gave them to the respective companies.
As for the house itself, Dresner had been genuinely impressed. Using a small army of workers, Anderson and his wife had transformed the place into a palace. Dresner chuckled to himself that only an American would get that enthusiastic over an old stone building. But it would be very nice having his friend living in the area. They had already planned on taking some excursions to see some of the places they had shut down after the war. In about three weeks his son Eric would be coming to see the new house and work in their European office a while. Maybe the workload would lighten by that time.
The Prost Chemical Company was a lump of metal that marred almost all the valley floor. There wasn’t much color. The brick and metal sides of the building were discolored from years of smoky abuse. What was once painted was now a dingy gray that was streaked from fall rains. Some said even the snow on the peaks surrounding the plant was an ashen mix of gray and brown.
Dresner drove through the gate and parked in a visitor’s spot. He was escorted to Herr Prost’s office quickly and efficiently. Prost was at his desk waiting. He got up and shook Dresner’s hand.
“I’m sorry to have to call you Rolf, but it appears we have had a theft.” Prost knew everyone in Innsbruck and he had made sure to make friends with the local police along the way. Although he and Dresner would occasionally share a beer, they were not close friends.
Dresner looked around the office. The furniture was at least ten years old and in some places a little worn. The desk had neat stacks of files with what was probably exactly three inches of space between the stacks. There were windows behind his desk, but they were shuttered closed. The fluorescent desk lamp bolted to the desk glowed, casting a blue-green tint to the surroundings. Dresner saw efficiency, but not much imagination. Since Prost had remained standing he also knew this would be a quick meeting. “Please tell me what led you to that conclusion,” Dresner said.
Prost handed over a file with copies of the accounting and supply documents and explained their thought process. Dresner took some notes and flipped quickly through the documents before placing them in his briefcase.
“That is what we have Inspector. You have open access to our facilities and I ask that you keep us informed as to your progress. Do you have questions?” Prost asked.
Dresner nodded briefly. “I agree with your conclusion and will possibly have hundreds of questions, but not involving you Herr Prost. First I shall speak to your security team and then the supply accountants involved. I will be happy to provide you with the outcome of the investigation and will contact you if I acquire any difficulties,” he said officially. Then he smiled lightly. “I am certain we shall get to the bottom of this. With luck I shall have an answer for you soon,” he said extending his hand. Prost shook it again and returned to his desk. Dresner left the office and the secretary ushered him to the office of the Chief of Security.
Joachim Mantz welcomed Dresner into his office and the two sat down. Mantz was in his forties but was as fit as any youth. His file said he was from a small town in eastern Austria and had been drafted into the army during the war. Outwardly he was a jovial man who loved to laugh. His handshake would crush rocks and Dresner noticed a small orange discoloration on his hand as he extended it. “Herr Prost said someone would be coming over. My staff is yours whenever you need them,” he said warmly.
Dresner smiled and waved a hand. “Nothing that serious. I really need to know what kind of procedures are in place to prevent a theft like this from happening. Can you take me around to see the area and show me your operations?”
Mantz rose and escorted Dresner to a waiting golf cart. The cart whisked them between buildings to the rail yard. In a far corner, there were three refrigerated tanker rail carriers lined up in front of a tank and a set of pumps. The road ran to the other side of the pumps where there were connections to fill or empty trucks as well. One of the rail cars was next to the pumps offloading acid.
“The trains pull through that gate down there and are pushed to this position. They are here about 48 hours and then the empty cars are taken out and new ones brought in. A supplier representative is supposed to come in once a week and measure the amount in the main tank. He varies the amount delivered depending on how much is in the tank,” Mantz said. “Our logistics people couple the cars to the drains for pumping and pump until the tank is full or the cars are empty. This takes about a day. The train comes a day later and takes the empty cars away. Any partially emptied cars are left till the next shipment. Our people open the gates for the train and are here for all the deliveries,” Mantz said.
“What about when the trains aren’t here and your people aren’t pumping?” Dresner asked.
Mantz ran his hand through his graying hair. “Actually, we don’t stand a guard on it. This stuff will eat a man alive within a few minutes so no one really wants to be around it. Look at this,” he said as he led Dresner over to the platform. The workman was dressed in a rubberized suit and there was a mist of water above him. He warned them back from the platform.
“See the water mist? We keep it on all the time someone is there just to dilute anything that might spill. It also keeps the fumes down. In an emergency, the worker grabs that lever and pulls it. The mist becomes a forceful spray where any acid can be washed away quickly. You can see why no one really wants to be around here,” Mantz explained.