“Relax, Frau Peterson… it will come to you…”
Von Wohl’s calming reassurance was expressed as if he was making love to her. This came easy for him to express since this was the actual desire ballooning inside of him. Coco’s dark exotic skin attracted von Wohl, as did most of the other German men who wanted to experience something ‘forbidden’. Nazi propaganda over the last seven years had made having sexual relations with non-Aryan, non-Nordic women almost outlawed, which in turn made Frau Peterson practically contraband. Some thought this was the reason her husband had shunned her.
“Herr von Wohl…”
Coco was important to von Wohl for a psychologically deeper reason as well. Her face and build were almost identical to a Magdelena Roth, the very first girl a twelve-year-old Ludwig Wohl was ever sexually attracted to. Having Coco meant, in a way, having Magdelena as well, which was an opportunity missed due to his youth. What surprised von Wohl after learning about astrology was that Coco and Magdelena were both born on December 3rd.
“…there is something I must tell you, but you must promise not to tell anyone.”
The streets of Amsterdam were still lively despite it being just after 3 am in the middle of February. At number 39 Straatsdam in an elegant back room, a meeting that had started at 5 pm the previous day was still in progress.
“Gentlemen, I believe we ought to prepare for maintaining our arrangements when the Germans come.”
“What? Through Holland?” Nils was shocked by the Count’s matter-of-fact statement, but knew if the Count said it, it was true. He was acutely aware that the Count said ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
“How much time we have to prepare for this intrusion?” Reut Oleeson followed up, naturally wanting to know when a Nazi invasion would be rolling through. He had seen this very thing before in the First World War.
Most attending the meeting did not speak up, or yet have a question when hearing the shocking news, for they were at the moment busy controlling their anger. The felt betrayed by the many highly placed German officials who assured them that Germany would respect Holland’s neutrality in any confrontation with France. Now they had to deal with the thought of protecting their homes as well as plan how they could still conduct their current businesses under a German occupation.
The Count, of course, had already begun this when he learned the news several months ago while in Berlin. Nearly all of his assets were already out of the Netherlands and Belgian. He had also created ideas with his German ‘friends’ over how to capitalize on the new opportunities such an occupation would bring the Germans and the group he was now sitting with.
The Count’s Holland “group” had no formal name, or identity, other than the fact that Count von Hoogerwoerd was the head of it. While the Count had groups such as these on payroll all over the world, this particular group only consisted of individuals from Holland. These were the men who set up and maintained the Count’s control of over his ‘golden goose’ – oil. The other difference between the Holland group and his groups in such countries as Rumania, Hungry, and England were that the later had members that were constantly changing, many of who were never heard from again.
Chapter 10 – The Empress
Grabbing Elaine, Krafft pulled her out of the doorway and dragged her down to the end of the hall where a window showed them they were in the back of the house. Beyond the window they saw a door that allowed them to go outside. The cold refreshing winter air of the Baltic took the shock out of their systems.
“Karl Ernst, we have to get away… I am not going back inside this house!”
“But… what… how?”
They were perhaps twenty or thirty kilometers from the nearest town. Despite all the luxuries that Frau Ney seemed to have in her home, one item lacking was a telephone – therefore no taxi.
At present, all that seemed appropriate was to wait outside – to think of what to do next – and give the appearance to any guests, should they be discovered, they were simply getting some fresh air. Hopefully later one of the guests would eventually be seen leaving they could get a ride back to Stettin.
The night sky was completely clear and the crescent Moon, unusually bright for jut the thin sliver it was, illuminated the forest that surrounded the house. After a few moments of soaking in this beauty, Karl Ernst wrapped his arms around Elaine anticipating she would be getting chilly, which she was.
“Elaine?”
His wife looked up.
“What happened upstairs?” The thought of what upset Elaine originally had finally returned to him.
“In the bedroom there were…”
While Elaine was trying to find words for the debauchery witnessed, the door they had just went through slowly motioned outward, a creak had Karl Ernst and Elaine freeze.
From the darkness within the house a figure was made visible by the moonlight.
It was Baroness Fredricke.
“Good, Good.” Fesel whispered.
Finding a girl, in this case Ewa, to come between Karl Ernst and Elaine was easy, and the search began months before Karl Ernst was ‘requested’ to come to Berlin. The process was actually started in November of 1939, when Krafft was arrested by the Gestapo, after the 8th of November assassination attempt of Hitler in a Munich beer hall.
On November 2nd, Krafft predicted the Fuhrer’s life would be in danger between the 7th and 10th of November and this warning found its way to Hess, then Himmler. After the attempt, Krafft was questioned, but it was clearly shown to the Gestapo and its chief that Krafft was not a part of the plot, but actually used the chart of Adolf Hitler to see when his life was in danger. Himmler began to consult Krafft on his own personal matters from this time forward.
Once know what kind of girl Karl Ernst had a weakness for, Fesel, by order from Himmler, searched for the one girl who embodied each and every trait – all of which were found in Ewa Mann.
“Will he be back…?” The secretary interrupted Fesel by entering with their coffee.
“Danke Frauline Voss.” Fesel said as receiving his coffee first. The 21-year-old secretary merely bowed, silently mimicked a “Bitte Sehr”, then turned, handed Ewa her cup and quickly left. Although young, Bertha Voss had enough experience to get out of the office quickly when Fesel was talking to someone alone.
“What did you think of him?”
“He was nice… and polite.”
This of course was not the kind of information Fesel was looking for. While he was a master at manipulating people and using others to ruin the lives of selected targets – he ironically had very little skill in communicating with another one on one. He actually wanted to know Ewa’s feelings for Krafft, but he didn’t know how to ask such a question. Having hardly any feelings left in him was one result of following Nazi doctrine for so many years.
“Were you uncomfortable when you where near him?”
The question seemed odd to Ewa, but she assumed this was part of Fesel’s job to check on her in this unusual assignment.