“I’m chattel, now, bartered among rear echelon officers until finally ending up here.”
“Your papers indicate clearly—”
“Do you wish for me to give all the sordid details of what I have been doing for the past ten years of my life, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t have the stomach for it. I know all I need to know, which is that you are not to be trusted. The story you cooked up with your associates is fallacious.”
Monika gave no clear indication of a reaction. She simply shrugged and said, “How so, Lieutenant?”
“Don’t be disingenuous, Fräulein. I don’t believe for a moment that you were overlooked during the evacuation of Reichsbahn personnel and became stranded here. I suspect you planned it that way. The three of you hid out with the intention of turning yourselves over to the Russians upon their arrival, only your plan backfired. Instead of throwing yourself at the mercy of some enlightened Red Army officer, you hid from the Einsatzgruppen when they showed up. Your documents would probably prove useful, if examined by a sympathetic Russian officer. You, a victim of the Reich, thought they could extract some propaganda mileage out of your defection. Not to mention your willingness to cooperate with any information of a strategic nature, no matter how remote, that might prove helpful.”
“As your mind is already made up about me, and I can’t prove otherwise, what do you intend to do?” Monika asked wearily.
“This Reconnaissance Group is still involved with operations. I have neither the resources nor the facilities to keep all three of you under armed guard, despite my suspicions. As of this moment, your survival depends solely on how you behave. No matter the political or philosophical differences we have, all our lives are at stake. Do I make myself clear?”
“I think I understand you, Lieutenant. How I proceed from this moment on will determine whether or not I will be shot.”
“You need not sound so melodramatic, Fräulein Glammers, but don’t think for a moment I wouldn’t carry out such action personally, should the safety of my men become jeopardized.”
“I’m beyond melodrama, Lieutenant, being somewhat astute of martial justice and what to expect. After all, I have lived under its heel for quite some time.”
“So, we understand each other. Good. Now, on to more immediate and practical matters. As a resident, you must have some knowledge of the town. Are there any stores of provisions or fuel, a cache that might have been left behind during the evacuation? A place where my men could search?”
“The local harvests were carted away days ago. The cold cellars could be searched for any food the locals might have left behind, but I doubt there is anything left. Whatever they possessed had to be raised on their own. The authorities gave nothing away.”
Searching the cold cellars would be a start. Voss thought to organize a detail that would include the women. They might be able to recover just enough foodstuffs left behind to supplement the field rations that had run low. There were extra mouths to feed, and a hot meal would serve as something of a morale boost. “Where was your billet, Fräulein?”
“Upstairs. Elenya and I had our own room each. Valeria lived in a house nearer the workers’ settlement.”
“Very generous of your employers.”
“We had to remain on the premises to oversee the officers’ club and entertain.”
I bet you did, Voss thought. “Very well, Fräulein Glammers, you can begin by searching the cold cellar here. I presume there is one?”
Monika nodded. “In the kitchen, but it would be of no use. I know for a fact it is empty.”
Vogel was passing through on one of his frequent errands to and from the command vehicle. Voss summoned him. “Will you locate Sergeant Reinhardt and have him report to me?”
“Yes, at once, Lieutenant.”
Voss needed someone who would not be either intimidated or easily distracted by the women. Reinhardt would lead the search party, not that Voss could spare his best man for the duty, but the sergeant could be trusted not to behave foolishly or drop his guard. He turned back to Monika. “You are still in the employ of the Wehrmacht, and I expect the three of you to conduct yourselves accordingly under the circumstances. Make sure you stay out of the way, do exactly as you are told, and don’t bring any undue attention to yourselves.”
Monika agreed. “How long do you intend to stay at Veranovka, Lieutenant?”
“That depends on the captain’s mission. Why do you ask?”
“Will you see that we are transported across the river when your work here is completed?”
“That, too, depends entirely on the outcome of the captain’s mission. Enough questions. Find Elenya and the other girl, and wait here for the sergeant.” Voss entered the parlor and placed the documents on the table before the captain. He made a cursory inspection, thumbing through the booklets swiftly. “Does the initial impression of these three have any merit?”
“I believe so, sir. The ladies are designated as ‘entertainers,’ to use a polite form of reference. Veranovka must have proved a comfortable post for the Reichsbahn and Railway kommandos stationed here. Decent accommodations and rather pleasant amenities.” Voss was not speaking out of envy over the matter, only distaste. Falkenstein sensed this, apparently. “Nothing that occurs in the rear area surprises me any longer, Lieutenant.” He looked over Monika Glammers’s identity booklet with more detail. “That starved-looking one is German?”
“Yes, from Hamburg. A university student and something of a Bolshevik.”
“Didn’t manage to get very far with her education, did she?”
“The fräulein inquired what we planned to do with them once we withdrew.”
“If she and the other two wanted to leave, then they shouldn’t have missed the opportunity when the Einsatzgruppen departed.” Falkenstein tossed the identity booklet on the table and added, somewhat breathlessly, “I need to rest. In two hours’ time, I will take a tour of the positions. You will accompany me.”
“Very well, sir,” Voss replied.
His old wounds inflamed, limbs swollen with fatigue, Falkenstein urged his body forward to the storeroom, where the women had made up the cot. Before he reached the door, Voss interrupted the journey. “Captain, I request permission to send a coded message to my battalion and inform them of our position.”