Auf Wiedersehen, Mein Schatz

After learning that the postcard sent to Hans Vogel had been mailed from a house in the Black Forest, Carmen and I headed for the abandoned castle there. Perhaps it was not so abandoned after all. Upon arriving, we entered and looked around. No one else was in sight. I spotted a wooden chest, opened it, and found a set of dog tags. Who could they belong to? I also noticed a military radio. We would need to bring these things to Elliot and have them analyzed. I picked up an old book. The writing was faded, but the name Hans was visible. I took out my duster and brushed it over the page. I could read the dedication that had been written on it: Hans und Johan Genossen für immer. “Looks like Hans had a friend named Johan.”

“''Diebe! Gib mir das!”'' I looked up and found myself staring at the barrel of a gun. A tall, blue-eyed man with long blond hair stood behind it, glaring at us intently. Suddenly his expression changed, and he put down the gun. “Entschuldigung!” Carmen stared at him blankly, and he began speaking to us in English. “I’m sorry. I thought you were drunk tourists. I was going to shoot you. But you’re police, aren’t you?” Cinnamon pressed close to me, and I could feel her shaking with fear. I petted her reassuringly, then looked up at the man. “You’re scaring my fox. She probably thinks you’re going to hunt her.” He looked at me with surprise. “That’s your pet?” I nodded. “I got her when I was working in Pacific Bay. She was orphaned when she was very young, and was rescued. She was too tame to be released back into the wild, so she was given some training and made available to the police, to be adopted as a working animal.” He reached over to Cinnamon and gently patted her on the head. “Don’t worry, I’d never hurt your pet.” He looked up at me and smiled. “I’m Johan Schnee.” Carmen turned to him. “So you’re Johan! We were looking for you! We need to ask you about this dedication. You knew Hans Vogel? We’re investigating his murder.” Johan’s eyes widened. “Hans is dead? We were friends when we were young. We used to go camping together and read scary stories: fairy tales, that sort of thing. I haven’t seen him in fifteen years, though. I went off to military training, and he moved to America to become an actor.” Carmen eyed him suspiciously. “You still have this book after all those years? That’s awfully sentimental.” Johan looked at me. “There are some good stories in that book. Have you heard the legend of the Black Forest? People who enter it are never seen again.” I shook my head. Carmen gave him a hostile look. “Is that a threat? It better not be, or you won’t be playing make-believe in the woods for long!”

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Carmen and I headed back to the Black Forest to look for Mayor Nagel. We found her drunk in the woods, and decided to give her some time to sober up. We took another look around. There was a creepy gate in the forest, and a doll was impaled on it. The doll looked like Hans Vogel. We also found an old newspaper article. I got out my duster, but could only make out part of the headline, since the page was torn. It was something about a shocking disappearance. Maybe Dupont could tell us more.

When we checked with Dupont later, he told us that he had gone to the archives in Bierburg and found the newspaper article. He told us that the men in the photo were Hans Vogel, Johan Schnee, and Johan’s brother Christophe. Fifteen years ago, Christophe had disappeared when the three men had gone hunting, and he was never seen again. That was the origin of the legend of the Black Forest. Carmen thought that something more must be going on, so we decided to go question Johan again.

Before leaving for the Black Forest, I stopped at my room to freshen up. I opened the closet door and looked through my clothes. What could I wear that was appropriate for questioning a suspect, but also looked…well, good? I put on a white top and my leather jacket, then looked in the mirror. Yes, this will do, I thought. Johan seems like the kind of guy that would like leather. I combed my hair, put on a silk scarf, applied some red lipstick, and headed out.

We spotted Johan almost immediately after arriving. I smiled at him. “We were hoping that we could ask you a few more questions.” Carmen got right to the point. “We know that your brother disappeared. What happened?” “I told you already,” he replied. “What does that have to do with your investigation?” “On the day that he disappeared, Hans was with you and him,” she explained. “So I think the facts are relevant.” He sighed. “If you really need to know, the three of us used come here. We’d steal beer from our parents, listen to German folk music, and go hunting. I went to go get my radio, and when I came back, I couldn’t find Christophe. Hans and I looked everywhere, but there was no sign of him. He just vanished!” Carmen rolled her eyes. “You expect us to believe that?” “Yes!” Johan shouted. “We always stayed in pairs so we’d be safe, but Hans took off after a buck and left Christophe alone. It’s all his fault! I still blame him!” Carmen looked at him skeptically. “It’s hard to hold a grudge against someone who’s dead.” I shook my head. Things were rarely that simple. Feelings didn’t disappear just because a person died. Carmen continued. “Unless that grudge is the reason he’s dead!”

**************************************

All the evidence had been analyzed. We knew that the killer was six feet tall, had blue eyes, had military training, listened to German folk music, and drank beer. Carmen and I stood in front of the evidence board and compared each suspect’s profile with that of the killer’s. My heart sank. Oh no. No, it can’t be! My stomach churned and I felt faint. Carmen turned to me. “Let’s go arrest Hans Vogel’s killer!” I tried to steady myself. “Just a minute. I have to go to the bathroom.” I made my way to the rest room, kneeled over the toilet, and immediately vomited. I then rested my head against the wall and tried not to pass out. How could he do this? How could Johan kill Hans? But he had. He had hit him over the head with a beer mug, then impaled him on a cuckoo clock puppet pole. Another wave of nausea came over me. Finally I stood up, then splashed my face with cold water. Slowly and a bit unsteadily, I walked out of the rest room and over to Carmen. She looked at me and could tell that something was wrong. “Are you OK? You don’t look so good.” I shook my head. “I think I’m coming down with a stomach virus.”

We returned to the castle in the forest. Carmen rushed over to Johan. “Johan Schnee, you’re under arrest for the murder of Hans Vogel!” Johan pleaded his innocence, but Carmen confronted him with all the evidence. “We know you skewered him on the cuckoo clock. What a barbaric thing to do to a friend!” Johan seethed. “He wasn’t my friend! He was going to tell everyone our secret! Christophe didn’t disappear. I killed him!” My mouth dropped open in horror. What kind of person was he? How could he do such a thing? He soon explained himself. “It was an accident! It was dark. I couldn’t see. I thought I was aiming at a wild boar. Hans was there when it happened. We buried him in the forest. We never told anyone what happened. I swear, it was an accident!” Carmen looked at him in disgust. “You killed your own brother and then buried him in the woods? How could you do such a thing?” Tears welled up in my eyes. It was clear that Johan felt very guilty about what happened, and now Carmen was rubbing salt into those wounds. She pressed him further. “Why kill Hans now after all this time?” Johan glared at her. “He was going to tell everyone what happened! I saw those posters about the interview with the mayor. I had to stop him!” Carmen reached for her handcuffs. “You killed your brother and your friend. People shouldn’t be afraid of that legend, they should be afraid of you!” I bit my lip to try to stop the tears from flowing. Johan wasn’t evil. He was just troubled and scared.

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Johan faced Judge Nigel Adaku of the International Circuit Court. “Johan Schnee, you stand trial for the murder of Hans Vogel. Why did you kill Hans?” “I had no choice!” he pleaded. “He was like a brother to me, but they said he would talk!” Judge Adaku looked at him coolly. “Who are they? Are you hearing voices?” Johan exploded with rage. “I’m not crazy! The Promethians told me that Hans was going to tell my secret!” I cringed. Johan wasn’t doing himself any favors by losing his temper in the courtroom. So much for any hope for leniency! My fears came to pass. “Johan Schnee, I sentence you to twenty-five years in prison, with no possibility of parole.” Johan burst into tears. “Hans deserved to die, but now I can atone for killing my brother. I loved Christophe!” I wanted to run to him and hug him, but instead I watched as he was led away in handcuffs.

**************************************

Chief Ripley had asked us to go back to the murder scene and look for evidence that could implicate the Promethians, and had also asked us to interview Johan to find out where his brother’s body was buried. Carmen turned to me. “It’s up to you. Should we try to find out what the Promethians are up to? Or should we look for a body that’s been rotting in the woods for fifteen years? I know what I’d do first.” Was that a hint? I knew what she wanted me to say. And time was of the essence when it came to catching the Promethians. I couldn’t put lives at risk just because I couldn’t wait to see Johan. Besides, it’s not like he would be going anywhere. We went to the crime scene, where we found some broken pottery. After reassembling it, I could see that it had a Promethian symbol on it. We took it to Dupont for analysis, and then went to the prison to talk to Johan. We were escorted to a private room, and Johan was brought to us. I looked at him. “Johan, can you tell us what you remember about your brother’s death? We’re going to look for his body.” He nodded slowly. “I could never forget what happened. It still haunts me, like a never-ending nightmare. The three of us were hunting in the forest, and it was getting dark. I heard a noise and shot my arrow. I thought it was a buck, but I hit my brother and killed him! Hans told me that we had to keep it a secret. He convinced me that we should bury Christophe in an old well.” Johan sobbed. “We just left him there! He always hated being alone in the woods!” I patted him gently on the arm. “We’ll find him and take him out of there.” As we started to head out, Johan looked over at us nervously. “I don’t want anyone to know what you’re doing there.” He stood up, glanced around the room, and opened a closet door. He began looking through it. In the middle of a pile of towels, he found a traditional German dress, the sort of thing that one might wear during Oktoberfest. “How did this get here?” He held it up, then looked at me. “This looks like it would fit you. You’ll blend in with the Oktoberfest crowd. And I doubt anyone even knows this is in here. It will never be missed.” He handed me the dress.

We left the prison, and I changed into the dress before we returned to the forest. Once we were there, we spotted the well. I looked inside and found a skull that had been pierced by an arrow. I figured it must be Christophe’s, but just to be sure, we brought it to Angela to have it analyzed. However, she gave us stunning news. The skull was Christophe’s, but Johan hadn’t killed him! Christophe had been shot by a left-handed archer. Johan couldn’t have done it, because he was right-handed. But Hans was left-handed, and Angela also found traces of his DNA on the tip of the arrow. Hans had killed Christophe! We went back to the prison to tell Johan the truth about what happened. Once again we were taken to a private room. Johan came up from the prison cafeteria, lunch in hand. I looked over at him as he walked in. “We have news for you, Johan. We found your brother’s body. And there’s something else. You didn’t kill him.” His eyes widened. “How is that possible? I know I shot the arrow, and I saw his body afterward.” Carmen explained what happened. “Hans killed him, not you. You’re innocent, at least in this case.” Johan was outraged. “Drecksau! He made me think I killed my own brother, and all along it was him!” He paused with sudden realization. “I’m innocent. All those years I blamed myself, and felt so guilty. But I have no reason to feel guilty!” “Don’t forget, you killed Hans,” Carmen reminded him. “You’re not innocent of that crime!” “I don’t care,” he told us. He handed over his lunch. “Here, take this. I want to give you something to thank you for what you’ve done for me.” “Won’t you get hungry?” I asked him. He shook his head. “The excitement has taken away my appetite. I’ll eat something later.”

Carmen rose and began walking toward the door. “Come on, let’s head back.” “You go ahead,” I told her. “I’ll catch up with you later.” She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She closed the door, and Johan looked at me. “That dress fits you perfectly.” I smiled. “You must feel so relieved. I can only imagine how horrible it was for you to believe that you were the one that killed your brother. And although I don’t condone what you did to Hans, I can understand why you don’t feel guilty, considering what he did to you.” I moved closer to him and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back, and neither of us let go. Eventually I pulled away slightly, but still kept my hands on his arms. I looked into his eyes, and he leaned closer to me and kissed me. I kissed him back and wrapped my arms around him tightly. He lowered me to the floor, and we let our desires overtake us until we were united.

We lay in each other’s arms and cuddled for a while. Finally I rose. “I’d better go before someone wonders what’s taking so long and comes looking for me. I wouldn’t want anyone to find out what we’ve been up to.” He smiled at me. “No one will hear it from me. You know I can keep secrets.” I nodded. He leaned over and stroked my hair gently. “Will you write to me? I’ll be in here for a long time, and it would be nice to have something to look forward to.” “Of course I will,” I told him. We kissed goodbye.

**************************************

Jack and I stepped off the plane and made our way through the airport. I walked into one of the airport shops. I picked up a bottle of water and a snack. As I moved closer to the cash register, I noticed a postcard rack. I picked up a postcard of the Acropolis, then paid for my purchases.

I continued walking through the airport until I reached the baggage claim area. I sat down on a bench near the baggage carousel, then opened my purse and pulled out a pen. I picked up the postcard and began to write.

Dear Johan,

''I just arrived in Greece. I hope you’re holding up OK. I’m glad that I was able to give you some good news and peace of mind. Thank you for everything that you gave to me. I’ll write more soon. Alles Liebe.''