The Pale House (12 page)

“I think not, Captain
.”

“And why would that be?” barked Neuffer. He seemed to pull himself together, rising up to his inconsiderable height, his chin bunching up tight. The Kaiser, Reinhardt thought, puffing himself up in front of his men. “Why exclude the police from this?”

“I have two dead Feldjaeger, a third wounded. I have reason to believe their deaths are linked to the others. Therefore, it is one case, and it's mine, until such a time as my colonel says otherwise.”

“This kind of unreasonableness is
precisely
what I was afraid of, and what I was warned about,” complained Neuffer.

“Someone's been doing an awful lot of forewarning about me, Major. Care to enlighten me?” Neuffer said nothing, visibly simmering. “Then let me tell you, the first minutes and hours after a crime has been committed are the most important. I will not have this crime scene corrupted if I can avoid it.”

snorted. “Oh, come now, Captain. It's quite obvious what's happened. It's the Partisans.”

“Yes.” Neuffer leaped into the narrow breach afforded by the UstaÅ¡a. “The Partisans. It would be just like them.”

“And you wonder why I want to keep some level of control over this?”
and Neuffer looked confused. “You've seen nothing. Examined nothing. And yet already you are jumping to conclusions. However,” said Reinhardt, switching tacks, hoping to keep them off-balance, “I admit a little help would not go amiss and I'm willing to cooperate. My lieutenant here can show Inspector
the bodies before we move them to the military hospital for autopsy. He's—”

“The
military
hospital, Captain?”
interrupted. “Why, may I ask?”

“I want a military doctor to examine them.”

“Why, Captain?” asked Neuffer, scudding along in
wake.

“I will get to that part shortly. As I was saying, the inspector is welcome to share in the results of the autopsy, and I need help in questioning the locals. There's a few of them, and they must've heard something.”

“Indeed. Sharing of information, it's the best way forward,” added a relieved-sounding Neuffer. Such a formulaic little man, Reinhardt thought, again.

“That is most reasonable of you,” said
. “The inspector will view the bodies. I will take care of talking with—”

“Thank you, Captain, but I would rather the inspector take care of that as well.” Not that Reinhardt was under any illusions that whatever
learned he would not pass on to the Ustaše. He would. It was how men like him survived day to day.

“Captain, are you suggesting anything?” That from Neuffer again.

“Suggesting nothing, Major. I just don't see the need for UstaÅ¡e involvement.”

“And why not, Captain?”

“General Herzog said our involvement ends where the field gray ends. Well, those Feldjaeger wore field gray. Everything else follows from that. It's ours and I see no need for the UstaÅ¡e.”

“It is all right, Major Neuffer,” said
. “I can understand the captain's thinking.” The UstaÅ¡e began giving orders to a desperately uncomfortable-looking
. Reinhardt had no great faith in the ability of the inspector to elicit anything worthwhile from the locals, but they would at least survive interrogation by him. Having the Ustaše do it was an uncertainty he could not countenance.

“And what of me, Captain?” interjected Brandt. “I've got fifty men waiting for work, and a timetable to keep.”

“It'll keep, Lieutenant,” snarled Lainer. “It's only earth. It's not going anywhere.”

“Sir . . .” began the Feldgendarme lieutenant.

“Your bloody convicts'll just have to wait until we're done.” The big Feldjaeger was a formidable sight in anger, and he was angry now. “Right now, fuck the hell off out of here.”

“Captain,” protested Neuffer, although he too seemed taken aback by Lainer's anger. “There's no need for such a tone.” There was a stiff movement to one side—Benfeld, taking a step backward.

“You think?” spat Lainer.

“Gentlemen, I just need a little patience from you all. Then Lieutenant Brandt will be able to go ahead with his work. Lieutenant Benfeld, will you escort the inspector?”

With that, the group broke apart, and Reinhardt watched Benfeld and
walk up the hill, their silhouettes blurred against the yellow glow of their flashlights. Reinhardt walked away from the tangle of vehicles and the competing demands of men and their factions, needing a moment to himself. He lit a cigarette, pausing around a deep lungful of smoke, trying to feel the way ahead from now on, his mind playing with those pieces of the puzzle he had been dealt.