Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Forty-Nine
12th December 1959
Mitte, Berlin
Kat received a call from Nancy who was in quite a state on what had been a peaceful Saturday afternoon. She had not been comfortable telling Kat what was going on over the phone, so Kat had driven to the townhouse that she had leased with Tilo when he had been posted to the Naval Department in the War Ministry. Having Tilo continuing his effort of improve the standing the Marine Infantry was something that Kat considered a mild annoyance. They had always reveled in their status of being the worst castoffs of the Heer, in the Pacific however they had come into their own. That was the reason why Tilo’s efforts had been bolstered by a series of films depicting the battles that the Marine Infantry had fought in the Pacific War and continued to fight as they attempted to bring order to that vast region. Suddenly, the Marines were the service to join for the adventurous who were looking for some real action. Of course, if there was trouble, leave it to the Marines to find it.
Entering the house, Kat was once again amazed by the choice of décor. The odd mixture of East meets West that he had put together with Nancy’s help. He had filled bookshelves with works of philosophy and the walls were covered with art that ranged from prints of paintings by the Old Masters, Japanese wood block paintings and Vietnamese landscapes. The furniture was equally eclectic, reflecting the travels and wide experiences of both Nancy and Tilo.
“What was so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?” Kat asked as she entered the kitchen. Nancy was watching Sebastian playing with toy cars on the floor, it was noticeable that she looked distressed.
“We figured out that Tilo and I are expecting again” Nancy said.
“Is that what is going on with you” Kat said, “While I can understand why you would be apprehensive, I would assume that congratulations are in order.”
“That’s not it” Tilo said as he seemed to come out of the kitchen wall. Kat knew that he must have been there the entire time, but he had spent years working on his focus. An odd sort of stillness of both the mind and body that had the practical effect of making one’s eyes slide around him without seeing him.
“This is what we want” Nancy said, “The problem started when we began informing the people closest to us of the news, we had only just started when…” Nancy stopped talking.
“We got this back from Portland when we tried to contact Nancy’s friend Beatrice” Tilo said, and then he handed her a yellow piece of paper. “This seemed like something that is in your wheelhouse.”
Reading the telegram, Kat was bewildered by what she was reading. It was perfunctory, just saying that Nancy’s friend Beatrice had died of unspecified causes not long after Nancy had talked to her the previous May.
“I don’t see what you expect me to do about this” Kat said.
“You investigate matters” Nancy said, clearly upset. “Or at least cut the nuts off that louse Beatrice has for a husband.”
“As much as I think that would be justice” Kat said, “My reach doesn’t extend into America. All joking aside castration is a waste of time, so I’ve never considered it beyond a bluff.”
“That is crap” Nancy said, before she stormed out of the room.
“I’m sorry” Tilo said just after they heard the door slam. “I told her almost the same thing you told her before you got here.”
“No need to apologize” Kat said, “These things happen.”
“You really can’t do much?” Tilo asked.
“I can make a few phone calls” Kat replied, “But as I said, it’s not like I could go there in person and I don’t trust the BND’s North American Division. It’s still very much your father’s fiefdom.”
“You really need to bury the hatchet with him” Tilo said, “He admits that he screwed things up.”
“It’s not that simple” Kat said, “He is a manipulative bastard, and it didn’t stop after I left. He continued to twist things to his advantage for years afterwards, making me doubt myself, getting between me and my husband. That is harder to let go of.”
“I see” Tilo said, he didn’t seem too surprised.
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While they were in a festive mood, it was hardly the sort of afternoon that would have fit with what they were doing. It being the Christmas season, it should have been snowing, but the weather wasn’t cooperating, so it was cold, drizzly rain instead. That was why Suga had brought an umbrella when Freddy had invited her to come along.
As Kiki and Rea were drifting from stall to stall making occasional purchases and talking to the vendors. Freddy hung back talking with Suga about the books that he had been reading as a part of his studies. Kiki thought that it was long past time that the two of them talked about things that they were mutually interested in. A few days earlier, Freddy had started talking about the properties of concrete, Kiki had seen Suga check her watch and it had been all she could do to avoid laughing. Looking into one of the stalls, Kiki caught a whiff of the smell of the pepper cakes. Last year she had gorged herself on the things, this year she had promised herself that she wouldn’t do that to herself.