Jenkins nodded. “Right. There are a lot of those groups, or at least a lot of racist assholes claiming to be members of them. The German military has an issue with right-wing extremism, unfortunately. It’s a problem, but not our problem.”
“Until those extremists pose a threat to American military assets.”
“But they haven’t, and they won’t. This is small-fry stuff, mostly. A handful of guys hoarding weapons, making up a name for their so-called group, fetishizing Adolf Hitler and posting anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and racist rants on social media. A lot of posturing, not much action.” He added, “Lots of times grandpa was Wehrmacht or SS, and junior admired Opa, and got brainwashed by the old guy.”
Brodie nodded. He could picture grandpa dragging out his combat medals, maybe even his Swastika armband. The sins of the grandfathers seemed to have skipped a generation and were visited on the grandkids, who were now all grown up and worked up about Muslims and mosques and migrants.
History was prologue, and more so here than in most places.
Brodie returned to his questions. “Colonel Brandt claimed he was part of a secret army within the German military.”
Jenkins rolled his eyes. “The whole thing smelled like bullshit before we even got to Stuttgart.”
Brodie asked, “About how old was this colonel?”
“His exact age is in our report.”
“Which is now back in the hands of the military attaché’s office. Refresh my memory.”
Jenkins thought a moment. “Mid-forties, if I had to guess.”
Well, too young to be ex-Stasi. Unless he was in their youth group.
Brodie asked, “Anything about the interview you and Harry had with Colonel Brandt that might have caused Harry to pay a visit to the Stasi Archives in May of last year?”
Jenkins gave him a confused look. “I’m not following.”
“Please think about what I’m asking.”
“Okay…” Jenkins thought, then said, “The assistant legal attaché, what’s-his-name…”
“Jason Butler.”
Jenkins nodded. “He called me after they brought in Harry’s girlfriend to BKA headquarters. Butler tells me this woman’s father was Stasi, and a double agent for us, his cover got blown right before the Wall came down and he was executed by the Stasi, and Harry was supposedly helping her find the rat. Butler wanted to know if Harry had shared any of this with me. Which he didn’t.”
Brodie nodded. Jenkins did not seem to know that this rat was a member of the American military, code-named Odin, and he likely also didn’t know about the three other double agents who were found and executed. Jason Butler had told Jenkins just enough to see if he had any relevant information about Vance’s activities or statements leading up to his death. He said to Jenkins, “I just spoke with someone at the Stasi Archives who claims Harry visited there in May looking for information about an American military official who provided intelligence to the Stasi in the 1980s.”
Jenkins thought a moment. “So, Harry was headed for divorce, met this hot number in Berlin, and followed his dick to the Stasi Archives to be her white knight. To me, this helps put his behavior in some context. What he was investigating was disconnected from his official CID duties, and also tied to an extramarital affair. Hence the secrecy.”
“Right.” Except that timeline was wrong, but Brodie wasn’t sharing that.
Jenkins asked, “What the hell does any of this have to do with this wannabe Nazi in Stuttgart? Or, for that matter, with Harry’s murder by Syrian terrorists?”
Brodie wasn’t sure himself, and if he expounded on his many theories, Jenkins would think he was nuts. And if Brodie heard himself say it all out loud, he might agree. “I just need to know if something happened in May, or possibly April, that might have gotten Harry suddenly interested in Stasi double agents.”
Jenkins looked him in the eyes. “What are you doing? And where are you going?”
“Not sure, but what Jason Butler told you is not the whole story. In fact, he doesn’t know the whole story, and his head is too far up his ass to even realize it. Same goes for his fellow FBI agents, along with the Berlin Police and the German Feds and, probably, your colleagues from Fifth MP being sent here to replace me.”
“You’re a bright light in a sea of idiots.”
“I am.”
“Actually, Scott, you’re smug, vain, and insubordinate. That’s your rep.”
Brodie stared at him. “You ought to be as interested as I am in what sent Harry down this Stasi rabbit hole, because it wasn’t Anna Albrecht, and whatever it was, it’s directly or indirectly tied to his murder. Look into it. You owe it to Harry.”
“Don’t tell me what I owe Harry.”
