Jenkins went on, “But Harry was a Cold War history buff, so I think he picked up on Brandt’s saying that there was an American officer—presumably military—who worked for the Stasi, but who now worked for Brandt’s neo-Nazi group. NordFaust.”
“Right.” Which would have sent Harry Vance to the Stasi Archives, and eventually to Anna Albrecht at her art gallery. And ultimately, that love affair sent Harry to his grave. “Well, thanks for revisiting this and calling. Send the transcript to Taylor.”
Jenkins was silent. Then he said, “I wish Harry had told me what he was up to.”
“Would your CO have sanctioned an investigation based on a vague,drunken claim from a German military officer who refused to repeat the claim when he was sober?”
“No.”
“Harry must have thought the same. But he wanted to look into this supposed American military traitor, and he didn’t want to make you complicit in his unsanctioned investigation.”
There was a silence; then Jenkins said, “Right… Still, I’m sorry I missed it.” He added, “Good work on finding this, Scott.”
“Call me God.”
“Arrogant asshole.”
“Whatever works for you.” Brodie added, “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Pass this on to German Intel, and have them round up Brandt for further questioning.”
“I already made that call.”
“Good.”
“Not so good. Brandt shot himself about a week ago.”
The bodies kept piling up. “Assisted suicide?”
“The German authorities are not sharing that with me.”
“Right. Okay, thanks again, Mark.” He wanted to tell him to watch the schnapps, but he’d already told him, “Whatever works,” and Brodie didn’t want to contradict himself.
Jenkins said, “Sorry if I was a little shitty with you.”
“You made me feel at home.”
Jenkins managed a laugh, then said, “Good luck, Scott.”
They hung up.
They rode in silence for a moment, then Taylor said, “Odin is working with or for NordFaust.”
“That’s a plausible conclusion.”
“Do you think that this chance interrogation of Colonel Brandt, back in May of last year, is what got Vance started on his private investigation?”
“Probably. What we know for sure is that Harry Vance went to the Stasi Archives after the Brandt interrogation, where the chief archivist gave him the name of Anna Albrecht.”
“Harry lied to Anna. I mean, he sought her out. He already knew who she was. Who her father was.”
“Correct.” He added, “He may have manipulated her, but he may also have loved her. People are complicated. Harry was no saint, but he must have believed that the end justified the means. Every cop believes that.”
Taylor didn’t respond and was perhaps feeling less generous toward a man who’d lied to his wife about an affair, and then lied to his lover about what drew him to her in the first place. After a moment she said, “Fucking men.”
“Sexist comments on the job will not be tolerated.”
“I’ll sign myself up for sensitivity training when we get home.”
The cabbie rolled through the slow-moving traffic as they crossed a bridge over the Spree River. The sky was a distinctive Berlin gray, and looked like it was considering more precipitation in the near future.
