A Quiet Flame

“Here, sit down and have a drink,” said Diels, and pushed a glass of champagne toward me.

It was a little early for me, but, noting the label and the year on the bottle, I drank it anyway.

“What can I do for you, Herr Diels?”

“Please. Call me Rudi. And by the way, you can speak quite freely in front of our two lady friends. They don’t speak very good German.”

“Neither do I,” I said. “Only that might have something to do with the fact that my tongue is hanging out of my mouth.”

“Ever been here before?”

“Once or twice. But I don’t get any kick out of guessing whether someone’s a man or a woman.” I nodded at Fräulein Olafsson. “It makes a pleasant change to have any doubts on that score removed so unequivocally.”

“You’d better enjoy it while you can. In just a month or two a lot of these clubs are going to be closed down by the new government. This one is already earmarked to be the Nazi Party headquarters in Berlin South.”

“You’re taking a lot for granted. There’s the small matter of an election to be fought first.”

“You’re right. It is a small matter. The National Socialists may not manage to win an outright majority in the Reichstag, but it seems more than probable that they will be the largest party.”

“They?”

“I’m not a party member, Herr Gunther. But I am broadly sympathetic to the cause of National Socialism.”

“Is that how you got those scars on your face? By being broadly sympathetic to the Nazis?”

Diels touched his cheek without any trace of self-consciousness. “This?” He shook his head. “No. I’m afraid there wasn’t much honor in the way they were earned. I used to drink a lot. More than was good for me. Sometimes, when I wanted to amuse or intimidate someone, I would chew a beer glass.”

There was a bowl of fruit on the table. I nodded at it.

“Me, I prefer a nice apple.” I lit a cigarette and, leaning back in my chair, took a good look at our two naked companions. I didn’t mind looking at them any more than they minded being looked at.

“Help yourself.”

“No, thanks. Some of my concentration is still caught up with the fate of the republic.”

“That’s too bad. Because the republic’s days are numbered. We’re going to win.”

“So it’s ‘we’ now. A minute ago you weren’t even in the party. I guess you must be what’s called a floating voter.”

“You mean like Rosa Luxemburg?” Diels smiled at his own little joke. “Oh, I’m not much of a Hitlerite,” he said. “But I do believe in Hermann Goering. He’s a much more impressive figure than Hitler.”

“He’s certainly a larger one.” It was my turn to smile at my little joke.

“Hitler cares nothing for human life,” continued Diels. “But Goering is different. I work for him, in the Reichstag. After the Nazis come to power, Goering is going to be in overall charge of the police in Germany. Kurt Daluege is going to be in charge of the uniformed police. And I’m going to be in charge of a much-expanded political police.”

“The number of people wanting to join the police these days. And we haven’t even had a recruiting drive.”

“We’re going to need men we can trust. Good men who are prepared to devote body and soul to the fight against Jewry and Bolshevism. But not just against Jewry and Bolshevism. It’s imperative that the power of the SA be curtailed, too. Which is where you come in.”

“Me? I don’t see how I can be of any use to you. I don’t even like the political police we’ve got now.”

“You’re well known in KRIPO as someone who dislikes the SA.”

“Everyone in KRIPO dislikes the SA. Everyone who’s worth a damn.”

“That is what I’m looking for. To get rid of the SA we’ll need men who aren’t afraid. Men like you.”

“I can see your dilemma. You need the SA to strong-arm the election. But once you’re elected, you need someone else to strong-arm it back into line.” I grinned. “I have to hand it to you. There’s sophism and then there’s Nazism. Hitler adds a whole new section to that part of the dictionary that deals with specious argument and dirty dealing.” I shook my head. “I’m not your man, Herr Diels. Never will be.”

“It would be a real shame if the force was to lose a man of your forensic capabilities, Herr Gunther.”

“Wouldn’t it just? But there it is.”

The third Swede came back from powdering her nose. Like her two friends, she was as naked as a hat pin without a hat. Obviously bored, the other two got up from the table and went over to her and put their arms around her, and slowly, they began to dance to some silent music. They looked like the Three Graces.

“They really are tourists, you know,” he said. “Not demi-castors, or half-silks, or whatever you cops call them. Just three girls on holiday from Stockholm, who felt like being true Berliners and taking off their clothes for the sheer hell of it.” He sighed. “I think it will be a real shame when this kind of thing is gone. But things have to change. It can’t be allowed to go on like this. The vice, the prostitution, the drugs. It’s corrupting us.”

I shrugged.

“You’re a cop,” he said. “I thought you would surely agree with me about that, at least.”