A Time To Every Purpose

by Ian Andrew

  “I can now confirm proper authorisation of Project Thule in line with Reich High Command General Order 191/1.3/4 was received by me at 15:15.” He scanned the room, “If there are no questions for me, I’ll hand over to Professor Lippisch.”

  Konrad rose from his chair and took up a position to the side of the room’s display screen, while Wilhelm moved behind the lectern to control the imagery.

  “A handheld geo-coordinate reading for the location of the incident was recorded as 51, 30, 36.54 north, 000, 07, 12.68 west with an elevation of 15.6 metres.”

  The image on the screen switched to an overhead satellite view of the Savoy Hotel in the Strand. As Konrad continued, Wilhelm highlighted the various locations on the screen.

  “Based on the timing of the key-card entries we’ll begin by looking between 02:20 local on May 18 back to 22:35 on May 17 centred in the Minister’s room. If we don’t get an identification from that Projection, given that the card was used on previous occasions we can go back to attempt identification on the previous dates. This will be made easier as the Minister always used the same room when he stayed at the hotel. That will alleviate any GeoCord tracking issues. However, Dimitri is already deployed into London so that should we require to track across other locations he can upload the coordinates. This,” and the screen behind him displayed a series of personal ID photos, “is Minister Uwe Joyce and the rest of his family and personal staff. We have these available for recognition if or when they appear in the Projection. The first thing we need to establish is that we are actually looking at the Minister. A printout of them has been prepared for you and is in the lab. Finally, we need to remember that the twelve hour lag will prevent any tracking of a suspect after,” Konrad checked his watch, “04:00 this morning. Are there any questions?” The room remained quiet. Leigh did wonder how far a killer could have got in the intervening twelve hours, but held her peace.

  “Okay. Leigh, Jerome and Wilhelm, please start the Projection and get Dimitri on a line from the Savoy. Francine and Claire please escort Sturmbannführer Heysburgh, Kriminalrat Debouchy, Untersturmführer Vogel and Sturmmann Tensfeld into the lab and ensure they are given a safety briefing. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have worked on this for some years now. The Reich has invested a lot of money into our efforts. It’s time, if you will pardon the pun, to prove our worth.”

  Chapter 23

  As the Time Observation Window reached stabilisation, Jerome entered the geo-coordinates that had been supplied by Heinrich’s trip into the Strand. When the image focussed the scene revealed the Minister’s hotel room. Wilhelm controlled the elevation and angular properties of the Projection and manipulated the image so that they looked from a vantage point of the entrance door. The room was simply furnished with a double bed, two bedside tables and a dressing table with cupboards underneath that probably housed the in-room bar. There was a door, in the top left of the image, that presumably led into the en-suite bathroom. On the bed was a slumped figure covered with various bed linen. The linen was on fire but the flames had not fully caught yet. The time stamp on the Projection showed 02:20:18May2020BST. Wilhelm tilted the view to look at the in-room sprinkler. It was wrapped in a towel and the in-room smoke detector hung broken on its hinge from the ceiling mount. As the camera panned through the room, the fire began to flare as more of the linen caught alight.

  In the rear of the control room, but with a clear view of the projected image, Heinrich stood next to Hannah narrating what he was seeing whilst she entered it into the official record. Leigh looked round and he nodded. She told Jerome to go back by half an hour. As he manipulated the controls Leigh turned to the non-scientific personnel.

  “The Window is not a smooth scroll facility. We need to jump to a time point and observe forward from there, so we’ll be going back in half hour jumps until we get something of note.”

  01:50:18May2020BST. As the image refocused the room was lit by a single bedside lamp. Uwe Joyce was lying on his back whilst a tall blonde woman sat astride him. As Wilhelm adjusted the incoming audio signal it was obvious that she was in the final throws of bringing the Minister to an orgasm. Leigh felt her face blushing and she noticed that the men around her also looked uncomfortable at this unexpected voyeurism. She could hear Heinrich talking in low tones at the back of the room describing the scene in precise and clinical terms. As the couple on the screen came to the end of their act, the woman rolled off Joyce and lay beside him. Her naked body was exposed and even Leigh could see that she was stunning. The Minister was slightly overweight but she knew he was fifty-two, so for his age he was still in reasonable physical shape. Despite her best effort she glanced to his groin and could tell even as he was going limp, he had been averagely endowed. As a Reichsminister she guessed it was the power he was endowed with that was his most desirable feature. Leigh realised that she was going to have to look past the imagery on screen.

  “Freeze it there Jerome, please. Heinrich?” Leigh turned to him. Heinrich looked to the other military Officers that were part of the investigation.

  “Gentlemen, I need you to verbally concur that we are looking at Reichsminister Uwe Joyce and that the other person in that image is not a member of the Minster’s family or personal staff as compared to the ID photos you have available.”

  Dietmar Heysburgh, Pascal Debouchy and Peter Vogel all agreed that the man on screen was the Reichsminister and that the woman was unidentified. Heinrich nodded to Leigh, who turned to her fellow scientists.

  “Wilhelm?” She didn’t have to tell the scientist what was required. A small arrow shaped pointer appeared overlaid on the screen and Wilhelm moved it until it was positioned on the top of the blonde woman’s head. He clicked it and a black dot marked the position. Moving the marker to her feet he clicked again and a small box appeared on the side of the image indicating a measurement of 179.5cms.

  “Please note that the measurement will not be exactly right. We would advise that you allow a five percent probability of error on that. So we’re looking at a height of,” Wilhelm looked to Jerome.

  “175 through to 184cm, but more likely on the upper end given the relative height of the Minister and we know he was 178cm tall. As you can see he’s definitely shorter than the woman.”

  As the image remained frozen Leigh saw that the woman’s figure was hourglass. Her legs were long and shapely, she was toned and her breasts were firm. Her pubic hair was trimmed neatly into a light coloured triangle, making it likely that she was a natural blonde. Whilst sweeping the image with her gaze she could hear Heinrich continuing his commentary to Hannah Tensfeld. She looked around to see how the young soldier was coping with the potential embarrassment and saw that the Gestapo stenographer was completely focussed on her task and looked composed and calm.

  Wilhelm manipulated the image to zoom in on the woman’s face. Another few clicks and he had cropped a copy of her face into a search protocol which began to run through the eBü. Leigh stared at the main screen again. The blonde hair cascaded on to the pillow and framed features that were both beautiful and, even allowing for her just having had sex, sultry and... Leigh searched for the right word and was slightly embarrassed as she realised the woman looked available, desirable, dirty.

  Francine, who was sitting at her control console, phrased it better as she said, “My goodness me, she’s sex on legs. Poor Minister, didn’t stand a chance did he?”

  Leigh looked at her and ‘shooshed’ her silently. Francine smiled back in her mischievous way. The men in the room smiled too. Leigh looked around and could even see Heinrich smiling. She knew Francine had that knack of saying things that never caused offence but went to the core of the issue. Leigh also knew she was right. This blonde could have seduced any man with a sideways look. As they all continued to wait for the search algorithm Jerome shook his head very subtly at Leigh.

  Leigh concurred with the simplest flick of her eyes and turned to the rest of the room, “Based on the light conditions and the resolution we
can get on the imagery, whilst we might be able to recognise the Minister it’s going to be unlikely that the face-match systems will be able to identify this woman. I just want to warn you so you don’t get too disappointed.”

  As she finished, a small information box popped up on the screen with a red ‘x’.

  “No match Leigh,” said Wilhelm.

  The image unfroze and the scene played on. Joyce pulled a sheet up over himself, for which Leigh silently thought, ‘Thank you’. The woman walked out of frame into the bathroom. When she returned, Joyce followed the same route. As he came back to lie beside her, she got up and began to get dressed. The audio was faint but clear.

  “Mary, you could stay, no one’s going to be disturbing me until about seven.”

  “No Uwe, I need to get home,”

  “Are you okay, you seem sort of distant?”

  “Distant? I just fucked you, how is that distant?”

  Chapter 24

  The military members of the investigation team were back in the secure briefing room. Heinrich had arranged for tea and coffee to be brought in and told them to take a few minutes whilst he went to check on the scientists. He went back into Oscar and found Konrad, Leigh and the rest sat around a bench. Leigh was still feeling physically shaken from the violence she had seen on the screen. She had always known that on occasion the Time Observation Window would present them with challenges that they may not have expected. Francine was sitting next to Jerome, talking very quietly. Claire and Wilhelm sat at the end of the bench also subdued. Professor Faber came into the lab and joined them. Heinrich looked to Konrad.

  “It’s okay Heinrich, honestly, we’ll just sit here and talk things through. We need to come to terms with the things we’re going to be doing from now on, so if and when you need us again just let us know. We’ll be ready.”

  Heinrich nodded and left the lab. As he re-entered the briefing room, Dietmar Heysburgh stood up. The man was tall and broad shouldered, in his mid-thirties with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a strong jaw line. It was easy to see why he had been assigned as a Military Attaché to the British Governor-General’s Office. He would have carried a presence for the military in the Political surroundings of the office and probably looked good in his mess-dress uniform when attending social functions. When the need came up for someone to be assigned as a liaison for Project Thule the Governor, despite not knowing what Thule was, had not hesitated in picking Dietmar.

  “Kamerad Standartenführer, I’m sorry to be asking this, but why can we not continue the track?”

  They had followed the unidentified ‘Mary’ as she left the hotel. With the help of Dimitry at the Savoy passing latitude and longitude information they had tracked her to a taxi parked in Burleigh Street but were unable to track any further as the car had begun to navigate the narrow streets.

  “I’ve checked with Professor Lippisch,” Heinrich explained, “The observation Window isn’t that dynamic. It takes time for it to track through time and space. All they can do is focus on a set of coordinates and then they can view about a 10-metre diameter range. It can be kept on a target that is walking and manually made to follow but you saw how it was limited in the speed of its movement. The only reason we didn’t lose her earlier was because we were able to use the hand held coordinates being transferred from the Savoy. Even then, as soon as she got in the cab and it began to drive we have no way of knowing what the next coordinates would be. So we’re back to standard investigation techniques. Does that explain?”

  “Yes, thank you, it’s just,” he paused.

  “I know Dietmar. It’s a lot less capable than you were told in the initial briefing by Berlin?” Heinrich asked.

  “Well yes,” Heysburgh said. His shoulders slumped.

  “I felt the same way at first, but if we just reflect on what we’ve seen, it truly is remarkable, yes?”

  They all nodded. Heinrich grabbed a cup of coffee and stood at the front of the room.

  “Okay, Pascal, what do we know?”

  “The uniform was GB Rehabilitation Service. She said she had handled the processing of Turner prisoners last night. Given the distances and that she was in his hotel in London it could only be the Harrow Holding Centre. I can’t imagine there are many Marys and even less that look like her at Harrow. As soon as we know how Berlin want to handle it then I can begin running the information down. I can’t see any problems finding out who she is. The problem will be if she’s running.” Pascal Debouchy had the full power of the Central Office behind him so gaining an identification would not be a problem. He was a career detective with nearly thirty years working various crime offices throughout the Reich and had spent time in London as a young man. When the opportunity came to return to Whitehall for his last tour of duty he had jumped at it. In his mid-fifties, a widower, he was beginning to put a little weight on around his mid-riff but still carried himself with the confidence of experience. Dressed in a well-worn brown suit his face was creased with lines and his eyes, shielded behind his brown-rimmed square glasses, held a seriousness that came from years of investigating things the Reich would rather pretend did not happen. His slightly thinning blonde hair made him look older than he was but Heinrich knew him by reputation as a thorough and professional investigator. His influence within the Criminal Police system was going to be vital for Project Thule.

  “Peter?” Heinrich looked at the Junior Officer.

  “The interrogation centre is completely ready Standartenführer.” Peter Vogel had personally overseen the establishment of the new single-storey Prisoner Holding and Interrogation Facility that had been built to the eastern side of the Todt compound. As Thule was a compartmented security classification any prisoner processing was going to be done out of the mainstream holding centres. Vogel was not out of the usual mould for a Waffen-SS officer. He was short and squat, with a shock of red hair, pale complexion and freckles. Most people meeting him were surprised to learn he was a native of Dresden. Despite his physical appearance he had graduated top of his class at Bad-Tölz and had been posted straight from there into Todt. Initially the young man had been frustrated, thinking he had been passed over for the more high-profile postings, until he had been briefed on what Thule was. Now he understood he had been given a prime assignment.

  “Okay,” said Heinrich, “a quick revisit of the ground rules. We cannot allow that we have her identification or anything else for that matter from Thule but that isn’t going to be an issue. I have spoken to Prinz-Albrecht-Straße and they want to know if this was a lover’s tiff or if what she said about the Turners was alluding to a wider conspiracy. If it’s the former then it’ll be handled quickly in-house. However, if it is the latter the Reichsführer wants a public trial.”

  The men in the room began to murmur and Heinrich raised his hands to halt them. “It’s okay, save your breath gentlemen. I’ve voiced concerns but he wants to make a public example of her if it’s a conspiracy. You’ll remember the man who attempted the assassination of the last Führer? Because he claimed God had made him do it, there was no outcome that was acceptable other than a trial.” Heinrich did not say show trial although he knew it had been and he knew this one would be no different. “If it comes to that we’ll need to make sure we gather enough evidence or a simple confession so that we can mask any involvement of this project. Understood?”

  They all nodded.

  “Make your calls Pascal.” Heinrich indicated the secure phones in the corner of the room.

  Pascal Debouchy called into the Central Office in Whitehall. Fifteen minutes later he had a list of all female staff called Mary working at Harrow.

  “Standartenführer, as I thought, it’s a short list. Chef Oberaufseherin Mary Reid. According to Whitehall she’s well known in the Rehabilitation Service. A high-flyer and apparently destined for great things. Mind you, if she was screwing the Minister for a while then it would explain her career. She has a reputation as one tough bitch. Her father was lifted on paedophilia c
harges five years ago. According to the report he was transported to Harrow and tried to attack his daughter when he saw her at the facility.”

  “And?” Heinrich prompted.

  “She emptied a Glock-17 into him.”

  “Nice girl! Is she at Harrow now?”

  “Yes. One of my guys phoned in a routine call just to check. She’s currently in her office and is due to finish her shift at 18:45. There are no prisoner transports expected so she’ll probably knock off on time, if not earlier.”

  Heinrich checked his watch, it was 17:35. “Well, she would appear to be quite a cool bitch too. Do we assume that she still thinks she’s clear of any involvement in this?”

  The assembled men nodded. Pascal added, “She must think that she scrubbed the room for trace elements and believes no one saw her arriving or leaving. If we assume from the use of the key-card that she’s been having an affair with Joyce for at least a few months, if not longer, and no one knew about it, then she’s used to being discrete. I reckon she thinks she’s clear for at least a while.”

  “Okay, Dietmar,” Heinrich turned to the Liaison Officer, “We can’t risk using the local Kripo for this. We saw what she did in the hotel and she’s more than likely to start shooting. They’ll be more than likely to kill her. The Reichsführer wants her alive and talking. So, get Northwood on the phone. I want their best snatch squad readied. Tell them we’re on our way and we’ll brief them when we get there.”

  Dietmar had also looked at the time. “We’ll be pushing it to get her at work. Where does she live?”

  Pascal referred to his notes, “Brightwell Lane, Watford. She rents a small town house.”

  Heinrich thought for a moment, “Okay, get a target pack for the home address prepped in Whitehall and have it couriered to Northwood. We’ll meet up with it there. We’ll need historic satellite imagery and up-to-date obliques. Get a Special-Reconnaissance unit out to the address now and have them do an initial assault pack, then get them to meet us at Northwood. Also, get one of your surveillance teams to Harrow. Tell them to track her from work. We need to keep eyes on her.”