Hidden Depths

by Ally Rose

  AUDREY WENT OFF EARLY on her new purple bicycle on Saturday morning for a lesson with her maths tutor and afterwards planned to spend the rest of the day on a cycle trip with friends. Brigitte was working in Kadewe and Hanne found she had the day to herself. Brigitte and Hanne were planning a weekend away together at the end of May, around the lakes beyond the Spreewald. It was a sunny spring morning and on impulse she decided to take a reconnaissance drive and peruse the area around Zossen.

  After listening to Klaus Felker’s interview at the police station earlier in the week, Hanne was still curious to catch a glimpse of Axel. She remembered Klaus saying Axel worked at their golf club at weekends and it was in the area where Brigitte and herself were planning their mini break. Hanne wouldn’t be recognised by the Felker brothers because they hadn’t met her and she’d stayed hidden behind the scenes at the police station. What harm could it do to satisfy her curiosity and take a peep at the boy whose story had touched her heart?

  Hanne took her top-of-the-range GPS tracking data pusher with her, an essential piece of modern technology designed to help the police with covert operations. She programmed the route and her journey was mapped out within seconds.

  About an hour out of Berlin she passed Zossen and a little further beyond was the verdant area surrounding Mellensee lake. On its northern edges, the lake filtered into a lock and the Notte canal. Boating enthusiasts could sail all the way up to Kopenick via this canal where the river widened, eventually joining the River Spree which led to the heart of the capital, Berlin. In the heart of the countryside, with picturesque windmills and castles, Mellensee offered lakeside aquatic activities and a designated trail for walkers or cyclists along the canal. It was an ideal oasis for city dwellers to take a holiday and Hanne booked three nights in a local bed and breakfast feeling sure Brigitte would approve of her choice. She had a quick bite to eat in a café overlooking the lake at Mellensee before heading to the Motzen Mayor golf club, a short drive away. The large car park was busy with golfers arriving and departing. She parked and wandered into the reception area of the clubhouse and was greeted by the friendly face of Carsten Berger, Felix’s old school friend and now one of the managers of the club who had worked his way up from barman.

  Carsten watched Hanne enter and browse through the brochures in the foyer.

  ‘Can I help?’ he asked.

  Hanne feigned interest. ‘Yes, I’ll be holidaying near here at the end of the month and we thought we’d play a round of golf. Do you have to be a member to play here?’

  Carsten shook his head. ‘Not at all. But you’ll need to book a tee off time in advance.’

  He pointed to a brochure. ‘All the details are in here.’

  ‘Thanks. Mind if I look around?’ Hanne asked.

  ‘No problem.’

  Axel Felker was out on the driving range with his mini tractor, collecting golf balls. He had an iPod attached to his waist and was listening to music, humming some tune or other as he drove the tractor around. He hopped out to gather the balls in a scooper, loaded them into the container at the back of the tractor and once full, drove to the machine at the entrance of the range to refill it with golf balls. Then he had a wait of about half an hour before the golfers on the driving range had hit enough balls for him to collect again. Axel took this opportunity to practise his own golfing game or chat with the members.

  Hanne watched Axel surreptitiously. She noticed how at ease he was, not only with himself but with everyone he came into contact with. He was very pleasing to the eye with his athletic build and fair hair tied in a ponytail, and he exuded an air of friendliness. She noted that he was always ready with a smile that was mirrored infectiously by those who came into contact with him. There was something familiar about him, too. Hanne felt she’d met Axel or seen him before. Of course it wasn’t true but nevertheless, she had a strong feeling of déjà vu. Now that she’d seen him, she thought she’d better stop loitering and head back to Berlin.

  Walter, one of the experienced golf instructors at the club, was warming up on the range and struck up a conversation with Axel which Hanne couldn’t help overhearing.

  ‘Hey, Axel. Who do you think will win the German Masters next month?’

  Axel smiled mischievously. ‘Dunno. Fancy losing another bet?’

  Walter smiled, enjoying the banter with the boss’s son. ‘You won our bet last year, you said Padraig Harrington would win, so this year I get to choose first.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Ten euros says K.J Choi wins.’

  Axel thought about it for a moment and shook his head. ‘No. He won it two years ago. The only person to win the German Masters golf tournament more than once is Bernhard Langer because it means so much to him. So, I’ll say someone that hasn’t won it before, someone in form… Retief Goosen.’

  The two of them shook hands on the deal.

  ‘Haven’t seen your Onkel Felix up here in weeks,’ commented Walter.

  ‘Onkel Felix is working on the boats over at the lake, getting them ready for the summer season. He’ll be back, you can’t keep him off a golf course for too long,’ Axel replied, and went off in his tractor.

  Hanne heard the name Felix and it registered immediately. Onkel Felix, that’s what Axel had said, but didn’t the Felker brothers say their nephew Felix Waltz had drowned in the river Elbe? She thought back to the recent interviews. No, she recalled, they hadn’t said that exactly. Both brothers had been slightly evasive, as if they’d made a secret pact not to mention their nephew. What Klaus Felker actually said was that Felix jumped into the River Elbe and Kruger, Glockner and herself had assumed he died from drowning. Klaus never actually uttered the words ‘Felix died’. Klaus had also said Felix’s death wasn’t recorded at Torgau and she concluded that the police team must have failed to establish whether this information was true or false, although records in those days were sketchy to say the least.

  Were the Felker brothers lying with their carefully worded script? Surely there couldn’t be two Onkels in the family called Felix? That would be too much of a coincidence. Had Klaus and Bernd Felker outsmarted them? Axel’s Onkel Felix was working at a lake. If so, which lake? This was an area full of lakes.

  At a lake, Hanne repeated to herself… Marine Boy probably came from a background where boats and water sports were predominant. And if Felix Waltz was alive he would fit the profile and motives of the young man who killed the Musketeers and attempted to murder Lotte Holler. In 1989 he would have been the right age, strong enough and angry enough to take revenge on his Torgau abusers. He could be Marine Boy.

  Logically, it slotted into place. If Felix Waltz escaped from Torgau, his first port of call would be the safe haven of his Onkel Klaus’s home. Was Felix hidden and protected by his loved ones until after the Wall came down, when it was prudent to re-emerge back into society? Obviously the family would have been extra cautious after Susanne’s tragic demise because anyone incarcerated in Torgau would need gentle handling and copious amounts of time to recover and heal.

  Hanne questioned if it was possible that a few years later, with business booming in the former East Germany, Horst Gwisdek had turned up unexpectedly at the family’s golf club and backed Felix into a corner, triggering him into turning vigilante and committing unpremeditated murder. Hanne knew she had to find Axel’s Onkel Felix. She grew simultaneously anxious and excited, her heart pounding. And then a memory hit her. Axel looked exactly like the boy in her photo, the boy she and Claudia had met the night the Berlin Wall came down. The photo that had adorned her kitchen wall for the past 15 years… This boy had called himself Jens. His hair was fair under his dark wig and the cigar scars on his ears were similar to the scars on Wolfgang’s ears. So that was why Hanne had had that feeling of déjà vu when she’d seen Wolfgang’s ears. Branded by the Musketeers. Jens had the same scars.

  Were Jens and Marine Boy the same person? Hanne’s mind was racing. Marine Boy slashed his victim’s ears. Was he branding the Mu
sketeers to make them feel like the Torgau boys felt? It was an incredible coincidence that could be true. Could this Jens possibly have been – and still be – Felix Waltz? Hanne could see the image of Jens that night clearly in her mind. The similarity between Axel and Jens was uncanny. But this was perfectly natural, and given that Felix and Susanne were twins it was likely that Axel would resemble the male version of his mother.

  Hanne simply had to speak to Axel, so she returned to the club shop and bought a seven iron and a glove on the advice of the sales assistant, who informed her this was the first club a golfer used when starting out. She kept the receipt to get the money reimbursed as a work expense before making her way back to the driving range.

  For two euros, the machine dispensed a basket full of golf balls and Hanne was lucky to find an empty golf bay on the driving range close to Axel’s parked tractor where he was sitting listening to music and playing with his mobile phone.

  It was now or never.

  ‘Excuse me,’ Hanne said loudly.

  Axel took his earphones out and looked at her, half smiling.

  The feeling grew stronger: Hanne could see the boy Jens in Axel’s face.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you,’ Hanne began. ‘I’m a bit new to this. You work here, are you any good at golf?’

  ‘I’ve a handicap of 14,’ Axel replied.

  ‘Is that good?’ Hanne asked, embarrassed by her golfing ignorance.

  ‘It’s OK. It could be better.’

  ‘You wouldn’t mind giving me a few tips, would you?’

  Axel hopped off the tractor. ‘Sure... But I could go and ask one of the golf pros to help you if you like? Where’s Walter?’ Axel said, looking around for him.

  ‘No, sorry. I’m trying to keep costs down,’ Hanne told him.

  Axel smiled. ‘I understand. How can I help?’

  ‘My partner wants me to take up golf so I’m doing this on the quiet as a surprise but I don’t know how to hold the club or how to stand.’

  ‘Have you warmed up yet?’

  Hanne shook her head. ‘I don’t know how to.’

  Axel showed Hanne a few warm-up exercises. He was patient with her awkwardness, helping her to understand the basics of holding a golf club. Eventually she made contact with the ball and to her surprise it travelled quite straight for about 50 or so yards.

  Axel praised her encouragingly. ‘You’re a natural.’

  ‘And you are very polite. Thank you,’ Hanne said.

  ‘Just keep at it and keep your head down. Don’t be tempted to look where the ball goes before you’ve finished the follow-through with the swing,’ Axel advised.

  ‘OK. Sounds bit too technical, but I’ll give it a try.’

  Hanne repeated the success of the previous swing and Axel clapped politely.

  ‘Beginner’s luck,’ Hanne grinned.

  ‘We’ve all got to start somewhere,’ Axel replied.

  ‘How long have you been playing?’

  ‘Since I was old enough to hold a golf club, when I was about five,’ Axel told her.

  ‘And you love golf so much you work here on Saturdays?’

  ‘Kind of. My family owns the club.’

  Hanne knew time was running out and she had to be more audacious if she was to find out what she wanted to know. ‘Oh, yes, I remember now, it’s a very prestigious golf club you have here, run by your father Klaus, Onkel Bernd and… Onkel Felix. Must be nice, working for the family business.’

  Axel smiled. ‘If I want pocket money, I have to work.’

  ‘Your father and his brother, the Mayor, were entertaining everyone in the club house the last time I was here but I didn’t get to meet your Onkel Felix.’

  ‘Onkel Felix is working at our boatyard over at Motzen lake. My mother runs the café on the waterfront – you must go there and try the food, it’s great,’ Axel said with enthusiasm.

  ‘Oh, I will. What a busy family you have.’ Hanne told him. ‘I mustn’t keep you. You’ve been very kind, thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome. Good luck with the swing,’ Axel said.

  He started up the tractor and drove off. Hanne left the basket half-full of golf balls and hurried back to her car. She threw the golf club and glove into the boot and reprogrammed the gpstracker to direct her to Motzen lake. She thought about calling Glockner for back up, just in case things got tricky, but the ambiguous feelings she’d developed over the past five months spent working on this case made her hesitate. She still felt a surprising amount of empathy for Marine Boy. Possibly she’d soon face him in his home environment. Would he be violent? Hanne didn’t think so, although she carried a Taser stun gun in the car. She was strangely unafraid and decided to go alone. It might be foolhardy but it was a calculated risk that she was willing to take.

  What if her imagination had gone into freefall and was playing tricks on her? Then it wouldn’t be Marine Boy after all. It would simply be Felix Waltz, a boy whose family wanted to protect his identity and veil his past associations with Torgau. Either way, Hanne was about to find out.

  Chapter Forty-four: The Banana Lady

  MARTHA CAME OUT OF hospital and returned home to Motzen having been ordered to rest by the hospital doctor and her father. Jens and Angele offered to keep Peonie for an extended stay but Martha wanted her daughter at home with her. Her parents stayed for a few days and this helped Felix and Martha ease gently back into a united front. In pretending all was well, they fooled not only the others but themselves, too. Once Jens and Angele returned to Kopenick, Felix and Martha were left alone to pick up the pieces after the recent traumatic revelations and try to rebuild trust within their relationship.

  Martha needed time to come to terms with the fact that her husband was a serial killer and find a way to learn to live with such a terrible secret. Her focus was her unborn child and she was worried about the effect her negative thoughts would have on her baby. Felix was careful not to mention his crimes unless Martha wanted to discuss the matter. He didn’t want to upset her again and risk losing the baby.

  Usually so happy together, their laughter was replaced by a subdued atmosphere that Peonie was fortunately oblivious to. Topics of conversation were limited to perfunctory exchanges and their usual tactile behaviour was cast aside. But they continued sleeping in the same bed and when either of them turned during the night they would instinctively reach for each other’s hand to hold before falling back to sleep.

  However, Martha could not reject Felix for long. After a few days of uncharacteristic distance between them, her forlorn face mirroring his own, she burst into tears. He held her in his arms and kissed her and only then did she begin to feel all would be well again. Ingrid was taking Peonie off their hands during the afternoons whilst Martha had a siesta or rested in bed watching television. Felix had taped a lot of comedy programmes for her, and despite the recent traumatic events, Martha laughed easily as she tucked into her favourite chocolates. Felix meanwhile occupied his thoughts and days with plenty of work, fixing up the pleasure boats and crafts for the tourist season, which would soon be in full swing.

  Hanne arrived at the lake, parking her car at the old aircraft hangar. She took her Taser stun gun from its case, primed it and hid it inside her jacket. Although nervous, she felt very strongly that the events over the past five months had led her here for a reason.

  There weren’t many people around this early in the season. Hanne could see the beauty and tranquillity of the place and imagined the tourists would flock here when it was warmer. The lake was an expanse of calm, which was juxtaposed to her feelings of angst. Passing the waterside café she made her way to the boathouse. One of the stable-style doors was open and the sounds of a drill inside punctuated the air. This is it, Hanne told herself, there’s no going back. She took a deep breath and went inside.

  He was just as she’d remembered. Axel’s Onkel Felix and the boy who called himself Jens on that cold, crisp November night in 1989 were one and the same. She looked at the young
man who stood directly in front of her and noticed the scars on his ears had faded.

  Felix stopped in his tracks. He didn’t recognise the tall woman who stood by the door but immediately had a weird feeling about her.

  ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

  Hanne showed him her police identification badge. ‘Hanne Drais, I’m with the Berlin police as a criminal psychologist. I’d like to ask you some questions.’

  Felix’s heart sank. Had the moment finally arrived where he was to be brought to account for his crimes?

  ‘Not here, my little daughter might come in,’ he said. ‘Please, follow me.’

  Hanne followed Felix to Das Kino and once inside he closed the doors behind them.

  A large screen hung from the rafters and a light blue Schwalbe was parked in a corner of the auditorium, alongside rows of collapsible chairs and tables. In another corner was an old boxing punch bag.

  ‘Nice bike. Do you still use it?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, in summer.’

  ‘What’s this hangar used as, a cinema?’

  Felix nodded. ‘At weekends.’

  ‘And what’s up there?’ Hanne said, pointing to the balcony.

  ‘A store room.’

  Hanne was quick off the mark. ‘I’d like to see it. What’s in there?’

  Felix answered candidly. ‘Not much. A bed and a sink.’

  ‘Is that where you stayed hidden after Dr Jens helped you escaped from Torgau?’

  ‘That’s right. I got lucky,’ Felix told her.

  ‘We interviewed Klaus and Bernd last week at police headquarters in Berlin and they told us some little white lies. Felix Waltz didn’t die in the river Elbe, did he? He ended up here. You’re Felix Waltz, aren’t you?’

  Felix knew nothing about his Onkels’ trip to Berlin but felt sure Klaus with his measured and astute mind wouldn’t have given anything away. It would be wise not to underestimate this woman, he thought. He had dreaded this moment, the moment of his capture, and speculated why the police hadn’t arrived with all guns blazing, as he imagined they would. Instead, the atmosphere was eerily calm and this lone policewoman had come to interrogate him. His feeling of finally being able to let go and confess came as a great release and he decided there was no point in lying or trying to run away.