Hidden Depths

by Ally Rose

  ‘Yes, I’m Felix. You seem to know a lot about me,’ he said.

  ‘All our enquiries have led me here,’ said Hanne, her face giving nothing away.

  ‘Onkel Klaus has always been protective because he didn’t want me ending up like my sister Susanne. She fell from up there,’ he told her, pointing to the balcony, high in the rafters.

  Hanne looked up. A wave of sympathy swept over her. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I met Susanne’s son, Axel, at the golf club,’ Hanne told him.

  Felix raised his eyes. ‘Axel knows the truth about his mother, and Klaus and Ingrid have done a great job bringing him up.’

  ‘He seems like a good kid.’

  ‘He is. Have you come to arrest me?’ Felix asked.

  ‘Escaping from a hell hole like Torgau isn’t a crime,’ Hanne replied carefully.

  ‘No, but I’m done with living a lie. If you took my fingerprints you’d find they match those on a Herbertz knife found in 1992 by Lotte Holler’s car, at the scene of the crime. And I’m a size nine shoe – Plaumann grabbed hold of me during the struggle in the car as it sank,’ Felix confessed.

  Hanne was strangely subdued hearing this candid confession. Felix, as she suspected, really was Marine Boy.

  ‘What you say may be taken down and given in evidence against you,’ Hanne began. ‘You have the right to remain silent… ‘

  Felix interrupted her. ‘That won’t be necessary. I have no rights and I’m ready to take the consequences for my actions. I may have been a crazy 17-year-old but drowning those three paedophiles was the best decision I ever made. I took the law into my own hands and it was sweet revenge for the sexual abuse they inflicted on me and my sister.’

  ‘I understand your motives but I can’t condone them,’ Hanne told him, although her heart was telling her otherwise.

  ‘They threatened my family. Gwisdek told me he would send his friends after Axel if I didn’t go back to being one of his “boys”. Becoming a vigilante was my only option. I took his diary and went after the others.’

  ‘Gwisdek kept a diary of names?’

  ‘A diary full of sodomites.’

  Hanne suddenly had a vision. ‘Was it you who sent the anonymous letter to the police which precipitated the cracking of the paedophile ring?’

  ‘Yes, that was me,’ Felix said, with a hint of pride.

  Hanne was flabbergasted. ‘Mein gott ! How clever. I’ll remember not to underestimate you. We thought the Musketeers had escaped until we discovered them at Muggelsee but they didn’t escape your justice.’

  Felix looked surprised. ‘How did you know their nicknames at Torgau?’

  ‘Do you remember a boy in Torgau called Wolfgang Feuer?’

  ‘There was only one Wolfgang. They called him The Magic Flute.’

  Hanne nodded. ‘He came forward when Lotte Holler got into the news.’

  ‘Wolfgang told you about me?’

  ‘Wolfgang gave us vital information: that you drowned in the Elbe and that your sister got pregnant. But you didn’t drown. I believe Dr Jens helped you escape, just as he helped get your sister into a nursing home,’ Hanne ventured.

  Felix was curious. ‘How did you find out I hadn’t drowned?’

  ‘It was what your Onkel Klaus didn’t say that got my attention. I’m a psychologist, I read between the lines,’ Hanne told him.

  ‘I see. And Lotte Holler, you know she was the go-between for the Musketeers.’

  ‘Yes. We know the truth about Lotte, our suspicions grew each time we talked to her. Between the lies and the rumours, there’s always some version of the truth.’

  Although he should have been petrified of the punishment that was to come, what Felix actually felt at this moment was great relief that everything was finally out in the open.

  ‘The go-between, I heard she drowned herself in the Wannsee last month.’

  Hanne nodded. ‘Wolfgang went to see Lotte and told her sister what she really did at Torgau. Lotte couldn’t face the shame of her sister knowing.’

  Felix was unforgiving. ‘Hmmm. Being found out is not the same as owning up. You’d think when you are faced with possibly the last moments of your life you’d confess the truth but not her, or the Musketeers!’

  Hanne interrupted. ‘Lotte left a letter to her sister. She confessed in the end… just so you know.’

  Felix still wasn’t appeased. ‘Lotte left it too late. The Musketeers said sorry but only to try and plead for mercy and their lives and none of them showed any guilt or remorse. They were all in denial, lying to themselves up to the very end. Well, I won’t do that. I killed the Musketeers by driving their cars into Muggelsee and attempted to kill their go-between, and I’d risk my life and my sanity again if my family were threatened.’

  Hanne felt another twinge of compassion for Marine Boy. ‘Are you saying you were insane back then, but you’re normal now?’

  Felix wanted to laugh. ‘What’s normal? Moral constraints of society define normality. All I know is that I had all this anger inside me but at least I felt I took my anger out on the right people. I’d like to think in their dying moments the Musketeers, and Lotte Holler for that matter, thought how the hell did a Torgau boy get the better of us?’

  Hanne found his confession brutally honest. ‘Lotte awoke from her coma to the aria Toreador. What was that all about?’

  ‘They all used to make me dance so I thought I’d humiliate them, let them see how it feels, jigging about naked in the cold water. The music I chose for all of them was Toreador because it’s about a Matador, and that’s how I felt when I faced them all. It was like being in a bullring facing possible death,’ Felix admitted.

  ‘I see. Tell me, why didn’t you drown Lotte, like the others?’

  ‘She told me she was pregnant and that would have meant I’d be killing an innocent baby too. I know she lost the baby but I didn’t set out to kill it.’

  ‘Lotte said you told her she wasn’t fit to be a mother and you said something in Latin… in loco parentis ,’ Hanne recalled.

  Felix was shocked. ‘Lotte Holler remembered that after 12 years in a coma?’

  ‘When she woke up it was if the past 12 years had been a dream. It was incredible, she was as sharp as an eagle. She remembered everything but was selective with the part she played and with all that went on at Torgau. In my opinion, she played the victim right up to the very end.’

  Felix looked at Hanne. He instinctively felt the police psychologist understood his motives and didn’t condemn him. ‘Lotte wasn’t fit to be a mother. I’m glad you could see through her lies.’

  Hanne nodded. ‘I had the feeling right from the start. Don’t get me wrong, Lotte was a victim, but so was Marine Boy: you.’

  Felix smiled. ‘Marine Boy! Is that what you call me?’

  Hanne was embarrassed. ‘Yes. On account of the boat knife, the rope and the aqua shoe.’

  Felix gave a little laugh, to ease the tension. ‘Marine Boy,’ he repeated aloud.

  ‘We’d better be going now. Hopefully handcuffs won’t be necessary. Please, gather your things and come with me to police headquarters in Berlin.’

  Felix was indignant. ‘No handcuffs, please, allow me some dignity. My wife’s pregnant with our second child and my daughter is two and I don’t want her to see me being led away in handcuffs.’

  Hanne agreed to his request. ‘OK, Herr Waltz. No handcuffs.’

  ‘I’m not Felix Waltz, I’m Felix Baum. I changed my name when I was 21,’ Felix told her.

  ‘Your grandmother’s family name,’ Hanne stated. ‘Do you live in her house?’

  Felix replied rhetorically, ‘Is there anything you don’t know about me? Yes, here in the village.’

  ‘That explains why it was hard to trace you,’ Hanne began. ‘We were looking for a Felix Waltz. You and me, is it fate or just coincidence?’

  Felix looked confused.

  ‘You don’t remember me, do you?�
�� Hanne asked.

  Felix shook his head. ‘Should I?’

  ‘When the Berlin Wall fell, I bought a crate of bananas to give to the East Germans as they came through to the Western side. You and I had a photo taken together with my baby daughter, who pulled your wig off. I saw your scarred ears as you scurried away.’

  Felix was astonished. His thoughts drifted back 15 or so years to that eventful night in Berlin. ‘That was you? The Banana Lady?’

  Hanne smiled. ‘Is that what you called me? We all seem to have nicknames. You told me your name was Jens.’

  ‘It was the first name that came to mind, I’d just seen Dr Jens in the crowd.’

  ‘Dr Jens! What’s his surname? Do you know if he’s still alive?’

  ‘Jens Wissemann is alive and well. He’s my father-in-law.’

  Hanne smiled. ‘How ironic. Freud said there are no coincidences.’

  ‘That’s what my wife says and I’m beginning to believe it. You know, that was the best banana I’ve ever eaten,’ Felix told her.

  ‘I kept your photo on my wall at home and it’s still there. I’ve often wondered what happened to you,’ Hanne confessed. ‘Life’s strange, eh?’

  ‘Please, have something to eat in the café whilst I gather my things. I’ll settle the bill,’ Felix told her. ‘You know I won’t run away this time.’

  Hanne’s mobile sounded out a tune.

  ‘OK. Excuse me, while I answer this. Hello… Herr Lankwitz…Yes, this is Frau Drais, Audrey’s mother.’

  Felix opened the doors of Das Kino but on hearing this name, his ears pricked up. Alarm bells rang in his head. He had heard this name before, just once, in a dark and dismal place, but he’d never forgotten it. Felix stayed in Das Kino listening, riveted to Hanne’s phone call.

  Hanne looked worried. She repeated what she was being told. ‘What do you mean, Audrey didn’t turn up for her maths lesson this morning? Really? She left at nine o’clock… It’s midday now. Have you tried her on her mobile? Where could she be? OK, Herr Lankwitz, I understand, you can’t wait any longer for her. I’m sure she’ll turn up somewhere. Thanks for letting me know. Bye.’

  Felix was concerned. ‘Is everything OK?’

  Hanne’s brow had furrowed. ‘My daughter didn’t go to her maths tutor. Where the hell is she? I’ll phone her friend Kati, they were going biking today.’

  Something didn’t feel right. Hanne phoned Audrey’s friend whilst Felix climbed up to the balcony to his former hideaway. Rummaging in a box he found Horst Gwisdek’s diary, next to the Musketeers’ mobile phones. It was a long time since he’d opened this infamous book and copied all the names to send off to the police – the list that had helped break the paedophile ring. He turned the dusty, yellowing pages to the letter L.

  There was nothing entered regarding Lankwitz. Sudenly Felix’s brain shifted back in time to his school lessons in Torgau. The wardens had called Lankwitz by another name – Witzig – so he turned to the back pages of the diary. There he was, Bruno Witzig, but the address next to it was illegible, smudged by a coffee stain. Felix could just make out the name of the town: Potsdam.

  ‘Good God,’ gasped Felix, and hurried back to Hanne who was looking distraught. ‘I’ve phoned her friend, Kati, who said Audrey’s mobile’s been off all morning. It’s not like her and I’ve just spoken with her father but she’s not with him. He said not to worry, she’ll turn up, I’m just overreacting. Hell! My 16-year-old daughter’s missing and her father says I’m overreacting!’

  ‘Maybe he’s right and there’s nothing to worry about but what if Audrey’s mobile has been turned off for her, so she can’t be traced? I don’t want to alarm you but this teacher, Lankwitz. Do the kids call him Witzig?’

  Hanne felt suddenly chilled. She remembered the name Witzig but not because of Audrey. No, wasn’t he a friend of Gunther Schukrafft? Monica Hirsch had mentioned him.

  ‘I don’t know what they call him but he was the one who’s just told me Audrey’s missing!’ Hanne cried.

  Felix was deeply concerned now. ‘Paedophiles are very clever at subterfuge. This is the diary that belonged to Gwisdek. There was a young guy at Torgau who came the last year I was there. I wasn’t one of his “boys” but he used to teach us maths. The wardens called him Witzig because he was always joking around but I remember the kids had to call him Herr Lankwitz. What’s Lankwitz’s first name?’

  ‘Bruno, I think,’ Hanne said.

  Felix’s faced dropped as he showed Hanne the diary.

  Hanne screamed. ‘No! Witzig’s got my daughter! Oh my God.’

  ‘I know it’s a long time ago but when I sent the police, I just copied the names from the diary and wrote Bruno Witzig,’ Felix told her, berating himself. ‘I’m sorry, I could kick myself.’

  Hanne burst into tears. ‘We’ve got to find them!’

  ‘If we could make out the Potsdam address they might be there,’ said Felix.

  Hanne had a brainwave. ‘Wait! My mother recently bought Audrey a new mobile phone and a watch with GPS tracker modem devices. It maps out cycle routes even if there’s not a good signal in the area. Witzig might have turned off her phone but if her watch isn’t broken, please God I’ll find her.’

  Hanne and Felix raced outside to Hanne’s car. She turned on her GPS.

  ‘How’s this going to work?’ Felix asked.

  ‘As long as the satellite signal is strong enough, both Audrey’s mobile number and watch registration number is programmed into my tracker. It’s a bit like a suspect out on bail, wearing an ankle monitor. We can locate Audrey’s position within five to ten metres.’

  As suspected, Audrey’s mobile was switched off but her GPS watch and the details of her whereabouts soon popped up on the screen. She was at a place called Caputh – or the watch was.

  ‘That’s near Potsdam,’ Hanne exclaimed and looked skywards to the heavens in gratitude. ‘Mutti! Thank you! I’ll never argue with you again.’

  ‘Ring Witzig,’ Felix suggested. ‘Trace his whereabouts.’

  Hanne checked her mobile for the number of her last caller and programmed Witzig’s mobile into the GPS and rang his phone. She waited: his phone was on but he didn’t answer. However, the GPS information on the screen read… Caputh.

  ‘Got you!’ said Hanne, and punched the air.

  ‘I’ll get my gun,’ Felix told her. ‘Call the police.’

  ‘That paedophile has got my daughter,’ Hanne cried.

  Felix put his arm around her trembling shoulders. ‘It’ll be OK, I know how to deal with these Torgau bastards. I’ll drive you and we’ll be there in less than an hour. Now, programme in the address on the GPS and wait here for me.’

  ‘If he’s touched her....’ Hanne stopped mid-sentence. It was unbearable to think about.

  Felix took the words right out of her mouth. ‘You’ll kill him.’

  Hanne knew Felix had read her mind correctly. ‘Yes. I’ll fucking kill him!’

  ‘If Witzig kidnapped Audrey and left Berlin this morning, they can’t have been at Caputh long,’ Felix said, trying to reassure her as she looked at her mobile.

  ‘Christ ! My mobile battery’s almost dead and it takes half an hour to recharge it,’ Hanne cried.

  Felix took out his mobile. ‘Damn, mine too. Wait! I’ve got a multi-mobile portable charger at the boathouse. We’ll take it with us. There’s a landline phone in the boathouse, too, you can call the police for back up before we go. Come on.’

  Hanne’s hands shook uncontrollably as she dialled the police from the boathouse. Meanwhile, Felix packed a bag with some essentials: his gun, a knife, torch and binoculars, some boat rope and the mobile charger. He had a feeling of déjà vu and was afraid of what was about to happen but he couldn’t back out. His hands were moist with sweat so he threw a pair of work gloves in his bag thinking that he if had to use his gun or knife they would stop them from slipping in his hands.

  ‘Hello… police. My name’s Hanne Drais. I’m a police
psychologist with the Mitte Police in Berlin. My daughter’s been abducted by a suspected paedophile. I need back up. I’m heading over to Caputh, near Potsdam. My GPS tracked my daughter to a house on the lake – 25 Kleine Havel Weg, Caputh. Please contact me on my mobile in about half an hour as I’ve got to charge it, my number is 01606 659942. Please, please, hurry.’

  Hanne was still shaking when she put down the phone but Felix took her by the arm and they hurried off to Hanne’s car.

  Ingrid had just returned home with Peonie, who was asleep in the back seat of her car. Seeing Felix coming towards her, hurrying from the boathouse with a strange woman, she was instantly alert and anxious.

  ‘Felix, what’s going on? Who’s this?’ Ingrid asked.

  ‘Tante, this is Hanne, she’s with the police. They know the truth about me. Don’t tell Martha yet, please just look after Peonie for me,’ he told her and ushered Hanne into the passenger seat of her car.

  Ingrid’s face turned ashen. ‘No! Where are you going? You’re not taking your gun are you?

  Felix nodded. ‘Tante, I’ve no choice, I’ve got to go. One of those paedophile bastards from Torgau has abducted Hanne’s daughter.’

  Chapter Forty-five: Witzig

  AUDREY AWOKE IN A windowless room in a basement bereft of natural light. She was feeling drowsy from the effects of the sleeping pill that Herr Lankwitz had surreptitiously slipped into her drink during the maths tutorial at his Berlin flat. Where the hell was she? She stood up and walked around.

  The room had all the requirements of a bed-sit: a double bed, an armchair, a fold-up wooden chair against a desk, a shower, a sink with a tap and mirror above the basin, and a toilet. A mini fridge was stocked with food. On a shelf was one cup, one glass, one plate, one plastic spoon and one fork, but no knife. It was quiet except for the gentle humming of the air conditioning unit on the wall. Hidden in the overhead light, unknown to her, was a security camera.