by Mark Spaid
“I gave up and went to the post office.”
“Why?” Belinda asked.
“I guessed that even though they were cut off from the world in a way they might’ve received mail.”
“What’d you find out?” Andy asked.
“There were names associated with the houses. I have a list.”
“How’d you get that? I thought the post office was as confidential as you can get.” Jozette posed.
“It is but I know a guy who works on the second floor and I get him Colts tickets every year.”
“So, the two of you broke the law. You know that’s a federal offense, Justin,” Jozette reminded him.
“Yes, Jo, I know but no one will find out.”
“How many guys in federal lock-up said that before they got caught?” Andy asked.
“Probably most of them,” Justin said chuckling.
“I have to say, you’re very cavalier about this,” Jozette remarked.
“Reporters take chances.”
“Federal crime chances?” Jozette continued.
“Sometimes…Andy has skated on the ledge before.” Jozette turned and looked at her husband.
“On occasion, Jo, we have to cross the line to get information,” Andy said and his wife sighed and shook her head.
“Are any of these people still here in Bloomington?” Belinda asked.
“I don’t know for sure. The parents job was to raise the boys and the boys were to then have sons. It was that generation that was to take over now or in the near future and as we now know, Tesla’s Notebook could be the answer for them,” Justin explained.
“These parents must’ve been maybe twenty to twenty-five in 1945. Which means they’d be ninety-five to a hundred today,” Andy said.
“So, they’re all dead,” Belinda added.
“I’d guess so but a nursing home might be a possibility,” Justin said.
“I’m guessing you’ve put out feelers or you know someone who knows something,” Jozette posed.
“Right again, Jo,” Justin said with a big smile and she rolled her eyes and groaned.
“From the look in your eyes I’d say you found one,” Andy surmised.
“I did,” Justin answered and held up a paper. “Madelyn Rutherford is staying at The Pines in Indianapolis.”
“And, you’re going there to see her,” Jozette said.
“I am and I hope you’ll come along, all of you.”
“A trip to an old people’s home with the sights, the sounds and the smells…who could say no to that,” Andy quipped.
“Tomorrow morning,” Justin said and they all nodded reluctance but they’d go.
* * *
“I hate these places,” Belinda said. “It reminds me of Calvin and that makes me sad.”
“He was a good man, Lind, and you made a friend but more importantly…he made a friend at the end,” Jozette said as they walked to the front door. Belinda was walking slowly with slumped shoulders and Jozette put her arm around her friend and pulled her close. When Belinda was sad it was Jozette who’s task it was to make her feel better.
“Madelyn Rutherford,” Justin said to the information desk.
“A relative?”
“My grandmother’s cousin, I met her once when I was young, she had a nice sense of humor.” The woman pointed to the left and told them the room number. They walked down the hall and Jozette looked over at Justin.
“You’re turning into quite the liar,” Jozette said with a smirk.
“Yes.
“Is Justin your real name or are you someone else?”
“No, it’s Justin. .”
“Your grandmother’s cousin…she has a nice sense of humor. Where’d you come up with that one?”
“Spur of the moment,” Justin said. As they made it to the room. They walked in slowly so they wouldn’t scare the woman.
“Hello, Mrs. Rutherford,” Justin said. Madelyn Rutherford looked at him and grinned.
“I read your articles in the paper and I read your book about Stanley Burnham. Boy he was creepy.” They all looked at one another being shocked at the acumen of a woman who was near one hundred.
“Thank you,” Justin said.
“From the looks on your faces I imagine you expected to find a vegetable.” She paused then laughed. “Can’t blame you and physically I am near the end but my mind has stayed sharp. I do crossword puzzles every day to stay sharp.
“Ma’am,” Andy said.
“Crossword puzzles. You need to do several each day to keep your mind working. I know the brain isn’t a muscle like was thought a long time ago but it does need to be used. I do other brain teasers and I play this geography game that Tommy put on my iPad. He comes to see me every Saturday afternoon.”
“How did you know Justin?” Belinda asked.
“His picture is next to his column in the paper.”
“Well, I’m glad you liked the book,” Justin said.
“It was good…creepy stuff what Stanley did.”
“Yeah, he was one of a kind…I hope,” Justin said.
“Who’s Tommy?” Andy asked and Justin cringed. He wanted to keep the conversation going before she realized she didn’t know the four people in her room.
“My son…wait a minute, who are you people anyway and what do you want?”
“We were doing research on seven vacant and derelict houses in Bloomington,” Justin said.
“What about them?”
“You and your husband David and your son Thomas lived there from 1945 to the early seventies,” Justin replied.
“Get out.” She was very alert as she had said and now, she was angry as she pointed to the door.
“Where’s Tommy? Does he have any sons? Is anyone else still alive from the original six?’ Justin was asking questions in rapid fire succession hoping to get any kind of an answer.
“Get out!” She shouted, which was fairly loud for a very old person.
“What’s wrong?” A nurse said as she came in to check on the noise.
“I think she’s hallucinating again.” Justin said and he motioned for everyone to leave. They moved quickly to the door and their car as two guys in white coats came walking after them. Jozette raced away and they were on the road and out of sight. There were sighs of relief.
“Sorry, Justin, I guess I hit a nerve,” Andy said.
“It didn’t matter…she wasn’t going to give us anything.”
“You frightened that old woman, Justin,” Belinda said.
“Lind, that woman knowingly raised the son of a Nazi leader and filled his head with Nazi propaganda with the express purpose of seeing the Nazis come back and conquer the world. So, do I feel any remorse at all, even if she dies from the excitement…that would be a no.”
“Well, she’ll no longer talk to you,” Jozette said.
“I don’t need her anymore…she gave me what I wanted,” Justin said.
“What?” Belinda asked.
“Thomas Rutherford. Tommy comes to visit every Saturday so…”
“Oh, no, don’t tell me,” Jozette said as she looked out the window and shook her head.
“What?” Belinda asked. Belinda was the slowest of the four to pick things up. Justin was the smartest of the bunch, Jozette a close second, Andy was a distant third and Belinda was just coming up the trail…way behind.
“He’s going to camp out in the parking lot or somewhere and wait until her son comes to visit her. Then he’ll follow him home to see where he lives.”
“And the four of us will pay him a visit,” Andy said as he finally caught on to his wife’s train of thought.
“Justin.” Belinda said.
“I’ll go myself.”
“With these people, not a chance,” Jozette said. ‘They’ll find you in a ditch somewhere.”
“Justin, do you think it’s wise to dig too much?” Andy asked.
“How else can I find out who these people are and more importantly where they ar
e?”
“I know that but aren’t these the same people who are trying to solve Tesla’s notebook. Isn’t it all connected?” Andy posed and Justin had a look that suggested he hadn’t given that idea any thought.
“Whoa, Andy, I think you’re right. We or I need to slow way down. I’d like to find out where Thomas Rutherford lives but then that’s all for now.” He slapped his knee and shook his head. “You see this is why we always bounce ideas off each other. I would’ve charged in there and made my presence and identity known to the most dangerous people in the world. Thanks, Andy. We need to go home and talk and think. Sol should have the document translated by now.” Jozette moaned and shook her head.
“Any luck?” Dave asked as the four reporters sat down and began sipping tea that Tatiana had prepared.
“Thanks, Tatiana,” Belinda said.
“You guys look tired,” Tatiana said.
“We are, the trip is a long one and I hate riding in a car,” Belinda remarked.
“As to your question, Dave. We found what was almost certainly the last survivor of the original parents of the boys,” Justin said.
“Was she lucid?” Dave asked.
“Too much so,” Jozette said.
“We found out the boy’s name but then we pressed things and she kicked us out,” Justin said.
“Do you know where he lives?” Sol asked as he walked into the kitchen holding the paper they found in the abandoned house.
“No but we’ll find out soon enough,” Justin said.
“What’d the paper say?” Andy asked.
“Nothing new, just some instructions on what the parents were to do when the boys reached adulthood.”
“What about the drawing?” Justin asked.
“That was informative,” Sol said. “Dave and I studied it for an hour then he solved it.”
“What does it mean?” Jozette asked.
“Look at the points of the star,” Dave said.
“And,” Justin said.
“The letters… initials.”
“Whose initials?” Belinda asked.
“It took some time then we tried a couple of things and it turned out to be easy. They simply added a letter to each one. BF is Adolph Eichman, NC is Martin Borman, IH is Hermann Goering, KH is Joseph Goebbels, II is Heinrich Hinmler and BI is Adolph Hitler,” Dave explained.
“Wow, so they made a Hitler too,” Andy said.
“Who else will keep them in line,” Justin offered but then realized it wasn’t a logical point. “But why’d they need a Hitler when they’d be starting all over again?”
“My guess is, the parents pounded into the heads of these boys at a very early age and continually that the Hitler boy was their leader,” Dave said.
“But wouldn’t they make up their own mind once they were ?” Jozette asked.
“You might be surprised at how well a brainwashing even by amateurs, can work, especially on children,” Sol suggested. “Of course, in adulthood there could be variations but I’d guess that if there was one renegade that the others would soon straighten him out.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Dr. Isaacson,” Andy said.
“It’s just Sol.”
“I know but when I’m with you guys, I’m surrounded by Justin the award-winning journalist, acclaimed physicists like Dr. Peabody, Dr, Swanzy and you Dr. Isaacson and even my daughter-in-law is a doctor. I’m just a hack reporter.”
“There’s only one person in this room who has landed a 747 with no training and saved five hundred lives. Don’t sell yourself short, Mr. Kline. If things go as I’m afraid they will, then we’ll need all kinds of talent if we and the world that we know are to survive,” Sol said. Tatiana looked at Jozette who smiled.
“No one will argue with that,” Justin said.
“What next?” Dave asked.
“I’m going to go back to Indianapolis Saturday and try and identify Thomas Rutherford and where he lives,” Justin said.
“By yourself?” Sol asked.
“I was hoping that Andy would accompany me.”
“Sure,” Andy said.
Everett Strope’s House
1970
“It is time for the boys to move out and start their own families. They must have sons to continue the line. We must male descendants if the Reich is to be restored,” Everett Strope declared as the parents and the boys sat in a meeting in Strope’s house. It was a monthly affair for the last twenty-five years. They discussed problems in the village, which is what they called their cluster of seven houses and nineteen people. Twelve parents, six boys and Strope constituted their world. The boys had virtually no knowledge of what was happening on the outside world…no television, radio or newspapers. They didn’t know about the Viet Nam War or that man had landed on the moon. Their world was one of constant indoctrination and education. They were tutored in history, politics, geography, economics, languages, especially German and anything that was deemed necessary to their mission. They were home-schooled but had a very good education. These boys were intelligent and intelligence always serves people well. Morality? Well, that was nebulous considering the Nazi propaganda they had pumped into their brains for a quarter century.
“They need mates,” Betty Windsor offered.
“Indeed, and they’re on their way,” Strope said.
“Who are they?” William Wright asked.
“Exactly what the boys need.”
“Are they from the population?” Rita Klay asked.
“They’ve been privately schooled by our people but they know of the outside. They’ll be the ones to inform the boys about the world out there.”
“Are the girls coming here?” Alice West asked.
“Yes.”
“When?” David Rutherford asked.
“Now.”
“What?” Betty Windsor said.
“They’re outside in a bus. We can all go now and see them,” Strope said and they got up and followed him. A bus had pulled up quietly and waited until the parents and the boys came out.
“Mr. Strope, the girls, are here,” a man said as he approached Strope holding a clipboard.
“Very well, let’s bring them off the bus.” The man motioned with his hand and a woman who was looking out a window came off first followed by six young women, all twenty-five years old. They were roughly the same height and all had blonde hair and blue eyes. The perfect Aryan wife for young Nazi boys. Now, the matching could begin that’d ideally lead to sons being born.
“Girls, present yourself,” a woman said and the girls came to attention standing tall and staring straight ahead. Strope went over to the woman and looked at the girls.
“Are they ready?” Strope asked.
“Yes, they’ve all been educated and indoctrinated. They know their role and they’re dedicated to carrying out the wishes of the Fuehrer,” the woman said.
“Very well, read off the matches,” Strope said. The women weren’t beautiful…they weren’t homely just plain but they had a look of vitality and dedication to hard work. They were dressed in manly outfits and they had a tough look that was befitting the Spartan lifestyle they’d been living, having been trained in martial arts and firearms and having spent many nights in the woods camping with little to help them but their wits. These women were very tough and they’d need that with what they were charged with doing. They were smiling, which did give them a certain attractiveness.
“Randall Willoughby, please step forward.” He did and the first woman walked towards him. They stood facing each other and the woman bowed.
“My name is Colleen and I’ve been chosen for you. I’ll serve you as your wife and as the mother of your children. All will be for the sake of the Fuehrer and The Greater Reich.” Randall reached out, grabbed her hand and kissed it then Colleen stood beside her appointed husband.
“Donald Wright, please step forward.” Donald welcomed his wife to be.
“My name is Kimberly and I’ve been chosen for you.
” The spiel was the same for all six pairings. Thomas Rutherford was matched with Angela. George Klay with Kathryn, Simon Windsor with Teri and Walter West with Carissa. The couples went off to be alone and talk about their marriage and their mission. The brainwashing had been very successful. The parents met Strope back in his house while the newlyweds to be, conversed.
“Now what, Mr. Strope,” Steven Windsor asked.
“At this point you must all disappear. There can be no contact with the boys or their wives.”
“Should we leave the city?” Phil West asked.
“Advisable but not required. You may remain somewhere in Bloomington but if you have an idea of checking up on the boys and their lives then forget it. If you do and we catch you then you know what’ll happen.”
“Yes, Mr. Strope, we understand,” Susan Wright said.
“Where will the couples go?” John Willoughby asked.
“Here in their houses for now but when the children are born they’ll be assigned different locations,” Strope said.
“We’ll never see our grandchildren?” Rita Klay asked.
“They’re not your grandchildren!” Strope said firmly and with anger in his eyes.
“We understand, Mr. Strope,” Betty Windsor said.
“Very well but heed my admonition about contact with any of the boys, their wives or their children. You’ll now pack your things and leave within the hour. They all had their suitcases packed and were loaded on the bus. Where were they to be taken? They didn’t know…their job was to follow orders.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Have you solved it,” a man asked Ron as he was working feverishly in the lab trying to match sequences.
“No, not yet. I need more time.”
“How much time?”
“Months maybe years.”
“You have a few days then you’ll likely be dead.”
“Then who’ll solve it for you?” With that Ron was belted on his right temple with a fist, fell off his stool, smashed his ear on the floor and it began bleeding.
“You’ll not speak to me in that fashion,” the man said.
