Season Of Darkness (41 page)

He opened his eyes, disorientated. Finally he realized it was his own telephone that was clammering relentlessly. The clock showed five o’clock. It was pitch dark. He swung his legs off the couch and hurried into the hall.

Major Fordham’s voice came through immediately. “Inspector Tyler. Can you get over to the camp right away? We’ve had a serious fire. We’ve got it under control but there have been casualties. At least five men dead as far as we can determine.” Fordham made a sort of throat-clearing noise. “I thought I had better contact you right away because I suspect arson is involved.”

Tyler scrubbed at his face to make himself wake up. “Why is that, sir?”

“I didn’t think so at first. We’ve warned the internees to be careful when they smoke in their tents – their palliasses are filled with straw, and with this dry weather everything is such a fire hazard. But there’s no doubt. You can smell the petrol. And we’ve since found two empty petrol cans over by the latrine.”

“I’ll be right over. I’ll just pick up one of my constables.”

They hung up, and Tyler hurried back to the living room for his clothes. He heard a door open upstairs. Vera appeared
on the landing, tousled and fearful.

“What’s happening? It’s not Jimmy, is it?”

“No, don’t worry. A fire broke out in the camp and the major wants me to come over and represent calm and order.”

“Was anybody hurt?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

She started down the stairs. “Do you want me to make you a cup of tea to take with you?”

“I don’t have time, Vee. I can get one at the camp. Thanks.”

“Tom …” Her voice trailed off. “Never mind.”

She turned around and went back upstairs.

Tyler hurried across the street to the police station. What had he been thinking? That he could just pack a suitcase and move away? Too many people would be hurt if he did that. He stopped, fished out his cigarettes, and lit one, shielding the match with his hand. He looked up at the sky, overcast, with just the hint of silver where the moon was. No stars.

Tom Tyler had never considered himself to be a religious man since he had grown to adulthood. More agnostic than anything was how he described himself, but in the cool earth-scented night, he was moved to utter a kind of prayer.
Please help me, Lord. I need some guidance here. I’m bloody lost, if you must know and will excuse the profanity. I am, my family is, the entire bloody world is, if it comes to that. I’m not going to say that you’re on our side because the Germans probably think the same thing, but I know there are forces at work here that I’ve never seen before. Not even in the previous war, and I was witness to lots of bad things. We are in the grip of a terrible darkness. I’m not going to promise to be a good man from now on, I’d probably renege at the first opportunity, but I also want to do the right things by the people I love. However small, if there is anything I can do to protect this country of mine, I will do it. As Winnie keeps nattering at us
, we must overcome.
And we must
.

He continued on to the car, slightly embarrassed with himself, although he hadn’t spoken out loud. No thunderclap, no burning bush presented itself, just the far-off barking of a dog, telling somebody or something that he was the boss.

T
YLER COLLECTED
E
AGLETON WHO, WITH THE
resilience of youth, was immediately alert and ready to accompany him. They drove as fast as they could to the camp, and as they approached along the north road, they could smell the acrid smoke on the air. The generator lights were on and the entire camp was bathed in light. Tyler parked the Humber, and a sentry let him and Eagleton through the gate.

They headed in the direction of the thin wisps of smoke. It looked as if all of the internees were awake and standing in small groups outside of their tents. Nobody was moving, and they watched him silently as he went by. The fear was as palpable as the lingering stench from the fire. Some of them had cloths over their mouths and nostrils and as he got closer, Tyler could understand why. There was a sickening smell of roasted flesh in the air. What was left of the tent was a blackened mess, and on the grass there were mounds, covered with tarpaulins, that he assumed had once been the occupants.

Here he found Major Fordham and a couple of soldiers. A few feet away, Dr. Beck was sitting on a camp stool.

The commandant greeted Tyler immediately. “Inspector. Thank goodness. What a terrible thing this is.”

“Do you know what happened?”

The major waved his arms vaguely. “I was called about an hour ago, but by the time I got here the sentries and internees had managed to extinguish the fire. Although, according to my corporal, the bloody tent had burned itself out. Nothing
left of it.” He coughed. “The bodies were still burning but the men succeeded in smothering the flames.”

Tyler glanced around. The tents were packed close together, and he could see the ones in the immediate area were blackened but otherwise untouched. They were lucky. The fire had been so fierce that it actually hadn’t spread once it consumed the tent.

Fordham indicated Dr. Beck. “Fortunately, the doctor detected the fire before it got completely out of hand. He attempted to pull out the men from the tent that was on fire, but the flames were too fierce. He’s still rather shaken.”

Beck saw them and got to his feet uncertainly. Tyler could see the burn marks on the doctor’s hands, and his beard and hair were singed. He smelled of smoke. He was wearing an elegant dressing gown which was darkened with smoke residue.

“Doctor, will you tell the inspector what happened?” asked the major.

Beck nodded. “I couldn’t sleep and I had just stepped out of my tent to get some fresh air. I heard a sort of swoosh, and suddenly there were flames leaping up from this direction. I yelled ‘fire’ and ran over as fast as I could. By the time I got here, the tent was completely ablaze, although it was a matter of seconds only.” He paused. “I did try to get through to the occupants but I was unable to do so.” He swallowed hard. “Father Glatz was my good friend. I’m afraid he has perished.”

Fordham took up the narrative as Beck was clearly struggling with his emotions.

“We have always made sure there are sand and water buckets at every entrance After Dr. Beck’s call, many of the men were awakened. The sentries came running. We’ve had fire drills so everyone knew what to do, but all they could do was
extinguish sparks landing on nearby tents. It’s a miracle more people weren’t seriously hurt.”

“What time did this happen?”

Beck shook his head. “Frankly, time has stood still, but I would say it was around half past three.”

“Did you hear anything other than the swoosh?”

“No …” he hesitated. “I heard no screaming from inside the tent when I got close enough. Nothing at all.”

Meaning the men were all dead before the fire started.

“Do we know who was in the tent?”

Fordham turned to the guard, who pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“This was tent number thirty-three. Here are the names of the occupants, sir.”

There were seven names on the list. Five mounds.

“We seem to be missing two men,” said Tyler.

Another clearing of the throat by the major. “In a camp this size not everybody is inclined to stay where they are assigned. I don’t mind if they go visiting, as it were, as long as they answer to the morning roll call.”

It dawned on Tyler what the commander was referring to and why he seemed so uncomfortable. He meant assignations.

“I’d appreciate it if you would start a roll call now, Major. And I’d like to clear the immediate area of all internees.”

“Of course. Er, I am wondering whether or not I should ring Mrs. Devereau. I will need to address the camp and you may have questions yourself. It makes it so much easier to have an official interpreter. Besides, having a woman present at a time like this can be so comforting, can it not?”

“I think that’s an excellent idea. Eager, come here for a minute.”

A rather white-faced Eagleton stepped over to him.

“Go to the commandant’s tent. He has a field telephone
and the corporal will show you how to use it. Get hold of Mrs. Devereau. Don’t alarm her any more than you have to, but tell her to get here as soon as she can. If she doesn’t answer, she may be in Whitchurch. In which case, you’ll have to rouse Sergeant Gough and have him fetch her. She’ll be at Mrs. Pettie’s house in Orchard Lane.”

“Yes, sir.”

Obviously only too glad to get away from the horrors, Eagleton scooted off. Fordham clapped his hands as if he were in the playground and was summoning the children back to classes.

“To the mess tent, gentlemen, if you please. We have to take roll call. We will give you information as soon as we can. Move along now, there’s good chaps. Tea will be served. Come along.”

Tyler waited until the area was completely cleared. Beck had returned to his camp stool, waiting for his directions. Fordham came back from his shepherding task.

“All right then, Inspector. Ready when you are.”

“Let’s have a look shall we, Doctor? Can you handle this?”

Beck nodded.

Tyler walked over and lifted one of the tarpaulins.

The head was burnt beyond any recognition, all of the flesh charred to the bones. The exposed teeth grinned at him. He uncovered more of the body, aware of the strong odour of petrol as he did so. The upper chest and arms were likewise severely burned, but from the waist down, although the clothes had gone, the skin was less destroyed.

Tyler straightened up. “Do you know who he is?” he asked Beck.

“The bodies are more or less lying where they were found. Although the attempts to put out the flames meant they were rolled further away from the tent. The entrance to the tent
was about where we are standing and I believe Howard Silber slept closest to it as he was rather claustrophobic. The fire has shrunk the body but I would guess it was that of a tall man in life.” Dr. Beck’s voice was measured and dispassionate but Tyler thought it cost him a lot to be so controlled.

“I’m going to have to take a look at each body,” said Tyler. “If you can make an identification, Doctor, it will help us.”

One by one, Tyler moved to the covered mounds and laid them bare. Like the first body, the remaining four were black and bloody. Unrecognizable. And like the first body, the worse burning had been to the upper chest and head.

Beck could not remember exactly what order they had slept in but thought that the second body might be that of Herr Gold, who he recalled had the bed next to Silber.

“Tragic loss. He got this far to safety and died in this way. Terrible. And Silber was a quite splendid actor. Completely British through and through, except for having German parents. Another great loss.”

When they came to the third body, he stopped and, for the first time, looked as if he was going to lose control. Lying on the burned chest was a gold crucifix, blackened and misshapen but recognizable.

“This would be Father Glatz,” said Beck. “The position is right, he was farthest from the opening. That would be his cross. If you rub at his front teeth, Inspector, you might find he had a gold tooth. Forgive me but I cannot quite bring myself to do it.”

Tyler rubbed off some of the soot with his finger and there was indeed a tooth with a gold filling.

“He was a splendid man, good thinker,” said Beck. “We had some wonderful talks. I myself am not of the Christian faith but I would describe the father as a profoundly good man … and he was a good friend.”

Tyler checked off the name on his list and they moved to the next body.

This one was still wearing the remnants of leather shoes, the uppers burned away but the lace holes and part of the sole remained.

“It’s Herr Stanislas for sure,” said Beck. “He never took his shoes off even when he went to bed. He said he’d gone through one pogrom when he lived in Poland. He’d been caught with bare feet and he wasn’t going to go through that a second time.” Beck wiped at his eyes. “He was an elderly man and deserved better than to end his days in this fashion.”

He could not positively identify the fifth body at all.

Tyler consulted his list. “In other words, there are three men unaccounted for. We’ve got positive identifications of Father Glatz; Howard Silber; Manfred Stanislas, and Herr Gold. The remaining body could be that of Kurt Bader, Hans Hoeniger or Professor Hartmann.”

“It isn’t Professor Hartmann,” said Beck. “He has had a complete collapse and he is in the infirmary in Shrewsbury.”

“That leaves Kurt Bader and Hans Hoeniger. It has to be one or the other.”

“They are about the same size. As I remember, Hoeniger slept next to Father Glatz and Bader was beside Professor Hartmann.” He stared at Tyler. “Do you believe it is this missing man who has killed these others and set them afire?”

Fordham shuddered. “I still don’t understand this. I can see no rhyme or reason why these particular men were targeted or by whom.”

Dr. Beck was looking very grim. He walked over the still-smouldering ashes. Tyler could see the remains of a small cupboard near where Father Glatz had slept. Beck bent over, disregarding the heat, and poked at the charred wood. He pulled out something that Tyler could see had once been a chess piece.

“Philipp was very proud of his chess set,” said Beck sadly. “It is quite destroyed.” Gingerly, he stirred the inside of what remained of the cupboard. There was nothing visible except ash and curled bits of burned paper.

He turned around.

“I must have a word with you in private, Major. And you, Inspector Tyler. There is something you should know. I believe I know who is responsible for killing these men. No, I beg your pardon, I don’t know
who
, but I believe I do know
why.”

He had put his gun in his pocket. The knife was inside his jacket. The last killing had stimulated him and he didn’t feel the least tired even though he’d had no sleep since the previous night. He was lucky to have got away. He’d thought the latrine was deserted until the man had called out to him. He’d tried to stop him, the fool. Too bad for him. The killing was easy
.