The Land God Made in Anger. John Davis Gordon

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СКАЧАТЬ was afternoon when he saw them.

      McQuade looked at the card joyfully. There they were: the two front teeth crossed out.

      And below were the notes: 27.6.45. Both front teeth broken. Extracted. Denture made.

      At the top of the card was written: NAME: Mr H. Strauss. ADDRESS: In transit. Cash £10.

      McQuade exulted silently. He had found it! He feverishly scrabbled through the remainder of the cards for 1945. Not one of them recorded such work on two front teeth.

      McQuade sat back. This was the man: Mr H. Strauss. It was too much of a coincidence not to be true! Even the initial was right! A man who takes on a false identity wants to keep his first name because that is how he thinks of himself!

       Of course it is the same man!

      Mrs Kruger received McQuade cheerfully and offered him coffee. ‘Strictly speaking, you should not have been shown those records – but it’s done now.’ She put on her spectacles and peered at the dental card that he showed her. She shook her head. ‘No. We had a number of patients named Strauss, it’s quite a common name. But no H, that I recall.’

      ‘Mrs Kruger, you must remember the months after the war ended quite clearly? The men coming home?’

      ‘Yes, I suppose so.’

      ‘In fact, Doctor Wessels must have had fewer adult male patients than normal, because so many men were interned in concentration camps?’

      ‘That’s quite true.’

      ‘About that time, don’t you remember a German man coming into the surgery who was very sunburnt? And probably dirty. Probably a bit wild-looking. And hungry-looking.’

      Mrs Kruger frowned. McQuade waited, then went on: ‘He was in pain. An emergency. He probably said he had lost his teeth in a fight. He may have said that he had walked across the desert, to explain his condition.’

      Mrs Kruger frowned into the middle distance.

      McQuade said: ‘Now think carefully: probably his arm was injured. Maybe it had a bandage on it, or it might have healed over, but obviously it was a recent injury.’

      Mrs Kruger looked at him. ‘Any other clues?’

      Playing his last card, McQuade pulled out the old English five pound note. ‘Have you ever seen one of these?’

      She took it.

      ‘Yes!’ she exclaimed. ‘And I remember now.’ She looked at him earnestly. ‘The injured arm! And he paid for his treatment with two notes like this!’

      McQuade was exultant. He thrust the dental card back at her. ‘Was it this man? If I tell you that I’ve been through all Doctor Wessels’ records for this period and this is the only case of two front teeth being extracted, does that jog your memory?’

      Mrs Kruger looked at the card again.

      ‘If that’s true, then it must be the same man.’

      McQuade wanted to jump up and kiss her.

      ‘Mrs Kruger, you’ve been very helpful. In helping me trace my father. I have only one further question.’ He paused, for emphasis. ‘Have you ever seen or heard of this man again?’

      Mrs Kruger shook her head slowly. ‘No.’

      McQuade got back into his Landrover, and sat, trying to think. He was exhausted after his sleepless night.

      So? He had found out that the man had survived, as well as the name he had used. And, it was possible that he had continued to use that name.

      So? So what?

      Well, was he still alive? Where was he now? McQuade sat there, dog-tired, trying to think. Tomorrow the Bonanza was going back to sea and he had to have his decisions made. So, where did all this get him?

      Well firstly, if indeed there had been more loot aboard that submarine, it was highly likely that the man had later salvaged it himself. And McQuade was wasting his time, except for having the bastard arrested for murder.

      Secondly, if the man had not succeeded in salvaging the loot, but was still alive, it was quite possible that he would find out about it when McQuade started sending down divers, and it was highly likely that he would try to stop him.

       Was that what that threatening telephone call was about?

      McQuade stared down the road. Then he shook his head. No, he’d thought this one through last night. How could H.M., or H. Strauss as we now know him, know what McQuade had been doing these last four days? Unless Skellum was slobbering around town. But how likely was that, in so short a time? No, that phone call was purely ‘political’. Some Hitler-crank throwing his weight around because McQuade saw their orgy at the Schmidt ranch.

      So, what do we do about Herr H. Strauss?

      The answer would be to find that submarine as fast as possible, before thinking about Herr Strauss.

      McQuade took a tense, weary breath. Okay. So, buy some decent diving gear, and speak to somebody about submarines.

      Almost everybody in Walvis Bay is very approachable. McQuade had briefly met Commander Ian Manning, the officer in charge of the South African naval base, only once, yet the man was only too pleased to help and he insisted on entertaining McQuade in the wardroom while he did so. McQuade had hoped for a more private place but he had no choice. He had to rush back home to put on a tie. A smart rating escorted him from the naval base gate. Half a dozen young officers were clustered respectfully around their commander in the wardroom, whilst an orderly hovered with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Ian Manning tapped a thick book on the mahogany bar and said: ‘I’m not the best chap to advise you on submarines, but I’ve brought Jane’s Fighting Ships along. What’s your story about?’

      McQuade said: ‘Well, it’s about this guy who’s cruising in the Mediterranean on his yacht. One day he drops anchor and when he comes to pull it up again, it won’t budge. So he dives down to dislodge it. And he finds it’s caught on this old German submarine. So he tries to get inside it. To see if there’s anything valuable. What I want to know is what did those German submarines look like inside and how does my hero get inside it – assuming there isn’t a big hole in the side? What problems is he going to encounter?’

      The young officers were all rapt attention. Ian Manning said: ‘Hmmm. And? Does he find anything valuable?’

      ‘Aha. That you must read the story to find out. But, yes, he finds something very important.’

      ‘And from there all kinds of exciting things happen?’

      ‘Exactly.’ All the young officers smiled. Everybody loves a story. McQuade asked, ‘First of all, do you know the escape procedures from an old German submarine?’

      ‘But what type of submarine? The Germans built various kinds.’

      ‘I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me.’

      Ian СКАЧАТЬ