Cold Lonely Courage (Madeleine toche Series Book 2) (17 page)

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CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR

Diekmann walked around the torched truck and staff car. The occupants were burned beyond recognition, the skin on the bodies charred and twisted. He held a handkerchief to his nose and mouth against the smell of roast pig rising off the corpses. He saw the insignia of his division on the lapel of a young officer. The man had died with one hand on the door handle, the other still clutching a pistol. He walked to the back of the truck and threw open the canvas and saw that the bed was empty. He nodded certain that the contents of the records boxes had been discovered and removed.

“I want some prisoners brought here to mark and bury these bodies. Anyone not in a German uniform can be tossed into an unmarked grave. This officer and his men will be collected later once the invasion is repelled. We can’t spare the time now.”

Diekmann jumped back into his staff car and motioned the driver ahead. His teeth were clenched in rage as his thoughts focused on the lost gold and the building wrath of his General. He knew he needed information and he knew just how to get it.

Diekmann arrived at Division Headquarters to find Lieutenant Gerlach covered in dust from the road, drinking a large glass of schnapps and recounting his escape to a group of junior officers. He had returned to camp minutes before Diekmann.

“You’re sure Kampfe was killed, Victor?” Diekmann asked him in an even voice, keeping his anger at bay, drinking his own large schnapps. The liquor kept his anger piqued and fueled him for the violence he was planning.

“Five or six of them fired into his body at point blank range,
Herr
Major,” Lieutenant Gerlach said, looking down at the table. He could scarcely believe he was alive after his ordeal. He was a soldier accustomed to combat, not waiting to be shot while tied up.

“Your captors were killed?”

“Yes sir.”

Diekmann grimaced. He needed a plan, and quickly.

“No idea where you were taken?”

“I can’t be sure, but I did see a sign. It read Oradour sur Glane. That’s the best I could do, sir. I got a glimpse of it, but only for a second. I can’t say if we ended up there or somewhere else. They could have driven us around in circles to for all I know. They were amateurs, Major. I wasn’t watching road signs when I drove out of town. All I could think about was getting away. The Major’s orders sir.”

“Don’t worry, Victor, it’s not your fault. We can’t predict the actions of these animals. We can only kill them when we find them.”

“Now get yourself cleaned up. We’re going to visit our friends in the little town of Oradour. By the end of the day they’ll wish they had gotten off as lightly as the good people of Tuelle!”

“I might be able to recognize a few of them, Major.”

“Don’t worry, Victor. I’m sure the rest of the criminals have fled. The people will know who they are. Some persuasion will make them talk if they don’t cooperate.” The expression on Diekmann’s face wasn’t angry; there was a cold glee emanating from him. It was terrifying.

“Yes General… Oradour sur Glane, I’m quite certain,” Diekmann said into the phone. He wasn’t about to go into any great detail. He was satisfied the town was their best lead. In fact, it was their only lead, and would have to do.

“Get our gold, Diekmann. I don’t care what it takes!” Lammerding shouted as he hung up.

“Oh, I will, General, I will!” Diekmann said as he placed the receiver back onto its cradle. He walked over to his dresser and carefully filled his hip flask from his stock of brandy. Now prepared for the day’s festivities, he walked smartly from the room.

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CHAPTER
FORTY-FIVE

Gabrielle looked out the window as she put the last of the dishes away from lunch. Antoinette was taking a nap in the next room and Gabrielle was planning to sit down and take a little rest herself. She looked at the wall clock: it was around 2:00 pm. Suddenly several trucks rolled by, carrying troops headed towards the center of town. They must be going to the front, she thought until she saw them stop in the village square and soldiers jump out.

“What is this?” she muttered. “German troops here?” She dried her hands on a dishtowel and walked to the front window. She looked out to see soldiers going from door to door. People were being herded into the street, young and old alike. From where she was she could see the shock and questions on their faces. Nothing like this had happened in Oradour during all the years of the war. She was still trying to figure out what was going on when a soldier walked up.

“Everyone is to assemble at the village square for a document check,” he demanded in broken French.

“But my daughter is sleeping,” She replied.

“Bring the brat immediately,” he yelled, clearly not expecting a response.

Gabrielle felt a tingle of fear dance along her spine as she rushed back to get Antoinette. She was filled with indecision. Maybe here at the edge of town she might be able to sneak away with her daughter. Should she? She had no idea what to do, never having personally encountered a German soldier before.

As she scooped her up, Antoinette groaned and whimpered. She really had a hard time waking. Maybe she’d sleep through the document check. On the way out the door Gabrielle grabbed their papers. Once outside she glanced around and saw that there were roadblocks set up all around town. It would be hard to get away without being seen. She made up her mind and started towards town. A few older people were being dragged from their homes and pushed out into the street. She felt another twinge of alarm but there was nothing she could do about it. As she approached the square she saw the Mayor talking with a German officer.

“Mayor, I want thirty hostages to question,” Diekmann said coldly. “The rest will be separated and confined. The women and children in the church and the men in those garages,” he said, gesturing, waiting for his interpreter to translate. His patience was non-existent and having to wait for the interpreter wasn’t helping his mood.

“Forgive me, Major, but I thought this was a document check, but I will be a hostage if necessary,” the Mayor said. He glanced around as a few other men joined him volunteering. Some were older and had looked down the barrel of German guns before, years ago in the trenches.

“We’re looking for hidden weapons, Mayor!”

“We don’t have any weapons, Major, except for a few shotguns for birds and rabbits.”

“There are terrorists in this town, Mayor! Maybe you’re one of them,” Diekmann answered, enjoying his power over the man.

“Oh no, Major. We are not
Maquis.
We are a quiet little town. We haven’t caused any problems,” he said, a hint of panic entering his voice.

“Move, Mayor,” Diekmann said, gesturing to a group of men being herded towards a nearby garage.

Diekmann followed the group to the old wooden building, watching as forty some odd men were corralled inside. The doors were left open and the men faced out towards the street. Diekmann placed troops around the exterior to ensure they stayed inside. In several other places throughout the town men were herded into similar buildings. No one complained aloud. They simply followed the German’s directives in their confusion. The men whispered among themselves. Most of them were convinced that after a short period of inconvenience the soldiers would see that there were no weapons or Resistance members in the town and then they would be released.

Antoinette woke up as the women and children were marched down towards the church. The younger ones wore wooden clogs that drummed as they made their way down the cobble-stoned street. The sound was eerie. After a short while some of the soldiers encouraged the children to sing. The schoolteachers walked with them and led them in song. This will all end soon, they hoped.

It seemed that just about everyone was accounted for, Gabrielle thought, looking around at the group. Amidst the singing some of the children whispered to their mothers as they walked. The women tried to reassure them that it would only be a little while before they would be released and that the Germans were just checking them to make sure they were who they said they were. The children thought that odd, not understanding the adult need for something so silly.

Gabrielle listened and prayed that it was all a formality. She held Antoinette and whispered assurances to her that everything would be all right. There were close to two hundred children in their procession, and as many women, both young and old. Nobody was exempt. Even the infirm had been forced from their homes. The Germans had cleared out everyone in town.

Once they arrived at their destination they were ordered to go inside and sit in the pews. The church was old and made of local fieldstone and wood, dominating the center of town. Generations of townsfolk had been christened within its walls and buried in its graveyard. It was a symbol of the town’s past and its future. Gabrielle began to allow herself some hope. What could possibly happen to them inside a church? It was God’s sanctuary. Gabrielle watched as several soldiers were positioned around the building to secure it and prevent escape. The women and children were packed in and not everyone could get a seat. Once the doors were closed the women began to speak excitedly among themselves.

“What’s happening?” One young mother asked Gabrielle as she sat her children down in a pew and stood protectively in front of them.

“I have no idea. How did you get here?” Gabrielle asked. “Don’t you live in the country?”

“They stopped and rounded everyone up on the outskirts and a little way out. I think everyone is here.”

“I hope not,” Gabrielle whispered, “I hope not. I don’t know what’s happening but I won’t feel safe until the soldiers leave.”

“They’re probably on alert because of the invasion,” the woman answered.

“Alert? Here? Nothing ever happens here. I doubt any Allied soldiers will ever come here. We’ll find out we’ve been liberated when we read it in the paper,” Gabrielle said, trying to lighten the mood a little and give herself some confidence while she was at it.

A young man crouched in the weeds, several hundred yards away. He was picking mushrooms in the woods to go with the trout he had taken out of the Glane River that morning. He and his family ate pretty well despite the occupation. They were country folk and grew or gathered most of their food anyway. He was just about to cross the meadow into town when he saw the trucks arrive. He instinctively crouched down to avoid being seen. He had never seen so many soldiers at once. It was a rare occasion when one came into town. There were no
Maquis
here, he thought, remembering the unspoken position of the village to stay out of the fighting. Something was wrong. I had better stay here and watch, he decided. His mother and younger sister were at home and his father was away at market and wouldn’t be home for at least two days. The soldiers almost always targeted the men and he was now sixteen. The safest thing for him was to lay low and wait for the Germans to go. He was confident that the soldiers would leave his mother and sister alone. He hadn’t heard anything suggesting that they would harm women and children.

“I think if we just cooperate everything will be fine.” Gabrielle heard one of the more outspoken women say. There was a general chorus of agreement.

“They have always left us alone before. They won’t find any weapons here. Then they’ll leave just as quickly as they came.”

Gabrielle was quiet. She moved around and tried to see through the small windows of the old church. There were German soldiers everywhere. She saw a truck with a machine gun in the back. Nobody was going anywhere. They were helpless. Besides, what could they do with no weapons and their children to protect?

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CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX

In the center of the town, Diekmann stood in front of a garage into which many of the town’s men had been forced.

“I could care less about guns,” Diekmann hissed. “Members of your town ambushed a convoy and took something very important to me. They took an SS Major hostage and killed him! He was a hero of the Reich, and my friend! I want names or I will start shooting!”

“There’s no Resistance here. I can’t tell you something that I don’t know anything about,” the Mayor pleaded.

“I will get answers!’ Diekmann shouted, furious that he was being delayed. He had four hours to find the gold, collect it, and get to Limoges. He grabbed his flask from his jacket that he had taken off under the relentless sun. He took a long drink from it and tossed it back into the vehicle.

“No activity, I see. I can be unreasonable too!” Diekmann sneered through his teeth. He took out his pistol and motioned to the soldiers nearest the garage doors to move away. The men inside stepped back as the soldier manning the machine gun directly in front of them cranked back the gun’s arming mechanism. Diekmann gestured to one of his captains. The officer drew his sidearm and fired a shot into the sky.

The machine gun opened up. The gunner lay on the ground and fired randomly, hitting the men trapped inside repeatedly in the thighs and shins. He had been ordered to maim as many as possible first. The men tried to scatter but there was no way out as the bullets ripped into their lower bodies. Many were struck in the chest and neck as they fell to the ground.

Diekmann raised his hand and the shooting stopped. The injured men on the ground groaned in pain. He raised his pistol and walked up to the Mayor writhing on the ground.

“Well,
Monsieur le Maire,
how about now? I’ll be blunt. I am looking for stolen gold. SS gold,” he said, standing over the wounded man. It is here in this town. Your people ambushed my friend, Major Kampfe, took him, and stole our gold. Now I don’t want excuses. I know you understand more of what I’m saying than you let on. Now talk!”

“Mercy Major, we have no gold,” he wailed, raising his hands in a pleading motion. Like he was shooting an old dog, Diekmann raised his pistol and casually fired a shot into his head, killing him instantly as his pleading hands dropped lifelessly to his side.

An older man was quietly calling for his wife. Diekmann stepped over the Mayor’s corpse. He stood over the old man and cupped a hand to his ear, feigning as if he was trying to hear the man’s pleas. The soldiers laughed, and then abruptly Diekmann tired of the sport and shot the helpless man in the eye.

“There now, he doesn’t need his wife anymore. Who wants to tell me about stolen gold? I’ll shoot you one by one until I get it.”

Several men shouted denying any gold. Others were bleeding too profusely to respond. They simply prayed and waited to die.

Diekmann screamed, “Burn them!”

Soldiers covered the wounded men in straw and doused them with gasoline. Most of the dying men were trapped in the tangle of bodies and were beyond resisting.

“Just hold up your hand if you remember anything about my gold!” Diekmann addressed them like a teacher asking students for an answer in elementary school. He chuckled at his own absurdity as the tinder-dry straw smoked and caught fire. It spread instantly throughout the old wooden building. As the inferno raged he motioned for the doors to be closed and stomped off to check on the other men.

Moments before the shooting began; Gabrielle was pushed back as three soldiers carried in an odd looking bundle. It was about the size of a hay bale and had what looked like fuses sticking out from it. Once it was deposited in the vestibule of the church two soldiers lit the fuses. The soldiers backed out, training their guns on the women and children as they left. The object started to smoke and the women in the church pushed back towards the nave. Several tried to go out a side door. A shot rang out in the distance as the true horror of what was happening struck the women. Screams erupted simultaneously as women and children broke in every direction. Gabrielle grabbed her daughter up off the floor and moved to the far side of the church away from the mass of women trying to escape. The door burst into splinters as a machine gun opened up, firing directly into the women trying to drag their children away from the stream of bullets. Many were hit and Gabrielle saw several children’s lifeless eyes staring out from their ruined little bodies. Others screamed at their mothers and grandmothers who died, leaving them to their fate. Smoke from the bundle filled the church and random gunfire continued from outside.

Diekmann walked up to the church and watched the first of the smoke billow out from the windows.

“No, no, too slow!” He walked over to one of the enlisted men and took a grenade from his belt. “Like this,” he laughed and lobbed a grenade through a window on the side of the building. Several others took his queue and lobbed in more. Flashes and flesh rending explosions tore from inside.

“There,” said Diekmann. “Make sure it burns. I want this town turned into rubble,” he said as he walked briskly off, as if on a routine inspection of his troops. Some of the older soldiers from the regiment seemed to be enjoying themselves and laughed at the newly conscripted Alsatian soldiers, whose eyes were wide with panic. They were from a part of France that adjoined Germany. They had been forced into this madness.

“What, no stomach for war? Show these animals that they should fear
Das Reich
,” an older sergeant bellowed as he pushed two stunned men towards the church. They stood in frozen disbelief as they listened to the screams of dying women and children from within.

Gabrielle saw the first grenade fly through the far window and explode, tossing the bodies of children and women aside like so much confetti. She pulled Antoinette to the ground. The child was screaming in terror, calling for her father and for her mother to make it stop. Gabrielle looked around wildly for some escape. The interior caught fire along with several people, completely engulfed in flames as they ran into one another. There was no escape. Gabrielle sank to her knees sobbing at the horror. Hell couldn’t be worse.

“Mommy and Daddy love you, Antoinette
ma cherie
,” Gabrielle whispered into her daughter’s ear, kissing her fiercely.

Sensing something in her mother’s voice, little Antoinette cried. “Don’t leave me Mama, don’t leave me.”

Gabrielle reached around behind Antoinette’s small head, firmly gripping her chin, her hand draped by the child’s blond curls. “Never, my darling, never!” As soon as she spoke Gabrielle violently jerked Antoinette’s head around, snapping her neck. Gabrielle let out a savage wail, every part of her screaming out in anguish. There was nothing human in it as it tore from the depths of her soul. Without hesitation, Gabrielle stood and walked towards the nearest machine gun fire. With Antoinette in her arms she fixed her eyes on the ancient crucifix hanging behind the altar. It was untouched by the violence erupting all around. She stepped forward towards her death, trusting in the sacrifice made for her soul so long ago by the man who gave his life for love.