Butcher's Wives (eBook)

Rick Fields (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
620 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-1789-3 (ISBN)

Infos

In 1938, U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer Johann 'Max' McKinzie is sent to Europe with the mission to collect more information on the life inside the Third Reich. While gathering intel, he discovers the ritualistic murders of both men and women throughout the Third Reich. Can Max uncover the true identity of the killer and stop them before it's too late?

Rick Fields holds a Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies and a Master of Science degree in education from a prestigious university in Southern California, where he grew up. Additionally, he recently retired from his teaching position, where he taught many students both English and history. Growing up in Southern California, he had heard countless stories of the years at war from his parents, family, and friends. He used these stories as a starting point-a point to fulfill his curiosity. After years of retelling stories, his wife and children encouraged Rick to put all he had learned into words, which led to the writing of his debut novel, 'The Butcher's Wives.'

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In 1938, US Naval Intelligence Officer, Johann,"e;Max"e;, McKinzie is sent to Europe on a fact finding mission. While gathering information on life inside the Third Reich, Max is made aware of the ritualistic killings of men and women spread throughout the Third Reich. With the help of Lori, an Abwehr operative (German Intelligence) seek to discover the killers identity. When Max and Lori travel to Max's ancestral home of Thuringia they take on the cover of lovers. As time progresses their closeness hinders Max's perspective on all things related to his mission. Thoughts of the killer drift away. When the killer flees his European play ground, he takes up residence in the United States. Given a list if names, he begins his ritualistic pleasure, killing the wives of US Naval officers. When the killer learns of Max's involvement in tracking him down it becomes a race against time. Can Max discover the killers identity and the purpose behind the killings before it's too late?

Textauszug

- 1 -

 

“You must respect an enemy’s power

as much as you despise it;

otherwise you lose.”

Proverb

 

Max

Espionage is comparable to love in that you always remember your first. My first began innocently enough, taking me to places my naivety could never have imagined. It was during my first trip to Germany that I became aware of a man known only as the Butcher. Th brutality he enacted upon his victims is what placed this moniker upon him. His savagery spread throughout Europe, littering the Third Reich with bodies and igniting a fire that scorched the land in hatred… but I have gotten ahead of myself.

I graduated the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1937 at the age of twenty-one. Shortly thereafter, I entered my first assignment with all the excitement of a pup left on his own for the first time; no real direction, but a lot of energy. I was assigned to Naval Intelligence and stationed in Washington D.C. My commanding officer, Commander E.J. Biggs, was a tough old sea-dog who had worked his way up the ranks the “hard way” as he liked to remind me. It was under his tutelage that I began my clandestine career, operating in areas outside the norm. I have honed my craft throughout the years. The chapter of my life that contains the Butcher was set in motion on a warm day in the spring of 1938. I remember it as if it were yesterday...

Washington, DC

1938

I hated seeing those I love board the train for Los Angeles. Our time together renewed my strength and relieved my loneliness; I will miss them dearly. Three days before my family left I was issued new orders; they came from President Roosevelt himself.

I have been assigned to Germany as a Naval Attaché. I am scheduled to leave for Europe on a fact finding mission on the first of May. The main purpose of my assignment: find out how the German and Austrian peoples feel about the Anschluss.

 

In March of this year, Hitler ordered his troops to cross the boarder and enter their neighbor Austria; Hitler’s troops met no resistance. Austria had been betrayed. Neither England nor France were willing to take the necessary steps to ensure the independence of Austria. With no options left, the Austrian government allowed Hitler to take control of their country without a shot being fired. The Anschluss was completed by a vote of the people on April 10 with over ninety nine percent of Austrians voting in favor of Germany. Having read Mein Kamph, I, along with my superiors, realized that Austria was only the first step in Hitler’s desire for Lebensraum, Living Space.

I set sail from New York Harbor early in the morning of 1-May 1938, with a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Along with the additional stripes on my sleeves and shoulders; stripes of loneliness covered my heart.

The Statue of Liberty could barely be seen through a pane of fog that had rolled in the previous night. My cruise across the Atlantic Ocean would be a quick five day adventure on the German Ocean Liner the S.S.Bremen. During my days at sea I will be able to observe the attitudes of the passengers, German and non-German alike.

As I traversed the gangplank to board the ship, protesters and well-wisher lined the docks with shouts of joy and curses of resentment as the German crew raised the National Flag of Hitler’s Third Reich; the red and black Swastika.

My fluency of the German language would be an asset, allowing me to blend in with the passengers, who are mostly German, speaking only their native tongue. There will be a few high ranking Third Reich officers on board and my military rank would not be hidden from them if my assessment of the German people holds true; their intelligence is first-rate. Being raised by a German grandmother, I realized early in my life that the German people were not a sloppy people. They would do their homework and know who traveled on their ship.

Upon boarding the S.S.Bremen I was greeted by a German Naval Officer, Kapitan Heinz Ullerich. Heinz was approximately my height, 6’2”, with broad swimmers shoulders and a trim physique. His dark blonde hair, piercing blue-grey eyes and infectious smile were a welcome, yet unnerving sight. When he had learned I was to be a passenger, he arranged for a change in my accommodations. I had never met the Kapitan before now, but I was glad he knew me.

My new quarters were enormous. The accommodations included a large living area, private bath, small wet bar; fully loaded. A master bedroom with an enormous bed and a small sitting area with a writing desk that could be used as an office or work area. I was going to enjoy this ocean voyage. My baggage had been delivered, clothes hung neatly in a small closet and the rest of my belongings had been neatly placed in their respective areas; folding clothes in drawers, toiletries in bathroom, etc. Once settled in my room, I decide to explore the many decks of this massive Ocean Liner. Making my way to the Promenade Deck I ran into Heinz.

“Johann, I have been looking for you,” he said, extending his hand in greeting. “I was hoping to give you a tour of this fine ship.”

“That is exactly what I was planning to do when or paths met.”

“Wonderful. What would like to see first?”

“First, I think I need a good German beer,” I said “Where can a thirsty man find relief?”

Heinz rolled his head back in laughter, “Great minds think alike. I was hoping that you would like to start the tour in the bar. I could use a few beers myself and I know just the place.” Heinz escorted me to a small secluded bar near the lowest deck of the ship and out of the way of prying eyes and listening ears. I was questioning my good fortune until I found out that this bar was the only one on board that served my favorite beer, Köstritzer. I had this strange feeling that my new “best friend” knew more about me than I cared for him to know

“So, Commander, you and I have a lot in common,” Heinz said with a sly smile.

“How so, Kapitan?”

“Well, the first is quite obvious; we are both Naval Officers: Second we are both Naval Attaches. Third, we both work in Intelligence…”

He noticed my surprised look; the same sly smile returned to his face.

“And fourth, I have saved the best for last, we are related.”

My look of bewilderment caused Heinz to laugh out loud. I gulped down the remainder of my cool, dark beer and sat staring transfixed on the person that sat before me. There was a familiarity to him, but I was still uncertain.

“I see that you have doubts,” he commented as I shook my head. “Please let me explain. When I went to work for Admiral Canaris, my first assignment was to trace the heritage of all US Naval Academy graduates from 1927 to 1937, a ten year period. It was a boring and tedious endeavor, but I wanted to prove myself to Canaris and ensure him that his choice of officers would not be a disappointment to the Navy or to him. Nothing of any significance did I find until the class of 1937. Your name stood out for some reason. You were a curiosity to me; a German first name and a Scottish last name. I was determined to find out all I could about you.” He took a long drink from his beer then continued. “After the death of your parents, you went to live with your grandparents, James and Eliza McKinzie. It was your grandmother that interested me the most. She arrived in New York in 1884, at the age of fourteen, on a ship that sailed from Dresden. The city that she had listed for her birth was Thüringia, a small village in central Germany. This is what caught my eye. You see, my grandmother is from this same village. My grandmother’s maiden name and your grandmother’s maiden name are the same. So you see we are cousins!” he stated happily.

“Well I’ll be,” I stated somberly.

He pointed to my beer, “I see that we have the same taste in beer.”

I looked at him, unsure of what he said as our second round was placed on the table in front of us.

“Huh?” I questioned.

“The beer; our beers are the same.” He lifted his mug. “You do know that this…” He spun the beer in his hand to catch the light, “… Schwarzbier has been around since the Middle Ages. And this particular blend, Köstritzer, can be traced back to 1543,” he said then took a long drink. “Do you know where the beer has been brewed since 1543...?” I shook my head no as I gazed into my dark, inviting mixture.

“Thüringia.”

I looked up quickly from my beer and noticed that same sly smile had reappeared on his face.

Heinz went on to tell me that his family, my family, has been producing the same beer since 1543 and in the early 1600’s had become sole owner of the brewery. They have continued its brewing tradition ever since. Heinz’s grandfather is the Master Brewer of the facility, as his father was before him and his father before him.

“Tradition states that Goethe’s favorite beer is the same brew that we are enjoying today,” Heinz stated. “Goethe would sit under the Beech trees enjoying a beer and writing…” His eyes drifted to a far away place and time.

“Tell me Kapitan, what is your take on the Anschluss?” I questioned between drinks.

“My take…?” He was unsure of the meaning of my American slang.

“How do you and the German people feel about the return of Austria to the Fatherland?” I was hoping that...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.10.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Historische Romane
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-1789-3 / 9798317817893