Abstract Art - The Nazi's Gambit: The Michael Turner Historical Mystery Series, #3

By Randall Christen

Abstract Art is the third and final book of the Michael Turner three book series. After the suspicious death of Melissa Pembury's father, a world renowned archeologist who had searched for the Holy Grail all of his life, Melissa and Turner had chased Heinrich Himmler through the British Isles and the Mideast in an effort to bring the murder of Melissa's father to justice. The dreaded Nazi had faked his death after the war and joined a clandestine network to steal the Ark of the Covenant and the Chalice of Christ and use their powers to complete his dastardly plot. After capturing Himmler in El Arish, Egypt and then watching him hanged by a military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, Turner thought he saw the last of the despised Nazi, that was until he inspected the corpse and failed to find his distinctive tattoo. Turner decides to join the British Secret Service team he worked with during the war to get back on the trail of Himmler, a trail that leads him to a Nazi cloning operation, an underground railroad for fugitive Nazis, and a surprising connection to the world of fine art. Will Turner and Melissa finally end the fugitive Nazi's trail of death and destruction, or will Himmler be able to use the money he's generating from the sale of his ill-begotten war spoils to escape his pursuers for a third time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randall Christen
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005733384

Randall Christen

Randall Christen had been writing complex professional documents for decades, but once he retired in 2014 it allowed him to pursue his true passion, writing historically based mystery novels. In his first offering, he has combined the research skills he has acquired over the past 25 years with a Creative Writing degree from Wisconsin to create a fascinating Historical Mystery novel, "The Carpenter's Chalice." Driven by the personal need to convince audiences that the Holy Grail is the vessel that Christ drank from at the Last Supper and not Mary Magdalene, he has mined through centuries of historical information to show how the chalice could have logically moved through history from the Last Supper to London, circa 1950. In novel #2 of the Michael Turner trilogy, his main characters Turner and Melissa Pembury continue their cat and mouse game with the book sets main villain, Heinrich Himmler. With the surfacing of the Arc of the Covenant in book 2, the stakes rise to a whole new level as the pair urgently tries to penetrate the walls of the Vatican Archives in search of the Third Key, the one thing that can negate the Arc's power and determine the fate of man. Unnamed book 3,the final offering in the trilogy will be released in 2021.

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Abstract Art – The Nazi’s Gambit | Randall Christen | Published by Randall Christen at Smashwords | Copyright – 2021 Randall Christen | Abstract Art – The Nazi’s Gambit

Abstract Art – The Nazi’s Gambit

Randall Christen

Published by Randall Christen at Smashwords

Copyright – 2021 Randall Christen

Abstract Art – The Nazi’s Gambit

Near London, England, 1952

Turner was tempted to let his eyes involuntarily close as the engine of the British European Airways AS-57 hummed its way across the channel on its flight to London.  Unfortunately, his mind was still working overtime and refused to release its grasp on the image of Himmler’s double as it coldly laid on the coroner’s table in Nuremburg.  It was not what he saw when he examined the German’s body after he was hanged by the Allied Tribunal that caused his confusion, it was what he did not see.  According to Himmler’s records from London’s Brixton Prison shortly after he was captured, the doctor noted that he had detected a tattoo, possibly 6-6-6 that was stenciled neatly above the German’s right ear.  However, after Turner examined what was supposedly Himmler’s body after he had been hanged, the tattoo was nowhere to be found.

He awkwardly shifted his weight from his left side to his right, and as he did, he noticed his fiancé Melissa quietly sleeping in the seat beside him.  The pursuit of Himmler from Western Europe, to Jerusalem, and then to El Arish, Egypt had stressed his body to the max, but the exhilarating chase paled in comparison to his next nerve-racking task, which was the impending nuptials between he and Melissa.  Turner’s romance with her had begun the day she introduced herself to him at Southampton University and pleaded with him to help her and her mother solve the murder of William Pembury, a renowned London archeologist and Melissa’s father.  Over the past year he was able to uncover Himmler’s devious plot to unleash the powers of the Chalice of Christ and send him to prison the first time, and after his escape he was able to track the elusive German to his hiding place in Egypt where he was able to capture him with the help of Mossad and send him to the gallows.  As he watched him drop through the trap door, he assumed he was watching the end to Himmler’s evil story.  Unfortunately, the missing tattoo on the hanged corpse put an end to that notion.

Turner instantly conveyed the information about the tattoo’s mysterious disappearance to the Allied Forces who were able to verify his assumption that the corpse was not Himmler’s, instantly sending everyone back to square one in the search for the elusive Nazi.  But the fact that he was once again on the loose was not the dilemma that kept rhythmically thumping in Turner’s brain.  His question was clean and simple.  How on earth was Himmler able to produce two doubles that were so facially identical to him that they easily passed the scrutiny of everyone who had encountered them?  Fortunately, his hard work ensured that everyone involved was now comfortable with the fact that one double died in Germany after taking cyanide while in the custody of the British, and the second double met his fate at the gallows in Nuremburg.

Unfortunately, although the discovery of the missing tattoo generated widespread agreement that Himmler was once again on the run, there was very little agreement on whom, or if anyone would be taking on the task of finding the fugitive German.

The leaders who attended the Potsdam Conference in 1945 had determined that the reconstruction of the European Continent and its financial stabilization would be priority one, and everything else, including the search for fugitive Nazis fell into a variety of buckets the Allies classified as future activities. Himmler’s disappearance was also causing Turner an even bigger problem that threatened to disrupt his life for years to come.  Now that Melissa knew he was once again on the loose, there was no way in Hell she would allow her nemesis’ case to fall into a dead file.  She had begrudgingly agreed to put the problem aside until after their nuptials, but she made it perfectly clear that until Himmler was six feet underground, the thought of him running free would haunt her through the end of her days.

The airplane’s gradual descent prompted Turner to look out the window where he noticed the White Cliffs of Dover on the English shoreline appear in the distance.  His search for Himmler would have to wait until after this weekend’s wedding ceremony, but he knew that the longer he waited, the faster the German’s trail would evaporate.  He gently reached over and grasped her hand, and then he applied a gentle squeeze.  Melissa’s eyes slowly opened as she turned to her fiancé and gave him a loving smile.

Are we there?  She groggily asked.

Over England my dear.  Should be on the ground in about twenty minutes.

Melissa lazily turned and looked out the window, and then her eyes slowly closed once more.  Turner could only shake his head and sport a small smirk as he realized his attempt to awaken his bride to be had miserably failed.  She had been a tremendous help in their pursuit of Himmler the previous year, but he knew that if he was going to be able to track him down a third time, the support he needed to get it done would have to come from a much higher stratum.

The other thing that was crystal clear in his mind was the fact he would never be able to find Himmler from behind his sociology professor’s desk at Southampton University.  But if his current job title was not lofty enough to afford him access to the information he needed; how could he quickly transition from being an outsider to becoming an insider?  The wheels in his brain rapidly whirled as they tried to come up with a logical path to the information he sought.  Not surprisingly, it always came back to the same conclusion.  Somehow, he needed the full support of MI5 in his corner.  How he would make that happen would be another question for another day.

2

When she was a young girl, Melissa had always imagined that her wedding would be a grand church spectacle, neatly centered on the scene of her sporting a dazzling, full-length flowing gown and being assisted by her father as he slowly walked her down the aisle.  But since his untimely death, she knew that having anyone else serve as his replacement would simply not do.  If her father could not be there, her nuptials would be performed in a small ceremony beside the only other man she had truly loved, Michael Turner.

Melissa quietly stared at her reflection in the dressing room’s full-length mirror that rested adjacent to the church’s vestibule as a soft smile appeared on her face.  The mid-calf length, off-white silk dress fit perfectly over her slender build, highlighted perfectly by her shimmering black hair that fell to just below her shoulders.  Her mother quietly slid into the mirror’s reflection from behind her and gently cupped her hair and then slowly allowed it to fall evenly across her back.

Ann could not help but grin as she looked into the mirror and took in the image of her beautiful daughter.  Ever since the day her husband was callously murdered by the speeding automobile driven by one of Himmler’s henchmen, Ann had seriously entertained the notion that both she and Melissa might never see her wedding day arrive.  Himmler had used his allies in the anti-Semitic, London based group The Right Club to follow her every movement, which eventually culminated in her daughter’s capture by Davenport at London’s Templar Church.  Had it not been for the quick thinking of Turner when he tricked Davenport into releasing her at the London Tower, Melissa possibly would have never been released because she could not unsee Himmler performing his sacred ceremony with the stolen Chalice of Christ at the Templar Church the previous evening.  Ann was all too aware of the fact that had Turner not entered their lives shortly after William Pembury’s murder, their story could have had a much darker outcome.

Ann shifted her glance from the mirror to her watch, and then she gently tapped on her daughter’s shoulder.

It is time.

Ann led the way as they exited the secluded room and then slowed their pace as they moved down the center aisle.  Turner’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of his gorgeous fiancé as she seemed to effortlessly float down the aisle.  In that moment, he undeniably realized that he had loved her since the day she first approached him and asked for his help in finding her father’s murderer.  Ann finally reached the altar and then moved to the side, allowing Melissa to slide in beside Turner.  Next to the groom stood his best man Thornton Cromwell, who had been his close friend since the day he moved to London at the beginning of the war.  Cromwell was the MI5 operative who worked with Turner to track the many anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi groups that had popped up in England during the war.  He was also by his side when they confronted Himmler and Davenport at Rosslyn Chapel, even taking a bullet from Himmler’s henchman during the gun battle for control of the Chalice of Christ.

Pastor Jones grinned from ear to ear as he proudly looked at the little girl he had taught in Sunday school who had turned into the beautiful young woman standing before him.  He instructed Turner and Melissa to join hands, and then he performed the simple ceremony that Melissa had requested, concluding with the phrase she had waited for all her life.  You may kiss the bride.  Turner eagerly embraced his new wife and applied a long, passionate kiss to Melissa’s rose-colored lips, causing her to beam from ear to ear.  He ended the kiss with a huge hug, and then briskly shook Cromwell’s hand and thanked him for his support and friendship.  He joyfully moved to Melissa’s mother and gave her a loving hug, after which his internal clock suddenly caused him to take a quick glance of his watch.

We better get moving if we are going to make out supper reservation, he noted.

Cromwell steered the car toward their destination as silence curiously filled the car’s interior, prompting him to suspiciously sneak a peek at the rearview mirror and spot Melissa and Turner predictably locked in a romantic embrace.  The car quietly weaved through the light traffic until he pulled it to the curb in front of Turner’s favorite restaurant, Ye Old Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street.

Excuse me back there, Cromwell interrupted as he looked to the back seat.  We have arrived at the restaurant, so if you lovebirds can release each other long enough to allow us to get into the restaurant it would be greatly appreciated.

The newly-weds and their witnesses exited the sedan and then entered through the dark brown doors that shielded the historic venue from Fleet Street.  The restaurant had been a victim of the 1666 Great Fire of London, and after its restoration it had managed to survive the Nazi bombing campaign during the war and just about everything else due to its sheltered underground location.  After the waiter had seated them in a deep booth on the first sub-street level, Melissa and Ann asked to be excused so they could visit the powder room.  Turner watched the waiter scurry off with their drink order, and then he took advantage of the break by probing his old friend.

So tell me Thornton, what is the appetite at Leconfield House (MI5 headquarters) for finding Nazis on the run now that the news of Himmler’s escape and disappearance has come to their attention?

Does not appear to be much of an appetite for that endeavor at all.  Churchill has pretty much mandated that the British stay focused on reconstruction and move on from the war.  Sure, we are cleaning up the list of Nazis that have fallen onto our lap, but other than that resources for any activities not directly related to the economy or shoring up our depleted defensive capabilities will be few and far apart.

Turner lifted the frothy lager that the waiter had just delivered to his lips and took a deep draw from the glass of dark brown ale as his mind continued to chew on his friend’s response.  If no one in the upper echelons of the British government was motivated to make an all-out effort to find and capture Himmler, the chances of him pulling off the task by himself would be almost impossible.  After all, locating a fugitive that could literally be anywhere in the world would be an endeavor of resources and access.

As for access, Turner knew that if he was ever going to get to the bottom of the Nazi cloning operation, he would need to be able to conduct his investigation in the heart of their former power base.  Fortunately, the Allies controlled the parts of Germany that Himmler and the SS used to perform most of their dirty work during the war, so not having to deal with the Russians simplified their task.

As for resources, if he could convince someone at the top of England’s government that Himmler and the other Nazis that faked their deaths were still a threat, it might incentivize them to make an agreement with the other countries that jointly controlled West Germany to give him their full support.  Once all the obstacles were removed, it would allow him to get to the bottom of the events leading up to Himmler’s successful effort to fake his own suicide, which he hoped would ultimately lead him in the direction of the fugitive Nazi.

But there was another problem that could potentially make the rogue Nazi’s escape from justice pale in comparison.  Himmler’s ability to produce two very convincing doubles to cover his escape from justice presented a question that begged to be answered.  Did Hitler or other top Nazis fake their deaths as well, and were they still on the loose?

After all, the Allied Forces were never in custody of Hitler’s remains.  Reports said that he had taken cyanide and then shot himself in the temple.  After that, his aides burned his body for several hours, leaving the corpse virtually unidentifiable.  The Russian army arrived a short time later and then supposedly verified his dental records with the help of a dental assistant, NOT a certified dentist.  One could reasonably ascertain that a dental assistant would not have the skills required to identify subtle discrepancies if the records had been altered.

Hitler’s unwitnessed death and the destruction of his body was certainly suspicious, but having the same thing happen to his closest and most devoted general, Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels made the happenstance a leap too far to take.  The end of the war brought with it so many suspicious endings to Nazi criminals that he could hardly get his arms around them all.  A prime example was SS Commander Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who had also mysteriously died and was buried somewhere outside of Berlin.  Although his suicide was supposedly verified by an infantryman, his grave site was never discovered.

Turner desperately tried to think of a way he could convince Cromwell’s superiors at MI5 that there was a distinct possibility that some of the highest-ranking Nazis might still be on the run.  Problem was, before he took a run at convincing MI5, he knew that he first had to convince his friend.

That is very disappointing, Turner began.  Personally, I thought that the news of Himmler evading punishment would have mobilized a worldwide search.  But if I am hearing you correctly, it sounds like it is heading for the cold case file.

I do not think I would characterize it as filed.  Let us just say that we will be continually putting out feelers just in case he turns up somewhere, and then if requested, we will be more than happy to collect him and send him to the gallows where he belongs.

What if there was an even bigger prize out there.  One that Himmler could lead us to that is so consequential that and even the most skeptical of your supervisors would have to agree is worth chasing?

Cromwell suspiciously tilted an eyebrow.  Not quite sure where you are going with this old friend.  Guess you are going to have to explain it to me.

Turner finally had Cromwell’s full attention.  Here is the gist of it.  We know that Himmler avoided the gallows by using a double to pull off his escape shortly after the war, and then he repeated it a second time.  That tells me that towards the end of the war the Nazis had somehow perfected the art of duplicating the physical appearances of their leaders onto the bodies of similarly built subjects.  Sure, one might possibly be able to use a little reconstructive facial surgery to produce one relatively good replica, but twice?  No, they must have completed the development of a process to make the doubles just in time to serve as their safety net at the end of the war.  And it is not a stretch to say that if Himmler could pull this off, why not the rest of Hitler’s staff, if not the Fuhrer himself.

Cromwell slid back in the booth and rested his head against its back.  Without warning, his friend had chucked a Hail Mary in his direction, and as he considered the consequences if his thesis proved to be correct, his Hail Mary was flying in his direction with a huge sludge hammer attached to it.  If the rumor of Hitler still being alive ever got leaked to the public, all Hell would most likely break loose.  He also knew that just hearing Turner say it did not make it so.

If I am going to approach my superiors with this and ask for resources now that you have garnered my interest, you are going to need more than the unexplained appearance of a couple of doubles to get MI5 to listen to me.

Believe me, no one was more skeptical of Nazis getting away with faking their deaths than I was, until I examined Himmler’s body at Nuremburg.  After that discovery, I began to research Himmler’s original suicide and any other suspicious deaths of Nazis that included a suicide or a missing body.  Once I began to investigate this thread, I was dumbfounded by the number of suspicious deaths that occurred at the end of the war.  Let us start with Hitler and Goebbels.  Both supposedly took cyanide and then shot themselves in the head in the Fuhrerbunker.  After that, their bodies were burned and buried, and then supposedly found by the Russians, who told the rest of the Allies that their dental records were verified by a low-level dental assistant.

Turner tilted his pint of beer to his lips and withdrew a generous sample, and then he continued.

First of all, if the Nazis were able to come up with an ingenious way to make a body double, do you not think they could also surgically modify the jaw and teeth to replicate the Nazi they were impersonating, or more simply, alter their dental records?  Now that we know Himmler somehow came up with two very convincing doubles my skepticism has grown exponentially.  Personally, I am not willing to accept these reports as factual until we investigate their deaths and verify they did not follow Himmler’s lead by faking their deaths and quietly disappearing as well.

Cromwell stared blankly at the table as he struggled to sort through the pile of circumstantial evidence that Turner had just presented him with.

Your theory is quite compelling, but we will need something a lot more substantial if we hope to get MI5 to authorize the reopening of these cases.  I cannot promise you anything, but based on the ton of circumstantial evidence you have compiled I am willing to bounce it off my supervisor and see if he has any ideas.

One more thing, Turner inserted.  I have given it a lot of thought, and if your supervisor is interested, I would be willing to rejoin MI5 for however long it takes to either verify my assumptions or put them to bed once and for all.  Since I have already been working on this, I should be able to expedite the process, and all they would need to do would be to grant me access to the information I will need to move this case forward.  That is, if you would be OK with it as well.

You realize that MI5’s rules are quite firm when they state that only British subjects are eligible for service with them do you not?

I do, and to that point I have finally obtained dual citizenship for both here and in the U.S. since they credited my time served working for MI5 in London during the war.  Besides, now that I am married to Melissa, I am as British as the Tower of London!

Cromwell grinned broadly.  Wonderful news, and I would like nothing more than to work with you again old friend.  Give me a day or two to sort through this at MI5 and I will feel my supervisor out and then get back to you shortly.

Turner heard someone clear their throat, causing him to hastily shift his glance and notice Ann and Melissa patiently standing beside the booth.  He and Cromwell quickly leapt out of their seats and allowed the women to scoot into the booth, and then they returned to their original positions beside them.

Now that business is out of the way, Cromwell offered. I would like to propose a toast to the bride and groom.  He smiled broadly as he lifted his glass, and then he shot a guarded wink in Turner’s direction.

3

Turner waited patiently in the lobby of MI5 headquarters as the late morning sunrays slowly but steadily shortened the shadows as they flowed through the waiting area’s tall glass windows.  Cromwell had contacted him the previous evening and asked him to travel to his office that morning for an update on Himmler, at which time he would pass on his supervisors’ response to the information he had passed on to them pertaining to the fugitive Nazis.  Finally, a familiar face exited the elevator and then moved in his direction.

Cromwell extended a hand.  Ready for an elevator ride old man?

Moments later they were comfortably seated at Cromwell’s highly disorganized desk which was buried under dozens of manilla folders bulging with papers.

Anything new on Himmler or his disappearance?  Turner asked without warning.

Cromwell sighed and then replied in a sarcastic tone.  No sense wasting time with small talk!  First of all, we have had feelers out around the world looking for Himmler ever since you discovered the corpse at Nuremburg was not him.  Based on your lead, we also intercepted Kamal’s ship that left around that time from El Arish and unfortunately, after a thorough search we confirmed that he was not on board.  I am sorry to say that based on what we have been able to find, it looks like he has literally fallen off the face of the earth at this point.

Turner exhaled deeply.  That is not encouraging!  I was certain that he had to be on that ship.  Since he was not, I have no other guesses.  He could be anywhere by now.

Cromwell wagged a finger.  Not to worry my friend.  Eventually he will have to stick his head out somewhere, and when he does, we will be there waiting.

Cromwell reached to a thick file on the top of one of the stacks and pulled it in front of him, and then he flipped the cover open.  After a couple seconds of digging, he pulled out what appeared to be an autopsy summary document and held it in front of Turner.

This is the Army’s autopsy report from Nuremburg.  They verified the damage to the vocal cords that you noticed when you inspected the corpse, and yes, you were correct in concluding that speech would have been impossible.  They also inspected the brain, where we noticed that some of the tissue had been scarred by an injection, leading us to believe that this was another attempt to make the subject incapable to giving any signs that he was not the person he was impersonating.  Cromwell dug a little deeper into the autopsy paperwork, and then he pulled another piece of paper from the stack.  Now here is the most interesting part of the autopsy in my opinion.  Remember when you told me that the dental work for Hitler had been suspiciously verified by a dental assistant, well, we discovered that the dental work for Himmler’s corpse had in fact been surgically altered.  We were able to determine that at least eight of the teeth had in some fashion been altered, and at the same time determined that there were also signs of minor jaw reconstruction.  Surprisingly, that was the only instance we could find of facial surgery.  Cromwell slowly slid the papers back into the file and then closed it.  Based on what we found during our autopsy, it would be almost impossible for me to disprove your theory that there could be other doubles out there, possibly for Hitler or his staff that were used to save him or other high-ranking Nazis from the noose.

Turner raised a palm.  "So, if you cannot rule out the possibility that the Nazis we believed were dead escaped justice, how do we make it a priority within the government to either verify their deaths or track them down if they are still alive.

I think the information you passed on to us about Himmler’s corpse may have already accomplished that task.  After my supervisors received the information pertaining to the autopsy performed on Himmler’s double, they made the decision to further investigate the claims that the Nazis had a cloning operation in Germany during the war.  Since no one had been assigned to the case, I offered my services, and recommended that you assist me after I learned you now had dual citizenship.  Surprisingly, they agreed.  Cromwell reached into his middle desk drawer and withdrew a single piece of paper and then he laid it on the desk in front of Turner.  This is a one-year contract for you with MI5.  If you are still interested, all you need to do is sign on the dotted line and we will get to work.

Turner greedily reached to the desk and grabbed a pen, and as he moved it closer to the contract that rested in front of him, his hand unexpectedly paused its progression.  He slowly leaned back in his chair as his mind guardedly kicked into high gear.  Sure, he would love to join the chase for Himmler that very moment if it were not for the fact that his marriage to Melissa was less than a week old, behooving him to consider a few minor complications before he signed his next year away to the British Secret Service.  He calmly reached to the contract and slid it back to Cromwell, whose eyes unmistakably displayed his confusion.

Would it be possible to get back with you in the morning?  It would be short sighted of me if I agreed to join you without first discussing it with Melissa.

Cromwell finally exhaled.  No problem at all.  Not like a one-day delay will hinder our search.

Turner rose from the chair and briskly shook his friend’s hand, and then he hurriedly exited his office and worked his way out of MI5 headquarters.  Just as he hit the sidewalk, a brisk breeze hit him from the side and rudely opened his trench coat.  He struggled to close it as he looked to the cloudy London sky.

Despite your short reprieve Mr. Himmler, at the end of this, you are mine.