Chapter 4 – Chapter 4

"Should we cancel our masked party we were having tonight?" the baron was asking the arriving detective inspector, Friedrich Halterman, having come out of the lounge with Jozef, the butler, to answer the knocking at the door, as Terry Winter and his chauffeur descended the stairs.

"No, it would be best to keep everyone together as much as possible until we get to the bottom of this," the detective answered after introductions were made. "A distracting party, with them all together in one place, would be better than them scattered about in their rooms and planning unannounced departures. Now, as to the body of the victim. In the stables, I have heard."

A flurry of men had entered the building behind the detective. Most seemed to be forensic technicians. They were dressed in disposable uniforms. There also were two uniformed policemen, both brown shirters. These men were insidiously inserting themselves into positions of authority. The ranks of the police had already been taken over by them. Both were young men. One, introduced as Fritz, was the elder and obviously the more dominating of the two. He was muscular, in his late twenties. He came across as a militant brown shirter. Terry was immediately attracted to him, not only because of his fit, Nordic looks, but because he had a cruel, brutal, dominating aura about him. The initial look he had turned to Terry was the possessing one of men who topped other men. There also was distinct mounding at his crotch.

The other policeman, Hans, was younger than either Fritz or Terry, barely into his twenties. He was quiet and diffident, obviously in training from the manner in which he looked to Fritz for guidance on everything. Although he was cute, he seemed unsure of himself and thus Terry wasn't particularly interested in him sexually. If he went with men, it would be, like Terry, under the men. They would be of little use to each other. Terry, who had considerable experience in such things, instantly recognized that Fritz would go with a man or woman, as long as they gave him pleasure—and that pleasure for him would involve at least a little pain for his partner.

In contrast, the detective inspector was quite evidently Jewish and thus not connected in any way with the brown shirters. Hans gave him some respect, but he got nothing but sneers and sassiness from Fritz. Although senior and clearly the most intelligent policeman in the room and able to command, Friedrich Halterman, identified as forty-two on the warrant card he produced, was smart enough to pick his clashes with the brown shirters for when it really was needed.

Halterman was of great interest to Terry. He was move-star handsome, well built, showed promise in the crotch area, and had a commanding presence. His attention also went directly to Terry Winter as the young viscount descended the stairs to the foyer. Both men experienced a flash of electricity between them. Terry, at least, knew that if the opportunity arose, they would fuck. That is if the detective was game for it.

"Ah, you are Viscount Terrence Winter, are you not?" Halterman asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" Terry asked.

"The baron reported you as having found the body of the victim. And I know you by reputation. The Geneva police informed us you were headed in our direction when they called off their identification of you as a person of interest in a murder investigation. I've seen you in the papers. You seem to collect murder cases."

"And to help solve them," Baron Luderman said.

"Yes, that too," Halterman conceded. "There are various reputations you have, and that's one of them," he said, looking directly at Terry, his eyes conveying an interest that the handsome young viscount so often saw.

"And you are interested in another reputation I have?" Terry asked.

"I could be, but I'm here to look into what has been described as a gruesome murder. And here you are involved in another one of those."

"At least two, I'm afraid," Winter said. "Before we go out to the stable, I'm afraid that you and your people need to come up to the attic."

"Not Katie?" the baron said, his voice a bit strangled.

"Yes, Katie, I'm afraid."

"Perhaps you should go back to the lounge and keep your guests occupied there," Halterman said to the baron. "The viscount can show me the way. It seems we will be a while before we can start our interviews with your guests. And do go ahead with your dinner and party plans. I will, of course, attend the party, as will my two policemen."

"It's a costume party—a practice for Fasching next month."

"I'll come as a German Jewish policeman in a world falling apart for both Jews and Germans," Halterman said, as he gestured for Winter to guide him to Katie. And I'm afraid we'll all need to be getting used to the costumes my two policemen are wearing.