Spoils of Victory by John A. Connell Read Free Book Online Page A

with opportunity. And now that Mussolini and his Fascists are out in Italy, the families are thriving again.”
    â€œDoes that sales pitch usually work when you turn cops?”
    â€œThey usually come to me. I use that pitch when a cop is stupid enough to think he is going to be the big hero and finds out that nobody gives a damn.”
    Mason downed the rest of the coffee. “You’re right. This is good coffee. Your thirty-year-old ass and your coffee ought to get you a fine husband in prison.”
    Luigi looked like he wanted to kill him at that moment, and Mason hoped he’d try.
    â€œWhich brings me to me offering you a deal,” Mason said. “Information for a lighter sentence. And if the information’s good, I may even drop the assault charges. All you’d have is a charge for illegal entry into the U.S. occupation zone.”
    â€œThat deal won’t be necessary.”
    â€œMurdering three Germans is a very serious offense.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about, three murders?”
    â€œHerr Giessen, Bachmann, and Plöbsch. And that doesn’t include the two bodyguards.”
    â€œI am sorry for their deaths, but I had nothing to do with that.”
    â€œYou’re one of my prime suspects. You’d have a lot to gain by their deaths. I think you were sent here to take over the territory.”
    â€œYou broke my arm, remember?” He lifted his slung arm to make a point, then winced with pain. “How could I have done it?”
    â€œConspiracy to commit murder gets you the same thing.”
    A bead of sweat broke out on Luigi’s face. “How about some painkillers?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI didn’t have them killed,” Luigi said in a raised voice, the pain in his arm trying his patience. “It’s not good business to eliminate your customers. And I have better things to do than take over a middling territory like Garmisch.”
    â€œLike you said: Germany’s a big market. And Garmisch is the perfect entry point from Italy. You and your bosses would have a lot to gain by controlling Garmisch.”
    â€œI am telling you, I had nothing to do with their murders.”
    â€œThen who did?”
    â€œI don’t know! Why don’t you look in your own backyard? You might find that you’re all alone chasing down the crime rings in this town.”
    â€œThanks for the coffee,” Mason said and stood. “I’m going to let you stew awhile. Let you think about what life’s going to be like in prison.”
    â€œAm I going to get any painkillers anytime soon?”
    â€œMaybe in a while. Enjoy the accommodations. You won’t see better for a very long time.”
    Mason left the room feeling unsettled. Luigi’s suggestion that Mason look in his own backyard carried more than a hint of truth to it. Winstone’s words, then Luigi’s, mirrored something Mason had suspected. With millions to be made and the cavalier attitude toward the rampant crime, U.S. personnel could be—almost undoubtedly were—involved at higher levels. Considering his disastrous actions during his time in the Chicago Police Department and his desire to fly under the army’s radar, this was turning out to be exactly the kind of powder keg he preferred to avoid.
    Next Mason interviewed the two Italian bodyguards. He had ordered the same thing for them—no painkillers for their wounds.It made no difference. They refused to talk, despite his threats and their obvious discomfort.
    Mason met up with Densmore for the final interview of the five American GIs. More stonewalling and obfuscation, claims of innocence and ignorance. Two had been caught with small quantities of morphine, and the other three had charges of desertion, meaning all of them would be on their way to the stockade in Bad Tölz or Munich. Mason hoped that one of them might crack, but all of them seemed ready to opt for jail time rather