The Crate
A Container of Death
by
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March
1940:
A
deep sleep overcame an exhausted George Bohner. His
meeting early that day with Doctor Emil Hoffmann, a physicist from
Dr.
Hoffmann was at the university using a scientific seminar as a pretext for
meeting with him. Dr. Hoffmann knew that George was involved in a highly
sensitive project and had an urgent desire to arrange a meeting; after all what
better than a private luncheon to reminisce about common acquaintances from
Dr.
Hoffmann sent an invitation to Bohner at the
laboratory.
“Mein Herr Bohner;
It
would please me immensely for you to join me for lunch at the Bavarian Meadows
Restaurant on Friday next. I have discussed this with your associates and they
assured me that an afternoon off would be of value to you and it would mean a
great deal of pleasure to me.
Emil”
George
hesitantly accepted the invitation, but only after nudging by his associates.
He arrived early at the restaurant and waited nervously for his host to arrive.
His apprehension grew as he looked around the beautiful setting. The main
dining area was encircled on an elevated tier by small private dining
enclosures; places where conversations would be private.
The
matre’d seated them and with a very stiff bow spoke,
his words were intended for Dr. Hoffmann. “Your waitress will be here shortly, Mein Herr and if you have any need for my services please
do not hesitate to ask.”
The
waitress, a buxom young woman with long blond tresses flowing about her
shoulders, wore a tiny white apron over a seductively fitted alpine style
uniform. She rekindled in George the memories of the old country and the fabled
gaushauses of
“Beir Heir Bohner?”
Hoffmann asked.
A
startled Bohner returned to the reality of the
situation, “Oh, Ah, Yes please, a stein of Lager, German Lager please.” It had been a long time since he had been in
such pretentious surroundings and able to enjoy the luxury of an expensive
lager.
The
waitress bent over to place the steins on the table, her bountiful busts
strained the facing of the alpine costume, “Beir, mein Herr?” exposing a canyon of delicate cleavage.
“Danke.”
“Bitte.”
She
gave a slight wink, turned and left to fetch the much anticipated lager.
George
picked up the stein and blew gently on the foamy head watching the tiny bubbles
floated aimlessly across the table. George, realizing what he was doing,
managed a weak, “Sorry.”
Dr.
Hoffmann smiled and began to speak of
“You
have a good reputation and are well respected for your abilities and devotion
to work.” The Doctor paused letting George assimilate what was being said
before continuing. “I know of your wishes to help the Fatherland and also why
you are here instead of being in
“I
don’t know what you mean by needed here! I am a Swiss citizen working on a
special project at an
“Calm
down Son of Herman Bohner, I am responsible for your
being accepted here at the University and it was I who made the recommendation
on your behalf in
“You
were there?”
“I
was there.”
The
expression of disbelief slowly changed to belief. “You know of my past?
“Indeed
I do.”
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About the Book
It
was a heartbreaking voyage for Sergeant Tom Walters on the SS Topeka, one of
his crew killed, two seriously wounded and he suffering from the shrapnel of
the U-boats cannon. Now he was leaving
the ship in a Royal Navy patrol boat to meet some unknown person on the shore
of a strange land.
He
looked back at the
Standing
atop the quay where they docked was the most beautiful person he had ever seen;
Sarah was the unknown person he was to meet.
She was a lieutenant with the British Naval intelligence. His log and the notes given
her by a dying US Navy Lieutenany mesh in strange
ways so much so that the Prime Minister assigns them to a special mission.
Penny,
and extremely competent intelligence officer and a highly trained linguist,
heads up the team. A bond of
professionalism between Tom and Sarah blossomed, she was his guardian angel and
she shared the trust.
The
fruit of their labors at time was bitter, but they persisted. They would find and destroy the mysterious
crate loaded in
About the Author
James
L. (Jim) Stilwell Joined Company ‘E’ 185th Infantry in1940 and in
March of 1941 was called to active duty.
He was stationed at Camp San Louis Obispo
After
a series of guard assignments i.e. railroad tunnels near Chatsworth, Mines Air
Field (Now LAX) and numerous other facilities Company ‘E’ went to Hawaii; the
Island of Kauai, in 1942. Jim, now a
Sergeant, was tapped for a new assignment; he was ordered back to
In
the fall of 1943 Jim sailed for
Later
in his career Jim served as a Bridge Company Commander in the 17th
Armored Engineer Battalion in
After
retirement, Jim worked as a Director for a city. His efforts were still in the
engineering field.