a hollow in Cray's- shoulder where the joint once was, and the aim sticking out behind The pain must have been excruciating, but I doubt Cray called out. Am I right?"
Harry Bell helped himself to a chair. He gave Hornsby the slightest of glances.
Dietrich had not expected an answer. He continued, "The Reich's Office of Medical Information gathers statistics regarding accidental deaths and suicides " The inspector brought up the bat again, peering at the label carved midway along the wood. "Who is Lou Gehng?"
"A baseball player," Bell answered after Heydckampf's interpretation. “Like Babe Ruth?"
Bell raised an eyebrow "Yes, like the Babe."
"Why would Cray carve this Gehng's name on a bat?"
"Most baseball bats have a famous player's name on them. Cray carved Gehng's name on his homemade bat to make it look authentic." Dietrich pursed his lips, examining Gehng's name. The Office of Medical Records reports that a person who falls three stories has a fifty percent chance of surviving. A person who falls four stories has a fifteen percent chance And someone who falls five stories, like Jack Cray ostensibly did, has virtually no chance," Janssen nodded vigorously.
"Lieutenant Burke, who is now in the punishment ward, was escaping with Cray," Dietrich said. "Both were on the roof above us. Cray must have lost his grip, slid down the steep shingles, then fallen five stories to a certain death. But none of that happened."
"I saw him fall, Inspector," Heydekampf almost shouted. "Lieutenant, you saw him land." Dietrich moved to the barred window for the second time. The bars were iron, with a width slightly less than a man's wrist. "Cray landed in the yard below this very window." Dietrich walked along the wall to the next barred casement. "These bars would resist almost any force."
He gripped the baseball bat as Major Bell had instructed him. He brought it back, then swung mightily at the iron bars. With a ring the bat bounced off the iron. The bar left a sizable dent in the wood. Dietrich smashed the iron a second time, and again the bat ricocheted off the iron. The bat suffered a second scar. The iron was unscathed.
"But now I go to the window below which the American landed."
Dietrich moved along the wall. "This time I'm just going to yank the bars with my hand."
Dietrich lowered the bat to the floor. He gripped the bar and pulled. It easily came off in his hand. When he gripped the second rod and tugged, it also came away from the window.
The inspector held up both metal shafts. "Burke was up on the roof, five floors above the courtyard, and had two escape suitcases. Sitting on the peak of the roofline, he shoved one case down the shingles, where it fell five floors to the courtyard. It left a swath of broken moss, and the roof looked like a man had slipped down the shingles."
Janssen added in a bemused tone, "And Burke must have thrown those two loose shingles along with the suitcases to make it seem like the American had desperately grabbed at something as he slipped, and had pulled the shingles loose."
"The fistfight over the bagpipes was a planned distraction," Dietrich went on. "The instant the brawl began, Burke pushed the suitcase down the roof and, at the same instant, you POWs pulled aside the bars and Cray leaped from this first-floor window. Cray fell ten feet, not five floors."
"But I saw him fall," Heydekampf objected.
"You heard Cray scream, and turned in time to see him fall a few feet and bounce off the courtyard stones. Lieutenant, your imagination filled in much of his fall. He dropped only from this first-floor window. To further convince you, Burke kicked his legs and slid around a bit up on the roof, and made it look like he had almost fallen."
Heydekampf did not bother translating these last revelations.
Apparently resigned to the course of the conversation, Commandant Janssen offered, "If you look at the tips of those bars, you'll see the mortar used to stick them back in place."
Dietrich
Harry Bell helped himself to a chair. He gave Hornsby the slightest of glances.
Dietrich had not expected an answer. He continued, "The Reich's Office of Medical Information gathers statistics regarding accidental deaths and suicides " The inspector brought up the bat again, peering at the label carved midway along the wood. "Who is Lou Gehng?"
"A baseball player," Bell answered after Heydckampf's interpretation. “Like Babe Ruth?"
Bell raised an eyebrow "Yes, like the Babe."
"Why would Cray carve this Gehng's name on a bat?"
"Most baseball bats have a famous player's name on them. Cray carved Gehng's name on his homemade bat to make it look authentic." Dietrich pursed his lips, examining Gehng's name. The Office of Medical Records reports that a person who falls three stories has a fifty percent chance of surviving. A person who falls four stories has a fifteen percent chance And someone who falls five stories, like Jack Cray ostensibly did, has virtually no chance," Janssen nodded vigorously.
"Lieutenant Burke, who is now in the punishment ward, was escaping with Cray," Dietrich said. "Both were on the roof above us. Cray must have lost his grip, slid down the steep shingles, then fallen five stories to a certain death. But none of that happened."
"I saw him fall, Inspector," Heydekampf almost shouted. "Lieutenant, you saw him land." Dietrich moved to the barred window for the second time. The bars were iron, with a width slightly less than a man's wrist. "Cray landed in the yard below this very window." Dietrich walked along the wall to the next barred casement. "These bars would resist almost any force."
He gripped the baseball bat as Major Bell had instructed him. He brought it back, then swung mightily at the iron bars. With a ring the bat bounced off the iron. The bar left a sizable dent in the wood. Dietrich smashed the iron a second time, and again the bat ricocheted off the iron. The bat suffered a second scar. The iron was unscathed.
"But now I go to the window below which the American landed."
Dietrich moved along the wall. "This time I'm just going to yank the bars with my hand."
Dietrich lowered the bat to the floor. He gripped the bar and pulled. It easily came off in his hand. When he gripped the second rod and tugged, it also came away from the window.
The inspector held up both metal shafts. "Burke was up on the roof, five floors above the courtyard, and had two escape suitcases. Sitting on the peak of the roofline, he shoved one case down the shingles, where it fell five floors to the courtyard. It left a swath of broken moss, and the roof looked like a man had slipped down the shingles."
Janssen added in a bemused tone, "And Burke must have thrown those two loose shingles along with the suitcases to make it seem like the American had desperately grabbed at something as he slipped, and had pulled the shingles loose."
"The fistfight over the bagpipes was a planned distraction," Dietrich went on. "The instant the brawl began, Burke pushed the suitcase down the roof and, at the same instant, you POWs pulled aside the bars and Cray leaped from this first-floor window. Cray fell ten feet, not five floors."
"But I saw him fall," Heydekampf objected.
"You heard Cray scream, and turned in time to see him fall a few feet and bounce off the courtyard stones. Lieutenant, your imagination filled in much of his fall. He dropped only from this first-floor window. To further convince you, Burke kicked his legs and slid around a bit up on the roof, and made it look like he had almost fallen."
Heydekampf did not bother translating these last revelations.
Apparently resigned to the course of the conversation, Commandant Janssen offered, "If you look at the tips of those bars, you'll see the mortar used to stick them back in place."
Dietrich
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