Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation (25 page)

‘I am not sure I have ever known happiness. Günter took pity on me. That is all.’

‘I think it must have been more than that.’

‘His father insisted on our marriage. You had already married, Hildegard. My parents said it was a good idea. They thought I was the only suitable woman left for him.’

‘And you didn’t love him?’

‘I knew he still loved you; but I accepted him. I would be looked after. Everyone told me that. Even him.’

‘You have good friends,’ Hildegard reminded. ‘Otto Pietsch, Karl Fischer . . .’

‘Oh, friends. Yes, of course. They are supposed to bring comfort. Perhaps they will. Karl is always kind to me, it is true. He came this afternoon. That is one thing that will be easier, I suppose. His visits. Günter was always jealous, so suspicious. And there was no cause for him to be so. Karl and I are friends; that is all. He is someone I hope I can trust and in this country that is not always so easy.’

*    *    *

That evening, while walking on the beach where no one could overhear or record their conversation, Hildegard and Sidney discussed the accident once more. ‘I was wondering . . .’ Sidney began tentatively.

‘Go on . . .’

‘My father once had a motorbike with a sidecar, a second-hand Norton with a Swallow two-seater. I think he paid a hundred and seventy-five pounds for it. He let me have a go and it was heavy to handle, I can tell you . . .’

‘I know what you are saying . . .’

‘Quite hard to turn that lot over.’

‘Günter could have fallen asleep . . .’

‘Unlikely on a bend and with the breeze in his face.’

‘We don’t know he had that. In fact we don’t know anything.’

‘I just don’t think we’re getting the full story, Hildegard.’

‘In this country that is normal.’

They both knew that the dead man’s participation in the revolutionary socialist movement had garnered him enough medals to prove that he must have been a member of the Stasi. But surely he was not important enough for this to be some state-sanctioned murder? He was only
der Hecht im Karpfenteich
: a big fish in a small and fairly irrelevant pond.

They would have discussed Günter’s death further but they saw Karl Fischer approach. He was wearing dungarees and was carrying his electrician’s toolbox, telling them that he was on his way to help out a friend. He was reluctant to be dragged into a meeting but once he had been spotted there was no escape. Hildegard offered her condolences, saying she knew that Günter and he had been friends for a long time.

‘We were at school together. We both did well.’

‘Your fathers must have been very proud of you as you grew up,’ said Sidney.

‘We were proof of their beliefs; examples of good parenting, ensuring the health and happiness of the working class.’

‘Was it hard to live up to their expectations?’ Sidney asked.

Karl Fischer put down his toolbox. He could see that this was going to last longer than he had hoped but he didn’t want to appear rude. ‘Hans Leber was the great orator. Werner Jansen, Günter’s father, was more of a politician, like his son. He could play the game. The politicians liked him. When the party leaders came to Rügen they asked for Jansen’s advice.’

‘About what?’

Karl hesitated for a moment, uncertain where the conversation was leading and when he could move on. ‘They wanted to know how to make the island open and accessible to everyone; how to give the workers better holidays. Less private ownership. More state control. The Jansens saw to that. It wasn’t so hard.’

‘Some people found it more difficult,’ Hildegard observed. ‘I heard Otto was upset about the way in which everyone failed to support his father when he ran into all that trouble. I’m sure he must have talked to you about it, even at the festival.’

‘They lost their property. You know that. But Otto’s father was greedy. He didn’t reveal how much he had when they asked him for details. And so he was punished. Günter and his family couldn’t defend him without endangering their own security. Neither could we, I am afraid.’

‘Did your father ever see Thomas Pietsch in prison?’ Sidney asked.

‘Visits were not encouraged. Only his family went. But we all attended the funeral in the spring. It was a sad time. Now there’s another. We must look after each other in our grief.’

‘And you help Maria Jansen?’

‘I try to be a good neighbour. That is all.’ He stopped, hoping that his answer would be sufficient, but Sidney said nothing, forcing Karl to continue. ‘I don’t think Maria has ever been happy.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Hildegard asked.

‘You know the answer. Why do you make me say it? She knew her husband loved you.’

‘That was so long ago.’

‘It doesn’t matter. She never had any confidence. I once told her that she would look lovely if, instead of having her hair swept back so tightly, she had a fringe. It would be pretty. She told me that she was too angry to be pretty. Günter was a bully like his father. I hope Jürgen will not be the same when he finds a woman to love.’

‘Has Maria ever sought your help?’

‘What do you mean?’

What Sidney really wanted to say was this: ‘Did Maria Jansen ask you to murder her husband?’ But he could hardly do that now; even out on an open beach with no one close enough to overhear the conversation. Instead Hildegard explained that everyone was so upset about what had happened that they had started to come up with all sorts of theories. They were all highly improbable, she said. It was just that no one could quite accept that Günter Jansen, a larger-than-life jovial figure, had simply driven off the road.

‘You suspect something else? Something deliberate?’ Karl Fischer picked up his toolbox. ‘I believe that Günter was drunk. It was an accident. These things happen. Fate takes its course. If you think it is something else then you should talk to Otto. His father was the one who suffered at the hands of Günter’s family. I have to leave you now.’

Hildegard agreed with Sidney that Günter Jansen’s recent attempt to acquire a property that had once been the Pietsch family home could be seen as a provocative act.

‘We should see the widow, Sidney. I am sure Hanna Pietsch could tell us things.’

‘Would we need an excuse to go?’

‘My mother is already planning a visit. We just have to find a way of joining her. If her son has only recently found out how culpable the Jansen family were in putting his father in prison all those years ago, then he might have been angry enough to do something about it.’

‘And all the men were together that night. It could have been any one of them, I suppose.’

‘Karl has a soft spot for Maria, Otto may want revenge for his father’s imprisonment, Rolf is owed money. They also know each other well enough to create a conspiracy of silence. But Hanna Pietsch may tell us more. I’ll have a word with my mother.’

Sibilla Leber was immediately suspicious about the visit; why did Sidney have to come too?

Hildegard described her husband’s pastoral gifts and his interest in seeing all walks of life. The fact that Hanna Pietsch lived in social housing was a side of Germany that tourists
never normally saw. A visit would, she said, be an exemplary demonstration of the care given by the communist party to the poorest members of society.

The Pietsch home was salutary proof of how far the family had fallen. Having owned a beautiful twelve-bedroomed Bäderstil villa in the 1950s, mother and son now lived in a concrete block of flats next to a fish-processing plant and a patch of industrial wasteland; reduced to two bedrooms with a tiny lounge and bathroom. Communal washing hung from a shared green, but the large discharge pipes from the factory that snaked around the building compromised any chance of clean air. Sidney thought it would have been hard to live with any pride in such a place.

Hanna Pietsch expressed her sorrow for Günter’s death, especially after such a happy night.

‘It was not so happy at the end,’ Sibilla Leber observed. ‘But fate punishes those who think they can defy it.’

‘I know they all drank too much,’ said Hanna. ‘My son could hardly walk when he came through the door. He slept for most of the next day.’

‘Is he here now?’

‘Otto has gone away for a few days. I am not sure where.’

‘What time did he get home that night?’ Hildegard asked.

‘It was already light. I think it must have been almost five o’clock. I heard him come in. He made such a noise.’

‘And he had been with Günter the whole time?’

‘Karl too. And Rolf. They are good friends.’

‘And do you know if they all left Rolf’s house together?’

‘So many questions,’ Sibilla Leber muttered.

Hanna was unperturbed. ‘I imagine they did. Otto often drives them all home. But his car was outside when I went to
bed. I checked because I thought he was home already but he was not. Then I was glad he had not taken it. I do not like it if he drinks too much. I think Karl must have been driving them. They never tell me. He has a car too. He can afford a better model. He knows how to work the system.’

‘And Otto does not?’ Sidney asked.

‘He did not have such a fortunate start in life. It was hard for him to find work. The authorities thought we were decadent and so we had to look even poorer than we were. It was difficult to do this at first and then, in time, it became easier and easier. We became very poor. Otto still drives his father’s car. It is old, like me, and it keeps breaking down, also like me. It makes him so cross.’

‘Is he often angry?’

‘With his father for dying; and with me for living.’

Hanna Pietsch explained how they had stayed in the same flat for over fifteen years. It was not how they had once lived, but she could not complain and she did not want to draw attention to herself with the authorities, believing that the limitations on her freedom were mitigated by the fact that the state would always look after her.

Sidney was impressed by her forgiving attitude, considering what had happened in the past, and he said so.

‘You know about that?’ Hanna asked.

‘He knows about everything,’ Sibilla Leber interrupted, before muttering the word
neugierig
once more.

‘I suppose everyone has heard the story,’ Hanna answered, ‘even tourists like you.’

‘My husband is not a tourist,’ Hildegard pointed out, but it didn’t matter. Hanna Pietsch didn’t seem to worry who was listening to her.

‘Public shame, no matter how long ago, can never become a secret. Our lives are summed up in so few ways: Sibilla is the one whose husband was a communist hero; Günter was the one with the unhappy wife; I am the old widow whose husband was in prison.’

‘Did your husband blame anyone for his imprisonment?’ Hildegard asked.

‘It was only to be expected.’

‘In private, did he think Günter’s father was responsible?’

‘He didn’t like to see his friend profit at our expense. But you know what they say?
Wo Geld kehrt und wendt, hat die Freundschaft bald ein End
. All friendships soon turn cold when money is involved.’

Sidney took over once more. ‘Was your son aware of his father’s feelings?’

‘Otto did not know the Jansen family was directly responsible. He only found out recently, after my husband died. Someone told him at the funeral.’

‘And was he angry?’

‘I think so. But he didn’t behave any differently in public. Only at home. Emotion can be dangerous in this country. People do not like to talk about how they feel. It makes them vulnerable. Then others can take advantage.’

Sibilla Leber said that she was surprised Hanna was speaking so freely.

‘I am too old to care,’ the widow replied. ‘What can they do to me?’

‘Do you know where Otto is?’ Sidney asked.

‘He just said he was leaving for a few days. He wanted to get away. He never tells me where he is going. He doesn’t have to, I
suppose. He is a grown man. That does not mean I do not keep the food ready for him. But it’s hard. Do you have a son, Mr Chambers?’

‘No. I have a beautiful daughter. Anna.’

‘My husband always wanted a boy but I think I would rather have had a little girl. They are better at looking after their parents.’

Sidney could see that Sibilla Leber was about to interrupt and contradict this statement but thought better of it.

Hanna Pietsch continued. ‘Now I am old I do not know what will become of me. It would be easier if I still believed in God but too much has happened for me to do that.’

‘He is still there,’ said Sidney, ‘waiting for you.’

‘I cannot hear him calling. Perhaps it is too late for his mercy.’

Sidney leant forward. ‘God’s love will not let us go. He is with us. His love surrounds us. His call still summons us.’

‘Then he may have to wait a long time. I’m tired now. I do not like these questions. Please leave me.’

As they left the building, Sidney put his arm around Hildegard. She was shivering. He saw how sad this visit home was making her. He wished they had not come.

The following day the Chambers family drove off to the Jasmund woods above Saßnitz to cheer themselves up a bit. Anna had been promised a trip to an enchanted forest where she could imagine all her favourite fairy tales with woodland settings coming to life:
Hansel and Gretel
,
Little Red Riding Hood
,
Snow White
and
Rapunzel
. Hildegard said they would discover an almost holy wilderness, the true and ancient Germany amidst the high trees, shallow ponds and sunlit clearings. It would be
their own adventure, just the three of them, alone and together in a homeland she had always known and loved.

She hummed the Bach chorale ‘Now all the woods are sleeping’ as she drove up the tree-lined hill on the edge of Saßnitz, passing a church that was almost entirely hidden by forestation. They then found themselves in a vast and eerie landscape, gravid with mystery and possibility. There were no lower branches on the densely planted beech trees; nor was there bracken on the ground to obscure the view. Instead, the forest stretched out before them, immense, unbounded and unknowable. There were paths to prevent them getting lost but it was difficult to tell where any of them led. There was no horizon; only an infinity of possibility. After walking for almost an hour, the family sat in a little hollow, enjoyed a picnic, and then lay down and looked up at the sky.