Winning Texas (5 page)

“
Nice of Jake. Tell him hello.
”

Despite her attempt to play it down, Annie felt excitement deep inside her body. Just thinking of Jake affected her powerfully and that didn
’
t end when she broke up with him three years ago. She tended to find other men pallid in comparison. He
’
d been a wildly electric lover, with a knowing confidence about her needs and wants that she
’
d found in no one else. She still dreamed about having sex with him, reveling in his imagined closeness and waking up desolate.

“
Sorry, didn
’
t mean to dwell on a sore subject,
”
Wurzbach said.
“
Jake
’
s told me more than once he should have married you instead of reconciling with Jeannie.
”

“
He made his choice,
”
Annie said.
“
But that
’
s another story. Let
’
s not waste your time. Tell me why you
’
re interested in the Nation of Texas.
”

“
Can you keep this information confidential for the time being?
”
He leaned forward and looked at her intently.
“
When I
’
m ready to go public, your newspaper can have it first.
”

She nodded, noting that his smile had vanished. He looked around quickly before lowering his voice, though no one was looking their way.

“
I
’
m a proud German Texan whose ancestors came to the Hill Country in the 1840s,
”
he said.
“
Growing up in Fredericksburg, my family
’
s heritage was really important to us, as it is to most people in the area with German ancestors.

“
About three months ago, I started meeting with business and civic groups about trying to get the state to designate ten counties as German Texas,
”
he said.
“
A bunch of us have talked about the idea for years, but it was the first time we
’
d gone public with it to the local media.
”

“
What exactly would that mean?
”
Annie asked.

“
We
’
d get the legislature to do certain things, like requiring signs in German and English and emphasizing German language and cultural education in schools. We
’
d ask for money to help make those things happen.
”

“
Nothing wrong with that, I guess,
”
she said.

“
We
’
d also revive a lot of traditional clubs with German dancing, shooting and games,
”
he said.
“
The state
’
s biggest outlay would be for a German Texas museum and cultural center in Fredericksburg.
”

“
That all sounds like a quaint throwback in today
’
s world,
”
Annie said.
“
Do you think many folks in the Hill Country really care about its German heritage?
”

“
Absolutely. We
’
ve done private polling and the idea is a hit. So many people have German ancestry and strong ties to their roots. But even those who don
’
t are excited about the economic possibilities.
”

“
Like what?
”

“
Tourism, Annie,
”
he said.
“
German Texas could attract more visitors and industry to our small towns. We could use our new status to bring in businesses like German-style craft breweries and maybe German industries like Mercedes-Benz.
”

“
Sounds intriguing. So what
’
s the problem?
”

Wurzbach slumped in his chair and lowered his voice again.

“
We believe the Nation of Texas is doing everything it can to sabotage us.
”

“
Do you have any evidence?
”
Annie asked.
“
The secessionists are operating underground since the scandal. Have any members contacted you?
”

“
Indirectly, yes. I
’
ve gotten hate mail from people who claim proud membership in the Nation of Texas. Most is unsigned, but it all contains the same thread of bigotry.
”

“
Can you give me examples?
”

“
Most emails talk about fulfilling the state
’
s destiny, vowing that nothing will stop the Nation of Texas from making Texas an independent republic, like it was after the Texas Revolution.
”

“
They
’
ve been saying that for years,
”
she said.

“
But they go much further, saying the new country of Texas won
’
t tolerate German Texans, who are just Nazis in disguise. One message even threatened death to any German Texan who dares to interfere in the Nation of Texas
’
s goal of winning Texas.
”

“
Winning Texas? That
’
s an interesting way to put it,
”
Annie said.
“
The Nation of Texas hasn
’
t come close to winning Texas
–
and probably never will.
”

“
They
’
ve left no doubt where the group stands.
”

“
Sounds ugly,
”
she said.
“
Have you gotten the local police involved?
”

“
Not at first,
”
he said.
“
But then bad things started happening, mostly to me since I
’
m the person out front. Several of my bakeries have been vandalized and my car damaged. But the worst thing that happened was to my dogs.
”

“
Your dogs?
”

“
My wife has raised Portuguese Water Dogs for years. It
’
s a fairly rare and expensive breed. The dogs look like big poodles, but poodles
’
coats are curly and the Portuguese have wavy coats. The Obama family got two Portuguese a while back and their dogs attracted some publicity.
”

“
Yeah, I remember the pictures. Good-looking animals.
”

He stopped, took a deep breath and continued.

“
We had three full-grown Portuguese that were our family
’
s pets. One morning, I found them dead in our back yard. Their throats had been cut and their bodies mutilated. My wife and daughters
–
well, all of us
–
were devastated.
”

“
That
’
s horrible,
”
Annie said, noticing that Sam
’
s eyes had grown wet. She felt shaken. She loved her cats and felt that people who abused animals were twisted in some unspeakable way.

“
Was anyone arrested?
”

“
No, they were careful not to leave evidence.
”
He was quiet for a moment, trying to regain his composure.

“
Since all of this happened, the Fredericksburg police have kept an eye on things as best they can,
”
he said.
“
We
’
re moving ahead to formally open our campaign for German Texas soon. But I
’
m worried about what might happen next.
”

“
Why do you think the secessionists see German Texas as a threat?
”

He trained his eyes on the sidewalk outside the restaurant for a moment. Finally he spoke again.

“
The German Texas culture emphasizes military weapons and marching. One of our major proposals is to develop an active gun club in each county whose members could serve as auxiliary police.

“
That
’
s designed to help short-staffed departments, but a lot of the hate mail focused on how wrong it would be to arm the filthy Nazis.
”
He shook his head.

“
Isn
’
t that a fairly controversial idea?
”
Annie asked.
“
The Nation of Texas always bragged about creating its own militia, which made people nervous. Aren
’
t you suggesting the same thing?
”

“
Not necessarily,
”
he said.
“
We see German Texas as a special enclave inside our state. We could help make it safer. We
’
re not suggesting that our territory be independent of state control.
”

Wurzbach looked at his watch. Annie wondered if he wanted to short-circuit the interview.

“
I didn
’
t realize how late it
’
s getting. I need to get to my other appointment,
”
he said.
“
Shall we go?
”

“
Sure. One of my reporters heard something about your German Texas campaign,
”
she said as they walked out.
“
Maggie Mahaffey
’
s tied up with the legislature right now, but she plans to contact you for an interview.
”

“
I
’
ll be more than happy to talk to her,
”
he said.
“
Why don
’
t you come up to Austin? I
’
ll bet Jake would enjoy seeing you.
”

“
I
’
m not so sure about that,
”
Annie said.
“
But I enjoyed our lunch and want to keep in touch. One thing
–
please don
’
t underestimate the Nation of Texas. Those folks may have gone underground, but they
’
re still ruthless and could be deadly.
”

“
I promise I
’
ll be careful, Annie,
”
he said, grasping her hand.
“
I
’
ll keep you posted.
”

She walked the two blocks back to the office, oblivious to the heat that shimmered through airless caverns between the tall buildings. She usually enjoyed views of the skyline, but today she was distracted. She thought about the secessionist threats Wurzbach had described, but her mind kept coming back to Jake Satterfield
’
s breakup with his wife. For a heady few months four years ago, she
’
d been the fulcrum of a love triangle involving Jake Satterfield and secessionist candidate Tom Marr. Marr had dazzled her with his looks, intelligence and charm, but she couldn
’
t accept his secessionist views. She
’
d broken off their friendship and cemented her relationship with Jake Satterfield. She still wondered sometimes if she
’
d made the right choice.

CHAPTER 5

Kyle Krause sat with his laptop open on a polished-wood, round table at his Texas Girls strip club a few miles west of downtown Houston. He
’
d located most of his establishments farther north or east, out in the boondocks where the laws were ignored and the neighborhoods more acquiescent to the presence of adult businesses.

Krause stayed out late most nights visiting his clubs, so he
’
d slept in as usual. He
’
d eaten a light breakfast after exercising for two hours with his trainer at his condo. He
’
d put in a roomful of equipment when he bought the showy unit, including a stair stepper, treadmill and weights. He worried about pushing 40 and had stepped up his routine to shed weight.