Relaxing On The Rhine

The prompt for the Sturgis Library Writing Group this past week was “relaxing”. My story is a sequel to the one I wrote some time ago called “Lisa”. The location and time frame is Cologne Germany in the 1930’s.

Relaxing on the Rhine

Guido Mara stepped off his barge and climbed the steps to the wide promenade fronting the Rhine River in Old Town Cologne. After fifteen years as an inspector in the criminal police, or Cripo, he was on his way to tender his resignation. Disgusted with the disturbing rise to prominence of Hitler, his National Socialist Party, and the intrusion of its secret police into day-to-day Cripo activities, Guido decided it was time to move on. He managed to secure several contracts to transport freight on his barge, Lisa, to and from ports along the Rhine between Cologne and Rotterdam.

As he stepped onto the promenade, he spotted two men wearing long, black leather trench coats with gray fedoras pulled low over their eyes, approaching him. 

“Gestapo! Bloody Hell,” he muttered to himself.

“Good morning, Inspector Mara. It seems we managed to catch you just in time. Were you going somewhere special?” asked one of the men. He was rail thin with a skeletal face. The eyes above his smile were icy, penetrating, searching.

“Just on my way to headquarters. How can I help you, gentlemen?” Guido fought to remain calm.

“You were observed last night carrying a couple of large sacks across the promenade to your barge. Onlookers thought it suspicious. May we have a look?” the second man asked in an officious tone. His jowly cheeks and upturned nose made Guido think of one word, “Swine.”

“Of course, you may look,” answered Guido, “We were with some of your colleagues searching for vagrants. I discovered a boxcar with several sacks of potatoes trying to avoid detection, so I brought two of them to my boat for questioning. I determined they were indeed potatoes as well as fit for consumption.”

“Jews. You were searching for fugitive Jews. Inspector Mara, not vagrants,” said the swine, “I find your humor disrespectful.” Contempt hung from every word like an icicle.

“I meant no disrespect, sir. Let me take you aboard.”

The skeletal man held up his hand, “NO. You will remain here. We will call you down if we have any questions.”

As the Gestapo agents went to search Guido’s barge, he lit a cigarette and scanned the shops along the promenade. He spotted one of the fishmongers staringat him. Guido waved to the man and called out, “Good Morning, Herr, Schiller! Were you keeping an eye on my boat last night? Thank you!”

In response, the man shouted back, “Bah!” and walked back into his fish shop, shaking his head. Guido chuckled, then pitched his cigarette into the river. The Gestapo officers were calling him to come on board his barge.

They made Guido open the lockers on the deck where all the life jackets and tarpaulins were stored. 

“We see no potatoes,” the skeletal Nazi said.

“Because they are the galley pantry, sir,” replied Guido, “I’ll show you.”

The agents inspected the galley pantry and made Guido open the lockers in his and the crew member’s quarters. After searching the engine room and examining the bilge with Guido’s flashlight, they removed their hats and wiped sweaty brows. 

“What exactly are you gentlemen looking for?” Guido asked.

The skeletal man said, “It appears the information we were given was inaccurate.” He looked at his watch, smiled at Guido, and said, “We’ll leave you now. You will be late for work.”

The other officer said, “It must be nice living on a boat. I think the gentle lapping of the river would make it very relaxing for you.”

Guido ushered them off the barge and began securing its lockers and crew cabins. Entering the galley, he opened the pantry doors and removed the potatoes and some canned goods, exposing the teak panels of the pantry’s back. Giving a gentle push on one of the panels, it sprung open slightly. Removing it completely, he poked his head into a small compartment hidden behind the pantry. 

He smiled at the two children huddled in the compartment’s corner.  “Hello again, Rachel and Paul. Everything is fine; you kids did well. I am going out again. The same rules as before. If you hear people moving about, don’t make a sound until I open the panel.” Their heads bobbed in agreement.

Rachel Edelman asked, “Will you be looking for our Poppa, Herr Mara? The police took him last night. You’re a policeman.”

“I’ll do my best to find him, little Rachel. But he was taken by different police. I’m going to close things up again.”

When everything on the barge was secure, Guido climbed the stairs back to the promenade. He turned to give one more look to the Lisa. “It’ll be some time before I’ll truly be able to relax again.”

Ernie Stricsek

The Sturgis Writers Group

August 29, 2023