Garden of Beasts

about.”
    “Of course.” Taggert lifted his jacket and allowed one of the SS men to take the pistol from him. He’d expected this. Himmler was, after all, head of the SS, whose primary purpose was guarding Hitler and the government leaders.
    Himmler told another SS trooper to take a look at the sheds and see if he could observe the purported assassin. “Hurry.”
    “Yes, my Police Chief.”
    As he left the pressroom, a dozen armed SS guards filed into the room and spread out, protecting the assembly. Taggert turned to Hitler and nodded respectfully. “State Chancellor-President, several days ago we learned of a potential plot by the Russians.”
    Nodding, Himmler said, “The intelligence we received Friday from Hamburg—about the Russian doing some ‘damage.’”
    Hitler waved him silent and nodded for Taggert to continue.
    “We thought nothing particular of this information. We hear it all the time from the damn Russians. But then we learned some specifics a few hours ago: that his target was Colonel Ernst and that he might be here at the stadium this afternoon. I assumed he was examining the stadium with an eye toward shooting the colonel during the Games themselves. I came here to see for myself and noticed a man slip into a shed south of the stadium. And then I learned to my shock that the colonel and the rest of you were here.”
    “How did he get on the grounds?” Hitler raged.
    “An SS uniform and false identity papers, we believe,” Taggert explained.
    “I was about to step outside,” Ernst said. “This man saved my life.”
    “What about Krupp? The phone call?” Göring asked.
    “Krupp has nothing to do with this, I’m sure,” Taggert said. “The call was undoubtedly from a confederate to lure the colonel outside.”
    Himmler nodded to Heydrich, who strode to the phone, dialed a number and spoke for several moments. He looked up. “No, it was not Krupp who called. Unless he now makes his calls from the Potsdam Plaza post office.”
    Hitler muttered ominously to Himmler, “Why did we not know about this?”
    Taggert knew that conspiracy paranoia danced constantly in Hitler’s head. He came to Himmler’s defense, saying, “They were very clever, the Russians. We only learned about it from our sources in Moscow, by happenstance. . . . But, please, sir, we must move quickly. If he realizes we’re onto him he’ll escape and try again.”
    “Why Ernst?” Göring asked.
    Meaning, Taggert supposed, why not me?
    Taggert directed his response to Hitler, “State Leader, we understand that Colonel Ernst is involved in rearmament. We are not troubled with that—in America we consider Germany our greatest European ally and we want you to be militarily strong.”
    “Your countrymen feel this way?” Hitler asked. It was well known in diplomatic circles that he was very troubled by the anti-Nazi sentiment in America.
    Now able to discard the placid demeanor of Reggie Morgan, Taggert spoke with an edge to his voice. “You don’t always get the full story. Jews talk loudly—in your country and in mine—and the leftist element are forever whining, the press, the Communists, the Socialists. But they’re a small fraction of the population. No, our government and the majority of Americans are firmly committed to being your ally and seeing you get out from under the yoke of the Versailles. It’s the Russians who are concerned about your rearming. However, please, sir, we have only minutes. The assassin.”
    The SS guard returned just then. “It’s as he said, sir. There are some sheds beside the parking plaza. The door to one is open and, yes, there’s a rifle barrel protruding, scanning for a target at the stadium here.”
    Several of the men in the room gasped and muttered indignation. Joseph Goebbels picked at his ear nervously. Göring had unholstered his Luger and was waving it around comically like a child with a wooden pistol.
    Hitler’s voice shook and his hands quivered in rage. “Communist Jew animals! They come to my country and do this to me! Backstabbers . . . And with our Olympics about to start! They . . .” He was unable to continue his diatribe, he was so furious.
    To Himmler, Taggert said, “I speak Russian. Surroundthe shed and let me try to convince him to surrender. I’m sure the Gestapo or the SS can persuade him to tell us who and where the other conspirators are.”
    Himmler nodded then turned to Hitler. “My Leader, it is important that you and