The Heritage Paper

Chapter 83



The loud growl of the angry bear shook the room.

Last night, Youkelstein had his assistant bring over a radio from his apartment so he could listen to election results. It was a bulky relic that looked like something a family would gather around in 1938, listening to War of the Worlds. He still hadn’t accepted that television wasn’t just a passing fad.

Theodore Baer aggressively took control of the airwaves with no hint of the humility that should accompany such a historic defeat. “My fellow Baer Cubs,” he shouted. “They think they have defeated us, but little do they know the fight has just begun! We might have lost the battle last night, but we’re going to win the war!

“They compare Kingston to JFK, but he will go down as the next William Henry Harrison.” After a dramatic pause, he continued, “For those of you who weren’t paying attention in history class, Harrison was the ninth president of the United States. He died thirty-seven days after taking office, giving him the distinction of having the shortest tenure as president of the United States. A record Jim Kingston will break!”

Veronica sighed. She couldn’t believe the fate of the world was in the hands of this narcissistic loud mouth.

“And now that I have your attention, I want to introduce a guest who will further this topic. He has been working on an investigative report concerning Kingston that will blow your minds—so without further ado, I’d like to introduce Hudson Valley Times columnist, and former Newsbreaker correspondent, Zach Chester. But starting today, the only title he’ll be known by is: Jim Kingston’s worst nightmare. Good morning, Mr. Chester.”

“Good morning, Theodore,” Zach’s voice filled the airwaves and it brought a smile to all faces in the hospital room. It was the first time they’d been out of the shadows in days, and it felt liberating.

“Please tell us, Mr. Chester, about your shocking story that will hit newsstands tomorrow.”

“As some people might know by now, a woman named Ellen Peterson recently confessed that she was an intricate member of the Nazi hierarchy during World War II. And that she had arrived in the United States as part of an organized escape plan, which included twelve of the most loyal members of Hitler’s inner circle, who called themselves the Apostles.

“Their mission was to plant the seeds of infiltration that would lead to an eventual return of the Reich. Through my investigation, I learned that some of the notables involved in this group were Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller, Reichsführer-SS Himmler, and Rudolph Hess. Even Hitler’s wife, Eva Braun, took part in the plot. They faked their deaths, using doppelgangers to cover their tracks. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated.”

Veronica was impressed. Zach started a little nervous, but by the second sentence he sounded confident, and more importantly, believable. Well, as believable as he could sound making insane accusations.

Baer played devil’s advocate, “But this Peterson woman had a history of being a nut job. Just weeks earlier she wandered out on a cold night because she saw aliens, correct?”

Zach didn’t fluster. “On the surface, her mental state raises many questions. But we discovered a methodical road map of clues she purposely left behind. It would be impossible to form such a coordinated effort if she were mentally impaired. And earlier this morning I was able to review the contents of a safe-deposit box, which contained considerable evidence to back up her claims.”

“Tell us about this group, the Apostles, and more importantly, how is this related to the election?”

“I think the most important fact would be that the Apostles were based on four elite families embedded within the United States. One of those families was named Kingston, another was Sterling.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you saying that Aligor Sterling, the great champion of the Jewish community, and dare I add, Kingston’s biggest financial contributor, is a Nazi supporter?”

“No, I am saying that he is an actual card-carrying Nazi.”

“And he’s conspiring with the president-elect of the United States? These are some serious claims, but why should anyone believe you? I hope you have more to back up your claims than you’ve shown so far.”

“I don’t expect anyone to believe me. That’s why I think it would be best for Aligor Sterling to tell the story in his own words. My guess is that he’ll be a much more believable witness.”

Baer acted shocked, but he knew very well that Zach had the Sterling tape. It was the only reason he allowed him on the show.

And they played it.

It began with Youkelstein’s voice accusing Sterling of being a German spy named Otto. Sterling not only didn’t deny it, but detailed how he infiltrated the Terezin concentration camp and befriended Youkelstein in preparation for his future existence in the United States. He referred to it as “research.” The tape then morphed into a conspiracy theorists dream, including one of the world’s biggest mass murderers—Himmler—rising up the financial ladders of the United States, under the alias of Jacob Sterling. And Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller working for the CIA.

And the grassy knoll kept growing—Bormann, Rudolf Hess, and the rest of the Apostles were revealed. But Sterling’s most disturbing claim was that he helped finance 9/11 as part of a strategy to blame Israel for the tragedy—in what he believed would spark a revolution, while he himself would serve as the sacrificial lamb.

When the tape shut off, Baer’s voice was filled with smugness. Veronica’s own satisfaction came from Zach keeping his word, by not mentioning Maggie and Jamie. They were so engrossed in their card game that they wouldn’t have noticed anyway. Jamie’s disinterest didn’t surprise her, but Maggie had been front and center in this thing, and often the driving force. Maybe she realized the adult stuff couldn’t compare to being a kid. Veronica sure hoped so.

“I applaud your courage, Mr. Chester, to come out against the powerful Kingston machine,” Baer’s voice roared. “But I’m sure you’re aware that Aligor Sterling will deny that it was him on the tape. He will also attack your credibility—trust me, I know first hand—and he will focus on how your once promising career is now in the toilet, and accuse you of trying to make a big score at any cost. He will also go after the fact that your wife is a crackhead who is doing time in prison.”

Veronica wanted to jump into the radio and knock Baer in the teeth. That was a total cheap shot!

But Zach stayed composed. “It was crystal-meth, not crack.”

“Whatever—you see my point—can you prove that it’s Sterling on that tape?”

“The tape was provided to me by Ben Youkelstein, his longtime partner.”

“Who had a falling out with Sterling, so his motivation could be questioned. And like most of your sources, he was born during the Woodrow Wilson administration, so his cognitive abilities might come into question.”

Whose side was he on?

“I’m sure you can get a voice expert to test it against Sterling’s voice,” Zach said.

“Funny you say that, because we had the world’s premiere voice expert do preliminary tests on the tape, and their initial report is that it is a match.”

“So you are saying it’s a match?” Zach repeated. There was something about his voice—he was up to something.

“Did I stutter? We will do more extensive tests today, but in the meantime, I’d advise Mr. Sterling and Mr. Kingston to get a good lawyer. Good thing I didn’t throw out my acceptance speech, huh?”

“Now that you’ve confirmed that it is indeed Aligor Sterling on the tape,” Zach said, “there’s one other part of it that I’d like to play.”

“The more the merrier.”

When Baer hit play, Youkelstein asked Sterling, “But for your plan to work, Kingston has to win—what if he loses?”

“He won’t lose,” Sterling said firmly, “I’m so confident I bet a billion dollars on it.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know I never leave anything to chance, Ben. That’s why I provided Theodore Baer a billion dollars in a bank account in Zurich. All he had to do to make his money was to make sure he didn’t win the election, even if that self absorbed imbecile couldn’t understand the implications of doing so. But while dumb, he still wasn’t stupid enough to make those anti-Semitic comments the day before an election. And it wasn’t a coincidence that his college term paper suddenly showed up.”

“So the election is fixed?” Youkelstein asked, sounding surprised.

“You fix a sink, an election is bought!” Aligor shouted.

Ding, ding, ding ...

Baer had always bragged about not working with the standard five-second delay because he, to use his words, “wouldn’t want anyone to wallow in ignorance for five seconds.”

Guess he could throw out that acceptance speech, Veronica thought. She smiled at the radio, and she could feel Zach smiling back.