‘Indeed. And he did very well there. He was not the restaurant manager, but he rose to be a senior waiter. It was probably not too difficult from that to pass himself off in Dublin as being more accomplished in his trade. So it seems that the respectable Herr Werner who moved from London to establish his fine restaurant in your city is not everything he seems or claims to be. He’s able to pass himself off in the restaurant trade, but he’s also got a record for violent crime. He’s a thief. A very successful one. A skilled fraudster. And, it seems, not just a career criminal but a very clever man.’

It was as if something like a child’s jigsaw had been rearranged and fallen into place in Swallow’s head. Carmody was less likely to be Alice Flannery’s murderer than a potential witness. Werner was the more likely perpetrator of the crime. He had motive, means and opportunity. And he was no stranger to violence.

‘I think, Johann, that I’ll need to take a formal statement from Carmody. His price will be that you release him. I’ll take him off your hands and bring him back to Dublin. Would you be willing to witness and countersign his statement this afternoon? I’d like to depart as soon as possible.’

‘Happy to do that, Joseph. But first we’ll have lunch. You haven’t experienced the delights of the Kriminalpolizei canteen.’

They lunched on the canteen dish of the day, thick stew, washed down with Bavarian Hofbraü. The stew was good, with hot spices and cubed chunks of lean meat. The beer was sharp and zesty.

‘It’s called goulash,’ Pfaus said. ‘The Hungarians make it with beef, or whatever they can get, but the canteen cook is Austrian, so he uses veal.’

Swallow’s eyes watered as the spices hit his palate. Pfaus chuckled.

‘That’s paprika pepper. Very cleansing.’

Swallow took a mouthful of Hofbraü to quench the fire in his throat.

‘So,’ Pfaus said, forking veal into his mouth, ‘you believe you are moving closer to solving one of your murders. But there have been other crimes, as you told me. Do you still believe they are connected?’

‘I don’t know,’ Swallow answered. ‘If your countryman Stefan Werner is responsible for the death of Alice Flannery, I can’t see how or why he’d have any involvement in the other cases.’

‘Then that is good news,’ Pfaus said. ‘You’re not dealing with what our English colleagues refer to as a multiple or mass killer; your murders are separate, individual crimes.’

Swallow shrugged.

‘You’re probably right. I don’t have all the answers my superiors would like to have. Maybe I can just clear up one problem at a time.’

Pfaus nodded.