There seemed an eternity of silence. Fabel and Van Heiden exchanged a look. Fabel felt a tingle of electricity. It was Van Heiden who broke the spell.

‘Are you telling us that Angelika Blüm and Ursula Kastner knew each other? That there is a connection between them?’

‘I assumed you knew … with them both being killed by the same person, I mean.’

‘The only link we had between them was you, Herr Doktor Schreiber,’ said Fabel. ‘Now you say they had contact with each other?’

‘Yes. It was Ursula who instigated the introduction. She said she needed a “friendly” contact in the media for background information.’

‘Is that normal?’

‘No. I wasn’t too happy about it. I suspected that Ursula had information on something that she wanted leaked to the press. I insisted she tell me if it was anything potentially injurious to the Hamburg state government. She assured me that she had no knowledge of anything that would attract negative attention to the city government. She insisted it was only for advice.’

‘Did you believe her?’

‘No. I don’t think I did. But I had to take her word for it. And anyway, if she was going to blow the whistle on something to do with the city, she would hardly come through me.’

‘Angelika Blüm never told you what it was about.’

‘No.’

‘Did you ask?’

‘A couple of times, but I didn’t get anywhere. Then I gave up. If you knew Angelika you would understand.’

‘How often did they meet?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t even know if they ever met other than at the Neuer Horizont reception where I introduced them. They maybe met regularly or not at all, or dealt with each other by phone or e-mail. I just don’t know.’

‘Did you invite them both to this function?’

‘No, it so happens they were both there … on business, as it were. Neuer Horizont is a plan to regenerate areas of the city that have missed out on the big schemes, like Hafen City or the St Pauli regeneration, but which may still qualify for federal, state or EU funding.’

Fabel gazed out through the huge stone arched window that faced out back towards the Alsterfleet and the Alsterarkaden. He tried to keep his mind working logically and methodically, but his thoughts were turbocharged by the thrill of epiphany. Previously unconnected trails were now converging. Colliding and sparking off each other in Fabel’s brain. Two out of three victims had been in contact with each other. And both had a connection to property dealings through the city government. He turned back to Schreiber.

‘Who is behind the Neuer Horizont initiative?’

‘A private consortium. The main shareholder is a subsidiary of the Eitel Group. It was Norbert Eitel who held the reception.’ Schreiber shrugged. ‘I’m afraid I’m no fan of Eitel, but the city cannot be seen not to support any initiative that offers potential benefits.’

Another connection. Another spark. ‘I thought the Eitel Group was exclusively a media business?’