After the briefing, Fabel called Anna, Paul, Werner and Maria into his office. He told them about the meeting with the Eitels that afternoon and asked if both Maria and Werner would come along.

‘I want to outnumber them … or at least match their numbers,’ said Fabel when asked why. ‘There are two of them and I suspect they will have at least one lawyer present. I just want to make our presence felt.’

Fabel had the Klugmann murder weapon and the full report back from Brauner. He updated everyone on the background to the gun and what Hansi Kraus had said about the shooters. Fabel invited opinions.

‘Looks to me like we were meant to find the gun,’ volunteered Maria, ‘and Kraus screwed things up by being there and picking it up first. Someone wanted us to think that it was a Ukrainian hit.’

‘But they would have known that it looked contrived,’ said Fabel.

‘That’s only because we have someone who overheard them and can identify that they were German,’ said Werner. ‘If we didn’t have that we could have read the deliberate leaving behind of the gun as some kind of message … a claim of responsibility.’ He frowned. ‘There’s something odd going on with Hansi Kraus, Chef.

‘I got a full statement from him last night and we went through some of the photo files. Then I took him to the canteen for something to eat. I don’t know what the hell got into him but all of a sudden he said he had to go. I asked him what the hurry was but he didn’t say anything that made any sense. He promised to come back in today, but I said he’d have to stay a little longer to check through some more mug-shots. I sat him down at a table and went up to the counter – when I came back he was gone. That’s when you tried to get a hold of me … I was running around trying to find him.’

‘But you got his statement?’ asked Fabel. Werner confirmed that he had. ‘I wouldn’t worry about him taking off, Werner. He has a habit to feed and, when I last saw him, he was looking particularly ropy. We’ll pick him up if he doesn’t come in.’ Fabel turned to Maria. ‘Did you get the information I asked for on the Eitels?’

Maria handed Fabel a folder she had brought with her. ‘Eitel senior is not a pleasant piece to research. My notes are all in there, but to summarise … Wolfgang Eitel is seventy-nine years old. He is originally from the Passau region of Oberbayern. He was a member of the Hitler Youth until 1942 when he enlisted in the SS. Like most SS swine, he seems to suffer from selective amnesia, but the records, as far as they can be trusted, show that he started as an SS Untersturmführer – a second lieutenant – and was a Hauptsturmführer – a captain – at his time of arrest by the Allies.’