‘And, even if you aren’t afraid of what will happen to you,’ picked up Kolski, ‘there’s always the possibility of retribution against your family … either here in Germany or back home in Turkey.’

Fabel nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then tapped the scene-of-crime photograph. ‘Could this fall into that category? Could it be some kind of punishment? Some kind of ritualised warning – you know, a gang thing …’

Buchholz smiled, a little patronisingly thought Fabel, and glanced at Kolski. ‘No, Herr Fabel, this isn’t a “gang thing”. I think you’re safer sticking to your serial theory. Having said that, I don’t like the idea of any link with Ulugbay …’ Buchholz turned to Kolski. ‘Check it out, would you, Lothar?’

‘Sure, Chef.’

Buchholz turned back to Fabel. ‘If Ulugbay had wanted this girl killed then she would have simply disappeared. We would maybe never have got involved. If, on the other hand, Ulugbay had wanted to make an example of her – if she’d cheated him or informed – she would have been found with a bullet through the head. Or at worst, if he really wanted to make a statement, she would have been garrotted. Anyway, Ulugbay is trying to keep a low profile at the moment …’

‘Oh?’

‘Ulugbay has a cousin, Mehmet Yilmaz,’ Kolski explained. ‘Most of Ulugbay’s success has been through Yilmaz’s efforts. Yilmaz has been legitimising large parts of the Ulugbay operation and is reckoned to be the brains behind the more profitable elements of the criminal activity. Yilmaz is boss in all but name. Ulugbay can be a real Arschloch. He’s temperamental, unpredictable and incredibly violent. The times we have come close to nailing the bastard are when he has gone berserk over some insult or threat to his organisation. He doesn’t think – just steams in and starts littering the place with bodies. Yilmaz, on the other hand, is our real target. He keeps a lid on Ulugbay, and makes it difficult for us to get decent evidence. And, although he has been trying to legitimise the business, he is a hard son of a bitch. When Yilmaz kills, it’s planned like a military operation … it’s cold, effective and without evidential traces. His security is unbreakable. Anyway, Yilmaz has been trying to keep a lid on things and keep the organisation’s profile low, so as not to compromise his legitimisation programme.’

‘So you don’t think that they would be involved in anything like this?’

‘Certainly not,’ answered Buchholz. ‘This is not their style at any time but especially not now. Anyway, this guy has killed before, hasn’t he?’

‘Yes. Once that we know about.’

‘And the previous victims had no association with the Ulugbay organisation?’

‘No. Not that we know of.’

Buchholz shrugged and held his palms upwards. After a moment he pointed vaguely at the file in Fabel’s hand. ‘Do you have a copy of the file for us?’

Fabel handed the copy he had brought to Buchholz. ‘This is for you, Herr Hauptkommissar.’