‘There are escape lines for Nazi war criminals operating across Europe, and from what we gather, they’re far more prevalent in the American, British and French zones than in ours. We want to know more about these escape lines: we want to know who’s on them and where they end up. We think Italy is the main destination, because there are plenty of people there who’ll help them, and they can also then escape through the Italian ports. Friedrich Steiner may well be on one of those escape routes – if you can find out anything about them, it could help us track him down.’

‘You mean you want us to supply you with intelligence?’ Hanne had raised her voice slightly, and Gurevich indicated that she should lower it.

‘I’m suggesting we share information. To show you evidence of my goodwill, there is something about Wolfgang Steiner I didn’t mention. Please be careful about how you use this intelligence, though. Come closer.’

They shifted their chairs so their knees were almost touching.

‘This is in Wolfgang Steiner’s file. You won’t be able to read it, as it’s in Cyrillic script, but it says “possible link with RLB and der Fluchtweg Falke”, followed by the letters FFM, V and T.’

‘Fluchtweg would mean escape route, I think,’ said Hanne, ‘but I’m not sure what Falke means – is it a kind of bird?’

‘It’s a shortened form of the word Turmfalke – a kestrel. I’m not sure who added that note to the file; officers pick up scraps of intelligence and just include them, when really they should be putting in more detail, like where they got it from, and then identifying themselves… but this goes on all the time. People are so busy. My guess is that whoever put that in got it from an interrogation and was in a hurry. I’m trying to track down the officer. My supposition is that this is a reference to an escape line – that’s what der Fluchtweg would mean. Kestrel is probably its code name.’

‘And the initials?’

‘FFM almost certainly stands for Frankfurt am Main: those initials are often used to differentiate it from the smaller Frankfurt, which is on the River Oder and is usually abbreviated to FFO. My guess is that the Kestrel escape line starts in Frankfurt, and the V and the T are the initials of places it goes to, but where those are is anyone’s guess. I have no idea what RLB stands for.’

‘If you say these escape lines end up in Italy, then the V could be Venice,’ suggested Prince.

‘And the T – Turin, possibly?’

‘I think Turin is more than possible. True, it isn’t a port, but it’s near Genoa, which is the main port the Nazis are using. Look, I think we’re guessing, Hanne, but let’s hope this helps you find him. All I ask is that you share with me what you discover about the escape line. In the meantime, I’ll try and find the officer who made that note on the file.’