‘Yes, of course. People who go on cruises are repeat offenders. Although the selection here is smaller. If you filter the eighty-seven passengers who were on board both five years ago and two months ago, removing all lone women travellers and pensioners on their last legs, you’re left with thirteen men as possible rapists. And now, hold on tight.’

Diesel paused.

‘What?’

‘One of them is called Peter Pax.’

My cover name?

‘That’s impossible,’ Martin rasped.

‘Well, what do you want me to say, buddy?’ Martin could practically hear Diesel shrug.

‘If you’d got your seahorse badge while at primary school, I’d advise you now to swim back home. I think someone’s trying to pin something on you.’

Yes, and I know who it is.

Martin took hold of the loo paper. ‘His name begins with Yegor and ends with Kalinin.’

‘The ship owner?’

‘The captain might be in on it too, but I’m not so sure, he’s such a weed. Can you find out what cabin this Pax is supposed to have been in?’

Unlike with normal hotels, where it was all down to the benevolence of the receptionist whether you got a sticky cell next to the underground car park or a light-filled sanctuary, when booking cruises you could usually choose your own cabin number.

‘Yes, I’ve got it somewhere. Hang on a mo, I’ll check.’

Martin stood up and flushed.

‘Oh, no, please. Please don’t tell me that while talking to me you’ve been doing what it sounds like,’ Diesel begged in disgust.

Martin didn’t respond to this, but asked him to check another person.

‘Who?’

‘Lisa Stiller, fifteen years old, from Berlin. Her mother’s called Julia and both are on the current passenger list. Please find out who paid for the cruise and where it was booked. And have a look for a video on’ – he had to rack his brains until he remembered the name of the portal that Bonhoeffer had told him about yesterday – ‘on isharerumours or something similar. It’s tagged with the name Lisa Stiller.’

‘What’s the point of that?’

‘Lisa’s fifteen years old and has been missing since yesterday. This video is supposedly the reason for her suicide.’

Diesel sighed. ‘Another child? Bloody hell, what’s going on?’

‘It’s all connected. For example, I saw Lisa yesterday when I was on the way to Anouk on’ – Martin paused – ‘on the lower deck where actually she shouldn’t…’ he muttered, stopping mid-sentence.

What is that?

‘Hello? Hey there? Have you jumped too now?’ he heard Diesel call out.

‘Shut up for a moment.’

The dialling tone inside his head had quietened down, but now there was another noise vexing him. A whole bundle of noises! They must have been there the whole time; it’s just that he’d only become aware of them now.