The girl had shoulder-length hair and ears that stuck out slightly, although this didn’t mar her appearance. On the contrary. He bet that if you saw her in the light, you’d be able to appreciate the striking woman she would be one day.

‘I’m called Anouk Lamar.’

‘Anouk? That’s the French diminutive of Anna, isn’t it?’

The girl smiled. ‘Wow, you knew that?’

‘I know a lot of things.’

‘Really? So do you know why I’m sitting here?’ she said boldly.

Because she had to speak loudly against the wind her voice rose to a high pitch.

‘You’re drawing the sea,’ the doctor said.

She hugged the pad of paper to her chest and grinned. ‘That was easy. What else do you know?’

‘That you’ve no business being here and ought to have been in bed long ago. Where are your parents?’

She sighed. ‘My father’s dead. And I don’t know where my mum is. She often leaves me alone at night in the cabin.’

‘And you find that boring?’

She nodded. ‘She never gets back till late and then she stinks.’ Her voice went quiet. ‘Of smoke. And drink. And she snores.’

The doctor couldn’t help laughing. ‘Grown-ups do that sometimes.’

You ought to hear me. He pointed to her pad. ‘Have you been able to draw anything at all today?’

‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘There were beautiful stars out yesterday, but it’s all dark tonight.’

‘And cold,’ the doctor said in agreement. ‘How about we take a look for your mummy?’

Anouk shrugged. She didn’t appear particularly enamoured of the idea, but said, ‘Okay, why not?’

She managed to stand from the cross-legged position without using her hands. ‘Sometimes she’s in the casino,’ she said.

‘Oh, that’s handy.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I know a short cut there,’ the doctor said, smiling.

He cast a final glance over the railings at the sea, which at this point was so deep that the athlete’s leg probably hadn’t yet reached the ocean floor, then he took the girl’s hand and led her back to the staircase he’d just come from.

1

Berlin

The house that was the venue for the deadly party looked like the kind of place they’d once dreamed of. Detached, with a red-tiled roof and a large front garden behind the white picket fence. Here they would have had barbecues at weekends and in summer put an inflatable pool on the lawn. He’d have invited friends and they’d have chatted to each other about their jobs, their partners’ quirks or just lain on loungers beneath the umbrella, watching the children play.