The prisoner peered anxiously at the people gathered in the room. Hanne suspected he was having trouble focusing. ‘My wife, is my wife here? She knows nothing! I tell you, she’s a loyal German. I have wronged her and my children terribly. I beg of you to spare them. For me, I deserve my fate, I—’

‘Shut up, Bergmann! We do not regard your wife as innocent and she will certainly never see your children again. I can offer you a quick end, or a more painful one. For the final time, tell me: where is Peter Rasmussen?’

Bergmann shook his head in an almost manic way. ‘I tell you, I have no idea whatsoever. I was surprised when he turned up with Knudsen. I never liked him or trusted him. I beg of you…’

Lange nodded, and the two guards dragged a whimpering Bergmann to a platform in the corner of the room. His wrists and ankles were bound and a wire dangling from the ceiling was placed round his neck. As the noose was tightened, his face turned red and his eyes bulged. Another nod from Lange and the platform was pulled away. Hanne tried to avert her gaze, but she was thumped in the small of her back.

‘Watch!’

She’d expected it to be quick, but it was anything but. She tried to focus her mind on something else but found it impossible. The sound of Bergmann gasping for breath and then choking went on for far longer than she could bear.

As she was led back to her cell, Manfred Lange told her it had taken Bergmann three minutes and twenty seconds to die. ‘It usually takes longer!’

Gruppenführer von Helldorf tried not to look at the man from the Gestapo with too much obvious disdain.

‘I see you’ve killed another witness, Lange.’

‘He was found guilty by the People’s Court. I am surprised you question the verdict.’

‘And now you want our help again?’

‘We have drawn a blank in our hunt for Peter Rasmussen. The woman Jakobsen is not proving helpful. We shall have to resort to our tried and trusted methods or put her before the People’s Court.’

‘Whatever you do, Lange, keep her alive, eh? She’s the only link with Rasmussen you have left. We can carry on looking for him, but she’s no use dead. Put her in a camp by all means, but don’t go and kill her too, at least not until we find Rasmussen.’

The afternoon following her encounter with Marit, Hanne had a few unexpected moments to pause and gather her thoughts. She was in the field, digging away at the unforgiving soil, when two prisoners began fighting and the guards all rushed over. She supported her weight on the spade and looked around as she caught her breath.

It could be worse.