‘I guess that would be enough to get you chucked out of McDonald’s.’ Scholz laughed at his own joke. There was silence on the other end of the line. ‘Have you had experience of this type of offender before, Herr Principal Chief Commissar?’ Scholz adopted a more sober and official tone.

‘Similar,’ said Fabel. ‘But your killer seems fixated on the run-up to Karneval. I’m guessing it has some symbolic significance for him.’

‘Him and the entire population of Cologne, Herr Fabel. You don’t have Karneval up there in Hamburg, do you?’

‘No. We don’t.’

‘Karneval is more than you see on the television. It’s not just fancy dress and reciting lame Büttenrede comic monologues in front of the Elferrat. Sorry, the Elferrat is the eleven elected members of the Karneval committee …’

‘I know what the Elferrat is, Herr Scholz,’ said Fabel drily. ‘I’m from Hamburg, not Ulan Bator.’

‘Sorry … anyway, my point is that Karneval defines what it is to be a Kölner. It’s part of our soul. It’s an emotional experience that can’t be explained, only experienced. The fact that this nut-job focuses on Karneval is no surprise. It just tells me that he’s a born Kölner.’

‘I think there’s more to it than that,’ said Fabel. ‘But we can discuss this when I come down to see you.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’ve cleared it with the Polizei Hamburg. I’ll drive down on Friday. I should be there sometime between two and three p.m. Can you fix me up with a hotel? Nothing too fancy. I’m afraid your people will be picking up the tab.’

What else could you expect from a northerner? thought Scholz. ‘Fine …’ he said cheerily. ‘No problem.’

3.

After he hung up from his call to Cologne, Fabel used his cellphone to reach Anna Wolff and asked her to meet him at Maria’s flat.

‘You know that bunch of keys you keep in your drawer, Anna?’

‘Yes?’ she said hesitantly and with a hint of suspicion.

‘Well, bring that with you.’

‘Do I detect a whiff of illegality about this?’ Anna said. Then, more seriously: ‘Is Maria all right?’

‘That’s what I want to establish, Anna. And yes, this is probably illegal, but I dare say Maria won’t file charges.’

‘I’ll meet you there in half an hour.’

Maria shared the floor of her apartment building with two other flats. Fabel rang the buzzers for both but only got an answer at the second, which had the name ‘Franzka’ by the bell-push: a small woman in late middle age and with a weary expression came to the door.

‘The Mittelholzers are both out at work at this time of day,’ explained Frau Franzka.