‘I certainly don’t think that I have any special qualities or credentials,’ said Fabel. ‘It’s more to do with bad luck … having four serial-murder cases in our jurisdiction. And the fact that I have a good team behind me and have had a few lucky breaks.’

‘We all know luck has had nothing to do with it, Fabel,’ said van Heiden.

‘Listen, Herr Fabel,’ said Wagner. ‘There are a number of murder cases that come up every now and then in different parts of the Federal Republic that, for one reason or another, are more complicated than the usual run-of-the-mill killings.’

‘Serial killers, you mean.’

‘No … well, yes, but not exclusively. Everything is changing. We now routinely come across all kinds of more complex cases. Killings with some other dimension to them … political, organised-crime-related, professional murders. That kind of thing. Also cases where the geographical scope of the crime exceeds the boundaries of any single Federal State and the operational scope of any single police force. A contract killer in Bremen might be working for a gangster in Leipzig, for example. Or we might find ourselves faced with a serial killer who uses the autobahn network to kill across the Federal Republic. Or it could simply be that a case is so complex or unusual that the local force simply has no frame of reference for their investigation.’

‘What’s this got to do with me?’

‘Well, as you know, the usual form with cases that extend across the Federal Republic is that the State Prosecutor of the Federal State where the first killing took place takes charge and the BKA provides coordination between the investigating forces. But we live in a much more complicated world. It isn’t just business that is globalising. The Internet is providing a worldwide resource for sex criminals and organised crime is blind to national, far less federal borders.’

‘The BKA want to set up a special unit to deal with such crimes.’ Van Heiden took over. ‘A Super Murder Commission, so to speak. And they want you to head it.’

‘You would still be based here at the Hamburg Police Presidium,’ explained Wagner, ‘and you would still handle Hamburg cases as you have for the last fifteen years, but you would also be given additional staff and resources with which to build the special unit. Whenever there was a case that required your particular skills and perspective, your unit would respond.’

‘I’m very flattered but—’

Van Heiden cut Fabel off. ‘This is not about flattery. And it’s not just about you. This is an opportunity for the Polizei Hamburg to gain Europe-wide – even worldwide – recognition as a centre of excellence in murder investigation, in much the same way as the Legal Medicine Institute in Eppendorf is a global leader in forensics.’

‘But surely this unit would be a BKA unit?’

‘You would remain a full serving officer in the Polizei Hamburg,’ explained Wagner, ‘but seconded to the BKA. There would be an increase in salary to reflect the increase in responsibility. If you wanted, we could leave things the way they are here, but use you in a, well, consultative role in other parts of the country.’