‘You’ve tracked her down?’ asked Fabel.

‘Yes … well, technically no, not Vera Reinartz, I suppose. But I now know why we couldn’t find her on any registered change of address. Vera Reinartz really doesn’t exist any more. She changed her name six years ago. A full legal change of name.’

‘She obviously wanted to put as much distance as possible between herself and what happened to her,’ said Fabel.

‘That’s the strange thing,’ said Tansu. ‘I would have thought that she would have wanted to move as far away as possible. But she’s stayed right here in Cologne. Why change your name but not your location?’

‘I take it you have an address for her?’ asked Fabel.

‘Yes. I thought I’d try to see her today,’ said Tansu.

‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to be there, too,’ said Fabel. ‘And Herr Scholz, of course.’

‘Okay.’ Fabel thought he detected a little defensiveness in Tansu’s tone.

‘I’m pretty sure you’re maybe onto something and it could be the best lead we’ve got.’ Fabel turned to Scholz. ‘I’ve read what Tansu has put together on the case and I agree with her. I think there’s a strong chance that attack is linked to these murders.’

‘And the killing the year after? Annemarie Küppers, the girl who was beaten to death?’ asked Tansu.

‘That I don’t know about. It ties in with the savagery of the beating that Vera Reinartz took, but sits at odds with the other two killings. But I’m not ruling it out. The main thing is that if Vera Reinartz was a victim of our guy and survived, then she’s probably the only person who’s seen him.’

‘I’ll pin down her whereabouts and we can see her this afternoon or evening,’ said Tansu.

They took Scholz’s VW. The address Scholz had for À la Carte Escorts was in Deutz so it took them only a matter of minutes to get there. The street was a mix of small businesses and apartment buildings. There was a restaurant, a bar, a delicatessen and a computer sales and repair store. Scholz referred to his notebook and led Fabel to a doorway between the computer shop and the deli. There were a number of business names listed on the buzzer panel.

‘Here we are,’ said Scholz. ‘À la Carte Escorts. Second floor …’