Fabel found himself speechless. He thought of Vera Reinartz, the pretty if mousy girl in the photographs; of the bright medical student always reluctant to have her photograph taken.

‘Frau Sandow,’ Tansu intervened. ‘Can you confirm that you were originally known as Vera Reinartz?’

The mascaraed eyes narrowed in the masculine face. ‘What’s this all about?’

Fabel took in the café. There were about a dozen customers scattered around the tables. ‘Listen, we’re police officers … is there somewhere private we could talk?’

‘Could you cover for me for a minute or two, Britta?’ Andrea turned back to the three detectives. ‘We can talk in the kitchen.’

‘If you don’t mind me saying, Frau Sandow, you’ve undergone a considerable change,’ said Fabel. He eased sideways to allow Tansu and Scholz to follow him into the kitchen. Andrea Sandow, as Vera Reinartz was now called, was a good head shorter than Fabel, shorter even than Tansu, yet her physical presence seemed to dominate the cramped kitchen. ‘I wouldn’t have recognised you from your photographs.’

Andrea smirked. ‘That wasn’t a considerable change. It was a metamorphosis. Complete and irreversible. Now, what is it you want?’

‘We want to talk to you again about the man who attacked you,’ said Tansu. ‘I know it was a long time ago, but we think he’s attacked other women.’

‘Of course he has.’ Another contemptuous grin. Andrea’s jaw tightened with it, wide and strong, her cheeks creasing with deep dimples. ‘I know why you want to talk to me. I’ve been expecting you. It’s about those killings, isn’t it? The last two Women’s Karneval Nights?’

‘You think it’s the same man?’ asked Tansu.

‘I know it is the same man. So do you. That’s why you’re here.’

‘Why didn’t you come forward, then,’ said Fabel, ‘if you were convinced it was the same man?’

‘What would be the point? You won’t catch him. Ever.’

‘Why did you change your name?’ he asked.

Andrea stared hard at Fabel. A man’s stare. ‘What’s that got to do with you?’

‘I just wondered if it was a reaction to the attack. And if it was, why didn’t you move away from Cologne? You’re not from here originally, are you? Your parents live in Frankfurt, don’t they?’

‘You haven’t told them where I live?’ The sudden foreshadow of anger clouded Andrea’s expression.

‘No, no …’ said Tansu reassuringly. ‘We wouldn’t – couldn’t – give out information like that without your consent.’ Tansu cast a look in Fabel’s direction. He knew why. For some reason there was an atmosphere of hostility between him and Andrea. Mutual hostility. He could understand why she resented the intrusion of the police into the new life she’d built for herself. What he couldn’t understand was why he felt hostile towards her.

‘When did you get into bodybuilding?’ he asked.