‘I hope so. I feel like killing someone whose disappearance would make the world a better place,’ Tadeusz said. He spoke with the distaste of a man who has bitten into a fruit and found decay at its heart. Apathy and cynicism had been his alternating companions since Katerina’s death. Everything he did now was an attempt to break free from their suffocating grip, and everything so far had failed. He had no conviction that this afternoon would bring anything different. ‘And since we’ve no traffic cops to hand,’ he continued with a wan attempt at humour, ‘I’ll have to settle for something small and defenceless. Furry or feathered. You bring the guns?’

‘They’re in the boot. Where are we headed?’

‘A nice bit of forest on the edge of the Schorfheide. That’s the great thing about nature reserves. The wildlife doesn’t recognize the boundaries. An old friend of mine owns a piece of land that butts right up against the protected area. And the ducks from the wetland don’t know any better than to fly over his woodland. We should bag some good stuff. He’s lending us a couple of his gun dogs so we can do the thing properly.’ Tadeusz reached inside his jacket and pulled out a burnished pewter hip flask. He unscrewed the top and took a swig of Cognac. He held the flask out to Krasic. ‘Want some?’

Krasic shook his head. ‘You know I always like to keep a clear head round guns.’

‘Speaking of guns and clear heads, what’s the news on Marlene?’

‘Some bitch from Criminal Intelligence has been sniffing around her. She spoke to her in the GeSa, and she’s been back to see her in jail. Marlene’s playing dumb and keeping her mouth shut, but it’s winding her up.’

‘You’re sure we can trust her?’

Krasic gave a lazy smile. ‘As long as we’ve got the kid, Marlene won’t put a foot wrong. Funny how women get about their kids. You’d think they could only have the one, the way they go on about them. They seem to forget that all they’re going to get from them is heartache. Especially someone like Marlene. She should have the sense to realize that any daughter of hers is going to grow up using, or selling herself. But it doesn’t seem to matter to her. She still thinks the sun shines out of the kid’s arse.’

‘Just as well for us,’ Tadeusz said. ‘Where are we keeping her?’

‘I’ve got a cousin who has a smallholding on the outskirts of Oranienburg. The nearest neighbour is half a mile away. He’s got a couple of kids of his own, so he knows how to deal with the little buggers.’

‘And Marlene is convinced this isn’t just a bluff?’