Petra stared off into the middle distance, examining what Carol had suggested from every possible angle. It would play, she thought. She wouldn’t make quite as big a splash as she had hoped, but still, she’d get the credit for picking up on the first known case. And she might even end up as the officer in charge of co-ordinating the inquiry, since it could then be claimed as a German case and nobody would want to leave it in the hands of the woodentops in Heidelberg. But though they might not be overly smart in Heidelberg, they weren’t completely stupid. ‘There’s only one problem,’ she said.

‘Go on.’

‘I asked for the Heidelberg case details to be resent to me last week. If there’s a new investigation opened up, they’re likely to remember that.’

‘Bugger,’ Carol said. ‘You’re right, they won’t have forgotten that. Look, let’s get some food and have a think. Maybe a solution will come to us once we’ve woken up our taste buds.’

They made their way to the buffet and loaded up their plates with an assortment of starters. For a while, they ate in virtual silence, breaking it only to comment on the quality of the food. Halfway through a chicken satay stick, Petra suddenly beamed. I’ve got it, I think. They sent that case to us originally because they thought it might be connected to organized crime. Now, Radecki’s network extends as far as the Rhine and the Neckar. I could say that, in preparation for this operation, I was pulling in everything that might have a possible link to Radecki. ‘I’m notoriously obsessed with this case. Nobody will think twice about me grasping at straws.’

Carol thought it over. It was thin, but it wasn’t as if it would have to stand up to detailed scrutiny. Once a serial killer investigation was mooted, nobody would be seriously wondering how the show got on the road in the first place. ‘It’ll do,’ she said. One corner of her mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. ‘Somehow, I have the sense that you’re not bad at blagging your way past your bosses.’

Petra frowned. ‘Blagging? I don’t understand this word.’

‘Talking your way out of a tight spot.’

‘I’ve had lots of practice. Thank you for your help with this.’

Carol shrugged. ‘No big deal. You’re welcome. You needed a fresh eye on the situation, that’s all.’

Petra pushed her empty plate to one side. ‘There’s one other thing about this killer that is bothering me.’