Though it pained Krasic to see his boss hurting, he walked out of the apartment with a spring in his step. It looked as though they could finally start concentrating on business again. He had one or two ideas of his own, and he guessed that the time would soon be ripe to broach them. If there was a niggle of concern at the back of his mind about the mysterious identity of the bike that had caused Katerina’s death, he wasn’t going to think about it now. Paranoia was for the weak, and Krasic knew he wasn’t one of them.

Chapter 21

21

Tony walked through the arrivals gate at Tegel Airport, scanning the meeters and greeters. Over to one side, he saw a tall, slim woman with spiky black hair holding a small placard that read, ‘Hill.’ He moved towards her, a tentative smile on his face. ‘Petra Becker?’ he asked.

She extended a hand and they shook. ‘Dr Hill. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

‘Tony please,’ he said. ‘Thanks for coming out here to fetch me.’

‘Not a problem. You saved me having to listen to one of my colleagues complaining that I gave him the impossible task of tracking down a missing six-year-old.’

He raised his eyebrows in a question. ‘I didn’t think that was your kind of case.’

Petra chuckled. ‘It’s not normally. This particular six-year-old is being held hostage by Carol’s friend Radecki against her mother’s good behaviour. And I want her mother’s co-operation, so I have to find the child. But you don’t need to think about that. You’ve got more important things to deal with. Anything I can do to help, just ask.’

She’d already done plenty, he thought, as he followed her to her car. After reading Carol’s e-mail, he’d booked himself on the first flight to Berlin, told his departmental secretary there had been a sudden death in the family and that he was taking compassionate leave as of now. He knew he couldn’t call Carol, but he had Petra Becker’s name and he knew she worked for Criminal Intelligence. A few phone calls had tracked her down, and she had reacted with delight to the news that he was coming to Germany. He hadn’t bothered to explain the reason for his sudden decision; he didn’t want her changing her mind about having him on board because he had too close a relationship to one of the victims.

‘I’ll need somewhere to stay,’ he had told Petra. ‘It’d be helpful if you can book me into the same place as Carol. I know she’s probably being followed, so it’s important that there’s somewhere we can meet where we’re not going to be spotted. If we’re in the same building, it should be easier for us both.’