Tadeusz pulled out a chair for her, but didn’t sit himself. Instead, he leaned against the parapet of the box, his back to the auditorium. Behind him, the low buzz of conversation swirled upwards from the stalls. He folded his arms across his chest and studied her as she settled into the velvet upholstery. ‘So, Ms Jackson, we are private. Why are you here?’

‘I know – that is, I used to know Colin Osborne.’

Radecki raised his eyebrows and his mouth quirked in a ‘so what’ expression. ‘Should that mean something to me?’ he asked.

Carol smiled broadly and enjoyed the spasm of reaction across Radecki’s eyes that provoked. She had him, she knew. He was seeing Katerina in front of him and, in spite of his attempts to maintain a cool facade, he was unsettled. Which was precisely what she wanted. ‘Considering how much business the two of you did together, I think he’d be very hurt that you’ve forgotten him so quickly.’

‘You must be mistaken, Ms Jackson. I don’t recall ever having done business with a Mr … Osborne, did you say?’ He was aiming for genial indulgence, but he wasn’t hitting the mark. There was a wariness in his posture that might have escaped many observers. But Carol had learned her lessons, from Tony and from others, and she recognized his unease. Now she was in the thick of it, she was starting to enjoy herself, feeling the power she had to control this situation.

‘Look, I understand why you’re being wary here. You know how Colin died, so of course it makes you edgy, having some strange woman walk through the door and start talking about him. But I know that you guys made a lot of money together, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.’

He shook his head, a tight smile failing to loosen up his face. ‘You must have the wrong person, Ms Jackson. The only business interest I have is a chain of stores that sell and rent videos. Now, your Mr Osborne may well have been one of our suppliers, but I employ staff to deal with people like that. You don’t think I conduct the day-to-day purchase of stock myself, do you?’ His mild air of condescension was well done; he was recovering control of himself by the second. She couldn’t afford to let that happen. Not quite yet.

Carol leaned back in her chair, bidding for the relaxed look. ‘You’re very good,’ she said. ‘No, really, you are,’ she added as he tried a look of mild surprise. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d fall for the “legitimate businessman” line. But I didn’t come all the way to Berlin to talk about videos, Tadzio.’