Carol smiled again, genuinely delighted that she was having to stretch for this. If it had been too easy at the start, she would have had to work harder later on. This way, she was getting into her stride, feeling her way through Caroline Jackson’s skin to an argument that would open him up to her. ‘Oh please,’ she said, injecting a little steel into her voice. ‘That line is getting rather tired. Look, I know what you and Colin had going for you. I can give you the addresses of his factories in Essex where the illegal immigrants ended up working for a pittance. I can tell you how many of your imports he handled in the last year. I know where Colin lived, who he drank with, who he was sleeping with – and, before you jump to any conclusions, it wasn’t me. I know who killed him and I’ve got a fair idea why, and luckily it was nothing to do with you or your line of business.’

He started to say something, but she steamrollered over him. ‘You’ll get your turn. Tadzio, I’m not here to cause you problems, I’m here to help you solve them. If you’d rather keep your problems, if you like things to be difficult, fine. I’m out of here. But I don’t think that’s what you want. From what I hear, you’re desperate to sort something out on my side of the water. So why don’t we sit and listen to Act Two while you think about what I’ve said?’

He looked at her as if he couldn’t take in what she’d said. ‘Who sent you?’ he asked.

Carol frowned. ‘Nobody sent me. I don’t work for anybody but myself. If we make a deal, I won’t be working for you either. We’ll be working together. You better be straight about that from the beginning.’

There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. ‘Perhaps you would like to stay for Act Two?’ he said.

Carol patted the seat next to her and smiled pertly. ‘I thought you’d never ask,’ she said.

*   *   *

Petra seemed to embody the cliché of German efficiency, Tony thought as he surveyed the neatly labelled boxes on the living-room floor. The three cases were arranged in order, although the amount of material varied enormously, with almost nothing in the third box.