His words were more valuable to Carol than gold. Just when she’d thought he was delivering a slap in the face, he’d turned it into a caress. She’d waited years to hear this level of personal concern from him, and it had been worth every minute. The knowledge that he cared this much was almost enough in itself. It held its own guarantee for some sort of future. It promised the chance to take things at their own pace, without any necessity for her to push. ‘You have no idea how much it means to me that you’re here. Whatever the reason,’ she said. ‘I’ve been feeling so isolated on this job. Petra’s a star, but she’s not part of Carol Jordan’s life. She’s not going to see if I’m slipping away from myself, because she doesn’t really know what that self is. You do. You can be the Carol Jordan benchmark, you can be my sheet anchor. And you can help me decide how to handle Radecki.’

‘I can try. How did it go last night?’

Carol took him through her first encounter with her target. Tony sat on the sofa, chin propped on his fists, listening intently and asking the occasional question along the way. ‘It sounds to me as if you handled it well. I was afraid he’d be so suspicious of your resemblance to Katerina that he’d refuse to have anything to do with you. But you seem to have got over that hurdle.’

‘Maybe. He’s still not called, though.’

‘He will.’

‘Let’s hope so. But we shouldn’t be spending all this time on me. I don’t want to take you away from the work you have to do on your profile. That’s what you’re here for. That’s the most important thing. Because if this bastard isn’t stopped, he’s going to do it again and again. He’s got to be taken down. And if anyone can make that happen, it’s you.’

‘I hope so. I owe this bastard a death. Or at the very least, the rest of his life behind bars.’ Tony shook his head. ‘I still can’t take in the fact that Margarethe’s dead.’

‘Were you old friends?’