‘I wouldn’t really describe it as a friendship. We were colleagues with some common interests. I stayed at her house for a couple of nights once. We talked about collaborating on a paper, but we never got round to it. We e-mailed a few times a year, exchanged cards at Christmas. So, not friends, but more than mere acquaintances. I liked her. I liked her a lot. She was imaginative, intelligent. She was doing good work. And she had a son. She adored him.’ He shook his head. ‘What does that do to a kid’s head? He must be seven, eight, something like that. And he’s going to have to grow up knowing somebody treated his mother like a piece of meat.’

‘Will you let me help?’

Tony looked surprised. ‘Don’t you have enough on your plate?’

‘I’m probably going to have plenty of free time on my hands. When I’m not with Radecki or writing up my reports, I’ve got nothing else to do.’

He frowned, considering. ‘I’m working at Petra’s apartment. Obviously, you can’t come there in case you’re being watched. But if I can talk through my ideas with you, that would be a big help for me. You’re always good at coming up with the off-the-wall idea that nobody else gives house room to.’

‘Great.’ Carol smiled. ‘So when do you start?’

‘I made a start last night.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Ideally, I should get over to Petra’s now so I can start drafting out some ideas.’

‘Do you want to get together later?’ she asked, rising to her feet.

‘We can e-mail securely, right? Let’s arrange it that way.’ He stood up and crossed to her, tentatively putting his arms round her. ‘I’m glad I’m here.’

‘Me too.’ She turned her face to his. They smiled at each other, then let go. For the first time, Carol thought, it felt as if they had all the time in the world.

Chapter 23

23

Tadeusz Radecki was restless. Sleep had eluded him for hours after he’d returned from the opera. The encounter in his private box would have been unsettling under any circumstances, speaking as it did of someone having researched him as thoroughly as he investigated anyone he had dealings with. But beyond the natural discomfort of knowing he’d been studied, this confrontation with so close a simulacrum of what he’d so recently lost had left him feeling that the world had turned upside down.