Petra walked into the health club, gym bag over her shoulder. Setting this place up as a meeting point had been one of her best ideas. The minimum membership period was three months, and she was determined to make the most of it. She had already spent an hour working out in the well-equipped gym first thing that morning. She’d told Plesch she’d dropped by to book the private sauna for that afternoon’s debrief, but she’d left herself enough time to take full advantage of the facilities. This liaison job was certainly giving her a taste for the good life. The opera last night, lunch in a restaurant that was well outside her salary bracket, and access to one of the best leisure clubs in the city. All this and the best possible chance to nail Radecki.

Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games. When Carol had e-mailed her to pass on the details of her lunch date with Radecki, Petra had had to use all her charms to get a last-minute table somewhere so fashionable. Even worse, she’d had to take The Shark along with her for camouflage. He’d been the only member of the team who wasn’t too busy to come out to lunch. It really was a pity that Marijke wasn’t a Berlin cop, she’d thought regretfully, and not for the first time. The Shark had bored her stupid with tales of his attempts at digging up information on Marlene Krebs and her missing daughter, but at least she’d been able to tune him out and keep an eye on Carol. And when he’d suggested he accompany her that afternoon, she’d sent him off to chase his tail again. She reckoned that there weren’t many people Darko Krasic would trust to look after Marlene’s kid, so she told The Shark to abandon Marlene for now and concentrate on finding out who Krasic might have dumped Tanja with. He wouldn’t get anywhere, of course, but at least it would keep him out from under her feet.

Petra collected the sauna key from the front desk and went through to the changing rooms. Carol wasn’t due for another twenty minutes, so she reckoned she had time for a quick swim. She ploughed up and down the pool for a dozen lengths, thinking about the serial killer case. There was still nothing from Europol, but, realistically, she couldn’t expect anything before tomorrow at the earliest. At least Bremen hadn’t questioned her request for copies of their case material. Sometimes there were distinct advantages to working for Criminal Intelligence. It might piss off local officers, but she could always pull the ‘need to know’ line when she really wanted access. She hoped Tony had found it useful. A profile would give them a head start, she knew.