‘Any indication that he went anywhere else in the house?’

‘Nothing was disturbed, according to the boyfriend. So no, he didn’t go through her knicker drawer and wank on the bedspread, if that’s what you’re getting at.’

345

Tony could think of nothing polite to say in response. Instead, he went to the window and looked down the garden to the woods beyond.

‘Nothing there either,’ Berndt offered. ‘We checked to see if he’d been watching her from the woods, but there was no sign that anybody had been near the back fence.’

‘I don’t think he stalked her. Not physically, anyway. It was her mind that interested him, not her physical presence,’ Tony said, half to himself. He turned back and smiled at Berndt. ‘Thanks for bringing me out here. You’re right, there’s nothing much to see.’

‘Detective Becker said you wanted to look at the crime-scene photographs. Is that right?’

Tony nodded. ‘If that’s possible.’

‘They’re running an extra set off for you. We’ll have to go down to headquarters to collect them. And then, if there’s nothing else, I can drive you back to the airport. There’s a flight just after two, but if we don’t make that, there’s another one an hour later.’ No offer of lunch, Tony noted. Co-operation with Europol clearly only went so far.

‘That would be fine.’ He smiled. ‘I look forward to being back in Berlin in time for tea.’

Berndt looked at him as if he had just confirmed everything he thought about the eccentric English. Which was exactly what Tony had intended. If Berndt was going to remember anything about this visit, better that than anything else.

Petra bounced into the squad room on the balls of her feet. So far, the operation against Radecki was going to plan. And she had great expectations of what this morning would bring. Even the sight of The Shark staring gloomily into a computer screen wasn’t enough to dampen her good spirits.

‘What are you doing?’ she said, crossing to her desk. ‘I thought I told you to check out Krasic’s associates?’

He looked up, his narrow pinched face expressing indignation. ‘That’s what I’m doing,’ he said. ‘Somebody told me that Krasic has relatives around the city, and I’m trying to track them down through official records. With something like this, Krasic might trust family more than his fellow crims.’

It wasn’t a bad idea. Petra was both surprised and impressed. Maybe they were going to make a cop out of him yet. ‘Good thinking,’ she said. ‘Any joy?’

‘Not so far. I’m having to cross-check all sorts of stuff, it takes ages. How’s your operation going?’