Hauser smacked the palms of his hands on his knees. ‘It’s never enough with you, is it? I sweated blood to get this much, and you want more.’

Krasic slid a hand inside his jacket and produced his wallet. ‘I’m not the only one, am I?’ He peeled off some notes. ‘Here’s your bonus. There’ll be a lot more if you come up with a name.’

Hauser took the money between finger and thumb, as if he’d suddenly remembered this should feel dirty and distasteful. ‘I’m taking a big risk here,’ he complained.

‘You want to try living on a cop’s pay cheque, it’s up to you,’ Krasic said, not bothering to hide his contempt. ‘Is there anything else we should know?’

Hauser replaced his cap on his greying hair. ‘I heard a whisper that one of the Arjouni brothers is trying to move in on some of Kamal’s street dealers. You’re going to have to plug that gap or you’ll lose your distribution.’

‘Thanks for the advice, Karl,’ Krasic said sarcastically. ‘Arjouni’s working for me. So you can leave him alone.’

‘Like Marlene Krebs, eh?’ he sneered. ‘You tied that one up tight, Darko. I hear the daughter’s gone missing too. Very neat piece of work.’

‘It’s called sending a message, Karl. One you should pay attention to.’

Hauser opened the car door. ‘There’s no need to be like that. I’ll be in touch.’

Krasic was gunning the engine before the door was even closed. As he swept the car round in a broad arc and headed for the exit, he muttered under his breath, ‘I can hardly fucking wait.’

Chapter 29

29

He stood under the shower and let the scalding water pour over him. Please God, he would finally feel clean again after this. At least this harbour had decent, private shower rooms. He’d felt dirty ever since he’d fucked that bitch Calvet, and the facilities on board the Wilhelmina Rosen were too primitive to cleanse a man as defiled as she had left him. He had to get rid of the filth before it ate through his skin and poisoned his very soul.

At first, he’d been proud of himself. Taking the bitch like that had showed his grandfather’s shade who was in charge now. But afterwards, with the whore he’d picked up in Köln, he’d lost it. Couldn’t get it up, then when he finally managed it, couldn’t come. Fucking Calvet was supposed to make him stronger, fill him with light and power, but instead her image kept blazing across his tightly squeezed eyes, distracting him, turning him off. He’d felt as useless and pathetic with that Köln hooker as he had in the days before he’d comprehended what he should be doing with his life.