At last, his patience was rewarded. There was no mistaking Caroline Jackson with her poignant echo of Katerina Basler’s beauty. She stood near the window, her mouth moving in silent speech. Then, right next to her, the man popped up again. His hands came up to the side of her head, holding her as they kissed. It wasn’t, he thought, the sort of casual good night kiss friends might share. As they parted, Caroline rumpled his hair in a gesture of easy affection. Then they both moved out of Krasic’s line of sight.

A couple of minutes later, the man reappeared. He walked across to the window and stared out. Krasic shoved Rado even further back into the dark recess, crushing him against the shop door. But the man showed no signs of noticing their presence as he gazed up at the sky.

Peering over his uncle’s shoulder, Rado said, ‘Look, she’s back home.’ A light had gone on two floors above. As they watched, the woman they knew as Caroline Jackson drew the curtains.

Five minutes later, the man on the first floor turned his back on the street and his light went out. ‘Go home, Rado,’ Krasic instructed him. ‘There’ll be work for you in the morning. I’ll call you when I know what it is.’

He watched the boy leave, glad that he’d had the presence of mind to keep a tail on the two-faced bitch. Whatever she was up to with the man on the first floor, it wasn’t something she had chosen to mention to Tadzio. In his book, that meant it had to be something she didn’t want them to know.

Krasic didn’t like other people’s secrets. In his experience, they spelled danger. Before too long, he was going to uncover whatever skeletons Caroline Jackson was keeping hidden in Apartment 102.

Chapter 33

33

The Shark hadn’t been exaggerating about the pigs, Petra thought grimly as she shuffled along on her stomach in a muddy ditch beneath a thorn hedge. The stink was overpowering, and they definitely did seem to head deliberately in her direction before delivering up their wind with a satisfied grunt. What he hadn’t mentioned was the rats. She’d already come eye to beady eye with one, and she could swear she felt them running over her lower legs. Just the thought of it made her flesh crawl.