She was barely out of the shower when the apartment phone rang. It could only be Radecki, she thought. Petra would never call her here, nor would Tony. And nobody else knew where she was. She dashed naked and dripping across the living room and grabbed it on the fifth ring. ‘Hello?’

‘Caroline, how are you today?’ His familiar voice sounded formal.

‘Very well, thanks. And you?’

‘I have to chase off on some urgent business that’s come up. I’m going to be out of town all day.’

‘You sound pissed off with me, Tadzio,’ Carol said, keeping her own tone cool.

‘Not at all.’ His voice softened a little. ‘I’m only sorry because I’d hoped we could get together, maybe talk things over, but it’s just impossible. Please believe me, this is nothing to do with last night. Darko and I really do have to deal with something very important.’

‘That’s fine, Tadzio. Business is important, we both know that. And I’ve got plenty of work to keep me occupied here.’

‘OK, I didn’t want you to think I was being funny with you after what happened last night.’

Carol smiled to herself. She could almost believe she really did have him right where she wanted him. Always leave them wanting more, that was obviously how it was done. ‘I wouldn’t want us to be uncomfortable with each other,’ she said.

‘Good. Oh, and if you want to borrow the Z8, just come round to the apartment. It’s in the underground garage. The attendant has the keys. I’ll tell him you might show up, yes?’

‘Thanks. I don’t think I’ll have the time to go out gallivanting, but it’s nice to know the offer’s there if I need it. Give me a call when you get back, OK?’

‘I will. And when I get back, we’ll sort out our unfinished business, no?’

‘I hope so. Bye, Tadzio.’ She replaced the handset and smiled. It couldn’t have worked out better. With Tadeusz out of the way, she wouldn’t have to find an excuse to buy the time to write her report. And even better, she might be able to spend the evening with Tony. Life was going to be very good from now on. She felt it in her bones.

Chapter 34

34

If it carried on raining like this, there wasn’t much prospect of anything moving on the Rhine for a very long time, Tony thought as he peered through the windscreen of the hired Opel into the gloomy afternoon. According to the maps spread out over the passenger seat, he should be approaching a small canal basin up ahead. He’d already covered half a dozen sites around Köln without any luck, and he was growing tired of alternately soaking in the rain and steaming in the car.