Whatever the outcome for Carol tonight, he knew she would never be whole again. And while he knew it would be almost unbearable to see that disintegration happen to her, he bitterly regretted that he wouldn’t be there to offer what small help he could. He’d never been one for regrets, believing that the choices people make are invariably the only possible ones for them at that point in their lives. But now he was about to die, he realized that they did have some value after all. Regret for things done and undone could provoke change in the future.

Only those with no future left could see that clearly.

Petra walked out of the safe house with a deep sense of fulfilment. Mother and daughter had had a satisfyingly emotional reunion, and Marlene was acting as if Petra were her new best friend. For the first time, she had actually volunteered information, revealing that she knew far more about Darko Krasic’s activities than Petra had suspected. ‘Tanja’s father used to work for Radecki and Krasic,’ she had admitted. ‘His brother’s a shipping agent, and Rudi was the go-between who helped set up their transport arrangements in the early days.’

‘Where’s Rudi now?’

‘Feeding the fishes. His body turned up in the Spree a couple of years ago. It was supposed to have been an accident. He was pissed and they said he’d fallen in and drowned. We’d split up by then, but I always wondered. Radecki and Krasic don’t like anybody knowing their business.’

It was yet another angle to go at. But that could wait till morning. Exhausted, Petra walked to her car, taking out her mobile and switching it back on. She’d turned it off while she’d been in the safe house, wanting no interruptions while she talked to Marlene. Immediately it rang, telling her she had a message. She dialled in to her message service and retrieved it. At first, she couldn’t make out what was being said, only recognizing the voice as Carol’s because she was speaking English. Hastily, she played it again, finger in her other ear to drown out the background traffic noise.

This time, there was no mistaking the words, or the desperation behind them. What the hell had happened? Petra ran the last few yards and drove like a traffic cop to Carol’s street. She abandoned the car in a disabled bay and raced back up the street to the apartment block, groping in her bag for the spare set of keys to the apartment, congratulating herself on the foresight that had made her take a copy of Carol’s keys. Luckily the lift was standing at the ground floor, so she didn’t need to waste her energy running up the stairs.