‘Hello? It’s me, Becker. Listen, I need your help. We’ve been mounting a major operation against a guy called Tadeusz Radecki. He’s just raped and beaten one of our officers, and we believe he’s planning to kill one of her associates. I haven’t got time to go through the proper channels, but there’s a man’s life on the line here. Can you get mobile and meet me outside Channel Five in twenty minutes? We can tail Radecki from the studios, maybe manage to stop this going down?’

‘Can’t you get KriPo to handle this?’

Petra gave it everything she had. ‘We haven’t got time. Look, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t vital. Radecki and his sidekick Krasic are the worst. Drugs, guns, illegals – they move them all. And they’re killers. They know they’re blown and, if we don’t get them now, we could lose more than a life.’

‘Oh, fuck it. Why not? OK. We’ll see you outside Channel Five in twenty.’

‘I owe you,’ she said.

‘Fucking right you do. See you there.’

She replaced the phone with an enormous sense of relief. ‘I think we’ve got him,’ she said quietly. ‘We know where he is. We can tail him and pray he takes us to Tony in time.’

Carol was on her feet and wobbling towards the bathroom. ‘He must have gone straight to the TV from here. Tony must still be alive.’

‘Where are you going?’ Petra demanded.

‘I’m going for a shower. You’re not leaving me behind.’

‘Don’t be crazy. You need to see a police doctor, we need to take evidence of what he did to you.’

Carol continued on her way, undaunted. ‘This doesn’t matter. We’ve got enough on Radecki to put him away forever. I need to be with you. I need to be sure Tony’s OK.’

‘No way,’ Petra protested. ‘You’re in no fit state to go anywhere. That’s why Marijke’s coming here, to take care of you.’

‘I’m coming with you,’ Carol said stubbornly.

‘There’s no time. I’m leaving now.’ Petra picked up her bag and made for the door.

‘You can’t do this to me, Petra,’ Carol shouted.

‘Yes, I can. Because it’s the right thing. I need to concentrate on catching Radecki and saving Tony’s life. I don’t want to have to worry about you as well. You stay here. I’ll call you as soon as there’s any news.’ She was about to open the door when the intercom buzzed. Petra grabbed the handset. ‘Ja?’ She listened for a moment, then pressed the door-release button. ‘Marijke is on her way up. I’ll call you. I promise, I’ll call you.’