She hadn’t spent a single night in Berlin. Morgan had accompanied her to the hospital and stood over her while a harried doctor had reset her nose. He’d had the decency to leave her alone while they gave her an internal examination and confirmed that she had sustained no lasting physical damage in spite of the brutality of Radecki’s attack. Then he’d insisted she be discharged into his care. She hadn’t had the energy to argue. There had been a car waiting to take them to the airport and a private plane to carry them on to Den Haag.

Then they’d left her in peace in a silent room inside the Europol complex for twenty-four hours, the only interruptions being from a blessedly uncommunicative doctor who regularly checked she wasn’t suffering from concussion. The following morning, Gandle had appeared, telling her Morgan was waiting. She’d demanded time to shower and dress, then she’d walked into the briefing room.

Morgan had stood up, wreathed in smiles. ‘Carol, how are you feeling? I can’t tell you how sorry I am about the way this turned out.’

She’d ignored his proffered hand and sat down opposite him, saying nothing.

‘I realize you must be feeling terrible. But I want you to know that whatever support you need, it’s there for you. We’ve set up counselling sessions for you, and you must tell us whenever you get tired during these debriefs so we can take a break.’ Morgan sat down, not in the least disconcerted by her apparent rudeness.

Carol maintained her silence, her grey eyes cool and level amid the puffy purple bruising that surrounded them. Let her face be his reproach, she thought.

‘We need to go through your reports in detail. But first, I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you about what happened between you and Radecki at the end. Is that OK?’

Carol shook her head. ‘I have some questions first.’

Morgan looked surprised. ‘Well, fire away, Carol.’

‘Were you responsible for murdering Katerina Basler?’

Morgan’s eyes widened, though the rest of his face remained immobile. ‘I don’t know where you got that idea from,’ he said.

‘The bike that caused the accident that killed Katerina was registered to the National Crime Squad,’ Carol said flatly. ‘Radecki knows that. It’s not much of a step from there to the assumption that you were behind her death.’

Morgan tried an indulgent smile. ‘None of this has anything to do with what happened the other night. So why don’t we just concentrate on that?’

‘You don’t get it, do you? I’m not saying a word until you answer my questions. And if you won’t answer them, I’ll keep on asking them until I find someone who will.’