To the north of the meadow, at the edge of the lake and far from the window that had shattered moments before the blast, she saw a mound. She broke into a run; it was a human figure, half in, half out of the water. When she was within twenty metres she knew it was Tom Wilde, but she could see no sign of life.

His feet and legs were in the water, his head twisted sideways on the grassy edge of the water, his arms stretched out wide.

Paula felt his neck and wrist for a pulse, and found one. He was alive, but unconscious.

*

In the afternoon, Heck woke from a drug-induced sleep. He vaguely remembered the needle going into his arm a couple of seconds after he gazed with astonishment at the empty bed where he knew Boden had been lying. The tranquilliser took effect quickly, and the last thing he felt was his legs buckling beneath him. He supposed he must have been carried back to this bed, because he could not have made it here alone.

As he came to, he felt groggy. His body was so heavy he could hardly move. He lay with his eyes closed, trying to make sense of Boden’s disappearance and Colonel Appache’s part in it. He simply couldn’t understand why Appache or anyone else in this place would protect an SS officer.

Little hints began to register. It seemed like an insane thought, but was it beyond the bounds of possibility that Appache had warned Boden to make himself scarce when the raid on the village was planned? Was it even possible that Appache had effected his escape from Dachau in the first place?

Heck’s head throbbed, but he rose from his bed and made his way painfully and slowly along the corridor to the nurses’ station. ‘I’m discharging myself,’ he said to the first nurse he found. ‘I have things to do.’

‘But you must still be in pain, Lieutenant.’

‘Well, I’ll live with it. Now, if you could find my clothes and shoes, I won’t take up any more of your time.’

‘I’ll have to check with the doctor, sir. He’ll want a last look at the wound to be certain it’s healing properly. Can you return to your bed and give me ten minutes, please?’

What option did he have? He wasn’t going out into the middle of Garmisch in a surgical gown and bare feet.

Five minutes later, the nurse reappeared. ‘I’m afraid the doctor is busy right now, but he asked you to wait half an hour for him.’

‘Goddamn it, nurse, this is wasting my time.’

‘I understand your frustration, believe me. But there is something else, sir. It seems you have a visitor. A young lady is here to see you. Can I show her through?’