Angel and Louis left the house not long after, having first searched it for any further information about Radovan Vuksan or the girl. All they found was Ilić’s new passport, but at least they now knew the nationality under which Radovan was probably traveling, unless the dead woman, Kauffmann, had sourced passports from more than one country, which seemed unlikely.

Before they departed, they poured the contents of the liquor cabinet over the two bodies. The bottles contained mostly cheap whisky with a high alcohol content, and the liquid ignited easily. They were gone from the area before the first trails of smoke began to slip through the gaps in the windows, and were already at the airport as the fire seized the house.

By the time the blaze was under control, they had left Austria forever.

Chapter LXXXIV

Pia Lackner watched Rosanna Bellingham lock the door of the cottage and place the key under the mat for the landlord. Bob Johnston was already behind the wheel of the Galaxy, the motor running. They would be back in London before dark.

Angel had called Rosanna’s phone the previous night, asking to speak with Lackner.

‘It’s over,’ he had told her. ‘Or your part in it, at least.’

‘And my father?’

‘Alive, and still at liberty.’

Despite her hatred for her father, Pia felt a sense of relief, although she thought it might have been as much for the sake of her own conscience as anything else.

‘And the others?’

‘One got away.’

‘What about the rest?’

Angel’s silence had been answer enough. Lackner had decided not to pursue the matter, again for the sake of her conscience.

She had reluctantly surrendered her Samsung Galaxy smartphone to Rosanna upon leaving the city in order to prevent the device being traced. It had now been returned to her, along with her previous existence. As she followed Rosanna to the car, the phone rang, and she saw her father’s name on the screen.

Lackner stopped. Rosanna looked back at her.

‘It’s him,’ said Lackner.

‘You can answer it if you wish,’ said Rosanna. ‘It’s your decision.’

Lackner accepted the call.

‘Pia?’ said Frend. ‘Are you safe?’

‘Yes. Thank you,’ she added, although she was not sure why. Old habits of politeness, perhaps.

‘I am glad,’ said Frend, ‘if unsurprised. Did you collude in this?’

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘Why?’ He sounded genuinely puzzled.

Lackner paused before replying.

‘Because,’ she said, ‘I am my father’s child.’

And she hung up to the sound of his laughter.

Chapter LXXXV

For a while all was quiet, and the hunt entered a period of stasis.