‘He spoke to his driver and said, wasn’t I a fine example of German maidenhood, or something stupid like that.’ She laughed. ‘It was really funny.’ She caught a look from her father that I didn’t see, and settled down again. ‘Anyway, it was something like that. I can’t remember exactly.’

‘And did the driver say anything back to him?’

‘He suggested to his boss that they could give me a ride home. Then the one in the back asked me if I’d like that. I said that I’d never ridden in one of those big cars before, and that I’d like to–’

Sarah’s father sighed loudly. ‘How many times have we told you, Sarah, not to–’

‘If you don’t mind, sir,’ I said firmly, ‘perhaps that can wait until later.’ I looked back at Sarah. ‘Then what happened?’

‘The man said that if I answered some questions correctly, he’d give me a ride, just like a movie-star. Well, first he asked me my name, and when I told him he just sort of looked at me, as if he were shocked. Of course it was because he realized that I was Jewish, and that was his next question: was I Jewish? I almost told him I wasn’t, just for the fun of it. But I was scared he would find out and that I would get into trouble, and so I told him I was. Then he leant back in his seat, and told the chauffeur to drive on. Not another word. It was very strange. As if I had vanished.’

‘That’s very good, Sarah. Now tell me: you said you thought they were policemen. Were they wearing uniforms?’

She nodded hesitantly.

‘Let’s start with the colour of these uniforms.’

‘Sort of green-coloured, I suppose. You know, like a policeman, only a bit darker.’

‘What were their hats like? Like policemen’s hats?’

‘No, they were peaked hats. More like officers. Daddy was an officer in the navy.’

‘Anything else? Badges, ribbons, collar insignia? Anything like that?’ She kept shaking her head. ‘All right. Now the man who spoke to you. What was he like?’

Sarah pursed her lips and then tugged at a length of her hair. She glanced at her father. ‘Older than the driver,’ she said. ‘About fifty-five, sixty. Quite heavy-looking, not much hair, or maybe it was just closely cropped, and a small moustache.’

‘And the other one?’

She shrugged. ‘Younger. A bit pale-looking. Fair-haired. I can’t remember much about him at all.’

‘Tell me about his voice, this man sitting in the back of the car.’

‘You mean his accent?’

‘Yes, if you can.’