‘Reinhard has signing power over a limited bank account which is supposed to cover his expenses as a company director. However, I’m at a loss to explain what this might relate to, Herr Gunther.’

‘Well, maybe he got tired of astrology. Maybe he decided to become a private investigator himself. To tell the truth, Frau Lange, there are times when a horoscope is as good a way of finding something out as any other.’

‘I shall make a point of asking Reinhard about this when I next see him. I’m indebted to you for the information. Would you mind telling me where you got it from?’

‘The information? Sorry, I make it a strict rule never to breach confidentiality. I’m sure you understand.’

She nodded curtly, and bade me good evening.

Back in the hall the black cauldron was still simmering over her floor.

‘You know what I’d recommend?’ I said.

‘What’s that?’ she said sullenly.

‘I think you should give Frau Lange’s son a call at his magazine. Maybe he can work up a magic spell to shift those marks.’

17

Friday, 21 October

When I first suggested the idea to Hildegard Steininger, she had been less than enthusiastic.

‘Let me get this straight. You want to pose as my husband?’

‘That’s right.’

‘In the first place, my husband is dead. And in the second you don’t look anything like him, Herr Kommissar.’

‘In the first place I’m counting on this man not knowing that the real Herr Steininger is dead; and in the second, I don’t suppose that he would have any more idea of what your husband might have looked like than I do.’

‘Exactly who is this Rolf Vogelmann, anyway?’

‘An investigation like this one is nothing more than a search for a pattern, for a common factor. Here the common factor is that we’ve discovered Vogelmann was retained by the parents of two other girls.’

‘Two other victims, you mean,’ she said. ‘I know that other girls have disappeared and then been found murdered, you know. There may be nothing about it in the papers, but one hears things all the time.’

‘Two other victims, then,’ I admitted.

‘But surely that’s just a coincidence. Listen, I can tell you that I’ve thought of doing it myself, you know, paying someone to look for my daughter. After all, you still haven’t found a trace of her, have you?’

‘That’s true. But it may be more than just a coincidence. That’s what I’d like to find out.’

‘Supposing that he is involved. What could he hope to gain from it?’

‘We’re not necessarily talking about a rational person here. So I don’t know that gain will come into the equation.’

‘Well, it all sounds very dubious to me,’ she said. ‘I mean, how did he get in touch with these two families?’