‘Where’s Lotti Rolf?’

‘That, I don’t know. She seems to have gone to ground. I gather you got close to her at the water meadows, but she gave you the slip.’

Müller nodded. Then realised Bahlow wouldn’t see a nod. ‘Yes. But if you knew her movements, why couldn’t you have posted agents at all those points and intercepted her?’

‘Because . . . as you’ve probably gathered by now, in some respects I’m acting on my own.’

‘Why? And in what way? And how do I know I can trust you?’

Bahlow sighed. ‘I’ll answer the last part first. You can’t trust me. You can’t trust anyone. Certainly not Jäger. And probably not Tilsner either, although I gather you two are as thick as thieves. Nevertheless, although you can’t trust me, I do want to help you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because some things are taking place that I find beyond the pale, Karin.’

She laughed ironically. ‘Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. I’m sure you don’t get to the level of major in the Ministry for State Security without plenty of experience in the dark arts.’

‘That’s true. But we all have our lines in the sand. Mine have been crossed.’

‘Is it something to do with the cancer cases at the uranium mine?’

‘Ha!’ laughed Bahlow. ‘Lotti’s pet cause? No, not that. What do people expect working in a mine extracting radioactive material? She might have a point, in fact I’m sure she does. But there is no evidence that the development of her cancer was a result of working there. It’s not as though she was at the coal face, as it were, is it? Although she did come into contact with miners, their clothing et cetera. So I suppose it’s possible. But if you smoke as many fags as she does, most doctors are only going to point to one thing as a cause of lung cancer. But no, it’s not that.’

‘So does it involve Lotti at all?’

‘Tangentially, yes. But it’s more to do with history.’

‘History?’

‘Recent history – well relatively recent. I’m not sure how old you are and whether it was actually in your lifetime.’

‘Something that happened here, in Dresden?’

‘Very much so. Perhaps the biggest thing that ever happened in Dresden.’

‘The bombing?’