‘Classic signs of asphyxiation. Petechiae in the facial tissue and eyes, once I’d cleaned them as well as I could, which as you can imagine, was a devil of a job. And various points of oedema, swelling in the bodily tissues.’

Schmidt took the opportunity to summarise. ‘So, Comrade Doctor, you’re saying the victim was hit – from behind we think – with a heavy blunt object, but that actually the cause of death was drowning. In newly laid concrete. And that someone very forcibly pushed his head down so he couldn’t escape.’

‘That’s about the size of it, I’m afraid. Distinctly unpleasant way to go. And it would appear that he was still conscious when all this happened.’

Müller watched Tilsner tilt his head as a puzzled look appeared on his face. ‘Why do you say that?’ he asked.

‘Simply the description about how one of his arms seemed to be petrified into a wave. I suspect that is what he was doing, or trying to do: wave, one-handedly. Attempting to attract someone’s attention in his last seconds.’

There was silence as the four of them mulled over the implications.

Müller was the first to break it.

‘Do you have any idea what he was hit with?’

‘’Fraid not. Occasionally in similar circumstances – well, actually . . .’ he said, sotto voce, ‘ . . . I’ve never dealt with a drowning in concrete before – but in similar instances of trauma to the head, there might be traces of wood or metal or rust or even skin fragments which could give us a clue. But I’m afraid I’ve no idea. There is one interesting thing, though, which is unusual.’

‘The timings?’ asked Müller.

‘Yes. Bravo, Captain! How did you know that?’

‘The way you handled the victim’s head. Rigor mortis has already dissipated.’

‘Exactly. Yet the body was found this morning, and we all would assume – given that this happened in a high-traffic residential area – that the death must have happened last night. But no. It must have been at least twenty-four hours earlier. What are we now? Wednesday lunchtime? I would say death occurred at the latest on Monday evening, possibly a little earlier. Something doesn’t add up, does it?’

Tilsner still looked puzzled. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Think about it. High-traffic area, a building site even. Yet the police aren’t called until around thirty-six hours after this death happened. But his arm was there in broad daylight, for a whole day, frozen in a petrified wave, although at that stage he was well beyond help. What does that tell you?’

‘That the body was discovered earlier?’ said Müller.

‘Exactly,’ said the pathologist.

‘And that the People’s Police weren’t informed?’ added Tilsner.