Müller gave the man as hard a stare back as he’d given her. ‘We take our orders from Keibelstraße – from the People’s Police. Not from you.’

Bahlow slapped his thighs, and then stood up straight from the radiator he’d been leaning against. ‘Comrade Müller, you and Oberleutnant Tilsner here have a track record of not following orders. One day it may be your downfall. Perhaps you might like to ponder why you’ve been assigned to a difficult case such as this one. Maybe someone in Berlin is just waiting for you to fail.’

A silence descended on the room. What Bahlow said was meant to serve as a warning. The problem was, Müller was perfectly aware of the dangers they faced – she didn’t need them spelt out by a Stasi man, whether he outranked her or not.

When it looked as though Bahlow was about to take his leave, Tilsner intervened. ‘What about Dr Arnold Southwick?’

This time, Müller did detect a flicker on Bahlow’s face. The question had ruffled him.

‘What about him?’

‘Is he our Concrete Man?’

Bahlow’s brow creased in puzzlement. ‘How should I know? The victim hasn’t been identified yet.’

‘Why was Southwick in Dresden?’ asked Müller.

‘He was a research fellow at the university – Dresden University of Technology.’

‘Funded by whom? Invited by whom? Researching what?’ Müller wasn’t sure what she was hoping Bahlow would reveal – if anything.

‘Such a lot of questions, Comrade Hauptmann. I’m afraid Arnold Southwick’s research was confidential and I’m not at liberty to tell you any more about it. However, what I can tell you is that Normannenstraße are sending a senior officer here to liaise with me over our interest in the case. Once he arrives, I’ll see if he’s prepared to meet you, and I will put those questions to him for you in advance, to see if he can find you the answers. Does that seem fair?’

Bahlow hitched up his trousers, smiled at them both, and then left the room without waiting for a reply.

Chapter 16

16

ARNIE

Pearson Park, Hull

Night of 7–8 May 1941

We’d had hours and hours of air raid warnings the previous night, running to the shelter in the garden. Nothing happened. We just had a terrible night’s sleep – not least because Fred’s hit the terrible twos, so he’s always trying to escape. Mother’s angry too. She said we should have evacuated to Walkington, where we have family friends – Uncle Mick and Auntie Pam – or even gone to Nana’s or the great aunts’ in Brid.