Jäger’s face took on an even more serious look, if that were possible. ‘You’ll have to talk to her, I’m afraid. But believe me, Karin, it will be worth it – for the sake of our children, and for the sake of this inquiry.’

Müller began to form another question, but Jäger had evidently finished, and turned on his heels, making his way back to his car, which Müller now realised was parked a few metres away. After a couple of paces, however, he turned back towards her.

‘Oh, and please memorise that name and address, then destroy the piece of paper. I don’t want anyone tracing it back to me.’

Müller gave a small nod. She wasn’t sure why she was agreeing with him – she wasn’t even sure she would do his bidding. On the other hand, it would be a chance to visit Oberhof on official business and get to spend time with her children at the same time. So while she never trusted any information Jäger gave her, perhaps this time it was worth taking him seriously.

*

The weather had become milder, so instead of facing snow on the drive west towards Thuringia, the Wartburg’s wipers had to cope with driving rain. And they didn’t cope terribly well.

‘If I hear anyone else extolling the virtues of the Republic’s cars, I’ll be tempted to punch their lights out,’ moaned Tilsner, leaning forward slightly, peering through the smeared glass. ‘And I hope this isn’t another one of those butcher’s walks he’s forever sending us on.’

Müller sighed. ‘It probably is. But I got the feeling he might have been going slightly off script. Therefore, this time, perhaps there’s more in it. Anyway, Schriver is perfectly capable of looking after the Dresden end of the TV tower suicide.’

‘If that’s what it was.’

‘Indeed. You wouldn’t have thought it would be easy to commit suicide at one of the city’s most prestigious landmarks. That’s another reason why it’s worth following up Jäger’s lead. In case this woman can tell us anything which might imply that Schenk was pushed, rather than jumped.’

They lapsed into silence. Müller couldn’t help thinking that Tilsner might have better visibility if he slowed down, but he seemed to be doing his best impression of a Mercedes driver on a western autobahn, where speed limits were mostly non-existent. She wasn’t entirely sure, as they rattled around in the Wartburg, that it was up to the job.

‘What about this idea that he was linked to Achterberg via his sexuality?’ Tilsner finally asked.

‘I just don’t see that. We didn’t get a whisper of that when we were up at Gorbitz.’

‘Maybe Achterberg kept very quiet about it. Most do.’