‘I want to act quickly. You see, it was Harbin’s body in the coffin, so we can pick up Winkler and Cooler right away. Kurtz is out of our reach for the time being, and so is the driver. We’ll put in a formal request to the Russians for permission to arrest Kurtz and Lime: it makes our files tidy. If we are going to use you as our decoy, your message must go to Lime straight away – not after you’ve hung around in this zone for twenty-four hours. As I see it, you were brought here for a grilling almost as soon as you got back into the Inner City; you heard then from me about Harbin; you put two and two together and you go and warn Cooler. We’ll let Cooler slip for the sake of the bigger game – we have no evidence that he was in on the penicillin racket. He’ll escape into the Second Bezirk to Kurtz, and Lime will know you’ve played the game. Three hours later you send a message that the police are after you: you are in hiding and must see him.’

‘He won’t come.’

‘I’m not so sure. We’ll choose our hiding place carefully – where he’ll think there’s a minimum of risk. It’s worth trying. It would appeal to his pride and his sense of humour if he could scoop you out. And it would stop your mouth.’

Martins said, ‘He never used to scoop me out – at school.’ It was obvious that he had been reviewing the past with care and coming to conclusions.

‘That wasn’t such serious trouble and there was no danger of your squealing.’

He said, ‘I told Harry not to trust me, but he didn’t hear.’

‘Do you agree?’

He had given me back the photographs of the children and they lay on my desk. I could see him take a long look at them. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I agree.’

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

ALL THE FIRST arrangements went according to plan. We delayed arresting Winkler, who had returned from the Second Bezirk, until after Cooler had been warned. Martins enjoyed his short interview with Cooler. Cooler greeted him without embarrassment and with considerable patronage. ‘Why, Mr Martins, it’s good to see you. Sit down. I’m glad everything went off all right between you and Colonel Calloway. A very straight chap, Calloway.’

‘It didn’t,’ Martins said.

‘You don’t bear any ill-will, I’m sure, about my letting him know about you seeing Koch. The way I figured it was this – if you were innocent you’d clear yourself right away, and if you were guilty, well, the fact that I liked you oughtn’t to stand in the way. A citizen has his duties.’

‘Like giving false evidence at an inquest.’