phone, which was in its charging stand on the table. Who could it be at this hour? he wondered. He stood up and glanced at the display, then took the call.
“Sorry to disturb you again so late,” said a rough bass voice. “Turn on the TV. It’s on every channel.”
Before he could reply, the caller hung up. He grabbed the remote and switched on the tiny TV at the foot of his bed.
Seconds later, he saw the serious face of a blond woman on the screen. Blue lights were flashing behind her, and black water glinted between the trees illuminated by floodlights.
“… of a young girl was found,” he heard the woman say. “According to preliminary estimates, the body had been in the water for several days. We hope to obtain additional information from the autopsy.”
He froze.
Two men were loading a stretcher with a body bag on it into the hearse, and behind them two figures clad in protective overalls were carrying a plastic bag. Then the camera panned over to the sluiceway.
“Not far from the locks at Eddersheim, the body of a young girl was discovered today floating in the Main,” said the voiceover. “The identity of the girl is unknown, and the police are hoping for tips from the public. This is reminiscent of a similar case from a few years ago.”
An older man blinked under the bright lights.
“Yep, I remember there was a girl found in the river once before. It was over there in Höchst, at the Wörthspitze. To this day, they don’t know who the poor girl was. If I remember rightly, it was around ten years ago, and then…”
He turned off the TV and stood there in the dark. He was breathing hard, as if he’d been running.
“Nine,” he whispered in a strained voice. “It was nine years ago.”
Fear crept like goose bumps all over his body. His probation officer knew that he lived here. So it would be no problem for the police and the SA’s office to locate him. What was going to happen now? Would they remember him?
All trace of fatigue had left him, and his thoughts were coming thick and fast. There was no hope of going to sleep. He switched on the light and took the cleaning bucket and a bottle of bleach from the cabinet next to the kitchen unit. They were going to come here, search through everything, and they’d find her DNA in his trailer! No way could he let that happen, because if he violated probation, he’d have to go straight back to the joint.
* * *
Pia closed the front door carefully, making sure that the dogs weren’t going to break out in a chorus of welcoming barks and wake Christoph. But no dog awaited her on the enclosed porch; instead, she smelled the aroma of roast meat and saw that a light was on in the kitchen. She set her shoulder bag and car keys on the hall cabinet. The four dogs were sitting in the kitchen, watching Christoph’s every movement with synchronized adoration. He was standing at the stove, dressed in shorts, the T-shirt he wore to bed, and an apron, holding two meat forks in his hands. The fan on the stove was on high.
“Hi,” Pia said in astonishment. “Are you awake or sleepwalking?”
The dogs turned their heads only briefly and wagged their tails; then they went back to watching what was happening on the stove, which was much more interesting.
“Hey, sweetie,” said Christoph with a grin. “I was almost asleep when I remembered that I’d left the roulades in the fridge. And I promised Lilly that I’d make roulades for a homecoming dinner.”
Pia had to smile. She went over and gave him a kiss.
“In all of Germany, could there be another man who would get up at one-thirty in the morning to roast roulades when the temperature is almost eighty degrees? Unbelievable.”
“I’ve even filled them,” Christoph said, not without pride. “Mustard, cucumbers, bacon, onions. A promise is a promise.”
Pia took off Kröger’s fleece jacket and hung it over the back of a chair before plopping down onto the seat.
“How was your class
“Sorry to disturb you again so late,” said a rough bass voice. “Turn on the TV. It’s on every channel.”
Before he could reply, the caller hung up. He grabbed the remote and switched on the tiny TV at the foot of his bed.
Seconds later, he saw the serious face of a blond woman on the screen. Blue lights were flashing behind her, and black water glinted between the trees illuminated by floodlights.
“… of a young girl was found,” he heard the woman say. “According to preliminary estimates, the body had been in the water for several days. We hope to obtain additional information from the autopsy.”
He froze.
Two men were loading a stretcher with a body bag on it into the hearse, and behind them two figures clad in protective overalls were carrying a plastic bag. Then the camera panned over to the sluiceway.
“Not far from the locks at Eddersheim, the body of a young girl was discovered today floating in the Main,” said the voiceover. “The identity of the girl is unknown, and the police are hoping for tips from the public. This is reminiscent of a similar case from a few years ago.”
An older man blinked under the bright lights.
“Yep, I remember there was a girl found in the river once before. It was over there in Höchst, at the Wörthspitze. To this day, they don’t know who the poor girl was. If I remember rightly, it was around ten years ago, and then…”
He turned off the TV and stood there in the dark. He was breathing hard, as if he’d been running.
“Nine,” he whispered in a strained voice. “It was nine years ago.”
Fear crept like goose bumps all over his body. His probation officer knew that he lived here. So it would be no problem for the police and the SA’s office to locate him. What was going to happen now? Would they remember him?
All trace of fatigue had left him, and his thoughts were coming thick and fast. There was no hope of going to sleep. He switched on the light and took the cleaning bucket and a bottle of bleach from the cabinet next to the kitchen unit. They were going to come here, search through everything, and they’d find her DNA in his trailer! No way could he let that happen, because if he violated probation, he’d have to go straight back to the joint.
* * *
Pia closed the front door carefully, making sure that the dogs weren’t going to break out in a chorus of welcoming barks and wake Christoph. But no dog awaited her on the enclosed porch; instead, she smelled the aroma of roast meat and saw that a light was on in the kitchen. She set her shoulder bag and car keys on the hall cabinet. The four dogs were sitting in the kitchen, watching Christoph’s every movement with synchronized adoration. He was standing at the stove, dressed in shorts, the T-shirt he wore to bed, and an apron, holding two meat forks in his hands. The fan on the stove was on high.
“Hi,” Pia said in astonishment. “Are you awake or sleepwalking?”
The dogs turned their heads only briefly and wagged their tails; then they went back to watching what was happening on the stove, which was much more interesting.
“Hey, sweetie,” said Christoph with a grin. “I was almost asleep when I remembered that I’d left the roulades in the fridge. And I promised Lilly that I’d make roulades for a homecoming dinner.”
Pia had to smile. She went over and gave him a kiss.
“In all of Germany, could there be another man who would get up at one-thirty in the morning to roast roulades when the temperature is almost eighty degrees? Unbelievable.”
“I’ve even filled them,” Christoph said, not without pride. “Mustard, cucumbers, bacon, onions. A promise is a promise.”
Pia took off Kröger’s fleece jacket and hung it over the back of a chair before plopping down onto the seat.
“How was your class
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