circumstantial evidence, why don't Kohi just bring him in for questioning? I would,' Petra complained.
'It wouldn't do any good,' Tony said. 'I doubt he'd say anything.'
'So what do we do?' Marijke said plaintively.
There was a long silence. Petra threw herself down on the sofa, making Tony flinch. He gritted his teeth and said, 'I think I could break him.'
'They wouldn't let you interrogate him,' Petra pointed out.
'I'm not talking about a formal interrogation,' Tony said. 'I'm talking about me and him, one to one.'
Petra shook her head. 'No way. You're not fit enough for anything like that. He could kill you like snapping a stick.'
'I'm not that pathetic,' Tony said. 'I've been moving around a lot more today. The painkillers are starting to kick in. I can do it.'
'I thought you said his English was poor,' Petra objected.
'Ich kann Deutsch sprechen, Tony said.
Petra stared at him open-mouthed. 'You kept very quiet about that.'
'How do you think I managed to read the case files?' He dipped his head at Marijke in acknowledgement. 'I was very grateful that you had your material translated into German, because I really can't manage Dutch.'
'It's still far too risky,' Marijke said.
'What choice do we have? Do we just sit back and let him kill again?' Now Tony sounded angry. 'I came into this business because I wanted to save lives. I can't do nothing while a serial killer is left at liberty to take more victims,' he said vehemently.
'Marijke's right. It's insane,' Petra insisted.
Tony shook his head. 'One of two things is going to happen here. Either the police are going to help me, or I'm going to do it alone. So, which is it to be?'
Every day, he was growing stronger. Because at first he had thought ^what he did with Cilvet was a weakness, he had nearly let it destroy him, Thete had been days and nights when he feared he'd never chase the darkness away again. But he'd gradually come to see that his first reaction had been the correct one. Making her his had been the ultimate demonstration of his power. It took a special sort of person to carry a plan like this to the limit, and he knew now that fucking her hadn't tainted his mission. The realization had brought peace, and with the peace came a lightening of his spirit that was all the confirmation he needed. The headaches disappeared, and he felt released.
As if mirroring his personal relief, he heard the news that the river would be open again the next day. He would be able to continue his work. He'd been scanning the papers and the internet, and nobody seemed to have realized that he had crossed borders and killed in Holland. He had to believe that, there, his victims would still be oblivious to risk. He couldn't afford to think otherwise, or the fear would eat into his soul and make it impossible to act.
With the news that life would soon return to normal, he had e-mailed his next target and rearranged their appointment. He'd have to be cautious, just in case the police were trying to trap him by deliberately keeping de Groot's death out of the picture. He would have to make sure he wasn't walking into an ambush. But in three days' time, he felt confident that he would be knocking on a door in Utrecht. Professor Paul Muller would have to pay the price for what he'd had no right to inflict on others.
He leaned on the stern rail, watching the mourning pennant flutter in the gentle breeze. It was the fifth one he'd hung there since the death of his grandfather, a constant reminder of what he had achieved. It was pleasant to contemplate what he was going to do to Mullen Just the thought of it made his blood pump faster in his veins. Tonight, he'd go ashore and find a woman to fuck, fuelled by the fantasy of what Utrecht promised. He really had made progress. Now he could use their bodies for rehearsal as well as release.
Carol stared out of the window at the fat russet buds on the tree outside. She had no idea what kind of tree it was, nor did she care. All she knew was that there was something profoundly restful about gazing at it. Every now and again, the counsellor would ask her something in an attempt to provoke some response, but she'd found that it wasn't hard to ignore the banal questions.
She