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a pose, hands on hips. His jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a white collarless shirt beneath. At his feet was a backpack and a belt, attached to which was a leather pistol holster. Behind his glasses he was squinting into bright sunlight. But his face was largely unaltered, slightly more filled out perhaps, Anna mused.
    ‘Is this during the war?’
    Dieter nodded. ‘After he joined the army. His father was forced to leave the island when the German authorities ordered him to return home and abandon the excavation. That was in nineteen thirty-eight. He had hoped the crisis would pass and that he could resume his work. He never did. He was killed during an air raid in nineteen forty-three.’
    Anna felt uncomfortable and muttered, ‘I’m sorry.’
    ‘Don’t be. It was nothing to do with you. It was the war. Anyway, my grandfather, like nearly all young men, was conscripted. He was selected for officer training and served with an artillery regiment. That picture was taken in Greece – Lefkas actually. He was posted there for a while, to act as an interpreter.’
    Anna’s eyes widened. ‘He returned to the island? Did he meet Eleni and,’ she thought back a moment, ‘and Andreas again?’
    Dieter seemed to wince, then smiled sadly and gave a single nod.
    ‘That must have been difficult, for all of them.’
    ‘They had become enemies, though they did not wish it.’ Dieter stared at the image of his grandfather. ‘It was a terrible time, for Greek and German alike. My grandfather’s diaries do not make for easy reading. He never spoke about the war to me or my father. I knew nothing of his record until after he died and I went through his papers and the Wehrmacht archives.’ He flicked back through the images to the first one. ‘This is how I prefer to remember him. And, in his diary, he says it was when he was happiest. I would like to find out more about that time. Even though, strictly speaking, my research is more concerned with the earlier period. And that is why I would like to interview your grandmother. To see what she remembers of the excavations. Particularly, where this picture was taken. I have tried to locate it when I explored the island, but so far, no luck.’ He turned the iPad off and returned it to his bag before he addressed Anna again.
    ‘I would ask you to talk to your grandmother and see if she will let me speak with her.’
    Anna pursed her lips. ‘I’ll ask. But I must tell you that she still looks back on the war in a very unforgiving way.’
    ‘I understand. But I am not my grandfather. My generation looks back on that time in horror. And shame for the stain it left on the reputation of Germany. Please explain that to her. My great-grandfather was the same. He despised the National Socialists. And he loved Lefkas and the people, and most of all the history of Greece. If anything, it is his reputation that I wish to restore when I finish my thesis. He could have become one of the greatest archaeologists of his age, or any other time. I believe he was on the verge of great discoveries. If he had only lived long enough to return to his work on the island . . .’ Dieter suddenly gave a shame-faced smiled. ‘I am sorry. It is a burden for me. I should not impose it on you. I have asked enough of you already. Now!’ He sat back and picked up the menu. ‘We shall eat. You are my guest. Our business is over. We shall talk of other things over the meal, unless you wish to ask me more?’
    Anna laughed, touched by his sweet politeness. ‘Perhaps. Let us see.’ She raised her wine glass. ‘How about a toast?’
    Dieter smiled and raised his glass. ‘To what?’
    She thought a moment. ‘To healing old wounds. And uncovering the past!’

Chapter Four
     
    T he following weekend Anna took the train up to Norwich to see her mother and grandmother. The heavy leaden skies of the day before had cleared and the morning was bright and clear, with a chilly bite that presaged the arrival of