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other side of the small riding stables at this hour, only occasional headlights flashing by. In less than two hours, that would change tremendously. Pia glanced at the two dogs, who sat in front of her, shivering pitifully, obviously regretting having left their comfortable baskets.
    “All right, come on, let’s go back inside,” she said as she stood up. The dogs dashed off ahead of her and slipped into the house as soon as she opened the door. Pia took off her jacket and boots, went back upstairs, and snuggled back under the covers.
    “Ooh, what’s this block of ice?” Christoph murmured when she nestled next to his body, warm with sleep.
    “I was just outside for a few minutes,” Pia whispered.
    “What time is it?”
    “Twenty after five.”
    “What’s wrong?” He turned over to face her and took her in his arms.
    “I can’t get the dead woman from yesterday out of my head,” said Pia.
    Late last night, she told Christoph why she’d gone to work even though her vacation had already started. No one could appreciate that sort of dedication better than Christoph, who also performed his job as director of the Opel Zoo with passion and commitment. When they were shorthanded, he often gave up his weekends and days off.
    “The woman was a nice old lady, popular with everyone,” Pia went on. “The perp used a rifle with a suppressor.”
    “And what does that mean?” Christoph stifled a yawn.
    “We’ve just begun our investigation, but I have a feeling the woman wasn’t specifically targeted,” Pia explained. “And that could mean that we’re dealing with a sniper who just shoots at people at random.”
    “And now you’re worried because so many of your colleagues are out sick or on vacation.”
    “Yeah, that’s right. I’d feel a lot better about going on vacation if Cem and Kathrin were there.”
    “Listen, sweetie.” Christoph wrapped his arms more tightly around her and kissed her cheek. “I understand if you’d rather stay here in a situation like this. For me, the trip is more work than vacation—”
    “But I can’t let you go off on our honeymoon alone!” Pia protested.
    “We can always go on a honeymoon later,” Christoph countered. “It wouldn’t be very relaxing for you if your conscience was bothering you the whole time.”
    “I’m sure they can handle things without me,” Pia said without much conviction. “Maybe the whole case will be solved by today.”
    “Why don’t you sleep on it.” Christoph pulled her even closer. The warmth of his body had a relaxing effect, and Pia could feel sleep overwhelming her.
    “Sure,” she murmured. “I could do that.”
    And then she dozed off.
    *   *   *
    He leafed through the newspaper, reading each page carefully. Nothing. Not a word about the murder in Eschborn. He didn’t find anything on the Internet either—neither in the news nor on the police blotter. Obviously, the police thought it better to keep the case out of the media for the time being, which was just fine with him. In a few days, that would change. But until then, the public’s ignorance would protect him from accidental witnesses, and he could move about freely.
    He was content with his strategy. Everything had gone exactly as planned. In the parking lot at Wiesenbad in Eschborn, a few mothers had been there with their kids, but nobody had paid any attention to him when he put the sports bag with the rifle into the trunk of his car and drove off.
    He pulled up the German Weather Service site on his iPad. He’d been doing that several times a day for weeks and months now, because the weather was an extremely important factor.
    “Shit,” he muttered.
    The weather forecast for the next three days had changed since yesterday. He frowned as he read about heavy snowfall extending down into the valleys starting on Friday evening.
    Snow was bad. He might leave tracks in the snow. What was he going to do now? A precisely worked-out plan in which all the risks