I looked at the photograph. It showed a dead man.

"The man is an Albanian citizen and was fished out of the Elbe the day before yesterday," Criminal Director Bock, my direct superior, explained to me. "Mr. Jörgensen, have you seen him before?"

"No."

"You have, after all, been warned from several quarters that someone has set a professional killer called 'the Albanian' on you."

"And you think this might be him?"

"There are several factors that point to that. And it's not just nationality."

"But we can't be sure either."

"No."

"What do we know about the circumstances of his death?"

"He took a bullet to the head. That's all we know. Unfortunately."