Excerpt from Winter Work by Dan Fesperman, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Emil shrugged. Two other high-ranking members of the Stasi had killed themselves in the past month. Witnessing the collapse of everything you've devoted your life to could have that effect. Even Markus Wolf's son-in-law had tried to take his own life, shortly after turning down a West German offer of half a million deutschmarks for telling them everything he knew.

"Anything's possible, I suppose."

"That's one way of avoiding an answer."

Krauss smirked. Maybe he had picked up on the same detail Emil had already noticed, although Emil doubted it. More likely was that Krauss was trying to project an air of threat, of superiority. Emil outranked him, a colonel to his major, but Krauss's Stasi unit, the Spezialkommission, had long ago carved out a powerful role in all investigations involving "political sensitivity," and he had never hesitated to press this advantage. But now that the entire ministry was going out of business, why was Krauss even here?

Emil scanned the ground around the body, trying to make sense of all the footprints. Krauss's men had made quite a mess. Emil wasn't helping either, he supposed. He turned and carefully made his way back beneath the tape.

"Have you determined which direction Lothar was coming from?"

Krauss eyed him carefully, as if deciding whether Emil merited an answer. He nodded to one of his men, who supplied it.

"That way, from up there. That's what we're putting in our report."

The man pointed toward a hillside path diagonal to the one Emil had just descended. Emil knew where it led. Now he had a pretty good idea of why Gretel wasn't here.

"Is that his usual walking route?" Krauss asked.

"Lothar was not a man of rigid habits."

"No? Hardly the impression I had. Well, you can come away from there now. My men have work to do. Schalk! Check the coat pockets."

The fellow who had pointed uphill moved back inside the tape and stooped toward the body. He reached into a pocket of Lothar's jacket and withdrew a small plastic pouch.

"Here's something, sir!"

"A bag of dog treats," Emil said. "Yes, a major breakthrough."

Krauss frowned in irritation.

"Keep looking. Check the lining!"

They were interrupted by the sound of voices from the other end of the lake. Three men were approaching. Two wore the peaked caps and belted, gray-green overcoats of the Volkspolizei—cops, not secret police, the fellows who probably should've handled this matter from the beginning. Leading them was a young plainclothesman, late twenties, with windblown hair. Emil recognized him as Lieutenant Marius Dorn, a detective inspector from the district headquarters in Bernau. They had met a few years earlier through another, lesser matter.

"Gentlemen," Dorn called out. "We meet again. Hopefully this time our affairs will end in better order."

Emil lowered his voice and turned to Krauss.

"You two have also worked together before?"

"That's one way of putting it. I'll set this right."

Dorn preempted him with a shout.

"You will clear your men from the premises, Major Krauss. This is our case now."

Krauss stepped up the path to block his way.

"You don't seem to understand, Herr Dorn."

"Lieutenant Dorn."

"The victim is a high-ranking officer of the HVA. I am countermanding your jurisdiction for reasons of national security."

"The only relevant security issue is where you'll be working a month from now. A major issue for you, certainly, but quite private in nature, yes? Whereas my men and I will be keeping our jobs, maybe even long enough to close this matter. Clear your people from the perimeter."

Krauss drew up his chest. He looked ready to throw a punch. Then some of the air began to squeeze out of him as the reality of Dorn's words sank in.

Emil could barely suppress a smile.

Excerpted from Winter Work by Dan Fesperman. Copyright © 2022 by Dan Fesperman. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.