"Nikolai found the cottage without trouble, but it was empty. Its occupant, only recently departed, had left the stub of a cigarette, its pungent Turkish scent heavy in the room. He exited the cottage and wandered down the path; it was still soggy from the last rain and here and there revealed the dainty imprint of a small foot.""Nikolai followed the stream and paused just short of a narrow pedestrian bridge. A solitary figure was hunched at the crest of a gently arched railing, staring into the water. The location was remote to the point of mystery. The silence was enormous."In all the tens...