Perfect Strangers

‘And had he been to your place?’ interrupted Fox.

‘No. He didn’t—’

‘So you’re boyfriend and girlfriend, but he’s never been to your flat. Why not?’

‘I never said we were boyfriend and girlfriend,’ said Sophie, her voice rising. ‘And I didn’t . . .’

I didn’t want to take him back to my flat, she finished the sentence in her head, because then he would have known that I was just some ordinary girl, scraping a living as a gym instructor.

‘I didn’t take him home because I was house-sitting for a friend. It didn’t feel right to take him there without permission.’

Fox made a note in his book.

‘What do you do for a living?’

‘I’m a personal trainer. Well, a gym instructor,’ she added with panic.

‘And where have you been house-sitting?’

‘Sixteen Egerton Row, Knightsbridge.’

‘Smart area. Who does the property belong to?’

‘Lana Goddard-Price. She’s out of the country.’

‘Do you have a contact number for her?’

‘In my phone. She’s one of my clients.’

Fox fixed her with his hard gaze.

‘Do you think Nick was targeting the property?’

Sophie glared at him.

‘He was not a thief,’ she said defensively. ‘Nick was smart and generous and rich . . .’

‘So is that why you were interested in him?’ asked Field flatly.

‘No. I was in love with him.’

Tears welled in her eyes. She had a sudden urge to call her mother, but at the thought that she was still in Denmark she felt suddenly, frightening alone.

‘After five days?’

Hostility prickled in the air. All she wanted to do was get out of the room.

‘Did you have sex with Nick this morning?’ pressed Fox.

She felt her face flush.

‘We had sex a couple of times through the night. This morning we just fooled around. Kissed.’

‘There were fragments of a wine bottle on the floor. Do you know where that could have come from?’

She paused to think.

‘Maybe from last night. We had a bath together and ordered some champagne. The bottle would have been left on the side.’