The Girl in the Ice (Detective Erika Foster 1)

‘Well, lie is a strong word, is it not?’

‘But why keep this from you?’

‘I – I don’t know.’

‘Giles. Do you know of The Glue Pot, in Forest Hill?’ asked Peterson.

‘No, I don’t think I do. What is it?’

‘It’s a pub.’

‘Then I definitely don’t. I don’t stray south of the river, in fact, ever.’

‘Andrea was last seen at this pub on the night she disappeared. She was in the company of a girl with short blonde hair, then later a dark-haired man. Do you have any idea who they could have been? Did she have any friends in South London, around Forest Hill?’

‘No. Well, none that I knew of.’

‘Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her? Did she owe somebody money?’

‘No! No; between Sir Simon and myself, Andrea never wanted for anything. The night she vanished, she told me she was going to the cinema with Linda and David. I was encouraging her to spend more time with her brother and sister; they’re not close as siblings.’

‘Why not?’

‘Oh, you know – rich families. The parents delegate the childcare to nannies and teachers. There is always competition for affection amongst siblings . . . Well, David and Andrea seemed to get much more attention than Linda. I was lucky. I’m an only child.’

The Humpty-Dumpty image came back to Erika again. Giles, small and podgy, sitting alone on a wall, his legs not quite reaching the ground.

‘Did you ever meet a girl called Barbora Kardosova? She was a friend of Andrea’s.’ Erika slid a picture of Barbora across the table.

Giles leaned in to examine the picture. ‘No. Although Andrea did mention Barbora. It seemed she dropped Andrea as a friend, most cruelly. It happened a little while before I met her.’

‘How well did you know Andrea’s friends?’

‘She didn’t have many female friends. She’d try and get close to other girls and they became jealous of her. She’s – she was – so beautiful.’

‘Did you and Andrea have an active sex life?’ asked Peterson.

‘What? Yes. We’d just got engaged . . .’

‘Did you have sexual intercourse with Andrea the day she went missing?’

‘What has this got to do with—?’ Giles started.

‘Please can you answer the question,’ said Erika.

‘Um, I think we might have, in the afternoon? Look, I don’t know what this has got to do with her going missing. Asking me about our sex life! It’s none of your bloody business!’ Giles was now red in the face.

‘Did you partake in anal as well as vaginal sex?’ asked Peterson.

Giles stood up so quickly that his coffee spilled over and his chair fell back. ‘That’s it! Get out now! Do you hear me? This is an informal chat, yes? I don’t have to talk to you. It’s voluntary.’

‘Of course it is,’ said Erika. ‘But would you please answer the question? Andrea suffered a prolonged and brutal attack before her death. We are asking these questions for a reason.’

‘What? If we had – if we took part in an unnatural act? No. NO! I wouldn’t marry a girl who . . .’ Giles tugged at the neck of his t-shirt, unable to voice the words. ‘I’m sorry, but I need you to leave. If you want to ask me any more questions I want a lawyer present. This is most distressing and unsavoury.’

The spilt coffee had reached the edge of the glass table. There was a spattering sound as it began to drip over onto the carpet.

‘Was she raped? Was she hurt badly?’ he asked, quietly now, dissolving into tears. He leaned against the table and sobbed into the sleeve of his T-shirt.

‘We don’t believe Andrea was sexually assaulted, but this was a sustained and brutal attack,’ said Erika, softly.

‘Oh, my God,’ Giles said, taking a deep breath and scrubbing again at his eyes. ‘I just can’t think – I can’t imagine what she went through.’

Erika gave him a moment before she continued. ‘Could you tell me, Giles, did Andrea have more than one phone?’

Giles looked up, confused. ‘No. No, she had a Swarovski iPhone. Sir Simon’s secretary sorts out the bill. The same with Linda and David.’

Erika looked at Moss and Peterson, and they got up.

‘I think we’ll end it there, Mr Osborne, thank you. I’m sorry about the line of questioning, but your answers to these difficult questions will really help our investigation.’ Erika touched his sleeve. ‘We’ll see ourselves out,’ she added.