the fact I don’t want to tell them about the affair in case it gives them ammunition against me.
I suppose though, if I hold on to the information I can use it down the line if and when I need to.
‘OK,’ I tell him, reluctant to feel like I’m offering him anything, ‘for now I won’t say anything.’ He lets out the breath he’s holding. ‘But, Rob,’ I add, ‘I’m not promising anything.’
‘OK,’ he answers. ‘I understand. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’
I close my eyes as I hang up and let the words bounce off me, meaningless as sleet blowing against a cold pane of glass.
Chapter Thirty-One
The door buzzer goes and my heart makes a valiant effort to smash its way out of my chest. My nerve endings are raw and exposed. Since the call with Rob about half an hour ago I’ve been anxiously pacing the room, trying to write down a to-do list, but I’m too distracted, too panicked to write anything, to process much more than the fact my husband was having an affair with my best friend and may have killed her.
I feel like an innocent prisoner on death row, who knows the seconds are ticking by but can’t figure out how to stay the executioner’s hand. I’ve tried to discount the two people with motives besides me – Toby and Rob – and failed. And there’s still the very real possibility that it was an accident or Kate was killed by a stranger. In which case, I’ll never find out what happened.
I wait, holding my breath, until the knock on my bedroom door comes. It’s Sebastian telling me that it’s the police again. His gaze slides across my face and over the room. I can’t tell what’s going on in his mind, only that he seems to be in a perverse way enjoying the drama I’m providing. I’m a form of reality TV I suppose, or a Hitchcockian thriller playing out in front of him in real time.
I walk to the front door to meet Nunes.
‘What is it? Did you find out who killed Kate?’ I ask.
‘We have some more questions,’ he answers, a master in holding back. ‘You must come to station.’
I sigh loudly. ‘Again? I’ve already been in for an interview a few hours ago. What other questions are there?’ I may be presenting a calm exterior but inside I’m freaking out. Are they going to arrest me?
He looks like he wants to just order me into the car without further ado but my belligerence stops him. ‘We want to ask you some questions about your friend.’
‘Kate?’ I ask, confused.
‘No, the Uber driver. Konstandin Zeqiri.’
‘Konstandin?’ That pulls me up short. How the hell do they know about Konstandin? Was it Joaquim? Did he tell them about the man who beat him up? But how would they have been able to identify Konstandin? Joaquim didn’t know his name.
‘Can you come with me?’ Nunes repeats, indicating the front door.
I turn to see Sebastian hovering in the living room, listening in.
‘OK,’ I say. ‘Fine, let me get my bag.’
I dart back into my room, questions racing through my mind as I pull on a sweater. How do they know about Konstandin? Why do they need to ask questions about him? What was it he said when I asked him if he’d killed anyone? If he had, he wouldn’t tell me.
Oh my God. What if I’ve been wrong about him this whole time?
Gathering my handbag, I hurry back to meet Nunes, who is waiting for me in the hallway.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Despite the fact it’s almost nine in the evening, the police station seems busier than normal. People are bustling around and when I walk through with Nunes at my side, I notice a lot of the police officers stop to watch me. My skin prickles under their gaze. I’ve done a walk of shame before, when I was at university, but this feels like that times ten. Everyone is looking at me like I’m guilty.
In the background of the reception area the news is playing on a TV, and I recognise Reza on screen. I can’t understand what she’s saying but she’s giving a press conference to a room of journalists and Kate’s photo sits in the bottom corner of the screen. I skid to a stop, shocked. I haven’t been on social media, haven’t been aware that the news has picked up the story.
Reza is in her office, surrounded by coffee cups, and looking stressed. She doesn’t