‘I know I shouldn’t have said anything at all, but I figured where was the risk in telling him about Amy? She’s just his ex, right? There was nothing to tell about her, beyond bikini model. I mean, that was all we knew! That and the fact he’d kept the engagement a secret.’

‘And so that’s what you told Julian?’

‘Yes. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I just mentioned it in passing.’

Clover tightened the towel wrapped around her. She was still ‘dressed’ from her shower earlier. ‘So you told Julian about Amy, and the next thing we know, Amy’s sold her story and is ringing him afterwards?’

‘But that . . . I mean, that makes it sound so bad – but there has to be an innocent explanation!’ Matty said, her words a gabble.

Clover frowned, thinking hard. ‘Did you get the impression Julian had heard about Amy before you told him?’

‘No. He was as surprised as I was.’

‘Did you have Amy’s number written down anywhere Julian could see it?’

Matty hesitated as she tried to think back. ‘Uh . . . Well, yeah. I think it was written down on some papers on my desk.’

‘On the desk in the hotel room Julian gave you to work in?’

Matty’s eyes widened as she caught the intimation. ‘Yes. But . . .?’ The word was an airy puff of disbelief.

Neither woman spoke for several moments. If Julian had been spying on her work, what else had he been doing? Clover began to pace. She had a gathering feeling of doom. Something was very seriously off about this.

‘. . . It was Julian who first made contact with us, wasn’t it?’ Clover asked, thinking back to the start. ‘He got in touch with us about the possibility of the film . . .’

‘Yes.’ Matty’s voice was quiet.

They stared at each other. Clover could see goosebumps on her friend’s arms.

‘All this time, I thought he was trying to influence us to go easy on Kit,’ Clover murmured. ‘But look at the timings of the things that have happened . . . the fight outside the restaurant: we were Julian’s guests. Last night at the casino: Julian’s guests . . . That’s too neat to be coincidence, surely? Any time we’ve been with Julian, Kit has been stitched up. People with an interest seem to know where he is at the right time. That mob outside the restaurant, the press at the casino . . . And on each occasion, it’s been timed for maximum exposure . . .’

‘But that makes absolutely no sense! Julian wouldn’t sabotage Kit! That would be shooting himself in the foot. No, more than that . . . it would be blowing his own leg off! Think about the money he’s spent promoting Kit, setting up the clothing line especially for him, the boards, bringing the FIS world tour to Kaprun . . . The chalet, the car . . . He’s spent an absolute fortune!’