‘I asked at the desk to talk to someone who knew Justin Kiel,’ he told her. ‘They sent me to you.’

‘Why are you interested in Justin?’

‘I think you know why. He was murdered.’

Peach played with the television remote control in her hand. ‘Well, yes, he was, Detective, but he wasn’t murdered in Naples. The crime took place in St Petersburg. So how does this involve you?’

Cab smiled again. No doubt about it – she was smart.

‘I’m not actually investigating the murder itself,’ Cab admitted. ‘Not for the police, anyway.’

‘So you’re a private citizen, and I’m a private citizen. That means I don’t have to answer any of your questions, right?’

‘Yes, you’re right. Then again, I’m also working for your boss.’

Peach hesitated. ‘Ms Fairmont?’

‘And Caprice Dean,’ Cab said.

‘What did they hire you to do?’

Cab said nothing, and the girl nodded at the irony. ‘Yeah, okay, you could tell me, but then you’d have to kill me,’ she said.

‘Something like that,’ Cab replied.

‘Why do you care about Justin? The police say he was killed in some kind of drug deal gone bad.’

‘Do you believe that?’ Cab asked.

‘Do you?’

Cab studied the girl’s defiant face. He’d come in here expecting to play cop games with her, but instead, she was playing cop games with him. He decided to be honest and see how she dealt with the truth. ‘No,’ he said.

Peach couldn’t hide the intensity of her reaction. It wasn’t surprise or curiosity. It was exhilaration. With one word, he had changed something inside her. She leaned forward with a strange excitement, as if, suddenly, she knew her place in the world. She’d been vindicated.

‘If it wasn’t drugs, what was it?’ Peach asked.

‘You tell me.’

She was silent. Around them, the walls shook with the wind. ‘I have no idea,’ she said finally.

Peach was lying. As always, lies told him more than the truth. She knew more than she was letting on, but whatever she knew, she was reluctant to tell him. He was a stranger.

‘How well did you know Justin?’ he asked.

‘We worked together, that’s all.’

Cab heard the translation in his head: We were close. Very close. He wondered exactly how close. Were they friends? Were they lovers? He thought that her skin flushed at the very sound of his name.

‘What did you two work on?’

‘Research.’

‘Oh, right. Your lips are sealed. I know you have to be careful about telling people what you do, but we’re on the same team, Peach. I’m not the enemy. If you and Justin were digging into something that got him killed, you should tell me.’

‘Justin and I weren’t working together before he was killed,’ Peach said. ‘I can’t tell you anything.’

‘What about computer records?’