‘Sleep? Don’t be stupid. Nobody sleeps in this town.’

‘But the Awards ceremony starts in . . . Christ! Six hours!’

‘See? No point in going to bed now. Let’s go out dancing. It’ll be fun. Everyone will be there.’

‘Everyone in the adult industry? Whoopee.’

‘Fuck this,’ said Joel, pushing out his lips in a passable imitation of Ivan. ‘I don’t think you’re even pleased to see me.’

‘I am, you know I am. It’s fantastic that you’re here. It’s fantastic that you’ve landed such a . . . plum part. We’ll go to the club. I can’t work all the time. I’ve done everything. We’re ready. We just have to sit back and watch. What could possibly go wrong?’

Joel wasn’t listening. ‘Fabulous.’

When did you ever say ‘fabulous’?

‘Ivan will take us. He always has the best drugs.’

‘Non, madame, elle n’est pas içi.’

‘Are you sure? Etes-vous sûre ? Victoria Crabtree. English woman. Anglaise. Je crois qu’elle est enceinte.’

‘Désolée, madame. We can not say this. Mademoiselle Crabtree is no longer here.’

‘But she was? Elle était? When . . . Oh God. Quand est-elle quittée . . .’

The nurse – receptionist shrugged, raised her eyebrows, signalled to a young man in a suit with a name badge.

‘Madame, I regret, one can not pass on confidential details.’ He sounded as if he was reading from a card. ‘We can only say that we do not have this lady here. That is all.’

‘But this is an emergency.’

‘You do not have her phone number?’

‘Yes. But she doesn’t answer.’

‘Then perhaps she does not wish to speak to you, madame.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, she doesn’t know what I . . . Oh this is absurd. I’m a lawyer. Un avocat. This is important.’

‘Excuse me, madame. This is the rule. I am sorry.’

‘You will be,’ said Christine, wondering if she could get any more sense out of the local police.

Isabelle got home at two o’clock in the morning. Her body clock was all over the place, and she didn’t feel at all tired. She was sober – unlike Mike, who tumbled into bed drunk as a skunk, and immediately fell asleep. Isabelle took a shower, wrapped herself in a satin kimono and went to see if Will was awake. If he wasn’t, he soon would be. It was time to start getting ready.

She tapped on his door, which was standing ajar – well, at least that meant he didn’t have company.

‘Will? Are you awake?’ The room was dark. ‘Come on,’ she said, making her way to the window and drawing back the blinds. ‘It’s time to get up.’

A little of the city’s light pollution filtered in from outside.

‘Wake up, sleepy head.’

She turned round. The bed was empty, made up, exactly as the maid had left it yesterday morning.

Chapter 28

Chapter 28