Georgie hesitated, the rebuttal was on the tip of her tongue. She sensed Fox was lying but there was something about the way she was looking at her that made Georgie swallow it. All of a sudden, she looked like any other girl, friendly even. She wasn’t fooled, though – Fox could turn it off as quickly as she could turn it on but there was something else. She would have to be careful, watch what she said. It would all be on record. But if she could find out what was really driving Elinor Fox, that might be helpful, because it sure as hell wasn’t just because her mum mentioned that the Eliases were crooked.

‘All right,’ she said, mustering a smile, of sorts. ‘Ten minutes. That’s all.’

*

The nearest cafe was on Kensington High Street and was as good a place as any to talk. At this time of day there were hardly any other patrons. Just a woman on her own buried in the latest Dan Brown book and an older couple making their way through a plate of scrambled eggs.

Fox had opted for a can of Coke, Georgie had a bottle of still water. Fox had paid. Georgie hadn’t objected. She needed Fox to feel relaxed, although she knew that she was probably thinking exactly the same thing. The mind games had already begun. The reporter had slung her oversized coat on the back of the chair. It reminded Georgie of one she had once seen Charlie in.

Fox cleared her throat, leant across the table a little, giving off an air of confidentiality. ‘I believe that Alexia Elias has been siphoning money out of the charity for years, decades even, but no one can prove it.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘It’s conjecture,’ Fox admitted. ‘But I have sources.’

‘Have you always been freelance?’ Georgie hoped that the quick change of subject might keep the upper hand with her and judging by Fox’s tiny grimace she was right.

Fox took a swig of the Coke. ‘I worked for a few local papers where I grew up. Nothing special, but it was a start. It’s a difficult profession to get into, especially when you don’t have anyone to help you up the ladder.’

‘You haven’t always lived in London then?’

Fox smiled, and for a moment Georgie could almost believe it was genuine. ‘No, I grew up by the sea. Proper little country girl. We moved here when I was eighteen; my mum got a job as a head teacher near here. It was what she always wanted and there weren’t any opportunities in Norfolk.’

Georgie registered her words. Norfolk. ‘Dominique and Alexia Elias lived in Norfolk.’

Fox nodded, like it wasn’t a big deal, then mirrored Georgie’s trick to twist the conversation around. ‘You’ve worked for Charlie for long?’

‘A while.’

‘What’s he like to work for?’