Page 108 of The Jealous Girl

‘I was? I mean, I saw her, but⁠—’

I clamped my mouth shut.

Why was I so nervous?

‘Was that normal?’

I blinked.

‘For you and Charlotte to meet?’

I shook my head. ‘Not really.’

PC Day nodded slightly. ‘We understand that you and Charlotte weren’t close. In fact, by all accounts, it seems there was a lot of animosity between you…’

She let her statement hang.

‘Charlotte was protective of the stables, and her place in it,’ I replied cautiously.

‘And you were a threat to that?’

A threat. The word tore through me. Is that what they thought I was to her? Surely that wasn’t good.

‘I was an outsider,’ I said calmly. ‘I grew up in a city. I didn’t know anything about horses. That didn’t sit well with Charlotte. She didn’t think I belonged here.’

‘But you were dating the Blackwaters’ son, Ryan?’

I nodded.

‘Until he left you last week.’ PC Grove paused. ‘For Charlotte.’

I clasped my hands together in my lap.

Charlotte had been thrown. That’s what Ryan said. It was an accident. Unexpected. Tragic. But an accident.

My stomach tightened. So why were they questioning me?

‘Miss Palmer?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘So, it’s fair to say you had a grievance with Charlotte?’

‘We had a mutual dislike of one another, yes.’

My gaze shifted to the computer beside me. The sales agreements with my signature flashed through my head. What if the police found them?

I could tell them.

I should tell them.

But would they believe I had nothing to do with them?

How could I explain how I knew about them, without incriminating myself further?

‘And now that she’s dead—’ PC Grove glanced back towards the door ‘—you and Ryan are back together?’

‘No,’ I said quickly.