Page 114 of The Jealous Girl

‘Well, yes, but⁠—’

‘Do people you barely know usually do those things?’

‘No, but Charlotte wasn’t like most people.’

‘How so?’

‘She went where she wanted. Did what she wanted.’

‘That must have been inconvenient. Perhaps even annoying.’

‘Look, Charlotte didn’t like it when Ryan and I got back together. She liked to remind me that she was still around. Still in his life.’

‘But you weren’t together on Wednesday when she came to your flat, were you? Ryan had left you and moved back home. With Charlotte.’

‘Yes.’ I forced the word out.

‘So why would she need to remind you of her existence? She’d already won him back.’

Won. He made it sound like it was a game.

But, then, perhaps it was to Charlotte. One she was determined to stack against me.

‘Like I said, she came to tell me to stay away from Ryan.’

‘And from her?’

My throat constricted.

‘We understand Charlotte accused you of stalking her,’ PC Day added.

‘On social media,’ I said quickly.

‘We also understand she usually went riding early in the morning, but instead she came to see you. Do you know why she changed her routine that day?’

I shook my head. ‘I have no idea. All I know is Charlotte was waiting for me when I got home.’

‘At what time was this?’

‘About 8 a.m., I think.’

‘Surely your conversation could have waited a few hours.’

‘It could have waited permanently, as far as I was concerned.’

‘Hmm,’ PC Grove murmured. ‘You said you’d just got home. From where?’

‘I had gone to see a friend.’

‘Before 8 a.m.? That’s early, isn’t it?’

‘I guess.’

‘Interesting.’ He paused. ‘You and Charlotte seem to have that in common. Turning up on people’s doorsteps early in the morning.’

I shrugged slightly.

‘And then, after leaving you, she chose to ride all the way out to Ballard Down. Somewhere no one has any recollection of her riding before.’ PC Grove leaned forwards. ‘Until Wednesday. After seeing you.’