Page 157 of The Hallmarked Man
‘A girl was seen entering and leaving the burgled room on Friday the seventeenth of June. She had long black hair and was wearing a very similar outfit to the one Sofia was wearing when she was found. Then a man with dark, curly hair entered the room, in the early hours of the following morning. We think the pair of them then drove off together in a silver car.’
At the mention of the curly haired man, Max’s face lost expression, and Gretchen reached suddenly for her beer bottle and took a clumsy gulp.
‘But obviously,’ Robin said, masking the thrill of excitement that had just passed through her, ‘lots of women have long black hair and wear pink tops. It’s just that the sighting of a girl matching Sofia’s description in those unusual circumstances, just twenty-four hours before Sofia was found dead, made us wonder whether there was a connection.’
The pause that followed ought, Robin thought, to have been full of protestations – ‘Sofia would never have committed burglary’, ‘it can’t have been her’, ‘you’ve got the wrong person’ – but the two students sat frozen, without looking at each other. Even so, Robin could almostsee the invisible communications flying between them.Now what? Just say something. Anything.
‘But as you say,’ said Max at last, ‘der are lots of vimmin who look like det, vid long hair and zo on. And I don’t tink she’d be involved in somezing like det,’ he added, turning in rather artificial fashion to look at his girlfriend. ‘Vould she?’
‘No,’ said Gretchen. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Did you know Sofia well, Gretchen?’ asked Robin.
‘Yes,’ said Gretchen, but she added quickly, ‘only because we shared a flat. I advertised on the college noticeboard and she applied. We had different friends.’
‘Did you like her?’ asked Robin.
‘Vy does it matter if Gretchenlikedher?’ said Max superciliously.
Ignoring him, Robin addressed Gretchen again.
‘Did any of her male friends have dark, curly—?’
‘No,’ said Gretchen, too quickly.
Yes, thought Robin, it was definitely the dark, curly haired man who had the couple worried.
‘But you weren’t in the same friendship group,’ said Robin, ‘so you might not have known, if she was involved with someone like that?’
‘No,’ said Gretchen, clearly striving for a casual tone. ‘Maybe not.’
‘I read in the papers about Sofia’s OnlyFans account. You were concerned she was making it too easy for men to find out where she was—’
‘That wasn’t me,’ said Gretchen quickly. ‘Somebody else said that, to the papers. It wasn’t me.’
‘Vot hass det got to do vid der robbery, an OnlyFans account?’ demanded Max. ‘Dere’s nothing illegal, posting your own nudes. Det’s not a crime.’
‘No, of course it isn’t,’ said Robin, and, addressing Gretchen again, she asked,
‘Did you ever hear Sofia mention a man called William? William Wright?’
‘No, I never heard her talk about a William,’ said Gretchen.
‘Villiam, no,Inever heard her talk about, eider,’ said Max.
‘What didyouthink of Sofia, Max?’ Robin asked. If he wanted to talk, let him talk.
‘I only knew her because of dem sharing a flat,’ he said, but he couldn’t resist adding, ‘she vos a party girl.’
‘Sag das nicht,’ muttered Gretchen.
‘Der’s nothing wrong vid being a party girl,’ Max told his girlfriend. ‘She vos det type, det’s all. She showed me her – vot is it?Requisiten,’ he said to Gretchen. ‘Der first time I came to der flat. Der vigs and dat.’
When Robin looked politely enquiring, Gretchen muttered,
‘He means, her props.’
‘Props?’ said Robin blankly, and then she realised what was meant, and said, ‘Oh, for pictures to post online?’
