‘Why did he call you?’
‘Like I said. To tell me about Alexa.’
‘Yes, but why? If you two haven’t been in contact for weeks, what was the sudden urgency?’
Sam shrugs. ‘Toby’s strange. I like him, but he’s strange. I think he’s socially awkward too, and that makes him lonely. I talk to him because not many others do. When he heard about Alexa, he would’ve been itching to tell someone, and to be honest, my number is probably the only one in his phone contacts.’
‘Okay, fair enough. So why did you pretend just now that you didn’t know about Alexa’s death?’
‘Because I knew the victim and you’re looking to point the finger at someone, and if you knew that I was already discussing her—’
‘You think that’s how we work? We’re not here to—’
‘Last week you stopped me on the road. You said I was speeding. I wasn’t speeding. Now I’m going to have more points on my licence.’
So that’s it, Cody thinks. A chip on his shoulder. There’s a lot of hate for the police among people who break the law and can’t find it within themselves to admit blame or accept the consequences.
‘Sam,’ Webley says, ‘we’re not here to talk about a traffic offence. We’re here to discuss murder. You need to understand how serious this is.’
‘I get it. I understand.’
‘Good. So then tell us when you last saw Alexa.’
Webley’s intervention seems to calm Sam down a little. ‘About three weeks ago, in the class.’
‘You haven’t been for the last couple of weeks?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I’ve been too busy. With work.’
‘What work do you do?’
‘I’m a web designer. I work here, from home.’
‘Have you seen Alexa since you stopped going to her fitness class?’
Sam jerks his head back in surprise. ‘No. Why would I see my fitness instructor?’
‘We heard you took quite a fancy to her.’
‘A fancy? What do you mean?’
‘You were attracted to her.’
Sam raises his voice again. ‘Who gave you that idea? Toby? Don’t listen to him. Guy’s on a different planet.’
Cody exchanges glances with Webley, confirming their pact not to drop Toby in it.
‘Toby didn’t tell us anything about you,’ she says. ‘We’re interviewing everyone who attended Alexa’s class. But like my sergeant says, the way you’re acting with us is making us very suspicious.’
‘I’m nervous. When police turn up at my house, it makes me nervous. Anyone else would be the same.’
‘Not if they’ve got nothing to hide. So how about it, Sam? Did you have a thing for Alexa?’
‘If you’re asking whether I thought she was attractive, then yeah. I think even the other women on the class probably had a crush on her.’
‘But did it go any further than that?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Did you ever ask her out on a date?’
Sam snorts a laugh. ‘No. That’s ridiculous. She wouldn’t look twice at someone like me.’
‘So you never went to bed with her?’
‘What? Of course not.’
‘And if we go back and ask your friend Toby about you, he’ll say the same thing, right?’
Sam chews his lip. ‘Maybe… maybe I said something to Toby.’
‘Okay. Like what?’
‘Look, there’s something you need to understand about Toby. He doesn’t have a girlfriend. He’s never had a girlfriend. Like I said, he’s socially awkward. For some reason, he latched onto me, and… and he likes it when I talk about girls.’
