Darling.” Julian pulled Annabel to him, his arms locking behind her back. “There you are. I was so worried.”
“I’m all right. Jonas is here. He helped me clean this place up a bit.”
“It was a mess,” Jonas said, from behind her. His face was grave. “I’m glad you called me. Annabel shouldn’t be alone right now. This is getting out of hand.”
The men exchanged a look. Annabel sensed how uneasy they both were, which made her uneasy. If they were the ones who did this, wouldn’t they appear more confident? Menacing, even? Instead, Julian looked genuinely alarmed by the state of her apartment. Jonas, too, seemed shaken. If it was an act, it was a hell of a good one.
“What’s getting out of hand?” she asked.
“Annabel, let’s sit,” Jonas replied. “I think we need to talk.”
Wordlessly, they filed into the living room. Though they had tidied up much of the mess, evidence of the break-in was everywhere. Pictures on the floor. The gutted couches. Piles of paper stacked on the coffee table. The air was still cold. Annabel perched uncomfortably on the arm of a chair.
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Julian looked to Jonas, who gave him a nod. Julian cleared his throat.
“Annabel, there’s something we’ve been keeping from you,” he said gently. “We haven’t—hmm—we haven’t wanted to trouble you, on top of everything that’s happened. But now, I think, is the time for honesty.”
Annabel stiffened. “Honesty,” she said, her voice curt. “Yes, I’d appreciate that.”
“We know you saw Zoe Durand right before you left for London. She came to your apartment, stayed for around an hour. Had you had any contact with her prior to that?”
“How did you know I saw Zoe?”
“We’ve been tailing her for some time,” Jonas said. “We believe she’s been stealing client information and selling it. We weren’t sure to who, so we had her followed. We wanted to see if we could catch her buyer. We suspect someone had an ax to grind with the Amir family. They have powerful enemies. Anyway, I believe whoever was buying the information from Zoe was responsible for Matthew’s death.”
Annabel inhaled sharply. “Why?”
“The client information we have is incredibly valuable,” Julian said. “Think of our client base. Who they are, who they do business with. People will pay enormous sums to have access to that kind of information. For that reason, we’re very selective about who we hire. Zoe was not a typical hire for us. Not well pedigreed. She’s from a very small town in the South of France. Very little money. She’s a smart girl and brilliant with languages. She speaks five, I think. And quite ambitious. But ultimately, I think the financial temptation proved to be too great for her.”
“What did you think of Zoe?” Julian asked Annabel. “Did you spend much time with her?”
“No. I didn’t know her, really. Just in passing.”
“Did Matthew speak about her at all?”
Annabel winced, thinking of the schoolboyish way Matthew would talk about Zoe. “Not really,” she said.
“Why did she come to see you? The night of Matthew’s funeral?”
Annabel looked up and met Jonas’s eye. “I don’t really know,” she said. She chose her words slowly and deliberately. “She brought me a box of Matthew’s things. Nothing of consequence. Just personal items that had ended up in her desk, that kind of thing. I think she felt guilty that we hadn’t really ever gotten to know each other.”
“Did you ever think they might be having an affair?”
Annabel turned and looked at Julian. “Yes,” she said, as calmly as possible. “The thought crossed my mind. But I dismissed it.”
“Why?”
“Because I trusted Matthew. I believed in what we had.”
“Zoe is a persuasive woman. We think she may have convinced Matthew to help her. We know he gave her access to client information that typically bankers do not grant to their assistants.”
“That doesn’t mean they were having an affair. Or that Matthew was doing anything improper.”
Julian took a deep breath. He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “I didn’t want to have to give this to you,” he said, as he handed it to Annabel.
Annabel stared at the envelope. Then she slid a finger inside the seal and pulled it open. Inside, there was a stack of photographs. The first was grainy and so dark she had to hold it up to make out its contents. She flipped quickly through them, stopping on the last one. The image was clear. Their faces were unmistakable. Matthew and Zoe, lying together in a bed Annabel didn’t recognize. Zoe’s eyes were closed. She wore only a bra, sheer enough that her nipples were visible through the fabric. Her hair splayed across the pillow. They weren’t kissing or making love. It was worse. Zoe’s head lay tenderly against Matthew’s shoulder, her hand resting on his naked torso.
“I’m sorry,” Julian said. “Really, I am.”
Annabel stuffed the photographs back into the envelope. “Why did you show me these?”
“Because we’re trying to make you understand how dangerous Zoe Durand can be.” Jonas reached across the table and put his hand on Annabel’s knee. “We think she came into Swiss United with the intention of stealing data. Seducing Matthew was part of her plan.”
“And you think he helped her.”
“We think he might have. But he came to his senses. He was going to turn her in. And it got him killed.”
“So what do you want from me?”
“Help us find Zoe.”
“I don’t know where she is.”
“She disappeared after she visited you. She didn’t tell you where she was going?”
Annabel sat back. She felt her bones settling into the chair, a deep liquid fatigue flooding her body. She closed her eyes. She welcomed the silence, the momentary darkness. Then the image of Zoe’s half-naked body next to her husband flickered on the backs of her eyelids, like a film projection her mind couldn’t shut off. Her eyes popped open.
“She told me to tell you she was going home. To take care of her sick mother.”
“She told you that? Or she told you to tell us that?”
“She told me to tell you that.”
Julian looked at Jonas.
“And did she mention a computer? Matthew’s laptop?”
“Zoe has it,” Annabel said. She looked Jonas in the eye. “If you find her, she’ll have it.”
Jonas nodded. “Thank you, Annabel. You’ve been very helpful.”
“It’s been a long day,” Annabel said. She stood. “Would you mind if I showered, cleaned myself up a bit?”
“Of course.” Jonas and Julian rose to their feet.
“Annabel, you can’t stay here tonight,” Julian said. His eyes shone with concern. “It isn’t safe.”
Jonas agreed. “You’ll stay with us. In Cologny.”
“Go with him, Annabel,” Julian said. “You’ll be safe there. We need to find Zoe. Once we do, we can figure out who her buyer was. Whoever they were, if they killed Matthew, they will come for you.” He gestured around the apartment. “They already have.”
“All right. Just give me time to shower and pack up a few things.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need. We can wait downstairs in the lobby.” Jonas nodded at Julian. The two men turned and let themselves out. As soon as Annabel knew they were gone, she covered her face with her hands and began to weep.