Page 71 of Perfect Strangers

They waited a minute until the woman had disappeared and the waiter across the road was back inside the café, then walked into the cool lobby, unsurprisingly empty at that time of day.

Sophie felt nervous as they went inside. She could still hear the crack of the bullet and never wanted to experience anything like that again. If Josh knew where Nick’s secret apartment was, then maybe the Russians did too. After all, they had tracked him down to the Riverton.

There was an old-fashioned cage-style elevator at the end of the hall, but Josh turned towards the stairs. ‘Less likely to meet anyone this way,’ he said. ‘Can you make it to the top?’

Sophie rolled her eyes.

‘Oh, I think I’ll manage.’

‘That’s right, I’ve seen you run,’ he smiled.

‘Right, why don’t you go and wait by the door to apartment three,’ he said when they had reached the top floor.

‘Where are you going?’

He pointed up a further narrow flight of stairs.

‘The roof.’

He opened the black rucksack and took out a screwdriver and a short crowbar.

‘What are they for?’

‘Look,’ he said, indicating the glass dome illuminating the stairwell. ‘If they have skylights here, they’ve probably got them over the apartments too.’

‘Josh, no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I’m serious. You’ll break your neck.’

‘I’m more nimble than you think,’ he said sarcastically.

‘But what if it’s alarmed?’

‘Then we’re fucked,’ he replied with a straight face. ‘I’ll only be a few minutes. Just wait by the door.’

‘No,’ said Sophie fiercely. ‘I’m coming with you.’

She could see he was about to object, but then he changed his mind.

‘All right,’ he said, handing her the rucksack. ‘You can carry the bag, then.’

The roof was gently pitched, but hidden from the street by a parapet that ran all the way around the building.

‘Just be careful,’ hissed Sophie as Josh set off towards the far end. She allowed herself a peek over the edge and felt sick. The block backed straight on to the Seine, and it was at least a two-hundred-foot drop down into the water. She quickly pulled her head back in.

‘Josh, wait for me,’ she called, tiptoeing along a foot-wide pathway, both arms spread out for balance. She found him at the far end of the building, leaning over a two-foot-square window that was set into the sloping tile roof.

‘Assuming we’re got the right apartment, this goes down into the comtesse’s living room,’ he said, pulling out the screwdriver. ‘I think I can lever this open.’

‘Josh, this is trespassing. This is burglary.’

‘Look, Sophie, if you’ve got any better ideas, I’m all ears,’ he said. ‘As far as I know, this was Nick’s main base for the past six months, so it’s our best chance of finding any clues about what he was up to or who he was dealing with.’

‘Who had him killed, you mean.’

He wedged the crowbar into the gap between the window and the frame and heaved, but instead of popping the skylight open, the iron bar slipped and trapped Josh’s hand, making him drop it with a clang.

‘Shit!’ he hissed, waggling his hand in pain.

‘Well, maybe that’s because it’s locked,’ Sophie said.