CLAIRE

"He's not," I said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Isabelle Laurent," she said. "I'm a business associate of Julian's, we had a meeting scheduled but he didn't show, I thought I'd check if everything was alright."

I opened the door partway, keeping the chain lock on. "Julian's out of town," I explained. "He left this morning for Singapore."

Isabelle's perfectly shaped eyebrows rose slightly. "Singapore?" she repeated. "He didn't mention that when we spoke last week."

"It came up suddenly," I said.

Isabelle's eyes traveled over me, assessing in a way that made me feel suddenly underdressed in my casual clothes.

"You must be Claire," she said, her tone pleasant...