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There was no malice in his voice. She sat on one of the chairs, her body relaxing bit by bit. “Steve never mentioned someone called Mat.”

He laughed. “You know all his secrets?”

“No. But, considering I’m his best friend, I believe, he would have mentioned a friend staying with him.”

“Let me think, I can’t recall him mentioning your name, either.”

His voice had a teasing tone, and Tiffany was starting to like him. It was exactly what she needed after opening the door to the police.

“After his girlfriend, I’m the next most important person in Steve’s life,” she said, trying hard to match his humour. “And there’s never been a mention of a person named Mat. I’m pretty certain of that.”

“Damn that little bugger. Here I thought we were best buddies.” He paused for a second then added, “Tell me, Tiffany, why were you so upset?”

“You tell me first how Steve knows someone from New Zealand.”

He laughed again, and it was one of those contagious laughs, which told everyone of his love for it: deep, heartfelt, and infectious. She liked him already for his laugh alone.

“You picked up on that, ay?”

“Educated guess.”

There was silence before he explained. “Steve and I went to school together in Sydney, and we’ve stayed in contact.”

She remembered Steve had grown up in Sydney but then moved to Melbourne in his early teens because of his father’s job. Mat’s voice brought her back from her thoughts, before she was able to reply.

“Darling, I love talking to you, but I’ve got to be somewhere in an hour. Can you promise me you’ll be okay?”

“Thanks, Mat. Yes, I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t a big lie, because at that moment she was feeling better.

She hung up and noticed a smile on her face. And instead of a churning stomach, butterflies had made themselves comfortable. She thought of how easy the conversation had flowed and how attentive he’d been. And his voice. She liked his voice. It was deep and calm, smooth and articulate. She closed her eyes and lost herself in his accent. It hadn’t been strong, but still obvious to her.

And then there’d been his laugh. God, his laugh. It had turned her inside out.

With a big exhale, she covered her face with her hands, surprised that on a day she had to face the police, she was drooling over a man she’d never met, but only talked to.

For a mere few minutes, at that.

The police. A ripple of worry went through her, and she stood to search for her phone to give Steve another call. This time on his mobile.