Windows ran all the way round two of the walls. They overlooked the river and the centre of London, all lit up with street lamps and Christmas lights. ‘Wow.’ I looked round. ‘Cool place.’ Hayley took off her jacket and wandered over to an enormous fish tank in the corner. A handful of brightly-coloured fish were swimming happily through green fronds and bubbling blue water. The feeder system was obviously working fine. ‘What does your sister’s boyfriend do?’ I said, genuinely curious about how someone so young could afford a place like this. ‘He’s in the City,’ Hayley says. ‘Earns masses. The furniture in here cost a fortune – it’s all designer stuff. That glass table’s worth over ten thousand pounds. He’s got this amazing sports car, too. I’ve been out in it. It cost him, like, seventy grand . . .’ I tuned out again, remembering Alejandro’s Alfa Romeo Spider and the night he’d driven me out in it in Mallorca.
