Hurling the passport across the room, Marie yanked at the jacket, desperately trying to tear the material with her bare hands. When that didn’t work, she snatched her nail scissors up off the bedside table and hacked at it instead.

Exhausted after a few minutes, she was stuffing the ruined jacket into the suitcase along with his other clothes when the house-phone started ringing. Dropping everything, she threw herself across the bed and snatched up the receiver.

‘Evan?’

‘No, it’s Jo. Isn’t he there? Only I’ve been calling his mobile for the last few days, and he hasn’t answered or rung me back.’

Irritated that her sister-in-law hadn’t even had the grace to say hello, Marie said, ‘No, he’s not here. I haven’t seen him all week – but you probably already knew that, didn’t you?’

‘No, I didn’t,’ said Jo. ‘Has something happened?’

Marie clenched her teeth when she thought she detected a hint of glee in her sister-in-law’s tone. Jo was another one from Evan’s family who’d never liked her – and the feeling was mutual. Jo had looked down her nose at Marie from the moment Evan had introduced them, and Marie couldn’t stand her. The bitch thought she was a cut above everybody else, and her daughter was a pampered little princess who was going to grow up to be a snob, same as her mother.

‘Hello . . .?’ Jo said. ‘Are you still there?’

‘Yes, I’m here,’ Marie said. ‘And, no, nothing’s happened. Not that I was aware of, anyway,’ she added bitterly. ‘You’re probably best calling your dad if you want to speak to him, ’cos that’s where he’s hiding.’

‘Really?’ Jo sounded confused. ‘I thought they weren’t talking?’

‘They weren’t,’ said Marie. ‘But Evan was missing him, so he went round to sort it out. Last I heard, they’d made up, and Evan was going round to help him with his cars. But your dad reckons he hasn’t seen him, so I haven’t got a clue what’s going on. All I do know is, he’s been lying to me for weeks: telling me that bitch is a dog, when she’s not; and that she’s not there any more, when she is.’

‘What bitch?’

‘The foreign one your dad’s shacked up with.’

‘Oh . . .’ Jo murmured. ‘She’s still there, then?’

‘Like you didn’t know,’ Marie said tartly. ‘You and Evan have been thick as thieves these last few weeks, and I know you’ve been talking about her, so stop treating me like an idiot.’

‘I don’t think you’re an idiot,’ Jo argued. ‘I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but you’re my brother’s wife, so I—’