Flowers ran a hand up and down his jaw. ‘I don’t want you to feel bad about that night. What’s the big deal, anyway? We kicked on after the others had left and one thing led to another. We were in a celebratory mood.’

‘That’s a nice way of saying we were on the way to getting hammered,’ Sterling said with a laugh.

At any other time Flowers would have felt great having her rock up at his door unexpectedly like this. But he was on edge, his heartbeat quickening every time she turned her head.

When she sobered, he asked, ‘Did you phone Collins and tell him about the break-in?’

‘Yes, he’s already checked it out. I’m going to see him tomorrow when I get back. I told him I was freaked out and going to stay with a girlfriend.’

‘Anyone on the road?’

She shook her head. ‘Hardly anyone.’

Flowers looked at his watch. ‘It’s two-thirty. Let’s call Ryder at six o’clock and ask him to come over.’

‘I think that’s a good idea.’ She stood up suddenly and looked down at him. ‘Do you mind if I make a cup of tea?’

Flowers scrambled to his feet. ‘I’ll make it. You sit down.’

‘No, I’ll do it. Is the kitchen this way?’ she asked, turning directly towards the desk against the wall. Flowers stopped and, as he knew she would, she swung around, the laughter gone, a watchful expression on her face. ‘What’s all the gear for?’

Thirty-two

Flowers waved a dismissive hand. ‘Oh, it’s just some extra stuff I’m doing after hours.’

‘What extra stuff?’

‘It’s not important. Don’t worry about it.’

‘Is this to do with the case?’

Oh man, she was insistent. ‘I’m not trawling through the dark web if that’s what you’re thinking,’ he said a little defensively. ‘I’m playing a game, though there’s a bit more to it than that.’

‘Is that why you’re always up so late?’ she asked, running her eyes over the equipment.

He nodded. ‘That’s when it all happens in the Northern Hemisphere.’

Sterling shook her head and stared at the expensive set-up. ‘And you brought all this with you?’

‘It’s actually pretty compact once it’s tidied up, except for the monitor. I just pack it in the boot and throw a blanket over it. I had it with me in Queanbeyan when I was there for that court case, before I was sent here.’

‘I just toss a novel in my backpack,’ she said with a smile.

Flowers relaxed a little. ‘I’ve never been much of a reader, and growing up on the coast, most of my mates were surfers, but with this skin, it was burn, peel, burn and peel again.’

‘All that Celtic colouring.’

‘That’s it.’