A long time ago. Ben now understood that Wolf had been carrying that picture around with him all these years. And he also knew where Wolf had bought it as a memento of his romantic two weeks spent in the mountains of Spain with a girl called Sofia. Because scrawled beneath the date, in the same handwriting, was the name of the village depicted in the painting.

It said Albarracín, Aragón.

Ben murmured to himself, ‘I think I’ve just figured out where you went, Jaden.’

Chapter 10

Jeff and Tuesday had sat up for much of the night talking after Ben’s strange and sudden departure. Sometime in the wee small hours, over maybe his tenth or eleventh mug of coffee, Jeff declared, ‘I don’t know about you, mate, but this has got me worried.’

Tuesday was concerned too, but trying to look on the brighter side. ‘It’s obviously got to do with Grace. Why else would he have asked us not to return her calls or speak to her if she phoned here? They must’ve had a bust-up or something. None of our business. But it’ll get sorted out, one way or another. You know how these things are.’

Jeff, still emotionally a little tender from his breakup with Chantal, did indeed know how these things are. ‘He’s had his ups and downs in that department, sure. Brooke, then what’s-her-name in Cherbourg, and now this Scottish chick he’s gone all mushy on.’

‘I don’t think she’s exactly a chick.’

Jeff waved him off. ‘But that’s not the point, is it? There’s more to it than that. This is different. The look on his face. The tone of his voice. The way he insisted we had to keep out of it.’

‘He always does that. You know he likes to be independent, handle things on his own. That’s just his way.’

Jeff looked at his friend. ‘Are you on my side, or what? Saying there’s nothing to worry about here?’

‘I’m an optimist, that’s all.’

‘You don’t think he was acting odd?’

‘Okay, yes, I admit that he was acting odd.’

Jeff shook his head, adamant. ‘He’s scared, Tues. Scared as hell. And he doesn’t scare easy. Last time he had that look on his face was when Jude was on that tanker, remember?’

Tuesday remembered it well. He’d been involved in the whole drama when the ship Ben’s son had been a crew member on had been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. ‘The African thing. But that was a full-on hostage situation. Life or death. Ben was happy to have us along for the ride that time. So maybe, if this was really a big deal, he’d have asked us this time too.’