‘Someone with a hell of a lot on his mind,’ Tuesday said. ‘That’s who.’

‘So you’re agreeing with me that something’s wrong?’

‘I’m not sure yet.’

Jeff picked up the iPhone from the bed and recognised it as Ben’s main carry device. ‘Left it behind.’

Tuesday frowned at it. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘You tell me, Sherlock.’ Jeff turned the phone on and examined it for a moment. ‘There’s a voice message. Looks like it’s from her.’

‘You can’t listen to his private messages, Jeff.’

Jeff listened to it anyway. Grace had called and left her message late last night, just after eleven, after Ben had already packed up and gone. Jeff put it on speaker for them both to hear. Her voice sounded bright and cheery. Her accent was crisp and pleasing to the ear.

‘Hi babes, got your text. Missing you already. Talk soon, okay? Love ya.’

Jeff turned the phone off and replaced it on the bed. ‘Babes.’ He picked up the brown envelope and gave it a shake, finding that it was empty. Then he examined the two passports. ‘Hm, that’s odd. This one’s his real passport. This other one’s an expired fake.’

‘What the hell would Ben want with a fake passport?’ Tuesday asked. He was a relative newcomer to the family. Ben and Jeff had been running Le Val for a few years when they’d hired him. As a result, the younger man knew little about the secretive career that Ben had pursued after quitting the military.

Jeff was far better informed. He explained, ‘Never met the guy, but Ben used to employ a forger called Thierry Chevrolet to cook up phony ID for him, back in the day. Supposed to have been the shit-hottest counterfeiter in France, or so Ben said.’

‘I’m not even going to ask.’

‘Anyway, I happen to know that he keeps two more fake passports in his safe, which I have to assume aren’t expired like this one, or he wouldn’t have taken them. They’re missing. Which means, if he has gone to London, he didn’t want to travel on his real name. The plot thickens, mate.’

‘Shit,’ Tuesday said.

‘Also missing are his two burner phones, plus a bunch of cash that I also happen to know he had stored away in there for a rainy day. And that’s not all. He’s taken his Browning nine-milly, too.’

Tuesday looked even more perplexed. ‘How’s he going to get that into the UK?’

‘He has his ways,’ Jeff said. ‘Still think this is just a lovers’ tiff? Me neither.’

‘Not good,’ Tuesday said.

Jeff picked up the handgun that Ben had left behind. He knew that Ben would always opt for the old workhorse Browning if he was in trouble. After a quick examination of the Springfield, Jeff tossed it back on the bed.