With a young officer called Mitch as their escort, they soon arrived at the airstrip and the military plane took off. As the wheels retracted, Will’s fear of what might happen to Kate almost overwhelmed him, but Matt turned the conversation to practical matters. He questioned Mitch about the plane, while Will tried hard to follow their conversation.

Mitch described the CC-150 high-speed jet they were travelling in, and told them about Moose Jaw being home to the Snowbirds aerobatics team and also the NATO Flying Training Programme that Guy Hogan had been attached to. While he talked, a young man approached carrying three trays laden with a delicious-looking supper.

They passed the rest of the journey eating, drinking and dozing. Will found that the further he got from Whisper Fen, the clearer his mind became.

He slept again, waking to find Mitch gently patting his arm. ‘Welcome to Canada, gentlemen.’ It was a long way to travel merely to say goodbye.

* * *

The hotel was comfortable and functional, typical of those bland conference hotels that specialised in short stays for business travellers. Will and Matt had been given rooms next door to each other.

The first thing Will did was to ring Kate. With the time difference, it was seven in the morning on Whisper Fen.

Her sleepy voice soothed his worries instantly. ‘Bear! You’re safe?’

‘I’m safe, sweetheart. We’re being treated like royalty. How are you? What was your first night like?’

‘Apart from worrying about you, fine. I worked until quite late . . .’

He drew a breath, immediately thinking of her recent artwork, but she went on, alleviating his concerns.

‘. . . not painting, though. I’ve started on the lounge. I thought something physical would occupy my mind better, stop me thinking about my husband, high up in the night sky over the Atlantic. I was stripping wallpaper until two in the morning!’

‘Hey, you! Don’t go overdoing it! I’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll help you.’

‘I know, Will, but it’s good for me, therapeutic and all that.’

‘Okay, but get some rest as well.’

They talked for a while, until he said he was going to try to sleep. There was little to do as it was the middle of the night there, and might as well try to acclimatise himself to local time. They had their mobiles, but knowing the intermittent signal on the fens, and Kate’s propensity for forgetting where she left hers and forgetting to charge it, he gave her his room number and the hotel telephone number for emergencies, and promised to phone her again before she settled down for the night. He reminded her to ring Liz if she felt at all worried about anything, but she just laughed at him.