Liz didn’t answer immediately, as if she was trying to find the right words. ‘Well, our Kate’s a very confused woman. I don’t know how Will lives with her the way she is right now. She’s changed so much in such a short time. It’s scary.’

‘Simple. He loves her.’

‘He must.’ Liz lowered her voice. ‘Matt, I’m no shrink, but I reckon Kate is suffering from some form of bipolar disorder. Her mood swings are unbelievable. She flips from almost comatose to manic in the blink of an eye. I spent an hour and a half with her earlier this afternoon, not long, but long enough for me to know that Kate needs professional help.’

‘He promised her there’d be no doctors.’

‘Sometimes you have to go against what a loved one wants. Especially in the case of a loved one. I can see something tragic happening if he sticks to his promise.’

‘But at least she spent time with you, didn’t she?’ Matt said. ‘That’s something. According to Will, she doesn’t let anyone over the doorstep.’

‘Your photos were my passport inside. She loved them and said she can’t wait to talk to you about the old place.’

‘And Mrs Swain? Any more from her?’ asked Matt.

‘I helped her tidy up for a while after I left Kate. She’s treating it like a new project but seeing all that devastation must be hard for her to take. At least there’ve been no more incidents, and the police have been out here a couple of times. I saw both Swifty and PC Barney Woods this morning. Emilia’s so utterly stoical! Talk about keep calm and carry on!’ Liz paused. ‘Oh, I do miss you, Matt Ballard!’

‘Ditto, Liz Haynes. I can’t wait to get back to you.’

‘Any idea of when?’

‘None at all. We are at the mercy of the RCAF. Will is hoping it will be tomorrow, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear.’ He drank a little more bourbon. ‘I guess I’d better go check on Will. I don’t want it to hit him when I’m not around. He managed well, but he’s not at his strongest right now.’

‘Give him my love,’ said Liz, ‘but keep most of it for yourself.’

Matt hung up. He realised that he was smiling. But then Liz always did make him smile.

* * *

Will was also phoning home, and once again Kate didn’t answer her mobile. He texted her, and now he was trying the landline, but all he got was the answerphone. With a sigh, he took two bottles of whisky from the minibar and poured them into a glass.