“You omitted to tell me the truth then. Is that better?”

Natalie began to pace. Pot, kettle, black, Milt, she thought. Anger burned fiercely in her chest. “When I sent you that text I was planning to go to Brenda’s. It wasn’t till later I found out she wouldn’t be home.”

“You should have told me where you were.”

Should echoed in her head.

“What if something had happened to you?” Milt’s voice was getting louder.

“I am quite capable of looking after myself.”

There was silence, then a sigh. “I know you are.” His tone had softened. “I miss you.”

She gripped the phone tightly. What could she say? Occasionally she thought of home, missed her girls but…not Milt. When she thought of her husband all she felt was a simmering anger.

“Tailing went well.” He filled the silence. “The girls did an excellent job. Bree knows what she’s doing, of course, but I don’t know how much longer she plans to stick around. Kate was a big help although she did disappear from time to time. Do you think she could’ve had a fight with Sean? She’s been moping around a lot and says she’s going to stay on for a bit longer.”

Natalie wanted to know what he meant by moping exactly, but he went on.

“Laura’s kept up with the food. She’s not a bad cook but, hell, the mess she makes and…” His tone sharpened. “Did you know she’s got a bloody tattoo?”

“No.” It didn’t surprise her though. Laura was always the one to push the boundaries. She hoped it wasn’t somewhere too prominent; couldn’t be, surely, or she would have noticed it.

“When’s your flight home?”

She opened her mouth. Closed it again.

“The BAS is due soon.”

“I’m not ready to come home yet.”

“What do you mean by ‘not ready’?”

She sighed. “I’ve only been gone a week, Milt. I need more time.”

“You’re not still going on about Jack, are you? I’ll never invite him for dinner again if that’s what you want.”