"Explain to me how I am going to lose a language that I've been speaking for over twenty-eight years."

Constantino looked at me as I pushed through the back gate.

"Lucy, you're already speaking my language fluently. The only time you revert to your own language is when you hit a word that we do not speak. When you get to that word, you frown and struggle to say it. Don't you hear yourself?"

"No," I murmured.

Unlocking the back door, I pushed it open and turned on the light. The first thing that I noticed was that the clothes that were hanging on the line had been moved. They were stretched out, but it wasn't the way that I'd left them. I knew this because Constantino's shirt was still dripping and I'd moved the line so that the water could trickle into the sink.

I closed the door after Constantino, locking it as I pressed my finger to my lips. He frowned at me, not understanding why he had to be quiet. Turning out of the utility room, I made my way through the unit. Everywhere something was out of place. It was neat and orderly, but for a person that kept a clean place because she was never home, I knew that things were not right.

I'd checked every room including the cupboard in my bedroom and found nothing. The only space left was the access to the roof void. I looked at the marks on the laminate wood floor and knew that they'd even brought a ladder in to get up there.

Whoever they were, they were desperate to find something. I knew what it was and who it was so, I made my way back to the kitchen.

Constantino could see how tense I was; he pulled my hand back and gave me a frown.

"Someone has been here," I whispered.

He said nothing for a second then fear hit him.

"The box."

Giving the bottom plate a hard push, I stepped back and held my breath, fearing the worst. I wanted to sigh with relief when I saw Nelson's things still there and Constantino's box. He picked it up and put it into his jacket.

"How do you know?" He asked softly.

Opening my pantry door, I showed him the jars that were askew. In the freezer, things were not stacked neatly. The fridge was the same. Cupboards had things pushed aside, and my hamper had been gone through.

When he looked at the hamper and saw the pink shirt and the cargo shorts that he'd been wearing, he understood.

"I put them on top." Constantino murmured. "I did that after you put your clothes into it because I thought it was what you wanted after I watched you doing it."

"Now you do you understand how dangerous it is for us?"

He nodded and turned out of the bathroom. I suspect that this was Ingrid's doing and not the government, but I wasn't about to let my guard down.

Checking under the bed, I ventured out to the front door and opened it. I could see scratch marks on the wood near the handle, and the door didn't shut like it once had.

"Bastards." I hissed.

Locking the door seemed almost pointless, but I did it regardless. Moving the lounge across it to block the access also appeared to be a waste of time, but I had to. I wanted to go to bed soon, and I wouldn't be able to sleep if I knew that they could get in here again.

Searching through the utility drawer, I found the roll of twine and then disassembled a kitchen sign that was hanging on the wall. It was a cow with a bell around its neck, cute but pointless when the bell never caught the wind when it was hard against the wall.

With the twine and the bell, I made an early alarm for the laundry door, then wedged a dining chair under the handle. Constantino watched me as I checked all the security grills on the windows. I'd always believed that a bolt lock was enough for the doors, but I was apparently wrong.

Taking another chair and grabbing the penlight torch, I dragged it to the spot under the roof access and got up on it.

"What are you doing Lucy?"

"Checking."

He stood beside the chair, watching me. Before I pushed the panel away, he pulled me down.

"What would you do if they're up there?"

"Bite them?"

Constantino smiled deviously.

"Hungry already?"

"No, but I could suffer a little bloating to make the intruders pay."

"Sounds fiendishly wonderful. Here, let me help."

He got up on the chair and grabbed me around my thighs, lifting me. The whole movement was so quick that I barely had time to get my hands above my head to push the panel away. Flicking on the flashlight, I scanned the area and found nothing. I put the torch in my mouth and grabbed the board. It was then that I saw something. It was sitting right beside the edge of the opening.

Putting the panel aside, I pulled the light from my mouth and inspected the device. No wires were going out from it, but it did look like it had a microphone. Picking it up, I stuffed it into my pocket and put the panel back into place. Slowly Constantino lowered us back to the floor.

The device was in my hand as we looked at it, I mulled over the choices. Do I toss it out the back door, let it smash into little pieces? Maybe I could turn the computer on and let them listen to Constantino's favourite videos for a few hours. I looked out the dining room window and saw my old friend from earlier tonight staggering out his back door.

With a devious chuckle, I walked to the utility room, moved the chair and walked out into the cold night.

"Hello love," He called out. "Did you ring that chap yet?"

"No,"

I struggled to say it correctly, and I hoped that he misinterpreted it as coming down or being high, whatever.

"Well, that's a bit rough, eh?"

I held out the device, and he looked at it.

"Oi, that's a bit of alright, ain't it? Looking for a bit of cash?"

I nodded, and he rummaged through his pockets.

"S'pose I could spot you a couple of pounds for it. Got anything else worth hockin'?"

Even though I had a lot of things I could sell for a lot of money, I shook my head. All I wanted was to get rid of this thing and hopefully, Ingrid or whoever it was that was watching me would give me a bit of a laugh in a few minutes time.

"Alright then. How's that?"

I looked at the notes in my hand and smiled, giving him the device. He didn't need to know that I would have given it to him for free if he'd asked.

"Geez, love, you certainly know how to sell the goods. See you later, eh?"

"Sure," I slurred.

He turned to his gate and I quickly scarpered through mine, hiding behind the wood so that he couldn't see me. I didn't want him to point out where it had come from, the less he knew about me, the better.