90
We lack, yet cannot fix upon the lack:
Not this, nor that; yet somewhat, certainly.
We see the things we do not yearn to see
Around us: and what see we glancing back?
‘Let’s get a drink and something to eat,’ said Strike, ‘but well away from here. I don’t want any stray policemen hearing what I’ve got to say.’
They headed away from the Thames into the heart of Westminster and finally entered St Stephen’s Tavern, a small, dark Victorian pub which lay directly opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Robin found a corner table at the back of the pub and five minutes later Strike set down a pint of Badger and a glass of wine, eased himself with some difficulty around the small, iron-footed table and lowered himself onto the green leather bench beneath the mirrored panels.
‘Is your leg all right?’ Robin asked, because Strike had grimaced again.
‘It’s been better,’ he admitted. Having taken a welcome sip of beer, he said,
‘So, according to Lepine’s Disciple, Edie screwed Anomie over, possibly after actually screwing him.’
‘But you’re sceptical.’
‘I believe that’s what Lepine’s Disciple told Wally,’ said Strike, opening the menu and looking in vain for something he wanted to eat that might also plausibly support weight loss. ‘I’m just not sure I believe Lepine’s Disciple. He’s talking to a YouTuber he clearly admires. Wouldn’t be the first time some prick on the internet made up a story to try and big himself up. Claiming to be a mate of Anomie’s and in on all their secrets wouldn’t cost him anything… How many calories would you say are in a cheeseburger and chips?’
‘A lot,’ said Robin, now perusing the menu herself. ‘But they’ve got a veggie burger. You could have that, without the chips.’
‘Fine,’ said Strike gloomily.
‘I’ll order,’ said Robin, getting up, to spare Strike more walking.
Once she’d returned, she asked,
‘What is it you didn’t want any stray policemen hearing?’
‘Well,’ said Strike, dropping his voice because a family party of four had just sat down at the next table, ‘I can see why the Met think all the attacks have been Halvening. Halvening-style masks used each time – Edie on the Direct Action list – Vikas could have found out something about the Peach brothers inside the game and become a danger to them.
‘If all we had were the murders of Edie and Vikas, I’d tend to agree with Murphy that The Halvening are the likely culprits, but I’m still not buying that Josh was attacked by a terrorist, and I think it’s a hell of a stretch to suggest Ben-the-bombmaker decided to murder Oliver Peach by such a risky method, in such a crowded place. To me, that attack is far better explained if Anomie’s the assailant. That was a desperate move, the kind of attack that happens because the perp knows they’ve got one chance and can’t afford to miss it. It was a bloody huge risk to take, and however weird Ben-the-bombmaker might be, if he’s clever enough to make bombs he’s smart enough to know his life’s worth less than nothing if Charlie believes he tried to kill Oliver.
‘From all we know about him, Charlie’s smart. He’s already slid out of the Met’s clutches once. He’s not a man who’s going to jump to conclusions out of nowhere. So what makes him so certain Anomie attacked his brother? Did he know Anomie had arranged to meet Oliver at Comic Con? Or suspect that Anomie had lured him there?’
‘Possibly,’ said Robin.
‘I’m certain Oliver went to Comic Con to try and ID Anomie. He kept approaching Dreks and trying to talk to them. I know that’s not proof,’ he added, as Robin opened her mouth to speak, ‘but I watched the guy for an hour. He was definitely trying to find someone. So either he did find Anomie, who now knew exactly who to attack, or Anomie already knew what Oliver looked like, because he did what I did and Googled the idiot. So while Oliver’s trying to find Anomie, Anomie’s watching Oliver and waiting for his opportunity.’
‘But why attack Oliver at all?’
Strike drank more beer, then said,
‘I’m starting from the premise that, unlike his big brother, Oliver is a fucking idiot. Anagram of his real name in the game, rune-name on a Twitter account full of identifying photos, then he puts on his best designer gear to go to Comic Con, where I assume he was supposed to be discreet. Would you agree he’s a guy with a big mouth, a big ego and a dangerous sense of invulnerability?’
‘I would, yes,’ said Robin.
‘OK, then. I think there’s a strong chance that Oliver showed off his knowledge of Bitcoin, the dark web and criminally connected latex mask-makers on a private channel to impress Anomie. The Peach brothers must’ve done a lot of sucking-up to Anomie, to get made moderators.’
‘What – so you think Anomie learned some of The Halvening’s tricks directly from Oliver?’
‘I do, yeah – and if that’s what happened, he was dangerous to Anomie. Oliver could testify that Anomie had that knowledge, because he was the one who gave it to them.’
Again, Robin opened her mouth to speak, and again Strike correctly read her mind.
‘Look, I know it’s speculation, but there’s one thing we know for sure: once Anomie and members of The Halvening were in direct contact, there was a sudden change in the way people were attacked.
‘The Halvening m.o. was well established before they got inside that game: masks for surveillance work, bombs for the Direct Action list and online harassment for the indirect list – which was how Edie was supposed to die. She was meant to get bullied into a state where she’d take her own life. The Halvening aren’t a hands-on organisation. All their killing’s been done at a remove: sending bombs through the post, whipping up online mobs.
‘Then, out of the blue, we get two murders and two attempted murders which don’t follow the pattern: three stabbings and a push from a train platform, all committed by someone wearing a mask, which I assume, from the Met’s conviction that it’s all terrorism, they’ve identified as the handiwork of the dodgy Halvening-affiliated guy in Germany.
‘Then we get the banning of LordDrek right after Oliver hit the train tracks. Why did that happen so fast after the attempted killing? I think it was so Charlie couldn’t start mouthing off about Anomie’s attempted murder inside Drek’s Game.’
‘It fits,’ admitted Robin cautiously, ‘but—’
‘I keep going back to the question of why The Halvening would’ve stabbed Blay,’ said Strike. ‘Blay wasn’t on either of their lists and we know he wasn’t mere collateral damage: he didn’t get killed because he was defending Edie from the attacker, but because he was late and never reached her. What did the attacker’s “I’ll take care of things from here” mean, if it wasn’t about the cartoon?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Robin.
‘Why would The Halvening take Josh and Edie’s phones? They’d have done better to leave them exactly where they were. There was nothing that could’ve incriminated them. They were just burdening themselves with objects that tied them to the murder scene. Taking the dossier would make sense, because that’s easily burned – but why the mobiles?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Robin again. ‘But the taking of the dossier surely makes more sense if it was The Halvening who killed them.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Strike. ‘Maybe Anomie didn’t know what was in there, and thought they were nicking a folder of pictures or new plot lines. Or,’ said Strike, ‘Anomie had got wind of the contents somehow, and didn’t want anyone to know the game had been infiltrated by terrorists.