‘You dare talk about Kevin, to me?’
‘Why shouldn’t I talk about him?’
‘I know what you did, Emily.’
‘What did I do?’
‘You spoke to Kevin, for his book.’
‘What?’ said Emily, now sounding blank. ‘How?’
‘The disgusting room where he shot himself was covered with writing, and he’d written my name on the wall, and something about a plot.’
‘You think Kevin would have wanted contact with me, after we—?’
‘Shut up, for God’s sake, shut up! You don’t care about anyone except yourself, do you? Not about Papa J or the mission—’
‘If Kevin knew something about you and a plot, I didn’t tell him. But he always agreed with me that you’re full of shit.’
Robin didn’t know what Becca did next, but Emily let out a gasp of what sounded like pain.
‘You need to eat your vegetables,’ said Becca, her menacing voice unrecognisable, compared to the bright tone in which she generally spoke. ‘You hear me? And you’ll work on the vegetable patch and you’ll like it, or I’ll tell the Council I know you cooperated with Kevin.’
‘You won’t,’ said Emily, now sobbing, ‘you won’t, you bloody coward, because you know what I could tell them if I wanted!’
‘If you’re talking about Daiyu, go right ahead. I’ll be informing Papa J and Mazu of this conversation, so—’
‘No – no, Becca, don’t—’
‘It’s my duty,’ said Becca. ‘You can tell them what you think you saw.’
‘No, Becca, please don’t tell them—’
‘Could Daiyu become invisible, Emily?’
There was a short silence.
‘Yes,’ said Emily, her voice quaking, ‘but—’
‘Either she could or she couldn’t. Which is it?’
‘She… could.’
‘Correct. So don’t let me hear you saying anything different, ever again, you filthy little pig.’
Robin heard footsteps, and the door of the cabin slammed.
59
… to the thoughtful man such occurrences are grave omens that he does not neglect.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
The Frank brothers’ purchase of rope while wearing dubious disguises had now been followed by the acquisition of a very old van. Considered alongside their continued surveillance of the actress’s house and both brothers’ previous court appearances for sex offences, Strike had been forced to the conclusion that the twosome might indeed be planning an abduction. He’d contacted the Met a second time, and given them his most recent information, which included pictures of both brothers lurking around the client’s house, and warned Tasha Mayo to take all possible precautions.
‘I’d strongly advise you to change your routine,’ he told her over the phone. ‘Vary the time you go to the gym and so on.’
‘I like my routine,’ she grumbled. ‘Are you sure you aren’t taking this a bit too seriously?’
‘Well, the joke’s on me if it turns out they’re planning a camping trip, but they’ve definitely stepped up their surveillance of you lately.’
There was a slight pause.
‘You’re scaring me.’
‘It’d be remiss not to give you my honest opinion. Is there anyone who could come and stay with you for a bit? A friend, a family member?’
‘Maybe,’ she said gloomily. ‘God. I thought they were just a bit weird and annoying, not actually dangerous.’
The following day found Strike sitting at a table in the Connaught Hotel’s Jean-Georges restaurant, from which he could watch the antics of their most recently acquired client’s wealthy mother, who was seventy-four and lunching with her forty-one-year-old male companion. Strike was wearing glasses he didn’t need, but which had a minuscule camera hidden in the frame. He’d so far recorded a good deal of giggling from the woman, particularly after her dark-suited companion, who’d been solicitous in assisting her with her coat and making sure that she was comfortably seated, had been mistaken for a waiter by the diners at the next table.
Having watched the couple order food and wine, Strike asked for a chicken salad, took off his glasses, positioning them on the table so that they’d continue recording. As he did so, he caught the eye of a very good-looking dark-haired woman in a black dress, who was also dining alone. She smiled.
Strike looked away without returning the smile, picked up his phone to read the day’s news, which was, inevitably, Brexit dominated. The referendum would be happening in a week’s time and Strike was thoroughly bored of the febrile coverage it was generating.
Then he spotted a link to a story titled:
Viscountess Arrested for Assault on Billionaire Boyfriend
He clicked on the link. A dishevelled Charlotte appeared on the phone screen, flanked by a policewoman on a dark street.
Former nineties It-Girl Charlotte Campbell, 41, now Viscountess Ross, has been arrested on a charge of assault against billionaire American hotelier, Landon Dormer, 49.
Dormer’s Mayfair neighbours called police in the early hours of June 14th, concerned about the noises coming from the residence. One, who asked not to be named, told The Times,
‘We heard screams, shouting and breaking glass. We were really concerned, so we called 999. We weren’t sure what was going on. We thought it might have been a break-in.’
Ross, whose marriage to the Viscount of Croy ended in divorce last year, is the mother of twins and has a well-documented history of substance abuse. Previously admitted to Symonds House, a psychiatric facility patronised by the wealthy and famous, the part-time model and journalist has been a staple of the gossip columns ever since running away from Cheltenham Ladies’ College in her teens. With by-lines at Harpers & Queen and Vogue, she makes frequent appearances in the front row at both London and Paris fashion weeks, and was voted London’s Most Eligible Singleton in 1995. She was previously in a long-term relationship with Cormoran Strike, private detective and son of rock star Jonny Rokeby.
Rumours of an imminent engagement to billionaire Dormer have circulated in gossip columns for months, but a source close to the hotelier told The Times, ‘Landon wasn’t intending to marry her even before this happened, but after this, believe me, they’ll be finished. He isn’t a man who likes drama or tantrums.’
Ross’s sister, interior decorator Amelia Crichton, 42, told The Times,
‘This is now a legal matter, so I’m afraid I can’t say any more than that I’m confident that if this comes to court Charlotte will be fully exonerated.’
The Times approached both Charlotte Ross and Landon Dormer for comment.
There were multiple links below the article: Charlotte at the launch of a jewellery collection the previous year, Charlotte admitted to Symonds House the year before that, and Landon Dormer’s acquisition of one of the oldest five-star hotels in London. Strike ignored these, instead scrolling back up the page to look again at the photograph at the top. Charlotte’s make-up was smeared, her hair tousled, and she faced the camera defiantly as she was led away by the policewoman.
Strike glanced up at the table his glasses were filming. The elderly woman was feeding her companion something. As his chicken salad was deposited in front of him, his phone rang. Recognising the Spanish country code, he picked up.