The first was that Will Edensor was trying, as far as he dared, to maintain personal contact with the white-haired toddler Robin had previously seen him comforting. She was now almost certain that Qing was the daughter he’d had with Lin Pirbright, a conclusion reinforced when she spotted Lin cuddling the child in the shadow of some bushes near the farmhouse. Will and Lin were both in clear breach of the church’s teaching on materialist possession, and risking severe penalties if their ongoing quest to maintain a parental relationship with their daughter was made known to Mazu, Taio and Becca, who were currently reigning supreme at Chapman Farm in the absence of Jonathan Wace.
Still more intriguingly, Robin had noticed definite signs of tension and possibly dislike between the Pirbright sisters. She hadn’t forgotten that Becca and Emily had accused their dead brother of sexually abusing them, yet she’d seen no signs of solidarity between the pair. On the contrary, whenever they found themselves in close proximity, they made no eye contact and generally removed themselves from each other’s vicinity as quickly as possible. Given that church members usually made a point of greeting each other as they passed in the yard, and an elaborate courtesy was observed when it came to opening doors for each other, or ceding to each other when it came to vacant spaces in the dining hall, this behaviour definitely couldn’t be attributed to fear of succumbing to materialist possession. Robin wondered whether Becca was afraid of being tarnished by the faint aura of disgrace which hung over the shaven-headed Emily, or whether there was another, more personal, source of animosity. The sisters seemed united in one thing only: disdain for the woman who’d brought them into the world. Not once did Robin see any sign of warmth towards or even acknowledgement of Louise from either of her daughters.
Robin was still keeping track of the days with the tiny pebbles she picked up daily. The approach of her third Thursday at the farm brought the now familiar mixture of excitement and nerves, because while she craved communication from the outside world, the nocturnal journey to the plastic rock remained nerve-wracking.
When the lights went out, she dressed beneath the covers again, waited for the other women to fall silent, and for the usual snorers to prove they’d fallen asleep, then got quietly out of bed.
The night was cold and windy, a stiff breeze blowing across the dark field as Robin crossed it, and she entered the woods to the sound of trees creaking and rustling around her. To her relief, she found the plastic rock more easily than she’d done previously.
When Robin opened the rock she saw a letter from Strike, a note in Ryan’s handwriting, and, to her delight, a small bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Easing herself behind a tree, she ripped the wrapping off the chocolate and devoured it in a few bites, so hungry she couldn’t slow down to savour it. She then turned on the torch and opened Ryan’s letter.
Dear Robin,
It was great to hear from you, I was getting worried. The farm sounds bizarre, although being a country girl you’re probably not hating it as much as I would.
Not much news this end. Work’s busy. Currently on a new murder case but it lacks something without the involvement of a hot female private detective.
I had a long phone conversation with your mother last night. She’s worried about you, but I talked her down.
My sister in San Sebastian wants us to go over there in July because she’s gagging to meet you. There’d be worse ways of celebrating you getting out of that place.
Anyway, I’m really missing you, so please don’t join up and never come back.
Love, Ryan xxx
PS Your plants are still alive.
In spite of her recent ingestion of chocolate, this letter didn’t do much to lift Robin’s spirits. Hearing that Ryan and her mother were worried about her did nothing to calm the guilt and fear the UHC was busy inculcating in her. Nor could she think of things like summer holidays right now, when every day seemed to last a week.
She now turned to Strike’s note.
Thursday 28th April
