AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘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.
