AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Jesus!’
‘You didn’t know she had that much money?’
‘No! Graves looked like a tramp, I never knew ’e ’ad any money of ’is own!’
‘Do you think a quarter of a million would be a sufficient motive for your father to want Daiyu dead?’
Abigail chewed her gum vigorously, still frowning, before saying,
‘Well… ’e’d’ve liked the money. ’Oo wouldn’t? But of course ’e didn’ fuckin’ tell Cherie to do it. ’E wouldn’t’ve wanted to upset Mazu.’
‘Your father sent you a message, when I met him.’
‘You’ve met ’im?’
‘Yeah. He invited me backstage after his Olympia rally.’
‘An’ ’e sent me a message?’ she said incredulously.
‘Yeah. “Popsicle misses you.”’
Abigail’s lip curled.
‘Bastard.’
‘Him, or me?’
‘’Im, obviously. Still tryna…’
‘To…?’
‘Tug the ’eartstrings. It’s been twenny fuckin’ years an’ not a fuckin’ word, an’ ’e finks I’ll fuckin’ melt if ’e says fuckin’ “Popsicle”.’
But he could tell she was disturbed by the thought of her father sending her a message, even if it was difficult to tell whether anger or pain predominated.
‘I can understand why you don’t like the idea of your father drowning people,’ he said. ‘Not even Daiyu.’
‘What d’you mean, “not even Daiyu”? Yeah, she was spoiled, but she was still a fuckin’ kid, wasn’ she? An’ what d’you mean “people”? ’E didn’t drown my muvver, I toldja that last time!’
‘You wouldn’t be the first person who found it hard to believe their own flesh and blood could do terrible things.’
‘I’ve got no fuckin’ problem believin’ my farver does terrible fuckin’ fings, fanks very much!’ said Abigail angrily. ‘I was there, I saw what was fuckin’ goin’ on, I know what they do to people inside that fuckin’ church! They did it to me, too,’ she said, thumping herself in the chest. ‘So don’ tell me I don’ know what my farver is, because I fuckin’ do, but ’e wouldn’t kill members of ’is own—’
‘You were family, and as you’ve just said, he did terrible things to you, too.’
‘’E didn’t – or not… ’e let bad stuff ’appen to me, yeah, but that was all Mazu, an’ it was mostly when ’e was away. If that’s all about Birmingham—’
She made to stand up.
‘Just a couple more points, if you don’t mind,’ said Strike, ‘and this first one’s important. I want to ask you about Becca Pirbright.’
128
Through repetition of danger we grow accustomed to it. Water sets the example for the right conduct under such circumstances… it does not shrink from any dangerous spot nor from any plunge, and nothing can make it lose its own essential nature. It remains true to itself under all conditions…
The I Ching or Book of Changes
Robin had now stood waiting in Wardour Street for nearly an hour. Midge had texted ten minutes previously that she was waiting for Becca to emerge from a chemist’s. Wardour Street was still full of people entering and leaving Chinese restaurants and supermarkets. The red and gold lanterns swung gently overhead in the breeze as the sun sank slowly behind the buildings.
