Page 340 of The Hallmarked Man

‘I think we’re supposed to be immensely impressed.’

‘Why’s he trying to butter us up?’

‘I’d imagine he’s keen to present as a man who has absolutely nothing personal against us, just a professional interest in regulating the industry. I expect he’s also hoping we tell him everything we know about bodies in silver vaults while we’re eating our lobster thermidor.’

‘I don’t like lobster.’

‘Then order it and leave it untouched. He’s paying,’ said Strike, and Robin laughed. ‘You and I should meet early, in the bar, get our strategy clear.’

‘Great,’ said Robin. ‘What are you up to at the moment?’

‘Back on the dark net.’

‘Doing what?’

Strike doubted she was in a fit psychological state to hear he’d been watching Daesh execution videos again, so he chose to tell the most palatable part of the truth.

‘It took me the best part of twelve hours, but I think I’ve found Rena Liddell asking for advice on how to get a gun, online. She was calling herself “Mirbat” there, too. I thought I might find her somewhere. If she was going to ask me, a complete stranger, for a gun, why not throw it open to the internet? Anyway, she made glancing contact with a bloke who said he might be able to help and she blithely gave him her mobile number. I’ve got a feeling he wasn’t who he said he was. I think he was there to entrap her.’

‘Why?’

‘The punctuation and spelling were too good and they were asking artful questions. They’ll have been disappointed with what they got out of her, because when offered the chance to lay hands on a weapon she started asking whether killing people wasn’t wrong, after all. I can’t see that they’re going to have grounds to keep her forcibly in a psychiatric facility for long. I’ve left a message on the mobile.’

‘Are you sure pursuing her’s—?’

‘Wise? Will it annoy MI5? Will Ralph Lawrence be pissed off I haven’t run for the hills because he told me to?’

‘Yes to all of the above,’ said Robin.

‘He made me climb up onto the fucking roof of that pub to prove a point. I’m not breaking any laws, calling a phone number.’

‘I know, but—’

‘He wears Aviator shades. Case closed.’

Against her better judgement, Robin laughed again.

‘Anything new your end?’ asked Strike.

‘Not much,’ said Robin, taking a deep breath because she wanted to sound casual and offhand when saying the next thing. ‘The guy who jumped me in Beaconsfield has been let out on bail.’

‘Shit,’ said Strike.

He’d known it would happen, but deplored the fact that it had. Strike considered that certain kinds of criminals were treated far too leniently by the criminal justice system, a viewpoint shaped in adolescence by the sight of his stepfather repeatedly committing violence, then being released on bail conditions he ignored.

‘Have they told you anything new about him?’ Strike asked.

‘Not much,’ said Robin. ‘They still seem to think he attacked me at random, even though I told them about the other times I’d seen him—’

‘“Times”, plural?’ said Strike sharply.

‘Please don’t start,’ said Robin, ‘but I – I saw him on Saturday, outside my flat.’

With immense difficulty, Strike prevented himself ‘starting’ by remembering that he’d been a dick to Robin on Saturday, which had presumably disinclined her to call him back and mention Green Jacket being on the prowl.

‘So he knows where you live?’

‘Yes,’ said Robin. ‘You know that rubber gorilla, and the masonic dagger he threw at me?’