Page 10 of The Running Grave

‘But ideally, you’d like to get him out?’

‘Of course,’ said Sir Colin, ‘but I accept that might not be realistic.

‘Patterson Inc’s report’s in here, too, for what it’s worth. They focused mainly on observing Will’s movements and the comings and goings at Rupert Court and Chapman Farm. Their idea was to get abusive or intimidating behaviour on camera, or an indication from Will that he was unhappy or being coerced. A couple of their people approached him in the street, undercover, and tried to engage him in conversation, but he insisted he was perfectly happy and tried to recruit them or persuade them to hand over cash… so: what do you think?’ said Sir Colin, looking from Strike to Robin and back again. ‘Is our case hopeless?’

Before Strike could answer, Robin had held out her hand for the documents Sir Colin had brought with him.

‘No,’ she said. ‘We’d be very happy to help.’

5

Six in the fifth place means:

Giving duration to one’s character through perseverance.

This is good fortune for a woman…

The I Ching or Book of Changes

‘It’s fine,’ said Strike an hour later, in response to Robin’s apology for accepting the case without consulting him. ‘I’d’ve said it myself, but I had a mouthful of potato.’

The two partners had retired to a nearby pub after leaving the Edensors. The Golden Lion was small, Victorian and ornately decorated, and they were sitting on high leather barstools at a round table.

‘I was looking at the UHC’s website last night,’ said Robin, who was drinking orange juice, because she needed to leave for her surveillance job shortly. ‘They own a lot of prime real estate. That place in Rupert Court must’ve cost them a fortune, bang in the middle of the West End, and that’s before you get to the temples and centres in Birmingham and Glasgow. Can they be making all that money legally?’

‘Well, they’re flogging self-realisation courses up and down the country at five hundred quid a day and prayer retreats at a grand a time. They’ve got ten thousand-odd members collecting money for them, donating a fifth of their salaries and making legacies in their favour. All that’ll mount up. You’d think the Inland Revenue would be all over them, so either they’re clean, or they’ve got a shit-hot accountant who knows how to hide the dodgy stuff. But taking cash from idiots isn’t a crime, unfortunately.’

‘You agree with James, do you? Will’s an idiot?’

Strike took a sip of beer before answering.

‘I’d say people who join cults generally have something missing.’

‘What about Giles Harmon? Rich, successful writer, really clever…’

‘I’m with Orwell,’ said Strike. “Some ideas are so stupid, only intellectuals believe them”… you know, I can’t see any way of doing this properly other than getting someone into Chapman Farm undercover.’

Robin had spent the last couple of days preparing for this very conversation.

‘That means attending the Rupert Court Temple first. I’ve looked into it: you can’t just turn up at Chapman Farm, you have to be invited there, which means being recruited at one of the temples. Whoever turns up at Rupert Court will need a fully worked-up persona with backstory, which they use from their first contact with church members, and I think they should look as though they’ve got a lot of money, to make them a really attractive prospect for recruitment.’

Strike, who knew perfectly well he was listening to a pitch, said, ‘And I’m guessing you don’t think Barclay, Shah or Littlejohn would be convincing as wealthy God-botherers.’

‘Well,’ said Robin, ‘I doubt Barclay would last an hour before starting to take the piss out of it all. Littlejohn would be perfect if the church was a silent order—’

Strike laughed.

‘—and Dev’s got small kids, so he’s not going to want to be away for weeks. Midge is a possibility, but she’s never gone undercover before. I know I haven’t, not like this,’ Robin said quickly, before Strike could make that point, ‘but I’ve never had a cover broken, not even when I was being Venetia Hall every day, in the House of Commons.’

‘And what if the job lasts weeks?’ said Strike.

‘Then it lasts weeks,’ said Robin, with a slight shrug.

It so happened that Strike had already decided Robin was the best person for the job, but he had a secondary motive for accepting her proposal. A few weeks’ enforced separation while she was at Chapman Farm might just put a bit of strain on her relationship with Ryan Murphy, and there was little Strike wanted more than that. However, as he didn’t want to agree too readily, lest he be suspected of an ulterior motive, he merely nodded and said, ‘OK, well, that could work. It needs thinking through, though.’

‘I know. I can’t wear a wig at Chapman Farm, so I’m thinking of a radical haircut.’

‘Really?’ said Strike, without thinking. He liked her hair.