Page 157 of Slack Tide Kill

"Sure." He nodded firmly. "There aren't many schools as is, and back then, there would have just been one or two. One of those was Dymchurch Academy. My granddad went there. He always told stories about how his teacher helped win D-Day."

Sally frowned. "D-Day? You're talking about the Normandy landings in World War 2?"

"That's it," Hawlin said. "All around here, we were essential. Didn't you know?" He pointed. "Up the road at Greatstone, same place as the Sound Mirrors, they started PLUTO."

"Pluto?"

"Pipeline Under The Ocean? Around 500 miles of pipe across the Channel, laid by these massive, weird bobbin things called conundrums."

"Conundrums," Sally repeated. "Like the pub in Lydd?"

Hawlin turned to her, curious. "Yes, ma'am. Though that pub shut 20 years ago. It's local lore."

"What is a conundrum?" Liam asked.

Hawlin's eyes lit up. "They were these great crazy drum things, hence conundrum, rolled with miles of pipe. They floated them across the Channel right under Germany's noses, spinning as they went, laying pipe for the war effort. Germany had no idea what they were."

"Laying pipe?" Liam asked. "To occupied France?"

"Exactly. We sent millions of liters of fuel across in advance of D-Day. Probably it's what won the war. The whole operation covered up under these Potemkin bungalows and ice cream shops."

That thought caught somewhere in Sally's head. Ordinary buildings hiding buried violence. "OK. So, do you have that old teacher's information?"

Hawlin shifted. "My granddad's teacher? He'll be long-gone, I'd have thought."

"Check, please. And for anyone else from that era." She stood, taking a sandwich with her. "We're going to see Edwin Pike."

Liam grabbed two sandwiches and stood too.

"On it, ma'am," Hawlin said, and brought up his laptop.

Sally felt a rush of some strong emotion. Chakrati and Hawlin were both from around here. Now Chakrati was dead, Hawlin was alone, and he wanted justice. That was good. A sense of duty to a partner.

The river carried them all, she thought. Men, women, and conundrums alike. They all had an obligation to steer the flow as best they could.

"Let's try and rebuild Reg's childhood," she said, addressing the rest of the team. "Teenage years and younger, anything formative, anyone whose path he crossed."

"Yes, ma'am," said Simms.

"And get us any other teacher from Rook's time you can find." She turned to Liam. "Ready?"

"Let's go talk to Pike."

66 WRIGGLING METAL

Liam called Edwin Pike's number as they strode down the corridor to the rear lot. Sally only heard half the conversation, then less as they pushed outside. To her surprise, the rain had abated. The sky was still a swirling gray, but the wind had dropped too.

Still, the lot was waterlogged, and everything dripped and trickled.

"We're in the eye," Liam said, phone down by his side.

"Not a tropical storm," Sally murmured, looking out at a darkness on the horizon, over the rooftops of Rye. "There's no eye."

"And that was a figure of speech," Liam said, heading toward the squad car. "Pike's based in Lydd. He said he'd check his records and make some calls."

"Huh," Sally said, watching the shadow on the sky. It seemed to be spreading, like a great eyelid closing over the world. "I think there's worse to come."

"Forecast agrees," Liam called, already across the lot. "Pike's waiting."