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‘Could that be what Ballard meant by “look to the sister”?’ says Nelson.
‘Possibly,’ says Tanya. ‘At any rate, it caused a rift with her parents. Sophie says she hasn’t spoken to them for years, although she’s coming down to Lincoln for the funeral next week.’
‘We need to have a presence there too,’ says Nelson. ‘Out of respect, if nothing else.’
‘What about the café where Emily’s bones were found?’ says Lucy. ‘Was her DNA found anywhere there?’
Nelson looks at the newcomer. It’s a good question and shows that Lucy is up to date with the case. He wonders why he also feels a twinge of unease.
‘We were able to extract DNA from the bones,’ he says. ‘Dr Ruth Galloway was the forensic archaeologist involved and she’s a real expert.’
‘I know she is,’ says Lucy.
Nelson frowns slightly at the interruption. ‘But we didn’t get anything useful from the rest of the building. I think it’s been altered and rebuilt so much that the site is hopelessly compromised. The man who owned the café in 2002 is dead now but he knew Emily and he must be a suspect for her murder. Tony’s doing some research into the family.’ There’s a noise of agreement from the laptop.
Nelson takes a deep breath. ‘I also need to tell you that Michael Malone, also known as Cathbad, was reported missing last night. Because of his connection to the case, this is now a priority.’
Tanya and Bradley both look shocked, but Lucy is staring at the computer screen. Nelson follows her gaze and sees that Tony is gesticulating but seems to have muted himself.
‘Turn your mike on,’ growls Nelson.
‘Sorry.’ Tony’s excited voice fills the room. ‘I saw him. I saw him yesterday. Cathbad.’
‘When did you see him?’ asks Nelson.
‘About eleven in the morning. He just turned up at my flat.’
‘What did he want?’ says Nelson. This must be significant. Cathbad had said nothing to Judy about paying morning calls.
‘He asked to see the CCTV footage of Emily in Ely. On the day she disappeared.’
‘And did you show it to him?’
‘Yes,’ says Tony. ‘I thought, because he knew her. . .’ His voice dies away.
‘Then what happened?’ says Nelson.
‘He thanked me and left. I thought he seemed a bit distracted.’
‘And you didn’t think it was worth reporting back?’
‘I was going to tell you this morning. I didn’t think it was urgent.’
‘You were wrong,’ says Nelson. ‘We need to see this footage again.’
Like Nelson, Ruth hadn’t been able to resist texting Judy first thing in the morning and had received the same response.Nothing.Nothing will come of nothing, as Ruth remembers Shona quoting once.
Ruth lies on her bed watching the clouds scudding across the sky. She had promised herself a Saturday lie-in but now can’t get back to sleep. Flint pads noiselessly into the room and then gives a sudden unearthly yowl, a trick that never fails to galvanise his humans. Ruth gets up, puts on her dressing gown and goes down to feed him.
After making herself a coffee, Ruth sits at the table by the window. It’s her favourite place. She never tires of watching the marshes, the grasses turning from grey to green in the morning light, the birds wheeling into the sky, the distant shimmer of the sea. Can she bear to leave it? She knows that the cottage isn’t in the ideal location for Kate, especially as she gets older. Ruth can’t spend her life taxiing teenage Kate into the bright lights of King’s Lynn. But, when Kate and Ruth had briefly lived in the centre of Cambridge, they had both pined for the Saltmarsh.
If Ruth becomes dean, they could probably afford something bigger, a cottage in Wells perhaps. But does she want the job? She hasn’t given Colin an answer but knows she will have to soon. It’s a promotion, which is always agreeable, but Ruth suspects she’ll be mostly dealing with admin and therefore further away from her real passion: teaching. She could leave UNN and get a job elsewhere. The word ‘Blackpool’ sounds in her head, like an instruction from a satnav.Turn around where possible. If Nelson took a civilian job in his home town, maybe she could work at Preston or Lancaster University. Or she could leave academia altogether and concentrate on writing. She dismisses this idea immediately. Writing would give her too much time alone with her thoughts and, besides, she’d need to quadruple her book sales to provide anything like a living wage. She has never really considered the possibility that, if they were living together, she and Nelson would share their money. For twelve years, her first priority has been to provide for herself and Kate. She’s not going to stop now. She doesn’t want to.
And then there’s the smaller problem of the weekend. Tomorrow, Sunday, is Father’s Day. Nelson’s grown-up daughters, Laura and Rebecca, are taking him to lunch at the Fig Tree, a smart restaurant outside King’s Lynn. Nelson had asked if Ruth and Kate wanted to come too. Ruth asked if he’d squared this with his daughters and Nelson admitted he hadn’t. So, Ruth had declined. She doesn’t think the time is right for such a show of togetherness. Will it ever be right? Besides, Ruth should really spend the day with her own father in London. But it’s hard to think of anything when Cathbad is still missing. Ruth looks out over the glittering, cursed landscape. Cathbad knows all the secret paths, the crossing places. Has he gone somewhere where they can’t follow him?
When Kate comes downstairs at ten, Ruth is still by the window, on her third cup, laptop open in front of her.
‘What are we going to do today?’ asks Kate, in her new world-weary voice.
