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Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“What’s in there?” asked Barclay, nodding at the carrier bag in Robin’s hand.
“Chocolate biscuits,” said Robin.
“Bribe?”
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“My-Dad-Gwilherm died under the bridge,” said Samhain.
“That’s so sad,” said Robin. “Could we come in, please, just for a moment? Cormoran wanted me to bring you these,” she added, pulling the tin of chocolate biscuits out of her bag. “As a thank you.”
“What’s them?” asked Samhain, looking at the tin out of the corner of his eye.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“What’s them?” asked Samhain, looking at the tin out of the corner of his eye.
“Chocolate biscuits.”
He took the tin out of her hand.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“Yeah. You can come in,” he said, and turning his back, he marched up the dark interior stairs.
With a glance at Barclay, Robin led the way inside. She heard her companion close the door behind her, and the clinking of the tools in his holdall. The staircase was steep, narrow and dark after daylight, the lightbulb overhead dead. When Robin reached the landing she saw, through the open door, a white-haired woman with big ears like Samhain’s, wiping the surfaces of a brown-tiled kitchen while Samhain, who had his back to her, eagerly peeled the plastic wrapper off the tin of chocolate biscuits.
Deborah turned, her neat white plait sliding over her shoulder, to fix her dark eyes on the two strangers.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“We can help wi’ anythin’ Clare can,” said Barclay, before Robin could answer. “What’s the problem?”
“Him downstairs is a bastard,” said Samhain, who was now digging busily in the tin of chocolate biscuits, and selecting the one wrapped in gold foil. “These are the best ones, in the shiny paper, that’s how you know.”
“Is the man downstairs complaining again?” asked Robin, with a sudden upswell of excitement that bordered on panic.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“Don’t eat all of them, Sammy,” said Deborah, who’d returned to the methodical wiping of the kitchen sides.
“They gave them to me, you silly woman,” said Samhain, his mouth full of chocolate.
Robin followed, fighting a sense of utter unreality. Could what Strike suspected really be true?
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
Samhain now came ambling into the room, eating his second foil-wrapped biscuit.
“D’you want a hot chocolate, or not?” he asked, looking at Robin’s knees.
“Um… no, thank you,” said Robin, smiling at him.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“Um… no, thank you,” said Robin, smiling at him.
“Does he want a hot chocolate, or not?”
“No thanks, mate,” said Barclay. “Can we move this jigsaw? Need tae have a look beneath it.”
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“I’m staying here, though.”
“No, mate,” Barclay replied, as Robin and Deborah entered Samhain’s tiny bedroom. Every inch of wall was covered in pictures of superheroes and gaming characters. Deborah’s gigantic jigsaw took up most of the bed. The floor around the PlayStation was littered with chocolate wrappers.
“Look after yer mam and, after, I’ll teach ye a magic trick,” Barclay was saying.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“Shit,” Robin muttered, “don’t do anything yet, Sam—”
Samhain reappeared, holding the tin of chocolate biscuits, walked into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
“Now,” said Robin.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
Robin closed the sitting-room door, leaving a tiny crack through which she could spy on Samhain’s bedroom, and gave Barclay the thumbs up.
He pulled the mandala covering off the ottoman, bent down, gripped the edge of the lid and heaved. The lid wouldn’t budge. He put all his strength into it, but still it didn’t shift. From Samhain’s room came the sound of raised voices. Deborah was telling Samhain not to eat any more chocolate biscuits.
“It’s like—it’s locked—on the inside,” said Barclay, panting and letting go.
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
He unzipped his holdall and, after some rummaging, pulled out a crowbar, which he wedged the end of into the crack separating the lid from the body of the ottoman. “Come—oan—you—fucker,” he gasped, as the end of the crowbar lost its grip and nearly hit Barclay in the face. “Somethin’s stickin’ it doon.”
Robin peeked back at Samhain’s bedroom door. It remained closed. Mother and son were still arguing about the chocolate biscuits. The budgerigars chirruped. Beyond the window, Robin could see an airplane trail, a fuzzy white pipe cleaner stretched across the sky. Everyday things became so strange, when you were waiting for something dreadful to happen. Her heart was pounding fast.
“Help me,” said Barclay through gritted teeth. He’d managed to get the end of the crowbar deeper into the crack in the ottoman. “It’s gonnae take two.”
Troubled Blood
Part Six - 70
“Yes,” said Robin, far more calmly than she felt. She sat down on the ottoman, even though she felt sacrilegious doing it. I’m sorry, Margot. I’m so sorry.
“I need to make a phone call now, Deborah. Then I think we should all have some hot chocolate.”