Then Robin heard the outer door open, and Pat’s indistinct baritone, greeting someone with enthusiasm.
‘That’ll be Ryan,’ Robin said.
‘Right,’ said Strike.
Robin got to her feet in a state of confusion and shock, still clutching the cricketer’s folder in her hands, and opened the dividing door.
‘Sorry,’ said Murphy, who looked harried. ‘Did you get my text? I was late leaving and traffic’s bloody gridlocked.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Robin. ‘I was late back myself.’
‘Hi,’ said Murphy to Strike, who’d followed Robin into the outer office. ‘Congratulations.’
‘What for?’ said Strike.
‘The church case,’ said Murphy, with a half-laugh. ‘What, you’ve already moved on to some other world-shattering—?’
‘Oh that,’ said Strike. ‘Yeah. Well, it was mostly Robin.’
Robin took down her jacket.
‘Well – see you Monday,’ she said to Pat and Strike, unable to meet the latter’s eyes.
‘You taking that with you?’ Murphy asked Robin, looking at the folder in her hands.
‘Oh – no – sorry,’ said the flustered Robin. ‘This belongs here.’
She set the folder down beside Pat.
‘Bye,’ she said, and left.
Strike watched the glass door close, and listened to the pair’s footsteps dying away on the metal stairs.
‘They make a good couple,’ said Pat complacently.
‘We’ll see,’ said Strike.
Ignoring the office manager’s swift, penetrating look, he added,
‘I’ll be in the Flying Horse if you want me.’
Picking up his jacket and the folder Robin had left, he departed. Time would tell whether he’d just done something foolish or not, but Cormoran Strike had at last decided to practise what he’d preached to Charlotte, all those years ago. Happiness is a choice that requires an effort at times, and it was well past time for him to make the effort.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest gratitude as ever to my wonderful editor (and fellow cult aficionado) David Shelley. I promised you a cult book, and here, at last, we are.
A very big thank you to Nithya Rae for her superb copyediting, especially for catching date and numerical slip-ups.
To my fabulous agent, Neil Blair, who was one of this book’s early readers, thank you for all your hard work on my behalf, and for being such a good friend.
Thank you as always to Nicky Stonehill, Rebecca Salt and Mark Hutchinson, who provide endless support, wise guidance and many laughs.
My gratitude to Di Brooks, Simon Brown, Danny Cameron, Angela Milne, Ross Milne, Fiona Shapcott and Kaisa Tiensuu: I say it every time, but without you, there could be no books at all.
Lastly, to Neil Murray, who really didn’t fancy a book about a cult, but who likes The Running Grave the best of the series: see? I always know best – except on the many occasions when you do x
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CREDITS
‘Hymns and Arias’ (here) Copyright © 1971 Max Boyce
All Rights Reserved
Reprinted by Permission of Max Boyce
‘Heaven’ (here and here) Words and Music by Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey, Ed Kowalczyk and Chad Taylor. © 2003 Loco De Amor Music. All rights reserved. Used by kind permission of Carlin Music Delaware LLC, Clearwater Yard, 35 Inverness Street, London, NW1 7HB.
From The I Ching or Book of Changes The Richard Wilhelm translation rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes. Copyright © Bollingen Foundation Inc., 1950, 1967. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Limited. (World excluding USA and Canada)
From The I Ching or Book of Changes, Bollingen Series XIX. The Richard Wilhelm Translation rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes. Foreword by C. G. Jung. Preface to the Third Edition by Hellmut Wilhelm. Copyright © 1950, 1967, renewed 1977 by Princeton University Press. Reprinted by permission of Princeton University Press. (USA and Canada)
‘It’s The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ (here and here) Words and Music by William Berry, Peter Buck, Michael Mills and Michael Stipe
Copyright © 1989 NIGHT GARDEN MUSIC
All Rights Administered by SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC.
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission
Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd.
‘Make Luv’ (here) Words and Music by Kevin Duane McCord and Oliver Cheatham
Copyright © 2003 SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC.
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission
Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Europe Ltd.
‘When, Like a Running Grave’ (here) by Dylan Thomas, in The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas: The Centenary Edition, ed. by John Goodby (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2016). Used with the permission of the Dylan Thomas Trust through David Higham Associates. (World excluding USA and Canada)
‘When, Like a Running Grave’ (here) by Dylan Thomas, from The Poems of Dylan Thomas, copyright ©1939 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. (USA and Canada)
Extract from ‘On a Friend’s Escape from Drowning off the Norfolk Coast’ by George Barker (here) taken from Collected Poems of George Barker © Estate of George Barker. Reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd.
Also by Robert Galbraith
The Cuckoo’s Calling
The Silkworm
Career of Evil
Lethal White
Troubled Blood
The Ink Black Heart
PRAISE FOR ROBERT GALBRAITH
“The work of a master storyteller.”
—Daily Telegraph
“A superlative piece of crime fiction.”
—Sunday Times
“Strike and Robin are just as magnetic as ever.”
—New York Times
“A scrupulous plotter and master of misdirection, Galbraith keeps the pages turning… Strike and Ellacott remain one of crime’s most engaging duos.”
—The Guardian
“There can be no denying Galbraith’s formidable talents as a crime writer.”
—Daily Mail
“A thoroughly enjoyable classic.”
— Peter James, Sunday Express
“Strike is a compelling creation… This is terrifically entertaining stuff.”
—Irish Times
“Come for the twists and turns and stay for the beautifully drawn central relationship.”
—The Independent
“One of the most unique and compelling detectives I’ve come across in recent years.”
— Mark Billingham
“Superb… an ingenious whodunnit.”
—Sunday Mirror
“A rip-roaring read; a big sprawling, at-times electrifying thriller.”
—Irish Independent
“A page-turner that will keep you up all night.”
—The Observer
“Galbraith is fluent in invention of incident, characters, conversation and confrontations.”
—The Scotsman