Becca disappeared into the crafting room and returned with the leatherbound copy of The Answer from which Mazu had previously read while they worked. Removing a silk bookmark indicating where they’d last got to, Becca cleared her throat and began to read.
‘“I come now to a part of my personal faith story that’s as dreadful as it’s miraculous, as heartrending as it’s joyful.
‘“Let me first state that to those who live in the bubble world, what I’m about to relate – or at least, my reaction to it, and my understanding of it – is likely to be baffling, even shocking. How, they’ll ask, can the death of a child ever be miraculous or joyful?
‘“I must begin by describing Daiyu. Materialists would call her my daughter, although I’d have loved her just the same had there been no fleshly bond.
‘“From her earliest childhood, it was evident that Daiyu would never need awakening. She’d been born awake, and her metaphysical abilities were extraordinary. She could tame wild livestock with a glance and locate lost objects unerringly, no matter how far away they were. She showed no interest in childish games or toys, but turned instinctively towards scripture, able to read before being taught, and to speak truths it takes many people a lifetime to understand.”’
‘And she could turn herself invisible,’ said a cool voice from over beside the towering straw man.
Several of the group glanced at Emily, but Becca ignored the interruption.
‘“As she grew, her powers became only more exceptional. The idea of a four- or five-year-old having her degree of spiritual calling would have seemed nonsensical to me had I not witnessed it. Every day she grew in wisdom and gave further proofs of her pure communication with the Blessed Divinity. Even as a child, she far surpassed me in understanding. I’d spent years struggling to understand and harness my own spiritual gifts. Daiyu simply accepted her abilities as natural, without inner conflict, without confusion.
‘“I look back now and wonder how I didn’t understand what her destiny was, although she spoke to me of it, a few short days before her earthly end.
‘“‘Papa, I must visit the Blessed Divinity soon, but don’t worry, I’ll come back.’
‘“I imagined she was speaking of the state pure spirits attain when they see the face of the Divinity clearly, and which I have achieved myself, through chanting, fasting and meditation. I knew that Daiyu, like me, had already seen and spoken to the Divinity. The word ‘visit’ should have warned me, but I was blind where she saw plainly.
‘“The Divinity’s chosen instrument was a young woman who took Daiyu to the dark sea while I slept. Daiyu walked joyfully towards the horizon before the sun had risen and disappeared from the material world, her fleshly body dissolving into the ocean. She was what the world calls dead.
‘“My despair was unconfined. It was weeks before I understood that this is why she was sent to us. Hadn’t she said to me, many times, ‘Papa, I exist beyond mere matter’? She’d been sent to teach us all, but to teach me particularly, that the only truth, the only reality, is spirit. And when I fully understood as much, and after I’d humbly told the Blessed Divinity so, Daiyu returned.
‘“‘Yes, she came back to me, I saw her as plainly—’”
Emily laughed scornfully. Becca slammed the book shut and got to her feet while the apprehensive corn dolly-makers pretended not to be watching.
‘Come in here for a moment, Emily, please,’ Becca told her sister.
Her expression defiant, Emily set down the straw she’d been binding to the torso of the gigantic statue and followed Becca into the cabin. Determined to know what was going on, Robin, who knew there was a small portable toilet to the rear of the crafting rooms, muttered, ‘Loo,’ and left the group.
All the windows of the Portakabin were open, doubtless in an effort to make it cool enough to work in. Robin moved round the building until she was out of sight of the other workers, then crept to stand beneath a window at the back, through which Becca and Emily’s voices, though low, were just audible.
‘… don’t understand what the problem is, I was agreeing with you.’
‘Why did you laugh?’
‘Why d’you think? Don’t you remember, when we recognised Lin—’
‘Shut up. Shut up now.’
‘Fine, I’ll—’
‘Come back. Come back here. Why did you say that, about invisibility?’
‘Oh, I’m allowed to speak now, am I? Well, that’s what you said happened. You were the one who told me what to say.’
‘That’s a lie. If you want to tell a different story now, go ahead, nobody’s stopping you!’
Emily let out something between a gasp and a laugh.
‘You filthy hypocrite.’
‘Says the person who’s back here because her EM’s out of control!’
‘My EM? Look at you!’ said Emily, with contempt. ‘There’s more EM in this place than in any of the other centres.’
‘Well, you’d know, you’ve been kicked out of enough of them. I’d have thought you’d realise you’re hanging by a thread, Emily.’
‘Says who?’
‘Says Mazu. You’re lucky you’re not Mark Three, after Birmingham, but it could still happen.’
Robin heard footsteps and guessed Becca had chosen to leave on her threatening line, but Emily spoke again, now sounding desperate.
‘You’d rather I went the same way as Kevin, wouldn’t you? Just kill myself.’
‘You dare talk about Kevin, to me?’
‘Why shouldn’t I talk about him?’
‘I know what you did, Emily.’
‘What did I do?’
‘You spoke to Kevin, for his book.’
‘What?’ said Emily, now sounding blank. ‘How?’
‘The disgusting room where he shot himself was covered with writing, and he’d written my name on the wall, and something about a plot.’
‘You think Kevin would have wanted contact with me, after we—?’
‘Shut up, for God’s sake, shut up! You don’t care about anyone except yourself, do you? Not about Papa J or the mission—’
‘If Kevin knew something about you and a plot, I didn’t tell him. But he always agreed with me that you’re full of shit.’
Robin didn’t know what Becca did next, but Emily let out a gasp of what sounded like pain.
‘You need to eat your vegetables,’ said Becca, her menacing voice unrecognisable, compared to the bright tone in which she generally spoke. ‘You hear me? And you’ll work on the vegetable patch and you’ll like it, or I’ll tell the Council I know you cooperated with Kevin.’
‘You won’t,’ said Emily, now sobbing, ‘you won’t, you bloody coward, because you know what I could tell them if I wanted!’
‘If you’re talking about Daiyu, go right ahead. I’ll be informing Papa J and Mazu of this conversation, so—’
‘No – no, Becca, don’t—’
‘It’s my duty,’ said Becca. ‘You can tell them what you think you saw.’
‘No, Becca, please don’t tell them—’
‘Could Daiyu become invisible, Emily?’
There was a short silence.
‘Yes,’ said Emily, her voice quaking, ‘but—’
‘Either she could or she couldn’t. Which is it?’
‘She… could.’
‘Correct. So don’t let me hear you saying anything different, ever again, you filthy little pig.’
Robin heard footsteps, and the door of the cabin slammed.
59
… to the thoughtful man such occurrences are grave omens that he does not neglect.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
The Frank brothers’ purchase of rope while wearing dubious disguises had now been followed by the acquisition of a very old van. Considered alongside their continued surveillance of the actress’s house and both brothers’ previous court appearances for sex offences, Strike had been forced to the conclusion that the twosome might indeed be planning an abduction. He’d contacted the Met a second time, and given them his most recent information, which included pictures of both brothers lurking around the client’s house, and warned Tasha Mayo to take all possible precautions.
‘I’d strongly advise you to change your routine,’ he told her over the phone. ‘Vary the time you go to the gym and so on.’
‘I like my routine,’ she grumbled. ‘Are you sure you aren’t taking this a bit too seriously?’
‘Well, the joke’s on me if it turns out they’re planning a camping trip, but they’ve definitely stepped up their surveillance of you lately.’
There was a slight pause.
‘You’re scaring me.’
‘It’d be remiss not to give you my honest opinion. Is there anyone who could come and stay with you for a bit? A friend, a family member?’
‘Maybe,’ she said gloomily. ‘God. I thought they were just a bit weird and annoying, not actually dangerous.’
The following day found Strike sitting at a table in the Connaught Hotel’s Jean-Georges restaurant, from which he could watch the antics of their most recently acquired client’s wealthy mother, who was seventy-four and lunching with her forty-one-year-old male companion. Strike was wearing glasses he didn’t need, but which had a minuscule camera hidden in the frame. He’d so far recorded a good deal of giggling from the woman, particularly after her dark-suited companion, who’d been solicitous in assisting her with her coat and making sure that she was comfortably seated, had been mistaken for a waiter by the diners at the next table.
Having watched the couple order food and wine, Strike asked for a chicken salad, took off his glasses, positioning them on the table so that they’d continue recording. As he did so, he caught the eye of a very good-looking dark-haired woman in a black dress, who was also dining alone. She smiled.
Strike looked away without returning the smile, picked up his phone to read the day’s news, which was, inevitably, Brexit dominated. The referendum would be happening in a week’s time and Strike was thoroughly bored of the febrile coverage it was generating.