慡teady on,?says Judy, 憃r Jo will recommend you for a modern policing award.?
慖 don抰 think so,?says Nelson. 慖 knocked Leah抯 husband out last night. That抯 old-fashioned policing for you.?
慉nd what was all that about you being knocked out too??says Judy. 慦hat happened??
慗oe McMahon hit me over the head with a Maglite,?says Nelson. 慖抦 not pressing charges though. He thought I was the one who抎 kidnapped Zoe. Got it into his head that he was protecting Ruth. Mind you, I will be having a little chat with Mr McMahon later. He抯 a little too obsessed with Ruth for my liking.?
慔ow is Ruth??says Judy. 慖 hear she was involved last night.?
Nelson gives his DI a sharp look, but Judy抯 face shows only polite interest.
慡he抯 OK,?he says. 慖t抯 been an emotional time for her. Turns out Zoe抯 her half-sister.?He explains, as briefly as he can, about 慏awn 1963?
慖t抯 funny,?says Judy, 憌hen I saw the picture of them together, I thought they looked slightly similar.?
慖 can抰 see it myself,?says Nelson, 慴ut I think it will mean a lot to Ruth. And she was really happy about Cathbad. She抯 very fond of him.?
慍athbad says you saved him,?says Judy.
慔e抯 delirious,?says Nelson. He抯 not going to tell anyone, even Ruth, about the dark beach and the fairground music.
Despite the Nurofen, Nelson抯 headache gets worse. Cloughie seems to have re-joined the team and even sends out for pizza at lunchtime. This reminds Nelson of women ordering pizza in a coded cry for help against domestic violence. He googles it and finds that it抯 only an urban myth. There is, however, a scheme in bars and restaurants called 慉sk Angela?where, if women use the name Angela, it alerts staff to abuse or to a date that is going dangerously wrong. There ought to be more, thinks Nelson, picturing Leah抯 face when he抎 appeared at her house last night. If she hadn抰 had the courage to text him, what would be happening to her now?
In the afternoon, Nelson drives back into Norwich. He parks outside the cathedral and crosses the road to Steward抯 House. It looks even less stable in the daylight, as if the whole edifice would topple over with one push. Nelson leans on the doorbell, trying his luck.
Janet Meadows opens the door. Nelson remembers her telling him that she抎 heard crashing and banging in the night but had turned over and gone back to sleep. I抦 always hearing suspicious things. This is a haunted house, you know. Presumably the noise had been Zoe Hilton being imprisoned in the room downstairs. If only Janet had called the police rather than assuming paranormal activity, it might have saved a lot of trouble. But Janet isn抰 charged with any crime. Tanya seems satisfied with her answers. And, if Janet hadn抰 left her phone lying around, to be picked up by Hugh Baxter, Zoe wouldn抰 have been able to call for help. Nelson gives Janet a curt nod. 慉fternoon. Is Joe McMahon still with you??
慪es. He and Eileen are staying until they find somewhere else. I抳e got plenty of room.?
慍an I have a word with Joe??
慪es. Do you want to come in??
慖抎 better not.?Nelson gestures to his mask thinking that Janet might be up to date on the plague but she seems to have forgotten the more recent health crisis. 慍ould Joe join me out here??
The young man looks rather scared when he sees Nelson on the doorstep. He doesn抰 look any less wary when Nelson suggests a walk in the cathedral grounds. They walk past the church and across a green bordered by hundreds of archways. Cloisters, he thinks they抮e called. There are private houses here too, smugly looking out across the smooth lawns. Who lives here? Bishops? Priests? Well, none of the residents are in evidence today. Nelson and Joe walk in silence until Nelson says, 慪ou know I could charge you for assault??
慖 didn抰 mean to hit you,?says Joe. 慖 thought . . .?
慖 know what you thought. You thought you were protecting Ruth. Dr Galloway.?
慖抎 heard a woman crying. I knew she was locked in somewhere. I thought you抎 locked her in.?