Nelson rings Ruth but there抯 no answer. Where can she be at four o抍lock in the afternoon? That抯 the thing about lockdown. There抯 nowhere people can be. He抯 very jolted by the news that Ruth抯 apparently charming neighbour was once charged with murder. But didn抰 he always feel that the woman was a little odd, a little encroaching? He gets out his phone and finds the photograph of Ruth and Katie doing yoga in their garden. Ruth is laughing as she tries to stand on one leg. Katie is deadly serious. He loves the way her tongue is protruding slightly as she lunges forward. Zoe抯 face appears on the other side of the fence, her hair tied up in a spotted scarf. Is there something strange in her expression, something intent, almost greedy? Nelson looks on the Westway surgery website and learns that Zoe Hilton is the Lead Practice Nurse. He asks Tony to check whether Zoe was a member of any Lean Zone groups and the answer comes back that, for a while, she attended the same meetings as Avril Flowers. Could this be a link? One way or another, Nelson needs to speak to Zoe. And Ruth too.
慖抦 off out,?he says to Tony. 慪ou can go home when you抳e finished there.?
慖抦 just going through the reports on the suicide cases,?says Tony. 慡eeing if we抳e missed anything.?
慪ou keep on with that,?says Nelson. 慙eah! I抦 off.?
As far as Nelson can see, the only people on the roads are those in some sort of uniform: delivery drivers, paramedics, nurses or carers. Nelson wonders idly how long it will take local drug dealers to don PPE before setting out to ply their trade. They can even wear masks. But there抯 no doubt that it makes driving easier. In less than fifteen minutes, he抯 driving over the Saltmarsh. It抯 one of those grey days when the land and sea merge together. Nelson thinks of the Golden Mile in Blackpool. Even in winter there is noise and colour, shouts from the Pleasure Beach, lights glowing on the piers. What crime did Nelson commit in a former life to be exiled here? 慐verything happens for a reason,?Cathbad always says but now Cathbad is seriously ill in hospital and nothing makes sense any more.
Ruth抯 cottage and its two neighbours are visible from miles away, bright spots in the gloom. Nelson sees immediately that Ruth抯 car isn抰 there. Where can she be? It抯 lockdown, for God抯 sake. She抯 not allowed to be anywhere. Nelson parks by the gate and hammers on the door. 慠uth? Are you there??
There抯 no car outside Zoe抯 house either. Nelson knocks on her door too. No answer. The marshland stretches around him, sullen and threatening. Nelson bangs on Zoe抯 window and has the fright of his life when a huge animal ?surely far bigger than a normal cat? ?appears on the other side of the glass. The beast has stripy fur and huge, yellow eyes. There抯 something very disconcerting about its stare.
Nelson turns back to the grey landscape.
Ruth and Katie have disappeared.
Chapter 30
Ruth is still not sure whether she was right to come. Her journey can hardly be described as necessary. What if she抯 stopped by the police? Will name-dropping Nelson make it better or worse? But she is desperate for something to take her mind off Cathbad so, after her lecture ?there抯 still no sign of Eileen or Joe ?she turns to Kate.
慒ancy a drive to Norwich??
Kate looks at her sceptically. 慉re we allowed??
慪es,?bluffs Ruth. 慖t抯 for work. Janet ?remember her? ?thinks she抯 found a secret door into Steward抯 House. We won抰 have to go in. Apparently, you can see it from the road.?
Kate agrees. After all, she抯 bored too. There抯 a secretly festive feeling in the car as they drive along the coastal road, past the boarded-up pubs and the house with the mural of Rupert Bear. It抯 usually a long and frustratingly slow drive to Norwich but, today, they slalom through the round璦bouts and encounter almost no traffic on the A148. It feels strange, too, to drive straight into the Close and park in front of the cathedral. Janet is waiting for them by the doors of the great church, now firmly shut, between the statues of Mother Julian and St Benedict. Ruth is not sure how to greet her friend, but they compromise on an awkward two-metres-apart wave.
慖s it shut??Ruth gestures towards the huge wooden doors.