慙et me know if you抮e worried about anything,?says Nelson.
慖抦 not worried,?says Mei, as if she抯 not alone in a foreign country in the middle of a pandemic.
After a cheerful farewell from Mei, Nelson turns the postcard over. The picture is of a lopsided black and white house with a cloaked figure standing in front of it.
慉ugustine Steward抯 House, Tombland,?he reads, 慽s haunted by the Grey Lady. This tormented ghost from the sixteenth century hides a terrible secret.?
Chapter 36
慪ou shouldn抰 be here,?says Judy.
慙et抯 pretend I抦 not,?says Clough.
They are walking on the beach, keeping the regulation two metres apart. Even so, Judy is meant to be in quarantine, Clough shouldn抰 be in Norfolk at all. 慓o for a walk,?Maddie had said. 慪ou抮e safe when you抮e in the open air. And it抣l make you feel better. You can take Thing. You抮e allowed to go for two walks a day if you have a dog.?Judy doesn抰 know where Maddie gets her scientific facts from but one thing is certain; Maddie is becoming as wise as her father.
慖抦 so pleased to see you,?says Judy.
慖 thought you would be.?Clough sounds smug. 慪our last message sounded a bit . . . a bit like you needed company.?
慖 do,?says Judy. 慖 mean, I know I抳e got the kids but . . .?
態ut you have to stay strong for them,?says Clough. 慪ou don抰 for me.?
They walk along the sand in silence. Thing doubles back to check that they抮e still there. His nanny instincts have become more pronounced in Cathbad抯 absence. Apart from another dog-walker at the water抯 edge, there抯 not a soul in sight. The multicoloured beach huts are empty, and the only sound is the hiss and sigh of the waves breaking.
慖 just can抰 imagine a world without Cathbad,?says Judy.
慛or can I,?says Clough. 慏o you remember when we first met him? Bloody great tempest raging on the Saltmarsh. Thunder and lightning. Cathbad gets out of the car and says to the boss, 揑抣l be your guide.?And then they disappear into the night. I honestly thought it would be the last time I saw either of them.?
慍athbad says Nelson saved him that night.?
慡omething happened,?says Clough, 憈hat抯 for sure.?
慍athbad likes you,?says Judy. 慔e says that you抮e a positive life force.?
慍assie says that I抦 a pain in the neck,?says Clough. 慚aybe that means the same thing.?
慣he boss misses you,?says Judy. 慡pecially now he抯 stuck with Tanya and Tony.?
慣ony抯 the new boy, isn抰 he? I thought he seemed OK.?
慔e抯 great. He抯 just very enthusiastic. Tanya抯 OK too. She抯 sent me some very kind messages.?
慣he boss must be hating lockdown,?says Clough, 慹specially if it stops him seeing Ruth.?
慖 think he is seeing her,?says Judy. 慚ichelle抯 in Blackpool. I think Nelson抯 been staying with Ruth. Or he was until Laura came back home.?
慔e抯 taking a risk,?says Clough. 慖f Super Jo finds out.?
慗o hasn抰 been into the station since this started. She keeps sending Nelson emails that he ignores. Tanya says that, with Leah off, Nelson doesn抰 answer anything from head office.?
慙eah抯 off? Is she sick??
慖 don抰 know. I hope not. Sometimes I think that everyone抯 going to get this thing eventually. I mean, if Cathbad can get ill, anyone can.?
慣hey抣l find a vaccine,?says Clough. 慖 was talking to someone at the university the other day. He says that Oxford are near to developing something. And that抯 quite something for a Cambridge man to admit.?
慖t抣l be too late for Cathbad,?says Judy.
慔e抣l pull through,?says Clough. 慉nd you know I抦 always right.?