Selevan hadn’t been happy drawing Jago away from his work. On the other hand, he needed to set out on his journey and he’d told himself that Jago would go to the Salthouse Inn for their regular knees-up later on that day, so one way or another he had to tell him he wouldn’t be there at their regular time. Now he waited and felt the nerves come upon him. He needed someone on his side, and he’d be in a state till he got someone there.
When Jago came in, Selevan waved a hello with no small measure of relief. Jago stopped at the bar to have a word with Brian and came over, still in his jacket with his knitted cap pulled over his long grey hair. He shed both jacket and cap and rubbed his hands together as he drew out the stool that faced Selevan’s bench. The fire hadn’t yet been lit?too early for that as they were the only two drinkers in the bar?and Jago asked could he light it? Brian gave the nod and Jago put match to tinder. He blew on the emergent flames till they caught. Then he returned to the table. He gave a thanks to Brian as his Guinness was brought to him and he took a swig of it.
He said, “What’s the brief, then, mate?” to Selevan. “You look a right state.”
“I’m heading out,” Selevan said. “Few days, a bit more.”
“Are you, then? Where?”
“North. Place not far from the border.”
“What? Wales?”
“Scotland.”
Jago whistled. “Far piece, that. Want me to keep an eye on things, then? Want me to keep a watch on Tammy?”
“Taking Tammy with me,” Selevan said. “I’ve done as much as I can here. Job’s finished. Now we’re off. Time the girl was let to lead the life she wants.”
“Truth to that,” Jago said. “I won’t be here that much longer myself.”
Selevan was surprised to feel the extent of his dismay at hearing this news. “Where you off to, Jago? I thought you meant to stay the season.”
Jago shook his head. He lifted his Guinness and drank of it deeply. “Never stay one place long. That’s how I look at it. I’m thinking South Africa. Capetown, p’rhaps.”
“You won’t go till I’m back, though. Sounds a bit mad, this, but I’ve got used to having you round.”
Jago looked at him and the lenses of his glasses winked in the light. “Best not to do that. Doesn’t pay to get used to anything.”
“’Course, I know that, but?”
The bar door swung open, but not in its usual fashion, with someone swinging it just wide enough to enter. Instead, it opened with a startling bang that would have put an end to all conversation had anyone save Jago and Selevan been within.
Two women came inside. One of them had stand-up hair that looked purple in the light. The other wore a knitted cap pulled low on her face, just to her eyes. The women looked around and Purple Hair settled on the inglenook.
She strode over saying, “Ah. We’d like a word with you, Mr. Reeth.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
THEY DROVE WEST. THEY TALKED VERY LITTLE. WHAT LYNLEY wanted to know was why she had lied about details that could be so easily checked upon. Paul the primate keeper, for instance. It was a matter of a simple phone call to discover there was no Paul caring for primates at the zoo. Did she not see how that looked to the police?
She glanced at him. She’d not worn her contact lenses on this day, and a bit of her sandy hair had fallen across the top of the frames of her glasses. She said, “I suppose I hadn’t thought of you as a cop, Thomas. And the answers to the questions you asked me?and the questions you had in your head but didn’t ask me?were private, weren’t they. They had nothing to do with Santo Kerne’s death.”
“But keeping those answers to yourself made you suspect. You must see that.”