Chapter 18

Presumably to make it easier for the Royal Mail, the Bishop of Carlisle's official residence was called Bishop's House. It was on Ambleside Road in Keswick and Poe was soon prowling for a parking space. There were so many bed-and-breakfast signs, the residential streets looked more like Blackpool than rural Cumbria. None of them had vacancies, he noticed. The streets were nose-to-tail with cars and before long Poe was cursing the convention like an angry local. After fifteen fruitless minutes, he gave up and drove to the town centre. He pulled up outside Greggs then turned in his seat.

‘Make yourself useful, Snoopy,' he said, passing him a ten-pound note. ‘We might not get another chance for a brew tonight. I'll have a black coffee, Tilly will have a green tea, and you'll probably want a fizzy pop. I'll park in the Theatre by the Lake's grounds, and we'll meet you back here. The bishop's is only a five-minute walk and it's a nice evening.'

‘But—'

‘But what? You wanted to be involved – this is being involved. And trust me, if I run out of caffeine I become sarcastic and judgemental.'

‘Why can't Tilly—'

‘Because Tilly's useful and you're an intern.'

Poe waited for Linus to get out before putting the car into gear and navigating out of Keswick. Instead of turning left towards Derwentwater and the Theatre by the Lake, he turned right on to the A66 and headed towards the motorway.

‘Poe! Poe!' Bradshaw yelled. ‘You've forgotten Linus!'

‘Didn't he say we should pretend he wasn't there?'

‘He did, Poe.'

‘Well, that's much easier to do when he isn't in the car.'

‘But where are we going?'

‘Carlisle Cathedral.'

‘Why?'

‘That was the bishop's office on the phone earlier,' he said. ‘The meeting's been moved there.'

‘But what about Linus? He won't know where we are.'

Poe said nothing. He didn't think it would take Linus long to find them. And if he did, the first piece of the puzzle would slot into place.