Chapter 33

Poe arrived at Shap Wells at 7.30 a.m., half an hour later than he'd arranged to meet Linus, but at the exact time he'd arranged to meet Bradshaw. He swapped his quad for his car and drove to the front of the hotel. Bradshaw and Linus were waiting for him under the covered entrance. Wordlessly, Linus got in the back.

‘Good morning, Poe,' Bradshaw said, climbing into the passenger seat and buckling up. She jerked the seatbelt twice to make sure the locking mechanism was working. ‘How is Estelle Doyle and how is Edgar?'

‘Both fine, Tilly.'

‘Linus tells me you said to be outside at seven a.m., but you told me seven-thirty, Poe.'

‘I didn't want him missing his ride again.'

‘But you drove off on purpose yesterday.'

‘That's not how I remember it, Tilly.'

Linus rolled his eyes. ‘Where are we going, Sergeant Poe?'

‘Didn't I tell you last night? How forgetful of me.'

‘No, you didn't. Your last words to me were, "If you use my phone to track my whereabouts again, I'll remove the SIM card and stick it up your fucking arse." It seemed like a suitable way to end the evening.'

Poe grunted. He'd made a conscious decision last night to not let Linus's presence bother him. Doyle had said if there were national security concerns with the Children of Job, he should let Linus do his job. He'd called Flynn but she seemed less bothered about Linus's motives and more bothered about whether Poe would lose his temper and do something stupid. It seemed the universe was telling him to calm down and accept it.

‘Tell Snoopy where we're going, Tilly,' he said.

‘The Chapel Wood Institute, Linus,' Bradshaw said. ‘We're going to see the Children of Job.'