Chapter 79

All the books and papers and documents Bradshaw had been using had been pushed into one untidy corner. She waved Poe and Linus in.

‘Did you get it?' she said without preamble.

‘I don't know what "it" is,' Poe said, ‘but we have the All Saints Church records for the time period you wanted.'

‘You've been ages, Poe.'

‘There's a lot of stuff and it had to be collated. The churchwarden didn't want to hand over everything, but my charm won through in the end.'

‘What did Poe do, Linus?'

‘He stole it.'

Bradshaw nodded. ‘Good,' she said.

‘We popped in to see Eve Bowman while we were waiting,' Poe said. ‘She was making jam.'

‘Oh, why did you do that?' Bradshaw said. She frowned and added, ‘And how much jam did you eat?'

‘I wanted to ask her about Bethany's journal.'

‘And?'

‘She sort of admitted knowing Bethany was being abused, but claims she didn't realise at the time. Oh, and we met her husband, Thomas. Bit of a geek but he seemed nice enough. They're off camping and he was sorting through their equipment.'

Bradshaw leaned into her laptop. ‘It's teatime now, so if you want to go and get something to eat, I think I may have something in an hour.'

‘OK,' Poe said. He pointed at the stolen logbook. ‘But if you can start there, I can maybe return it tomorrow. The rest we can have as long as we want.'

‘I'll do that, Poe,' Bradshaw said.

Poe ordered the slow-braised lamb and a pint of Citadel, an easy-drinking beer from the Carlisle Brewing Company. He scanned the menu for something Bradshaw might find palatable, eventually settling on the pumpkin, sage and honey tortellini.

‘Is honey vegan?' Poe asked Linus.

‘Why would I know?'

‘You're an intern; go and intern me the answer.'

Linus rolled his eyes. ‘That little "VE" beside it doesn't stand for Victory in Europe, Poe. It's a vegan dish so it must have vegan-friendly ingredients.'

‘I'll take the pasta to go,' Poe told the waiter. ‘Everything else we'll eat here.'

‘The restaurant is dine-in only, sir. If you want takeaway food, you'll need to order from the bar menu.'

‘Does the bar food come in takeaway boxes or tubs?'

‘Cardboard boxes, sir.'

‘OK then,' Poe said. ‘Bring our order to the table along with one empty takeaway box.'

The waiter obviously didn't get paid enough for an argument like this. ‘Very good, sir,' he said. ‘I'll be along shortly with your drinks.'

Linus shook his head after the waiter had left. ‘So much hostility,' he said.

‘Why should Tilly eat from a different menu because she's still working?'

‘Fair enough.' He looked at Poe shrewdly. ‘You're very protective of her, aren't you?'

‘She's my friend.'

‘It goes deeper than that.'

‘What can I tell you, Snoopy? She dragged me out of a burning building, she stopped me being charged with murder, and because of the work she does – is doing now, in fact – countless potential victims have been spared. So yes, if I feel protective, it's because I owe her.'

‘And you think she still needs you?'

‘Needs me?' Poe said. ‘I don't think she's ever needed me, Snoopy. Even when we first met, she was stubbornly independent. What you won't know is that, because Tilly didn't have friends growing up, she'll do anything for the ones she has now. Her friendship is absolute. There is not a thing she wouldn't do for me or Estelle or the boss, and there is not a thing we wouldn't do for her. And because I'm the one who tends to walk into things with one eye closed, she's got used to watching my back.'

‘Meaning?'

‘Meaning that you have it back to front, Snoopy. She doesn't need my protection; I need hers.'

Poe's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and said, ‘Speak of the vegan.'

‘What's up? I've ordered you a pumpkin pasta thing. Sounds disgusting, which means you'll love it.'

She told him.

The waiter came back with their drinks.

‘You'd better make that three takeaway boxes,' Poe said.

‘What's happened?' Linus said.

‘Tilly knows what those tattoos mean,' he replied.