belongs."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Not a thing." She left the room.
His eyes followed her, perplexed. What in God's name had got into the woman? They had been working so well together, but now she was acting as if she could hardly wait to throw it all away and return to uniform. It made no sense. Webberly was offering her a chance to redeem herself. Given that, why would she deliberately attempt to prove justifiable every prejudice held against her by the other DIs at the Yard? He muttered an oath and summarily dismissed her from his thoughts.
St. James would be in Newby Wiske by now, the corpse of the dog wrapped in a polystyrene shroud in the boot of the Escort and Roberta's clothing in a cardboard carton on the rear seat. He would perform the autopsy, supervise the tests, and report the results with his usual efficiency. Thank God. St. James's involvement would ensure that at least something in the case was handled correctly.
Chief Constable Kerridge of the Yorkshire Constabulary had been only too delighted to hear that Allcourt-St. James would be coming to use their well-equipped lab. Anything, Lynley thought, to put another nail in Nies's coffin. He shook his head in disgust, went to William Teys's desk, and opened the top drawer.
It held no secrets. There were scissors, pencils, a wrinkled map of the county, a typewriter ribbon, and a roll of tape. The map caused a flurry of short-lived interest and he unfolded it eagerly: perhaps it marked out a careful search for Teys's older daughter. But it was unmarred by any cryptogrammic message that indicated the location of a missing girl.
The other drawers were as devoid of pertinent facts as the first: a pot of glue, two boxes of unused Christmas cards, three packets of photographs taken on the farm, account books, records of lambing, a roll of aging breath mints. But nothing of Gillian.
He leaned back in the chair. His eyes fell on the bookstand and the Bible it held. Struck by a thought, he opened it to the previously marked page. "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
"Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.' And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.' And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Bow the knee': and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt."
"Seeking guidance from the Lord?"
Lynley looked up. Havers was leaning against the study door, her shapeless body silhouetted sharply by the morning light, her face a blank.
"Have you finished the kitchen?" he asked.
"Thought I'd take a break." She sauntered into the room. "Got a smoke on you?"
He handed her his cigarette case absently and went to the bookshelves, running his eyes over them, seeking a volume of Shakespeare. He found it and began looking.
"Is Daze a redhead, Inspector?"
It took a moment for the odd question to strike him. When he looked up, Havers was back at the door, running her fingers meditatively against the wood, apparently indifferent to whatever answer he might give. "I beg your pardon?"
She flipped open the cigarette case and read its inscription. "Darling Thomas. We'll always have Paris, won't we? Daze.'" Coldly, she met his eyes. It was then that he noticed how pale she was, how the skin beneath her eyes was dark with fatigue, how the gold case shook in her hand. "Aside from her rather hackneyed use of Bogart, is she a redhead?" Havers repeated. "I only ask because you seem to prefer them. Or is the truth that anyone will do?"
Horrified, Lynley realised too late what the change in her was and his own responsibility for having brought it about. There was nothing he could say. There was no quick answer he could give. But he could tell at once that none was necessary, for she had every intention of continuing without his response.
"Havers - "
She held up a hand to stop him. She was deathly white. Her features looked flat. Her voice was tight. "You know,