Bryant & May on the Loose: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery Page 0,61

pretty clear that Terry Delaney died on Monday afternoon, not on Wednesday or Thursday.’

‘Wait, I know I’m old and easily bamboozled,’ Bryant complained. ‘What does this actually mean?’

‘Well,’ said Kershaw, scratching the side of his head with the pointing-antenna Bryant had given him, ‘you’ve got the same man dying twice in two separate places, days apart. So to answer your question, I’m buggered if I know.’

25

VISIONS AND PORTENTS

Lying on her back only increased the uncomfortable fullness in her stomach. Dragging the duvet over her breasts, Lizzi turned onto her side, wondering how anyone managed to bear a child in the heat of the summer. It was only May. My child is turning within me, just as I turn, she thought, as if a secret alliance had already formed between them. Reaching out her arm, she distantly registered the fact that the other side of the bed was empty, but knew that Xander often rose early to work on his computer in the kitchen.

The soft click of the front door told her that he had returned from outside, so she assumed he had been to the Cally Road gym. ‘Xander,’ she called out, ‘where are you?’

‘I’m sorry.’ His muscular frame appeared in the doorway. He was wearing his ragged brown sweater with the holes in the sleeves. As he tugged off his knitted cap, she saw that his hair had not been combed in days.

‘Look at you,’ she said sleepily. ‘Hope no-one’s seen you like that.’

‘I’ve been organising the picket,’ he told her. ‘Marianne Waters is going to be at the mall for the ground-breaking ceremony, and the press will be in attendance. We’re planning to lie down in front of the tractors as they enter the site. I had to meet the others at ground zero and it’s been raining, so I put on my old clothes.’

She had asked him to attend the Camden pre-natal clinic with her on Thursday morning, just as she had several times before, but he had clearly forgotten again. It was probably for the best, Lizzi decided; he would only get in her way and slow things down. She loved him, but wished he would show as much passion about his unborn child as he did about his protest meetings. Tomorrow morning, as ADAPT announced the next construction phase of their shopping plaza, a long-disputed area would finally be fenced off, and Xander would begin another round of protests.

‘Did you remember to ring the Islington Gazette?’ she asked him.

‘Damn, I forgot.’

‘You won’t get any local coverage unless you remember to tell the media. And you’ve got to sign on for work.’

‘I’m not sure there’s going to be time,’ he told her, scratching his hair flat. ‘I’ve still got to finish painting the banners.’

She pushed herself up on one arm. ‘You have to do it, Xander. We can’t live on my salary.’

‘I have to prioritise what’s important. We want more provision for public housing, not more offices, and we’re asking for the area’s historic pagan connections to be respected. If we don’t picket the offices of ADAPT tomorrow they’ll continue to run roughshod over everyone, tear up the last of the old town boundaries and build another soulless business district that has no respect for the area’s original layout. The ancient hedgerows—’

‘I know all about the ancient hedgerows,’ Lizzi interrupted, climbing out of bed. ‘You’ve told me a thousand times.’ Mired in endless controversy, the battle over the sale of the railway’s grounds had continued in London courts for nearly three decades. ‘The public consultations are all finished, and the appeals have all failed. Ten people lying in a field isn’t going to make any difference now. It gives you no credibility, Xander. Worse, it makes you look stupid. Protests are no longer won by tree-huggers; they’re established in courts of law along proper legal guidelines.’

‘I didn’t think you’d give up on me as well. I thought you were on my side.’

‘I am, but we’ve also got to start thinking of ourselves. You’re going to be a father soon. I want to be able to rely on you.’

‘I can’t just suddenly abandon my ideals, Lizzi. What they’re doing is illegal, but the police don’t care. We have to protect the disputed property twenty-four hours a day.’

‘The people you’ve got in those tents look like tramps!’

‘That’s because there are no washing facilities. Look, I’ll make you some breakfast, but then I have to go. The burial grounds of St Pancras Old Church will be under threat from