1 The Cuckoo's Calling

“Oh, yeah. He thought her mental problems were just attention-seeking, bad
behavior. Put on. Burden on her mother. He got a bit smarmier when she started
making money, but she didn’t forget.”
“And she didn’t tell you why she’d been calling you, once she got to Uzi?”
“Nope,” said Duffield. He lit another cigarette. “She was fucked off from the
moment she arrived, because Ellie was there. Didn’t like that at all. In a right
fucking mood, wasn’t she?”
For the first time he appealed to Ciara, who nodded sadly.
“She didn’t really talk to me,” said Duffield. “She was mostly talking to you,
wasn’t she?”
“Yes,” said Ciara. “And she didn’t tell me there was anything, like, upsetting
her or anything.”
“A couple of people have told me her phone was hacked…” began Strike;
Duffield talked over him.
“Oh yeah, they were listening in on our messages for fucking weeks. They
knew everywhere we were meeting and everything. Fucking bastards. We
changed our phone numbers when we found out what was going on and we were
fucking careful what messages we left after that.”
“So you wouldn’t be surprised, if Lula had had something important or
upsetting to tell you, that she didn’t want to be explicit over the phone?”
“Yeah, but if it was that fucking important, she woulda told me at the club.”
“But she didn’t?”
“No, like I say, she never spoke to me all night.” A muscle was jumping in
Duffield’s chiseled jaw. “She kept checking the time on her fucking phone. I
knew what she was doing; trying to wind me up. Showing me she couldn’t wait
to get home and meet fucking Deeby Macc. She waited until Ellie went off to the
bog; then got up, came over to tell me she was leaving, and said I could have my
bangle back; the one I gave her when we had our commitment ceremony. She
chucked it down on the table in front of me, with everyone fucking gawping. So I
picked it up and said, ‘Anyone fancy this, it’s going spare?’ and she fucked off.”
He did not speak as though Lula had died three months previously, but as
though it had all happened the day before, and there was still a possibility of
reconciliation.
“You tried to restrain her, though, right?” asked Strike.
Duffield’s eyes narrowed.