“But Zillah’s mine. She’s mine! I’ve been with her since after she was born! It’s not fair that someone can just take her away. Zillah spent her whole babyhood with me. I just wanted to tell that woman that she couldn’t have Zillah, but when we got there she was dead!”

Her whole babyhood. Jury thought it one of the saddest little descriptions he’d ever heard. And this child Zoe looked flattened, looked empty, as if all the breath had been drawn out of her.

37

“Inspector Brownell,” said Dr. Howe Park, “I don’t believe there’s anything I can tell you.”

They were sitting in the doctor’s office in his home in St. Just.

“I’m not trying to violate your confidentiality obligations, Dr. Park, but I think there might be a few things you could tell me. The baby was kept at the Summerston shelter with her mother for two weeks, you said, then released to a friend of the mother. Someone I imagine you knew.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because Summerston is a private hospital that operates, or certainly did at the time, for the personal benefit of the Summerstons, consequently for people connected with them.”

“That’s not true; it takes in homeless, ill, or otherwise-in-need people.”

“It’s the ‘otherwise-in-need’ I’m talking about. The friend, the woman who took the baby, was well known on Bryher: Daisy Cooke.”

Park’s expression was a dead giveaway.

“And as both of these women now are dead, I don’t think it would be violating confidentiality to tell me about the child. And as you know, this child’s mother, Manon Vinet, was murdered. So any information at all you could give me would help us find her killer.”

The doctor went back to his chair. “Inspector, all that I know is that the child was given over to Mrs. Cooke. But after that, I can’t say what happened to her. Perhaps Mrs. Cooke formally adopted her.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“If you’re sure of that, why, then, don’t you know—?”

“Mrs. Cooke was my daughter.”

38

On his way from St. Just to Land’s End, Tom rang Jury on his mobile. “Where are you now?”

“Just about to board the plane back to Land’s End.”

“I’ve been in St. Just, so I’m nearly there. Let’s meet at the Old Success and compare notes.”

“Haven’t got any notes. I do have a theory, though it’s a bit of a black swan theory. Hold on.” Tom waited. “Plant also has his idea on this, with which I disagree, although he says it’s better than mine, more of a grey swan.”

“Really? And Jerome?”

“Who?”

“Your giraffe. Doesn’t he have a theory?”

“Oh, we left Jerome with Zillah. She was ever so happy.”

“Well, she better watch it. He’s bigger than she is. See you soon.”