Laura read to Lily and played innumerable rounds of "This Little Piggy." She put water on to boil and set up the teapot. She had halfway finished her mug when she heard the bedroom door open, and Robbie came around the corner, dressed in jeans and plain grey t-shirt, and looking better-rested than he had since Lily's arrival. She grinned.
"You have quite the beard there, Inspector. That's not regulation, is it?"
He snorted, and rubbed his chin. "It's coming off as soon as I get in the shower." He noted her raised eyebrows. "Sometime today, alright? First things first. Is there tea?"
She gestured and he fixed himself a mug, surveying the baby entertaining herself with a toy in the middle of the room. "When does she feed again?"
Laura checked the time. "Not for a couple hours." She finished her mug and set it in the sink. "I suppose I need to take advantage of the empty bed while I can."
He chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about . . . y'know. Barging in with you last night. If I hadn't lain down I would have fallen down. Go get some sleep."
She turned, studying him. "Robbie . . . we need to talk, the three of us, when we're all awake at the same time. Alright?"
He blinked, not understanding. "Okay, fine. Anything in particular?"
Laura set her mouth firmly. It was the perfect opportunity to tell him, but she'd promised Lyn. And Lyn was right, Robbie should hear about the abuse first-hand from his daughter.
"What?" He was suspicious.
"Not now. Sorry. We'll talk about it later." She disappeared into the bedroom.
Lewis puttered around, taking care of bills, wiping down the kitchen counter, collecting up and washing Lily's toys, and doing whatever other little bits needed doing. After a while, he settled down, gazing out the window at the brightening sky and thinking. Something was on Laura's mind, but he couldn't tell if it had to do with Lyn, Lily, or himself. And it was unlike her to not speak her mind. It troubled him.
As he stared out the glass, a car pulled up and he recognized the person who got out. He went to the front door before the bell would disturb the two women asleep in the flat.
"C'mon in, Tim. Lyn didn't say you were coming, too."
"Thanks, Mister Lewis." Tim had never felt comfortable calling Lewis "Dad" or "Robbie."
"Tea?"
"Please. Two sugars." He glanced around the flat. "Is Lyn . . . ?"
"She's sleeping. You don't mind waiting a couple hours, at most?" Anyway, I'm sure you'll want to stay and have something to eat. Have you had any breakfast?" Robbie handed him a steaming mug.
"I'm fine, thanks. Had a bite in the car on the way down."
Lewis gestured toward the sitting area. "Can we talk, Tim? I'm a bit disturbed about what's gone on the past several days. I'd like to know what it is I'm not being told. The truth."
Tim swallowed hard. "Well, Sir, the truth is not easy. Lyn . . . she hasn't been the same since she had the baby. Did she tell you it was a difficult pregnancy?"
Lewis nodded. "Yeah."
"She gets these crazy ideas in her head now. I think she misses the freedom she had before Lily was born, and in some way, she blames me. She's said some wild things. She's basically driven away all her friends, with all kinds of accusations and suspicions. So she has no one left to confide in, and I think she may be going 'round the bend a bit. I mean, look at the way she brought Lily down here and then simply abandoned her." He sipped his tea sadly. "I know it can't be easy to hear this sort of thing about your daughter, but it's probably for the best to get it out in the open."
Lewis exhaled, long and slow. "Wow. She does seem very distracted and flighty. Is she seeing anyone, a counselor, I mean?"
"I've tried to get her to go, but she won't. From what I've read online, I think she's suffering from a type of post-partum depression."
Lewis's eyebrows raised. "You're the second person to say that, y'know?" He breathed deeply. "Oh, poor Lyn." He furrowed his brow. "What do these online sources say is the best way to handle this?"
"Well, counseling would be best. But this . . . changing environments, running away . . . that's not good. She needs stability. Routine." He squared his shoulders. "I'd like to bring her home with me, Sir. I know she'll resist it. It's easy for her here, not having to confront our issues as a couple, having you to fall back on. But she and I need to work out this . . . this wrinkle in our marriage, and it won't happen if she can run off whenever things get a little tough."
The older man pursed his lips, mulling over the things Tim was saying. His detective instincts required him to take nothing at face value, and to seek out inconsistencies and gaps in what anyone said. But he had to admit, Tim's version of things made a lot of sense.
"She said she doesn't think it's working out between you two."
Tim looked sad. "I know, she said that to me, too. We've been through some rough patches, no doubt. But I'm prepared to put all that behind us, start out fresh."
"Well, that all makes sense to me. She's never said why she thinks it's hopeless."
The flicker of relief that crossed Tim's face did not escape Lewis's notice. But the most likely reason for it, he concluded, was his own concurrence in Tim's decision to bring his wife back home. The older man continued.
"And I think it's best for Lily if you can stay together as a family."
"Yeah, best for Lily."
Lewis kept his other concerns to himself, however. He noticed Tim had been in the flat for a good half hour, well within sight of Lily, who played quietly on the floor. But Tim had made no move toward her, even though it had been over three days since he'd seen her. Lewis also was not inclined to dismiss his own daughter's fears out of hand. He'd never known Lyn to succumb to fantasies or melancholy. It was certainly possible, of course, especially with the birth of a child after a tricky pregnancy. And he knew Lyn wasn't being completely honest with him. He would maintain these reservations until they were confirmed or dispelled. That had been his job for decades and he knew no other way to think things through.