Chapter Twenty

The partners have been buzzed up to an apartment by their first interviewee in the Plus Four case. As they enter the building, Robin asks Strike, "Is the fact that she's still living here evidence that she's innocent?"

Strike shrugs, saying, "More likely evidence of London's housing crisis. You know how hard it is to find a two-bedroom flat, let alone one that's affordable."

"True." They've both studied the copy of the case file Strike received from Cakebread, and Robin nods to the space under the stairs, where a few rubbish bags have been piled up, saying, "That's where their bin would have been back then? It was padlocked, but they both had a key."

"Has to be. You're thinking it could be a means of transporting the body?"

"Wouldn't be the first time. I've been trying to think how she did it, if she did it. Baker was quite petite, so it might literally fit."

Strike pauses to study the area, saying, "The only blood on the bin belonged to Goldberg, though she couldn't explain how it got there, but that doesn't mean much. And it was covered in prints and DNA, just as you'd expect. You'd think, if she'd put her flatmate's body in a wheelie bin, she'd panic and at least wipe her prints off it."

"Unless we're dealing with one very cool customer."

"Always a possibility," agrees Strike. Heading up the stairs, he concludes, "Let's find out."

At his knock on the door, they hear, "Just a second." It's not much longer than that before it opens to reveal Allise Goldberg, recognisable from her photo in the file, though trimmer and with shorter hair. She offers a wide smile, and gestures for them to enter, saying, "Can't believe it's really you. I mean both of you. You know I do a true crime podcast in my spare time?"

That's not in the file, so Strike says, "Uh, no. I thought you do...is it mukbang?"

She says the word back to him with slightly different pronunciation, adding, "I used to, but it started to affect my health. I mean, I ate healthy, but choosing food for entertainment value rather than nutrition isn't exactly the best plan. Mukbang is massive now though, so sometimes I regret giving it up. It was just something to pass the time back then, but some people are making a living off it now. Please, have a seat, anywhere you like. Can I get you a cup of tea?"

Strike's policy has always been to accept any offer of hospitality from someone who might have information to share, so he automatically says, "Please, white and two sugars."

When he looks to Robin, she smiles at Allise and requests, "Just white for me, thanks."

The kitchenette isn't far away, so Allise moves to prepare the drinks while saying, "How can I help you? Brynn says you're looking into Cat's disappearance? But I already told the police everything I know, more than once. They figure I'm the last person to see her, so they gave me a real hard time about it; me and Robbie."

Strike doesn't need to check his notes to say, "That's Robert Dane? Are you still together?"

Without looking up from preparing the tea, Allise says, "Yeah, that's Robbie. He lived here for a while, after Cat disappeared, but he's with someone else now. I think they've even got a kid."

Robin has her notepad ready, and asks, "Do you know his current address?"

"No, sorry. But he's not gone far. I see 'im occasionally, like down the shops or whatever. But it's just to wave to; we 'aven't kept in touch. Oh, but we parted on good terms...well, good as you can expect anyway."

Having taken down this information, Robin asks, "Was it because of the investigation? He was also questioned at length, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he was. Wouldn't fuckin' hurt a fly, my Robbie. But, no, that wasn't why we broke up, though I'm sure it didn't help. We just kind of...I dunno, became more like friends, I guess, and then friends who didn't really hang out. You know how it is."

Robin, who has barely any experience of breakups and none like that, says, "Yeah, I know."

Allise is returning now with two mugs of tea, and puts one in front of Strike as she says "White and two," offering Robin the other, adding, "White and none."

Strike thanks her and asks, "Nothing for yourself?"

With a wave of her hand, Allise says, "No, I got out of the habit. Even though she's gone, I still have fairly regimented mealtimes, and only drink then."

Grateful for the opening, Strike asks, "Yes, there was something in the file to the effect that Ms. Baker couldn't tolerate the sound of anything eating or drinking?"

Allise smiles and says, "You might as well call her 'Cat'. Everyone did. And, yeah, she was OCD about a lot of things, and...well, I think that was why she ended up doing the, you know, phone sex thing. She used to work in an office—bookkeeping, like me—but she got the sack after practically attacking a colleague who liked to eat at her desk. Though, fair play, that's gross."

Thinking that every office she ever worked in as a temp had people eating at their desk, Robin asks, "Did Cat ever have a go at you for a similar reason?"

Allise blinks and says, "You don't need to try an' trick me. I'm 'appy to answer your questions."

Taken aback by this combative response, Robin is trying to think how to reply when Strike says, "We're not trying to trick you. We're endeavouring to find out what happened to Catrin Baker, who hasn't been seen by anyone since the evening you two had an argument in this very room."

Allise blinks again, and says, "Oh, okay. I thought you were trying to get me to leave out something that I told the police at the time, see if I'll alter my story. That's what they did."

Robin can already tell that Allise prefers Strike, so she resolves to figuratively let him have the floor, merely explaining, "I'd forgotten about the argument, sorry." With a rueful smile, she adds, "My memory for details isn't as good as Cormoran's."

Relaxing a little, Allise says, "That's okay. I suppose it's just bringing back stressful memories of that time. After all, we weren't even here when she disappeared, but I guess they couldn't find any other suspects, and the argument didn't help at all, even though it wasn't the first time." Looking at Strike, she says, "You know they have a name for it now?"

He shakes his head, saying, "Sorry?"

"Misophonia. It means that you can't stand some sounds, like it can send you into a rage. That was Cat, for sure. It's a pity, isn't it? If they'd known back then, she could've got some help, would never have gone into sex work, and might still be alive."

"You think she's dead then?"

Allise holds his gaze as she says, "Five years and not a peep, even to her sister? Yeah, I think she's dead."

"And do you have a theory who might have killed her? Is that what the podcast's about?"

"No, I wouldn't do a podcast about a case I was involved in. Though it's why I got interested in that sort of thing. I think one of her clients did it. I presume the cops thought of that, but maybe they didn't know all of them. I mean, are those phone calls even traceable? What if one of those sickos tracked her down? Cops wouldn't know about that."

"They have ways of tracing the calls. But an unknown is always a possibility. Would be unlikely though, given she went through an agency known for protecting employees."

Allise shrugs and says, "Still, it's possible." When Strike makes no immediate reply, she asks, "So, how do you wanna do this? Want me to run through that last evening, near as I can recall? It's been a while, but I can give it a go."

Pleased that she's being so cooperative, Strike says, "Yeah, that'd be great. Mind if I record this?"

"No, that's fine." She waits until Strike has set his phone to record and placed it on the coffee table before saying, "Well, like I said, I was into mukbang back then. I knew Cat had the food thing, so we hashed out the details before I started. In fact, her misophonia is why I started. I'd be in my room, eating supper alone, and started filming myself and uploading it, just for a laugh...and maybe because it was kind of weird. I got hits right away, from people all over the world. Most were nice, some not, but nearly all of them expressed interest in my diet. I was into raw food at the time; I still love sushi and sashimi. Anyway, it took off, so I decided to share the entire process, from preparation to empty plate, which meant I couldn't easily eat in my room anymore. So, I told Cat what I needed, and we came up with staggered mealtimes. With her working nights, our schedules didn't clash much anyway, so it worked fine for weeks, until that evening. I dunno why she suddenly had a problem with it, but she came out of her room demanding that I keep the noise down. She always had noise-cancellin' 'eadphones, so I dunno how it could 'ave been loud enough to bother 'er. I 'ad to stop the recordin' while I calmed her down, which was a pain in the arse, but I eventually got it done and uploaded. 'Course, I edited out her yellin' at me, but told the cops we'd 'ad an argument. Didn't take me long to regret bein' that honest, I can tell you now."

Strike reassures her, "It was the right thing to do, and the deleted footage would have still been on your computer anyway."

Robin is keenly studying Allise, and is sure from the way the young woman nods that this isn't news. But their host merely continues, "Anyway, like I said, I got it done, and then tidied up how Cat likes it. She'd retreated to her room by this time, with nary another word of complaint. And then Robbie arrived around seven. Seeing we were off to visit my parents for the weekend, 'cos of Father's Day being that Sunday, we decided to leave right away, give Cat a chance to cool off. Robbie's bag was in his car, and I was almost packed, so we were away before eight." With a shrug, she continues, "Apparently, Cat did her calls during the evening, but none later that night, which was unusual. First I knew about her going missin' was Brynn callin' me in Sancreed, saying somethin' about Cat always texts her when she wakes up, and she never that Saturday mornin'. I told her that Cat probably just slept in, but she was pretty upset, so I suggested knockin' on the door. Later that day, she called me again to say there was no answer, so I said maybe call the buildin' manager, see if she could get inside. Next thing I know, police are knocking on dad's door, asking me and Robbie to accompany them to the local station. Fuck me, I nearly shit myself. And it were fuckin' embarrassing. Luckily, my parents stood by both of us through all of it, and we were eventually cleared of any involvement." Then looking from Strike to Robin and back, she concludes, "That's it."

Strike leaves his phone recording while he asks, "And Cat technically still owns the leasehold on this apartment?" At Allise's nod, he asks, "How does that work?"

With a shrug, Allise replies, "Works good for me. Brynn was happy for me to keep appliances and whatnot, but all of Cat's personal stuff got put into storage. I took her room, 'cos it's bigger. I pay the same amount, into a trust, until she either turns up alive or is declared dead. Only thing is I can't rent out the spare room, but it's kind of nice to have the space for my podcast. Wanna see?"

Unsure to what he's consenting, Strike pockets his phone while saying "Okay," and then follows her. In fact, Allise's spare room reminds him of his old office; there's a laptop, printer, filing cabinet and whiteboard with attached notes and photos. Allise is watching his reaction, so he slowly nods, saying, "Very nice. Had any success?"

Grimacing slightly, Allise says, "Not personally, but information I shared helped someone else find a missing person. Turns out they'd simply moved to Italy, so there was a happy ending on that one. Like I said, this is more of a hobby. I know there are organised groups who do this sort of thing, but I figure the more people looking the better, right?"

"Can't hurt," says Strike, even as he's thinking that meddling amateurs can in fact hinder investigations, but is sincere when he adds, "You're certainly going about it the right way. This looks quite professional."

Allise beams at him, saying, "Thanks. Is there anything else I can do for you? I'm actually due to record a session soon."

Since he's stalling so that Robin can snoop, Strike approaches the whiteboard, asking, "This is a missing person case?"

"Yeah. Nothing like that cold case you solved, but this woman, Delia Melton, went missing in 1985, leaving behind a husband and two kids. Just awful. At least Cat only had a sister...oh, not that it hasn't been horrific for Brynn. I was so grateful that she never blamed me for anything."

Strike looks at her to ask, "And, did you?" When Allise only blinks at him, he adds, "Kill Catrin Baker?"

A few emotions play out on her face: shock, fear, a flush of anger and finally cool dispassion as she says, "No." When Strike merely nods, she suggests, "I s'pose you 'ave to ask, right?"

Strike spares her a smile, saying, "Wouldn't be much of a detective if I didn't." Raising his voice slightly, he continues, "Well, we'll leave you to it. Thanks for your cooperation. I assume we can contact you if we have more questions?"

"Of course, though I don't know that I can add anything." Allise leads him back to the living room—where Robin is apparently typing away on her phone—and asks, "I don't suppose I can mention you on my podcast?"

Strike grimaces and confirms, "I'd rather you didn't."

With a shrug, Allise says, "I figured. You need to remain anonymous, right? I don't use my real name online. Even the mukbang didn't show anything above my mouth. Cat knew to protect her identity too, though I still think one of her clients killed her. I guess time will tell. It was nice to meet you."

After handshakes all round, the partners are soon alone in the stairwell, and Strike asks, "Well?"

Robin nods, saying, "I think she did it."

He blinks in surprise and says, "Okay, but I was asking if you found anything while I distracted her."

Robin laughs a little and heads downstairs, saying, "Oh. Well, I found a couple of letters re-addressed to Robert Dane's current address, so we know she's a liar."

Following her downstairs, Strike asks, "That's why you think she did it?"

He sees Robin's shoulders lift and she says, "No. I just think she did it. The cops thought so too."

Strike is of the same mind, but they've always played devil's advocate for each other, so he says, "But they couldn't find any evidence, other than one argument."

"The start of an argument. It could have got much worse...fatal worse. And did you notice that her accent kept on slipping? That's not mentioned in the file. I want to listen to the recording, see if there's any pattern to it."

"And there's the fact that she and Dane have an alibi."

"Alibis have been faked before. We just have to poke at it until it falls apart. Let's go pay a visit to Robert Dane right now. I'm sure Allise is calling him as we speak, but we might still catch him on the hop and learn something."

At the gentle touch on her shoulder, Robin pauses on the stairs, taking the precaution of holding onto the metal banister as she turns to see what Strike wants. He smiles down at her—his face now so familiar and so treasured—and says, "I love you, partner."

She smiles and agrees, "Yes, it's nice to be working a case together again."