Gateshead Exes, Champagne Buttons, German Shepherd #3 and the First Art Class: The Ink Black Heart Read-Along: Ch 25-41. (Part 3 of 8)

Today's section starts off with Charlotte's attempt to hire Strike to dig up dirt on Jago. When he turns her down, she retaliates by spilling the beans about his relationship with Madeline to Robin. And, as Ilsa will tell us, Ms. Campbell-Ross knows exactly what she was doing. When showing her out, Strike smells her Shalimar perfume and "hates the fact that he recognized it." We can rest assured he doesn't feel that way about the scent he bought for Robin. Interesting tibit: the dominant scent of Shalimar is vanilla, which is similar to one of Robin's final two birthday choices--- the one Strike didn't choose. 

The best line of the chapter belongs to Pat:

"She isn’t mentally unstable, though, Pat," said Robin, trying to sound casual, even amused. "Not a Gateshead."

"She is,’"said the office manager in the low croak that passed for her whisper. "I’ve read the papers."

Robin's recognition of the shock and distress she feels upon learning her partner has a girlfriend forces her to face the fact that she is, after all, in love with Strike. Thankfully, she will be able to have a girl-to-girl talk with Ilsa within a few hours, but, in the meantime, she gets the call from Ryan Murphy, and, with impeccable timing, what she assumes is a routine professional exchange of information call turns out to be an offer of a date. The "most romantically inept woman in London" is going to need that champagne button tonight. 

And, hidden in the midst of of Murphy's call is the brief mention of the "out-of-control Alsatian (aka German Shepherd) that will be an important clue later. Interestingly, this is the third mention of this specific dog breed in the series. 

1. Former battered woman Rona Laing (CoE) found safety with her policeman husband and the German Shepherds they bred. 
2. Former battered woman Gloria Conti's (TB) husband walked through her study with a tail-wagging German Shepherd. 
3. But, the IBH out-of-control Alsation* turns up just after the murder, when the abusive and "raging" Phillip Ormand was tracking Edie to Highgate. 

Strike has a quick meet-up with Dev Shah to explain that the agency needs to start surveillance on Jago, and explains why. I was impressed by how upfront Dev was about his concerns and asking for assurance that this isn't an underhanded Mitch Patterson move before he agrees. 

*same breed, "Alsation" is the name the British adopted durine WWII to avoid the "German" part. 

Bob Bob Ricard's is one of the best chapters in the book, as Ilsa is at her "words-of-wisdom" best. It is good to see her backing off of the matching-making, at least for now, even to the extent of urging Robin to accept the date with Murphy. I guessed during my first read that there was going to be a surprise pregnancy as soon as she put down the champagne glass. While I was as delighted by her news as Robin, the news that she hasn't told Nick suggests that their marriage has not yet recovered from his Valentine's Day cruelty of over a year ago. 

While Ilsa and Robin are enjoying a well-deserved girls' night out, Strike has the much less pleasant task of reviewing the Pen of Justice blog and Kea Niven's social media. I was reminded of what JKR said about Strike never being self-pitying; no wonder he finds her tumblr "unattractively mawkish." He also revisits the error he first made in Lethal White: remembering that Robin bought him the collapsible walking stick. See here if you wonder, as I do, whether this is an author's error--if it is, it's been repeated multiple times-- or a memory lapse of Strike's. It is notable that both this time and during the first error, in Franco's with Charlotte, the useless Malacca cane that Charlotte gave him, probably lied about, then took back when he left her is also remembered, in contrast to the cheap but useful one that he credits to Robin. 

Anachronism alert:  Kea Niven throws a bit of "Whatever, Karen" shade at her mom on her tumblr page. The use of Karen as a derogatory term  started circa 2017 and didn't really take off until 2020.  Unless, of course, the idea was originally Kea's and the rest of the world stole it from her. 

Robin's next steps are to 

1. vow to fall out of love with Strike
2. figure out a way to get into Drek's Game
3. review the social media explosion in response to stupid Uncle Grant's mis-naming the cartoon that is about to make him very rich. 

Two out of three isn't bad, Robs. 

The next moderator's chat tries to distract us with Anomie's plan for Comicon, but a lot more important information is included in the private chats.

• Vilepechora is the Halvening agent with the Al Gizzard Twitter account.
• Morehouse is willing to give Anomie an ultimatum: him or LordDrek/Vile.
• Hartella is convinced LordDrek is Black and therefore cannot be Halvening.
• Vilepechora is extraordinarily stupid and can't keep his mouth shut.
• LordDrek demands that Vile delete his Al Gizzard Twitter account. 
• Vilepechora and LordDrek are brothers.
• Morehouse is probably disabled. 

Chapter 32 is largely an information dump about the Brotherhood of Ultima Thule, as Strike and Robin drive to the Upcott's. We are also told that Edie kept cartoon ideas on her phone. The meeting with the Upcott Bunch suggests they attended the same Family Harmony Retreat as the Chiswells and the Phipps; the best that we can hope for Flavia is that the post-book aftermath will see her being taken in by Auntie Caroline and the puppies. Midge earns her Employee of the Month Badge by wresting the Drek's Game login information out of her ex, which Robin puts to good use as soon as she gets to the pub, managing to convince Worm28 and Vile that she is the original Buffypaws. We also get a little history about the pub from some Southern US tourists. As much as I love Robert Glenister's narration, he needs some help with his Southern accent. 

Phillip Ormand makes a poor impression in his interview with Strike, seemingly more upset about losing the chance to write for the Maverick film than the death of his fiancee. When Strike and Robin meet to discuss what each of them has learned, they get the first call from Darth Vader, telling them to dig Edie up, then both get to witness the entry of Anomie into the game, and Robin's quick thinking that convinces him she's genuine. Part Two closes with one of my favorite lines: "Well, there you go. We've got a confession. Now, we just have to find out who made it."

Part Three jumps ahead a few weeks. Jago is behaving himself. Charlotte has convinced Madeline that Cormoran and Robin were once a couple, and Strike appears only partially successful at dissuading her of it. The result is him doing more damage to his stump by leaving the prothesis on overnight-- another indicator that this relationship may not be good for him. Robin and Strike have an Anomie catch-up in Gerrad's Corner, over Singapore noodles. Robin has chatted enough with Worm28 in the game to deduce that she is Zozo28 on Twitter and that Hartella is Yasmin. Kea Niven emerges as a suspect who needs more attention. 

Robin hits pay dirt at her first North Grove art class, with the biggest prize not the privilege of drawing Pez Pierce's penis, but identifying Zoe Haigh as Worm28 and Zozo, learning more of her background, and, most importantly, gaining her trust. She also notices clues in the commune such as the pictures of Edie and Gus in the bathroom and the Anomie window. 

Finally, in Chapter 41, the team gets a bit of a break when a few of their targets leave town, but even so, their workload issues have Strike desperate enough to re-hire Stewart Nutley. Notice, however, that he is too smart to give any Jago Ross work to the idiot. Madeline is starting to go off the rails with stress over her launch, and Strike's leg is not improving. The May bank holiday finds Strike tailing Wally Cardew, and Robin staking out Yasmin Weatherhead's home. Strike notices a burly man with a Viking rune Thurisaz tattoo also following Wally and MJ, then gets a call from Kea Niven, who reluctantly agrees to a home visit next week. After a check in from Nutley, Strike somewhat impulsively suggests the newbie follow Inigo instead of Gus, because the former is taking a walk and talking on his cell phone. Robin, in the meantime, has learned that Fiendy1 is a football fan, then observes Yasmin catching a ride from a man in a red car, whose license number ends in "CBS."

I'll be back on Thursday to finish up Part Three.