The Hallmarked Man Real-time Re-read, Chapters 99-100: Potential in-laws and a tiny, sparkling shackle.

Dammit, it's just not fair. Ted and Joan would have made delightful boyfriend's parents/potential in-laws, but they died before Robin could even meet them. Instead, she's gotten stuck with first the Cunliffes and now the Murphys: a persnickety mother and a loud-mouthed lush of a father. Plus, most likely horrible aunts, too. We all remember Auntie Sue from the wedding; if Strike and Robin are going to solve a Yorkshire murder next book, I continue to nominate her for the victim. Although we haven't met Mrs. Murphy's sister, she presumably knew were coming to stay with her and didn't warn RFM, so I don't think much of her, either. 

But, I must say, I like the opening sentence of Chapter 99:

Several things happened in quick succession the following morning to thoroughly destabilise Robin.

This could be the epigraph for the entire book. 

The destabilizers are:

• Barclay calling to tell her Mrs. Two Times is at the spa, so Robin gets to look forward to an unexpected day off
• ...for about three hours, which she spends asleep. Then RFM calls to tell her his parental units are in town unexpectedly, want to meet her (but not badly enough to skip the football) and he wants her to come to lunch. 
• Strike then calls to explain that the agency is now simultaneously tracking both Two-Times spouses at the behest of the other, and he needs her to follow TT instead
• This is going to be a damn hard job since he knows what she looks like.
• Robin explains she can't bail on lunch five minutes after agreeing to it, and Strike snaps at her and hangs up. 
• "Fine. Better hope Mrs Two-Times doesn’t get pissed off we’re not doing as she asked, and go to the press, then." 
• I must say it's rich of him to be faulting her for the fact that Albie Simpson-White is on their caseload, when he himself just added Two-times to it, and only because, as Robin correctly discerns, he has made them vulnerable to press scrutiny. 
• What happened to "I don't negotiate with terrorists?"
• She looks out the window to see Green Jacket casing her flat. 

While Murphy's parents seem nice enough (like Murphy himself, they are an improvement over the Mama and Papa Flobberworm), they keep steering the conversation towards babies and take no interest at all in Robin's work. On top of that, the food's bad, Robin has no interest in the football game, (which, like the one Strike watched in The Silkworm, was real) especially if she has to pretend to cheer against Strike's team, and Mr. Murphy hogs the couch. Robin, told she can't talk during the game, retreats to the kitchen table and does some work on her phone, while Mrs. Murphy knits a baby sweater (hint, hint, hint!).

Scrolling through her phone during the game, Robin:

• Learns Tish Benton, now at the Paris Clairmont, has not responded to her request to talk. 
• Gets an odd message from Martin, asking to come stay with her. 
• He does not answer when she asks if he is bringing Carmen and Dirk
• Learns that Rupert's aunt worked at a Belgian university until he was nine, and speculates he might have heard of the Reata Lindvall case at that time. 
• Looks at Chloe Griffth's two Instagram accounts, one of which includes a picture of her birthday party when she is wearing a violet bracelet. 
• Browses the fake Oz's Instagram and sees that he is picking up followers and claiming to be involved in a Taylor Swift project. 
• As Venetia Hall, she decides to warn people away from him. 

The game ends with Liverpool victorious (booooooo!) and the Murphy parents depart, with Robin feeling like she hasn't made a great impression. After walking them out, Ryan comes back in one of his "angry cobra" moods, furious that Robin wasn't more engaged. When he storms out, allegedly for "fresh air" she guesses he's going to be drinking and begins searching the flat for booze. Instead she finds the "tiny, sparkling shackle"--  an engagement ring that RFM had purchased before she caught him drinking. 

Robin decides to leave before RFM can get back, since she assumes he will either be drunk or “full of contrition, wondering whether this time he’d blown everything.” I'm glad she left, but of course, if the second had happened, it would have been a great opportunity to say "yeah, dud, you've blown everything. Bye." She's so distracted by the thought of the ring that she forgets to look out for the stalker. 

However, she arrived safely at the Land Rover and set off, even more frightened than she’d been on arrival: not of sudden physical attack, but of the silver-coloured band hidden in the depths of Murphy’s wardrobe: a tiny, sparkling shackle.

I must say, I love that she found safety in the Land Rover-- the vehicle that is so associated with Strike, not only because of its (and its predecessor's) connection to the agency, but because it is stained with his blood. 

At half past eight on Monday morning, Strike set off for a journey to the West Country in his BMW. He hadn’t needed to set off so early, but he didn’t want to run into Robin at the office, nor had he replied to the email she’d sent him about what he considered Rupert Fleetwood’s very flimsy family connection to Belgium.

Chapter 100 has odd changes in perspective, as it flips between Strike on his road trip to Hereford to meet Rena at The Golden Fleece and Robin and Pat in the office. We also see flip-flops between good Strike and grumpy Strike. Ironically, he's grumpy because he's convinced Robin has accepted RFM's marriage proposal, which is the last thing in the world she wants right now. On the one hand, it was great to see him have a good conversation with Midge for once and actually praise her work, when she calls with the news that she's located Branfoot's secret porn studio. On the other hand, he can't manage a civil conversation with Robin. She calls him to find out his mission, and lets him know that Pat has identified a potential Powell candidate in a pub in Yeovil. Strike offers to drive down on his way back to check it out. Robin isn't kidding when she says it's a big detour; Yeovil is about 120 miles due south of Hereford, easily 2.5 hours out of his way, but Strike testily says he'll manage. Robin reminds him of her appointment to interview Faber Whitehead. Then, because Robin doesn't like his tone, they have their worst exchange since Ironbridge. 

“If you’re still pissed off about Saturday, say so. You gave me literally no notice, and it’s not as if I haven’t forfeited a lot of free time late—"

"I’m not pissed off about Saturday, I know it was short notice. I was worried Mrs Two-Times was making veiled threats about press, that’s all."

"Well, as I’m not the one who’s made us a target for the tabloids—"

"Tabloid attention’s an occupational risk," said Strike. "Ask your boyfriend."

As he’d half-hoped to provoke her into doing, Robin hung up.

She stood in fury beside the partners’ desk, staring at her mobile as though she could see Strike glaring back at her. You total prick.

Juxtaposed against this prickish behavior is evidence of what Strike did the last time he tried to "set something to rights." 

She was halfway to the filing cabinet when she noticed a large margarine tub full of water set beside the fish tank. It contained the black fish called Cormoran, which was swimming lazily around its limited space.

"Why’s that fish out of its tank?"

"He’s got me feeding it bloody peas," said Pat grumpily.

A couple of things to note about this.  

• First, this is more evidence that the events of the evening of Mrs. Two-times' visit happened on Wednesday. 
• It's unlikely Robin would not have been in the office on Thursday or Friday to see the margarine tub and Pat is acting like the peas are a new instruction.  
• Second, Strike must have come in to feed the fish peas on Saturday and Sunday. 
• I think it is significant that, apart from his uncle's Red Cap and some family pictures, the two things Strike took from Ted's effects were a fishing hat and the priest: items associated with catching and killing fish for either food or sport. 
• Here, he is instead trying to save an ornamental fish's life. 
• Third, I really find it funny that he is imitating Pat in leaving notes about basic fish care. 

Happily, Cormoranda has recovered and is ready to go back into the big tank. His namesake, still driving his BMW towards Hereford, is realizing his tendency to self-sabotage himself. 

Meanwhile the black fish’s reluctant saviour was heading along the M40 while castigating himself for what he’d just said to Robin. A really smart move, he told himself, to behave like a dick in the immediate aftermath of her engagement. It was as though he was determined to push her into leaving and setting up Murphy and Murphy, Inc.

On Tuesday, the Golden Fleece, Faber Whitehead and Fergus Robertson's warning. 

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