The Hallmarked Man Real-Time Re-read, Chapters 124-125: From burial to bougainvillea.

"Engraved with the regimen's winged dagger badge"

I must say, I really love Chapter 124, the first in the Epilogue. Eleven days have passed since the way-overblown confrontation with the sliced-off ear and the bottle of whiskey. Not only do we see Strike actually behaving sensibly here, but we get perhaps the best glimpse so far in the series as to what he must have been like as a soldier. 

Eleven days after Ian Griffiths and friends had been taken into custody, and Strike and Sapphire Neagle had been driven by ambulance to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Strike donned his only black suit in his attic flat, and drove, again, to Hereford.

We learn that Strike had correctly deduced that Niall Semple had committed suicide by jumping off the Regents' Park Bridge, with a weighted-down briefcase shackled to his wrist. His widow, Jade, has invited Strike to attend the funeral, and Strike feels he should do this, rather than accompany Robin on her trip to "tidy away the last fragment of the silver vault case." 

For once, publicity is not plaguing the agency. The Met are taking full credit for busting the sex trafficking ring, and no one has connected the body in the vault to the operation. As a result, the men of the agency are not in any trouble for the breaking, entering and assaults on the rapists.  Fergus Robertson has done his piece on Lord Branfoot, so it seems justice will be served there. The only disturbing aspect is that I don't see any signs of criminal prosecution, though hopefully that will come soon. 

But Strike, who was “more affected by the discovery of Semple’s body than he’d expected or admitted, even to Robin” feels obliged to attend his funeral, recognizing that Semple, even though he did not die a hero's death in combat, still gave his life for his country,  “so that more civilians...might not be run down by a murderous extremist while crossing a bridge.”

Even if the narrator had not kindly pointed it out for use, this scene at the church and the reception would evoke that in CoE/LW, where a bruised, battered and ear-injured Strike turns up at a service, feeling self-conscious. But, just as that reception prompted some healing, with the hug on the stairs and Robin re-hired, this attendance also brings reconciliation, not just comfort for Jade (as important as that is) but, surprisingly, between Strike and Ralph Lawrence, who Strike, furious at being jerked around by the MI5 agent, had last left on the roof of the Golden Fleece. 

After the burial, Strike is heading to his car when he gets a call from Wardle tying up some loose ends on Tyler Powell. His hands and his weights were indeed found in Petts Woods, and testimony from Sapphire and consults with Sophia's relatives have confirmed that the rest of the case had unfolded much as Strike thought it had. DNA is being requested from Belgium to confirm that "Chloe's" remains under the basement floor are Jolanda Lindvall's. And, oh yeah, all the inside scoop comes from the bit of rebound shagging he had with Iverson. 

Susan Iverson, he guessed, was in the same mood he’d been when he’d accepted Bijou Watkins’ suggestion of a drink over a year previously: in search of ego-salving distraction, her hopes of Murphy irrevocably dashed.

As nice as it would be to have another friendly Met cop willing to share information, this particular comparison does not bode well. I had previously speculated that Iverson, with Murphy as her accomplice, was actively trying to learn Shanker's identity.  The sense of doom this particular analogy gives me does nothing to quash that suspicion. 

Back to the reception. Strike, who had planned to make a quick exit after hanging up with Wardle, instead is called by Jade and persuaded to go to the reception at at nearby hotel.

Strike bought himself a low-alcohol beer and headed towards an exterior smoking area, spotting the distinguished-looking Ralph Lawrence in the distance as he did so. The latter gave Strike a slight nod which the detective reciprocated: a gesture appropriate both for their degree of acquaintanceship, and the mixture of dislike and respect Strike suspected both felt for each other.

Strike makes a quick call to Robin, who, is in a cab on the way to what sounds like a very nice hotel in Sardinia. Their conversation clarifies a few more case points, including that Sapphire mixed up place names in Ironbridge when posing as Zeta, and that Tyler seemed to have been a genuinely good person willing to upend his entire life and raise a baby that wasn't his for the sake of getting Chloe away from Griffiths. As soon as Strike is done with her, he is approached by Lawrence. 

I was genuinely surprised by how this exchange went.  First, Mr. “People better placed than you are already looking for Niall Semple” seemed authentically impressed that Strike had deduced the location of the body. Second, he volunteers pretty much the whole story of Semple and Ben Liddell's mission and the latter's death, which he certainly didn't have to do, and probably would have been strongly advised against doing. Part of me wonders if this olive branch has an ulterior motive, and if either MI5 or MI6 will want to recruit Strike for some sort of mission in the next book. See my earlier post for some speculations on what the Portsmouth Tower Alley header could mean for Strike's involvement in another military mission. 

In any case, the discussion of Jade Semple's mental health issues makes me at least hopeful that it is in MI5's interest to get her the mental health treatment she so clearly needs. Once done with Lawrence, Strike is also able to have a brief conversation with Jade Semple, where he at least tries to reassure her that Niall's interest in Rena was not sexual and that he only wanted to provide some help for his dead friend's troubled sister. Then, he takes his leave, leaving Jade to her ginger-moustached suitor. 

Strike watched as Jade was absorbed by the crowd. This time, he didn’t return to the function room. Once certain that nobody was looking at him through the glass door, he returned to his car.

Chapter 125 has us join Robin in the beautiful Clairmont Hotel of Sardinia, where she and Strike have deduced that Rupert Fleetwood is working. 

The Hotel Serenità was even more beautiful in reality than on Instagram: a large building of weathered yellow stone, which had once been a country estate.

Once there and seated in the restaurant, Robin finds it easier to located Rupert than Strike found it to locate Samhain Athorn in Troubled Blood, as a round-faced and short necked young man comes to take her order. Though clearly distressed to see her, he agrees to meet her on his break. 

So, at three o’clock, Robin and Rupert Fleetwood met on a shady terrace with a canopy of bright pink bougainvillea that was just coming into flower. 

After the violets on Chloe's bracelet, we'd be foolish not to look into the significance of any flowers that turn up. The bougainvillea was associated with passion in Victorian names. In more modern times, it also signifies welcome and is sometimes used for leis in Hawaii. Unfortunately, its presence here is sadly ironic: Rupert and Decima's passion for each other has to be sacrificed in light of their relationship as half-siblings and Rupert certainly does not welcome Robin's visit. 

Robin is her typical compassionate self in this conversation, revealing that she, like me, had guessed the truth: Rupert is Dino Longcaster's son, making him and Decima half-siblings and little Lion the product of an incestuous union. Rupert had been told the truth by a drunk Vile-lentine, who tried to walk back the accusation, but Rupert became convinced by his, Decima's and Dino's physical resemblance, and then confirmed it with a DNA test that matched with Cosima. 

One thing that struck me in this re-read is how similar Rupert's feelings for Dino are to Strike's views towards Rokeby, at least prior to The Hallmarked Man. He wants nothing to do with his biological father; in fact, he will be just as happy if Dino never learns the truth. He certainly has no intention of trying to claim any portion of Dino's wealth, except for the money he got for the stolen nef. Rupert was willing to steal the sliver ship (which he really considered re-claiming a stolen Legard heirloom) and get a relatively small portion of its value for it, since he needed the money to get the drug dealer off his back and get out of the country for a new start, Strike was willing to take a loan from Rokeby when he needed it to make a new start with his business, but refused to be in his long-term debt. Somehow, I don't ever see Rupert agreeing to a beer with Dino down the line, though. 

Rupert had told Albie and Tish, but no one else, which explains Albie's "sometimes you're better off not knowing" line. If anything, I felt even worse for Rupert on this re-read, as this relatively young kid, with no family that cares about him, this relatively wealthy upbringing but no financial resources as an adult, finding happiness and security in this relationship with Decima, then finding out this horrible truth:  not only that he's slept with his sister but that he's fathered her child. At the same time, he's got a drug dealer after him. While ghosting Decima was clearly wrong, it is also understandable under the circumstances.  Robin is able to convince him to do the right thing. 

“Rupert," said Robin, "she went through the birth alone. She’s been in hell for months, blaming herself for your death. Please, call her and tell her the truth.”

 Robin's mission in Sardinia winds up being concluded relatively quickly, leaving her with no good reason to stay and once again, dreading returning to London, RFM and his "tiny, sparkling shackle." I certainly hope she did not head straight back to the airport and got at least one night in the lovely Clairmont hotel.

On Tuesday, the Real-time Re-read concludes with the Cliffhanger on the Stairs. Do I have a different perspective after this slower walk through the book?  Tune in and see. 

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