The Cuckoo's Calling

Strike arrives at his sister’s house for his nephew’s birthday, where he avoids questions about Charlotte. Strike is repeatedly questioned about his prosthetic and his relationship with his father. Overwhelmed, Strike goes inside and uses Lucy’s DVD player to play the CCTV footage of the Runner and his apparent companion. Strike’s nephew, Jack, enters the room. Strike gives him his birthday gift before Lucy forces them to return to the party.

Strike arranges to meet John for lunch and to get Lula’s laptop, then calls Derrick and asks him to check the logbook for Rochelle’s surname. Strike then looks at Guy’s website, where he sees hoodies that look like ones that he saw on the men in the CCTV footage.

Robin and Strike go to Vashti, the boutique Lula and Rochelle visited the day she died. Robin privately reflects on a job offer she received but feels dread whenever she thinks about it. At Vashti, Robin shows initiative and wins over the saleswomen by trying on expensive items and pretending that Strike is rich. Her clothing items include a green dress that, when she shows Strike, creates an uncomfortably intimate moment. She gently pushes the shop girls to talk about Lula. They believed Lula called Evan while in the shop, asking for him to come over late that night.

Robin and Strike part ways. As Strike walks, he is discomfited by how attractive he finds Robin. He arrives at a nice restaurant and meets Tony, who notes that John is delayed and wants this opportunity to speak to Strike privately. He talks disparagingly about Strike’s career choice, and in revenge Strike shows some of his knowledge about his law firm’s inner workings. Tony believes that John is having a mental health crisis and that his suspicions about Lula’s death are unfounded. He critiques Yvette Bristow’s parenting style, blaming Charlie’s death on her lack of discipline. Before John arrives, they talk briefly about the day Lula died.

John joins Tony and Strike. There is some tension as Strike resumes his questioning about Lula’s visit to her mother the morning of her death. He also asks about the many times Lula tried to call him, but Tony was attending a conference and assumed Lula’s concerns could wait. Tony speaks disparagingly about Lula’s chauffer before departing. After lunch, Strike and John talk about Tony’s prejudices. The conversation about family leads John to ask Strike about his biological father. John repeats that Charlie died, and Tony blamed the death on Yvette, which culminated in a years-long rift between the two.

As they near John’s offices, he describes Lula’s desire to find her biological family. He had disapproved, but Lula found her mother, Marlene Higson, anyway. John views her biological mother as a “shameless mercenary” (209) who sold information about Lula to the press. Strike asks John about Lula’s intentions to leave her possessions to him, and John is dismissive of the claim, believing it to be exaggeration. John promises to try to get Strike in contact with Guy and Marlene, then gives Strike Lula’s computer. 

The end of Strike’s amputated leg is increasingly uncomfortable due to his recent walking. He returns to his office, where Robin provides him with the day’s updates before leaving. He removes his prosthetic and finds his scar tissue enflamed. The day’s conversations lead him to think about his mother’s turbulent relationship history and the difficulties of family. He then travels to a Chinese restaurant where he meets a man named Spanner, to whom he gives Lula’s computer and requests he examines it. He returns to his office, worrying about his leg. Charlotte texts him, requesting a phone call. He thinks back to the night they met.

Robin arrives to work and realizes Strike is sleeping in the inner office. She wakes him with a knock and, when he is decent, delivers news: she has found Rochelle by calling her outpatient services and pretending to be her to get an appointment time. Strike asks her to look up the legal conference Tony attended the night Lula died as he rushes out of the building. He waits outside the hospital for Rochelle. He notes her expensive coat, which she claims to have bought herself. They get coffee and Strike tries to navigate Rochelle’s fear that she has been implicated in Lula’s death. Rochelle asserts that she believes it was a suicide.

Rochelle explains how she met Lula at an outpatient clinic and that the girls bonded over their mental health conditions and Black ancestry. She is vague about the details of their visit to Vashti. Rochelle describes a test Lula did on her companions, giving each of them different stories to see who would go to the press. After she states she was surprised when she found out about Lula’s death, she leaves. Strike follows her and overhears part of her phone conversation. When Rochelle notices him, he asks for her number, then gives her a business card. Strike watches her leave and believes that her coat is too expensive for her to have bought by herself.

Strike returns to the office, where Lucy is waiting for him. Robin tactfully excuses herself so that Strike and his sister can have privacy. Lucy asks him if he and Charlotte have broken up. When he confirms, she repeatedly expresses her concern for his well-being.

Robin picks up lunch and reflects on her conversation with Lucy, during which she learned about both Strike’s mother’s death and his amputated leg. It is revealed that she has accepted a job with a media consultancy, much to Matthew’s delight, but has yet to tell Strike. She feels guilty about having learned so much from Lucy, although she is curious and wants to find out more. When she returns, Strike is using her computer. They exchange information about their days, but their discomfort at their recent intimacies makes them distant. Robin has arranged an appointment with Guy.