The Cuckoo's Calling

Several days pass. Strike fights the urge to respond to Charlotte’s text, resolving that not contacting her is his best option. He tries several times to call Rochelle, but she does not pick up. On Friday, Spanner delivers Lula’s computer and shares that the password is the surname Agyeman. It matches the surname of a professor at a university. Spanner also gives Strike a memory drive containing pictures that were deleted off the computer 10 weeks after Lula died. Robin and Strike review the pictures, which all seem to be from social events. Robin finally reveals that she has accepted a human resources position. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Derrick, stating that Freddie has left for several days and inviting them to view the apartment complex. When he sees her disappointment at being left behind, Strike invites Robin along.

Derrick shows Robin and Strike around the ground floor of the apartment building before letting them into Freddie and Tansy’s apartment. Strike tries to reconcile the apartment layout with Tansy’s claims of seeing Lula fall, but notes that she could not have seen the event from her bathroom as she previously claimed. They then visit the middle apartment, where Strike questions the cleaner. She overheard an argument between Lula and John during her morning cleaning, describes the alarm man working on the building’s codes, and relays a conversation she overheard in which Tansy told someone on the phone that she didn’t want to lie anymore.

They check Lula’s apartment last, where Strike steps onto the balcony and has a pensive moment reflecting on Lula’s death. He receives a call from John and informs him that photographs were deleted from Lula’s computer after she died. asks John to ask Yvette, but her poor health is impacting her memory. Derrick retraces his steps from when he searched the apartment immediately after Lula’s fall. As they walk down the stairs, Derrick remembers that he slipped in water, a detail previously forgotten.

That weekend, Strike reviews the case file and makes notes of things that need clarifying. He takes a call from Peter Gillespie, his father’s lawyer. When Peter presses Strike for a loan repayment, Strike promises to repay it soon, but also tells Peter that he knows his father won’t “sue his one-legged war-hero son” (287). On Monday, Strike interviews Marlene.

Marlene insists that she gave Lula up in hopes that she would have a better life. She dislikes Yvette but compliments Evan. Strike learns that Lula has two other half-brothers through Marlene but expressed no interest in finding them. Instead, she fixated on her father, an African student named Joe. Marlene believes Rochelle was using Lula for money and speaks disparagingly of Ciara, believing that she was having an affair with Evan. Marlene bemoans that she was not left any money when Lula died, saying she would not be surprised if Lula’s adoptive family destroyed her will.

In the office, Robin takes a call from Charlotte. She passes a message to Strike that she is engaged to Jago Ross. Strike arrives Robin reveals that she dropped out of university, hoping to somehow provide insight into her own life in exchange for her sudden insight into his. She delivers Charlotte’s news and Strike excuses himself into the inner office, but shortly after leaves. He goes to his favorite bar and becomes drunk. Robin follows him. Strike loudly insults Jago, then compliments Robin. In his inebriated state, he tells Robin what made him leave Charlotte: she claimed she was pregnant with Strike’s child and miscarried, but the timeline of her pregnancy did not line up. Strike that Charlotte is marrying Jago to hurt him.

Strike awakes from nightmares of his injury and is hungover. He finds a note from Robin on the floor, explaining that she is following leads and reminding him of his appointment to interview Ciara and Bryony. He thinks about Jago, who is his antithesis, and speculates whether Charlotte is waiting for Strike to steal her away. Strike then puts on an expensive suit from Charlotte.

At the fashion shoot, Strike watches Bryony prepare the models before she takes him to her makeup station. There, Bryony describes her relationship with Lula, as well as their interactions the day of her death. Bryony remembers that Lula kept looking at her phone and assumed Evan was causing problems. John and Lula had a close, loving relationship. Strike presses her about the piece of paper Kieran saw Lula write, but Bryony maintains that she has no knowledge of it. Strike learns that Bryony has worked with Ursula Ma and once overheard a voicemail that revealed she is having an affair.

Ciara finishes work and meets Strike in the makeup room, where she gushes about his family while waiting for Bryony to leave. When alone, she expresses gratitude that he is investigating Lula’s case because of how happy she was.

Ciara relives the afternoon of Lula’s death, claiming that she was subdued but not suicidal. She did not see Lula writing on a piece of paper but did hear Lula promise her brother her possessions. Ciara explains Guy’s overprotectiveness of Lula but also that Evan is a good person despite his exterior. Ciara invites Strike with her to Uzi, where she is meeting Evan that night. They pass by Guy on their way out and he makes evocative statements about the two of them.

Kieran serves as chauffer to Strike and Ciara, where Strike continues his questioning. Lula wanted nothing more than to meet her biological father and that Guy wanted to protect her from disappointment. When they arrive at the club, Ciara takes him to a private room where they meet Evan and a group of his companions. When Evan learns Strike’s profession, he announces his boredom and invites Ciara and Strike to his apartment.

Inside Evan’s apartment, Strike begins his questioning. Evan is uncertain whether Lula’s death was a murder or a suicide but is surprised when he learns that John is paying for Strike’s investigating. John was obsessed with Lula’s money. Evan ignored Lula’s phone calls the day of her death as revenge for her refusing to live with him while Deeby was in her apartment building. At the club that night, Lula ignored Evan in favor of Ciara. The two of them had a conflict in which Strike claims Evan grabbed her arms; he fails to recollect touching her. When he tried to follow her home, there were too many paparazzi outside her apartment. He assumed she met Deeby and went to his drug dealer, then to Ciara’s apartment while under the influence. Evan begins to cry and leaves the room. Ciara gently chastises Strike, asking him to be nicer.

When Evan returns, Strike questions him about he and Lula’s first breakup. Evan claims it was because of drug use and pressure from friends, family, and media. He disdains Guy, blaming their tense relationship as a contributor to he and Lula’s problems. Evan was recently at lunch with Freddie and saw an email from Tansy, claiming that “I will tell everyone exactly where I was when Lula Landry died, and exactly how I got there” unless Freddie concedes to her divorce demands (349). Strike thanks him for the information. He and Ciara leave. While being driven to Ciara’s apartment, she initiates intercourse.

Robin returns to the office, excited about a discovery. There, she finds that Strike has slept elsewhere and worries about him as she types up a report of her findings. She reflects on her fight with Matthew two nights ago, during which he claimed that Strike was manipulating her. Strike arrives and apologizes for his drunkenness, explaining the situation before asking about her search for Professor Agyeman and the Malmaison Hotel. She discovered that Professor Agyeman died five years ago, leaving a widow and a son. The son is serving as a Royal Engineer for the army, and the picture Robin has of Agyeman shows clear similarities to Lula. She then traveled to the Malmaison Hotel, where Tony stayed during the conference that proved to be his alibi. Pretending to be his girlfriend investigating an affair, she learned that Tony stayed for two days, but the night of Lula’s death Alison came looking for him and he was not there. The two ruminate on Tony’s timeline before Strike shares what he learned from Bryony, Ciara, and Evan.

Robin tries to puzzle what Tansy meant when she said “where I was when Lula Landy died,” and Strike encourages her to look at the crime scene photos, claiming he already knows. As they eat lunch, Strike receives a phone call from Wardle. Wardle states they have found a body in the Thames River with Strike’s card in the pocket.

Strike travels to the morgue, where he meets Wardle and Carver. He identifies the body as Rochelle’s. Strike tries to get information about the condition of the body, but the police officers cut him off and take him to an interrogation room. The officers and Strike argue about Rochelle and Lula when Carver asserts that they are both suicides. Strike tells the men that he believes Rochelle was blackmailing Lula’s killer. He believes that when Lula and Rochelle went to Vashti, Lula used Rochelle’s phone to make a call so it would not be tapped. Strike lays out some of his evidence and theories, but the police are dismissive. After an hour of arguing and questioning, Wardle escorts Strike out of the building. Strike promises to give Wardle proof that Tansy’s testimony was true if Wardle contacts Deeby and gets a full list of the clothing Guy sent him. One of the runners in the CCTV footage was wearing a custom hoodie.

Strike reflects on Rochelle’s death and the qualities of her murderer. He then thinks of his mother’s death and his suspicions that her accidental overdose was a murder. Strike calls a friend in the army and asks about Jonah Agyeman.

Strike drives to Pinewood Studios, using bravado to get to Freddie’s office. Strike tells him that he has photographs that confirm Tansy’s version of events. Freddie locked Tansy on the balcony as punishment for an argument, allowing her to hear and see the moments of Lula’s death. Strike accurately describes how Freddie tampered with evidence to hide his abuse, then coerces Freddie to give his testimony to prove he is not Lula’s murderer. During Strike’s questioning, he discovers that Ursula and Tony are having an affair. He also discovers that Freddie heard footsteps outside his door and assumed they were Derrick’s, but Strike proves it could not have been him.

Wardle calls Strike and shares that Deeby received one customized hoodie from Guy. Three days later, they attend Rochelle’s funeral with John and Alison. At the funeral reception, Strike approaches Alison to talk about John. He learns that their romance began after Lula’s death. He shocks her by discussing Tony’s affair with Ursula, using her high tensions to interrogate her. Alison reveals that neither she nor Tony thought well of Lula, and that they both believe John is hysterical. Robin and John join them, and they leave the reception together. Strike asks John if he was sure that Tony visited Yvette the morning Lula died, or if John had assumed the person entering and exiting was Tony. When John expresses uncertainty, Strike warns him that he and Yvette are in danger. Strike arranges a time to question Yvette.

Strike arrives at Yvette’s home and waits for John but receives a text from Robin that he has been delayed. He gets a call from his military friend and gets information about Lieutenant Jonah Agyeman. Strike enters the house to question Yvette alone, pretending that John is on his way. Strike is impacted when he sees childhood pictures of Lula and Charlie. He asks Yvette about Lula’s adoption, Lula’s hunt for her biological parents, and what she remembers of her last conversation with Lula, during which she talked about Charlie. Yvette takes some painkillers and reflects on Charlie’s death. She recalls a conversation in which her brother, Tony, said terrible things about Charlie and John that caused a years-long rift. She does not remember Tony visiting her the day of Lula’s death. When she woke up that afternoon, she and John had a long conversation about their family that lasted through the evening. Strike excuses himself and searches the house, finding Lula’s old handbags. He removes the lining of one and finds the paper Lula wrote on the morning before she died. He slips it into an evidence bag. He falls while he is leaving the house, jamming his prosthetic so badly he can barely put weight on it. He calls a taxi, then makes a series of other phone calls.