easily, regardless of the warding I had placed upon it, and pushed it into my arms
'Tomorrow,' he said, 'when you've had time to sleep on it.'
He patted my shoulder and then walked slowly up the central aisle of the church, halted before the altar and slowly knelt. I left him to his prayers.
Hull was a good few miles away. If I was to be there by four, I would need to use the Ways. Before that I needed somewhere to stay. I walked back down the hill to the harbour and then along to Dorvey Street. The Dolphin Guest House was the third in a terraced row. It looked clean and cared for, but the sign said 'No Vacancy'. I almost turned away, but then remembered that Geraldine at the cafe had said that Martha would 'sort me out'. Maybe she had somewhere else I could stay. I rapped with the polished door knocker and waited until the door was opened, revealing a small woman wearing a plum satin blouse with huge flowers on it.
'Can I help you?' she asked.
'Hi. I'm Neal Dawson. Geraldine at the Harbour Cafe said you might be able to recommend somewhere to stay for a few days, just while I'm in town.'
'Selling something?'
'No, I just wanted to ask about rooms. Geraldine at the cafe said…'
'I meant, are you a travelling salesman?'
'No, a journalist.'
'What kind of journalism? None of that smutty stuff, celebrity muckraking and sensationalist claptrap?'
'It's mostly human interest stories. I've had my name in some of the quality papers.'
She looked me over. 'Better come in then.' She stepped back and opened the door wide so that I could bring the bag inside.
'It said 'No Vacancies' outside.'
'I only take recommended guests; a certain type of gentleman. You get such riff-raff otherwise. It drags the whole tone of the place down. The sign discourages passers-by.'
'Trade must be good if you can afford to turn away business.'
'We get by without taking in waifs and strays.'
Waifs and strays. I had once been described as a waif and stray. I looked around the well-appointed hall, white-painted and clean. The waxed wooden floorboards could be seen at the side of the patterned carpet runner. A dark wood mirrored sideboard had a number of daily papers on it, including those of the scurrilous press.
She caught me eyeing the papers. 'We keep those for guests – a selection of daily papers.'
'Very convenient,' I said.
'It's strictly no visitors, I'm afraid.'
'I'm not expecting any.'
'No women, or men.'
'So you do have a room for me?'
She named a daily rate. 'Breakfast is between seven and eight-thirty. If you're going to be out after ten, let me know and I'll let you have a key.'
'May I see the room?'
I followed her up two flights of stairs to a short corridor with two numbered doors. 'Number 21. No smoking in the rooms, I'm afraid. If you want to light up you'll have to do it outside on the fire escape.'
'That's OK, I don't.'
The room was small, but had its own toilet and shower, a small wardrobe and a matching chest of drawers. The single bed was tucked under the sloping ceiling.
'How long will you be staying?'
'A few nights, three or four, maybe a little longer. Is that OK?'
'If you book for a week, the seventh night is free.'
'I think I'll be gone by then, thanks all the same.' How long were the Seventh Court likely to stay? Until after the solstice, Garvin said.
'If you come downstairs I'll take your credit card details.'
'I'd rather pay cash, if that's OK?'
'Cash?' She looked wary at that. 'If it's cash it has to be in advance. We've had problems before with gentlemen being called away urgently and forgetting to settle their bill.'
'I'd say that they weren't gentlemen, then, were they?' I paid her for the next three days from my wallet. 'Obviously I'll settle up in advance if I intend to stay on.'
I half expected her to tuck the money into her bra where the VAT man wouldn't find it, but she simply smiled. 'That's fine, Mr Dawson. We always welcome customers who pay promptly. I'll bring a receipt up for you.'
After she'd gone I went through the room carefully, finding only a Gideon bible in the bedside drawer and empty coat hangers in the wardrobe. I left my gear in my bag, not really wanting to move in. It was only temporary.
I placed my hand on the mirror screwed to the wall over the chest.
'Blackbird?'
The curtains billowed in the draft from the window as the air in the room chilled slightly. A sound entered the room, thrumming an uneven rhythm.
'Blackbird?'
'Not now.'
'What's not now, darlin'?' Another voice, coarse and unschooled. It sounded enclosed; raised to be heard over the rumbling background noise. Where was she?
'I was just thinking, there isn't so much traffic on the motorway now.'
'It's gonna get a lot busier as we get closer to London, you can be sure of that. You all right like that, darlin?'
'I'm fine, thanks. My boyfriend's going to be so surprised when I get there, isn't he?'
'He is if he don't know you're in that state.' He laughed, but the humour leached out of it. 'He does know, doesn't he?'
'Yes, he knows. I'll be fine, don't worry.'
'Only you look like you're gonna drop it any minute.'
'There's weeks to go yet. Don't worry.'
'Is it your first?'
'Yes. Why?'
'First ones are always late. You talk to my missus. Our first was three weeks late. I was beginin' to think he weren't coming.'
There was a knock on the door to my room and I dropped the connection with the mirror, the sound dying suddenly.
'Yes, who is it?'
'It's me, Mr Dawson. I brought up your receipt for you.'
I opened the door to find the landlady. She offered the receipt.
'Strange,' she said. 'I thought I heard voices.'
'I like to have the radio on,' I told her, avoiding the fact that I didn't have a radio with me. 'It's company.'
'I like the radio myself. Is there a play on?'
'I'm not sure what it was.' I stayed with the truth. 'I didn't hear enough to work out what was going on.'
'Oh, well. You mustn't let me interrupt then. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Seven till eight-thirty.'
'Thanks for the receipt.'
'My pleasure, Mr Dawson. Enjoy your day.'
I closed the door, but had the feeling she lingered in the corridor. To make the point, I went into the tiny bathroom, quietly filled the small plastic cup there and used it to pour a long trickle of water into the toilet before flushing it noisily. The fire door down the hall thumped gently as she made her way back downstairs.
In any case I wasn't about to contact Blackbird again. Not now , she said. I would try again later. Where was she? Garvin had said he would tell her that I'd gone, but he'd been insistent she would be safe at the courts where she could be guarded. Had something happened? Wherever she was, it clearly wasn't the courts. What had caused
