Page 47 of Troubled Blood

Douthwaite, who was raised in foster care, has had no contact with friends since February 7th. Police are believed to have searched Douthwaite’s home since he vacated it.

Tragic Affair

“He caused a lot of trouble round here, a lot of bad feeling,” said a co-worker at Diamond Double Glazing, who asked not to be named. “Real Jack the Lad. He had an affair with another guy’s wife. She ended up taking an overdose, left her kids without a mum. Nobody was sorry when Douthwaite took off, to be honest. We were happy to see the back of him. Too interested in booze and girls and not much cop at the job.”

Doctor Would Be “A Challenge”

Asked what he thought Douthwaite’s relationship with the missing doctor had been, his co-worker said,

“Chasing girls is all Steve cares about. He’d think a doctor was a challenge, knowing him.”

Police are eager to speak to Douthwaite again and appeal to any members of the public who might know his whereabouts.

When Robin had finished reading, Strike, who’d just finished his first pint, said,

“Want another drink?”

“I’ll get these,” said Robin.

She went to the bar, where she waited beneath the hanging skulls and fake cobwebs. The barman had painted his face like Frankenstein’s monster. Robin ordered drinks absentmindedly, thinking about the Douthwaite article.

When she’d returned to Strike with a fresh pint, a wine and two packets of crisps, she said,

“You know, that article isn’t fair.”

“Go on.”

“People don’t necessarily tell their co-workers about their medical problems. Maybe Douthwaite did seem fine to his mates when they were all down the pub. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have anything wrong with him. He might have been mentally ill.”

“Not for the first time,” said Strike, “you’re bang on the money.”

He searched the small number of photocopied papers remaining in his pile and extracted another handwritten document, far neater than Talbot’s and devoid of doodles and random dates. Somehow Robin knew, before Strike had said a word, that this fluid, rounded handwriting belonged to Margot Bamborough.

“Copies of Douthwaite’s medical records,” said Strike. “The police got hold of them. ‘Headaches, upset stomach, weight loss, pal­pitations, nausea, nightmares, trouble sleeping,’” Strike read out. “Margot’s conclusion, on visit four—see there?—is ‘personal and employment-related difficulties, under severe strain, exhibiting signs of anxiety.’”

“Well, his married girlfriend had killed herself,” said Robin. “That’d knock anyone except a psychopath for six, wouldn’t it?”

Charlotte slid like a shadow across Strike’s mind.

“Yeah, you’d think. Also, look there. He’d been the victim of an assault shortly before his first visit to Margot. ‘Contusions, cracked rib.’ I smell angry, bereaved and betrayed husband.”

“But the paper makes it sound as though he was stalking Margot.”

“Well,” said Strike, tapping the photocopy of Douthwaite’s medical notes, “there are a hell of a lot of visits here. He saw her three times in one week. He’s anxious, guilty, feeling unpopular, probably didn’t expect his bit of fun to end in the woman’s death. And there’s a good-looking doctor offering no judgment, but kindness and support. I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility to think he might have developed feelings for her.

“And look at this,” Strike went on, turning over the medical records to show Robin more typed statements. “These are from Dorothy and Gloria, who both said Douthwaite came out of her room the last time he saw Margot, looking—well, this is Dorothy,” he said, and he read aloud, “‘I observed Mr. Douthwaite leaving Dr. Bamborough’s surgery and noticed that he looked as though he had had a shock. I thought he also looked angry and distressed. As he walked out, he tripped over the toy truck of a boy in the waiting room and swore loudly. He seemed distracted and unaware of his surroundings.’ And Gloria,” said Strike, turning over the page, “says: ‘I remember Mr. Douthwaite leaving because he swore at a little boy. He looked as though he had just been given bad news. I thought he seemed scared and angry.’

“Now, Margot’s notes of her last consultation with Douthwaite don’t mention anything but the same old stress-related symptoms,” Strike went on, turning back to the medical records, “so she definitely hadn’t just diagnosed him with anything life-threatening. Lawson speculated that she might’ve felt he was getting over-attached, and told him he had to stop taking up valuable time that could be given to other patients, which Douthwaite didn’t like hearing. Maybe he’d convinced himself his feelings were reciprocated. All the evidence suggests he was in a fragile mental state at the time.

“Anyway, four days after Douthwaite’s last appointment, Margot vanishes. Tipped off by the surgery that there was a patient who seemed a bit over-fond of her, Talbot called him in for questioning. Here we go.”

Once again, Strike extracted a star-strewn scrawl from amid the typewritten pages.

“As usual, Talbot starts the interrogation by running through the list of Creed dates. Trouble is, Douthwaite doesn’t seem to remember what he was doing on any of them.”

“If he was already ill with stress—” began Robin.

“Well, exactly,” said Strike. “Being interrogated by a police officer who thinks you might be the Essex Butcher wouldn’t help your anxiety, would it?

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