`My granddaughter, of course. Ella's girl. Though why she took it into her head to marry that horrible man I'll never know.'
`Jenny?'
`No,' she says, clearly impatient with my stupidity. `Ella.'
`Jenny went to school in Oxford, didn't she?'
Her chin lifts. `That's right. She goes to the Griffin. It's supposed to be a very good school. Very expensive, that I do know.'
I've seen this before. With my grandmother, with other old people as frail as this. The past is blurring with the present: Jenny can't have been at that school for more than twenty years.
`They say it's a punishment,' she says suddenly. Loudly. The assistant looks up from the other side of the room. `They keep telling her that she deserves it. Even brought in a damn priest to tell her so.'
Quinn glances across at me, but I shrug; I've no more idea than he does.
`What did she do, Mrs Fraser? Why does she need to be punished?'
Muriel makes no attempt to conceal her disdain. `She didn't do anything. It isn't her fault, whatever they say.'
Quinn waves a finger at his ear and mouths, `Gaga.' Muriel doesn't see him do it, but the assistant does. He gathers his papers and makes to get up, but I catch his eye and stop him. There's something here, I'm sure of it.
`So whose fault was it, Mrs Fraser?'
`His, of course. That Esmond boy.' And all at once the pieces shift into place.
I can feel the sweat trickling down my back. I've got far too many layers on for this place. The heating is on full blast. On the TV, tempers are fraying. `I'm not the father of that kid `“ take any test you like `“ it ain't mine.'
Muriel sits back again, her lips pursed together. `Of course, he claims he didn't know anything about it. Well, he would say that, wouldn't he. The nasty little shit.'
Quinn smiles, despite himself.
I take one of her agitating hands and force her to look at me. `That's what Michael said, was it, when he came to see you? That he hadn't known about the pregnancy?'
`But I know for a fact she wrote and told him.'
Quinn is taking furious notes. `So she kept the baby `“ she's going to bring it up herself?'
`Not it. Him.' She smiles, immersed in memory. `Such a beautiful child. He has her eyes. I told her `“ he'll be a charmer when he grows up, just you wait and see.'
`How are you all doing?' says the care assistant, bustling up with cups of tea. `Do you think you'll be much longer, Inspector? Only I think Muriel's getting a bit tired now. We don't want to overdo it, do we?'
2 January 2018, 11.16 a.m.
Two days before the fire
Ladies' lavatories, Birmingham New Street station
`But I want to see the pirates! You promised! For my birthday!'
`Please be quiet, Matty. I'm trying to clean this poor lady up.' Sam pulls out another wet wipe and has another go at the sick stain on the tartan coat, but all she seems to be achieving is spreading it even further. The woman is fussing, `It's really all right, you mustn't go to all this trouble `“ you need to continue your journey.'
`We do, Mummy,' says Matty quickly. `If we don't get on the train we're going to miss the pirates!'
Sam glances at Zachary. He's sitting on the side of the sink, leaning against the tiles. He's silent now but he looks miserable. He's been sick twice since they got off the train.
She turns to Matty and bends to his level. `I'm afraid we can't go to the pirates, Matty. Zachary is too unwell. We need to take him home.'
Matty's face crumples into a wail. `But you promised!' he says.
`He can't help being ill, Matty `“' she begins but he's stamping his foot.
`You said it was my treat `“ for me. For my birthday. Not for Zachary `“ for me!'
`I think I'll be on my way now,' says the woman, edging towards the door. `You have your hands full without worrying about me.'
`I'm so sorry again,' begins Sam, taking a step towards her. `He really didn't mean it.'
`That's what you always say,' says Matty as the door bangs closed behind her. `You always say Zachary doesn't mean bad things to happen, but they always do. Like he didn't mean to kill Mollie but he still did.'
`Ssh,' she says quickly, wondering who might be overhearing. Overhearing and misconstruing. `We can play pirates when we get home. Just you and me. You'd like that, wouldn't you?'
`You said you'd take me to the real pirates. I'm never going to see them now. Never. It's not fair!'
Her heart breaks, he looks so forlorn. And he's right. It's not fair. It's his birthday treat and she'd wanted it to be special and now it's all spoiled. She knows how badly injustice burns. Because there's nothing you can do to mend it.
She reaches out again and tries to hug him but he pushes her violently away. `Leave me alone! I hate you! I hate Zachary and I hate you. I don't care that he's ill `“ I wish he was dead!'
Out in the car, I realize I have a text from Baxter.
Still can't find a Harry or Harold Brown. Doesn't help Brown is such a common name. But I'll keep looking.
Mother's name is Jennifer, if that helps.
I send the text and turn to Quinn. He's on the phone. To the Griffin School.
`Make it three years either side just in case,' he says. `You can send it now? Fabulous. Thanks.' He finishes the call. `They're emailing me their school roll for when Esmond was in the sixth form.' He shifts in his seat so he can look at me more easily. `So Michael got his girlfriend pregnant.'
I nod. `And Harry was the result. It fits. He's the right age, similar colouring.'
`So what's the theory? He turns up on the doorstep last summer, announces he's the long-lost son and Michael gives him a job doing the garden?'
He's right to be sceptical. I don't think that adds up either.
`No,' I say slowly, `I don't think Michael even knew he had another child. From what Muriel said, he must have known Jenny was pregnant, but he may well have thought she'd had an abortion. She may even have told him that.'
`And you don't think this Harry told him who he was either? Seriously?'
`What would you do if someone appeared out of the blue and claimed to be your child?'
With the sexual history Quinn has, this could be a lot more than hypothetical one day, which may account for the speed of his reply.
`Get a DNA test,' he says at once.
`Right. Only there's nothing remotely like that on Esmond's credit card or email records.'
He considers. `Those sites always claim to be 100 per cent discreet.'
`Yes, but you can't pay them with cash, can you? There'd be something on the credit card, even if it was under some sort of anonymous corporate name.'
He nods. `And if there was, Baxter would have found it. So `“ what? Harry was just checking him out? Sussing out the lie of the land before he did his big reveal?'
`Possibly. Only something must have happened `“ something that made Michael suspect who he really was. That's why he came down here. He knew that if Jenny really had gone through with the pregnancy, her grandmother would know.'
Quinn turns to look back at the building. `Wonder why he went for the doolally granny, though? Must be someone else in the family he could have asked.'
Quinn has a genius for getting up my nose. But he does have a point.