Chapter 5

Summary

Louisa Guy returns to Slough House and has Roderick Ho trace first Catherine’s phone, which is off, then River’s, which is on but blocked. Ho and Lamb both read a blocked signal as meaning River is in a room at Regent’s Park built to scramble it; Marcus Longridge and Shirley Dander report that they found neither of them.

River is in that room, a windowless basement cube with a one-way mirror, going over his mistakes: he should have gone up the line to Lamb instead of walking into the Park. Nick Duffy, who runs the Dogs, arrives with a plastic chair and a tracksuit, delivers a long lecture on the Service’s petty scandals, and refuses him a phone call. When River describes the photograph of Catherine and the man from the bridge, Duffy calls it a fairy story and knees him in the groin; River keeps repeating that Catherine has been taken. At the Park, Ingrid Tearney is told only that a slow horse has been caught and leaves him to Duffy. Lamb telephones Taverner and asks for River back; she says the target was a Scott-level document and that River will go to the Met, and Lamb warns her that Cartwright is not the only one of his people missing.

Catherine, meanwhile, is brought tea by her guard and asks him about the girl who died.

Beats

• C05S01 · Louisa Guy — Louisa Guy found Roderick Ho at his screens and unusually willing to talk, and had him trace Catherine’s phone, which was off, and then River’s, which was on but scrambled. Marcus Longridge and Shirley Dander reported that they had found neither of them, and Shirley, once of Comms, asked where a signal might be blocked.
• C05S02 · River Cartwright — River stood in a windowless basement room with a one-way mirror and reviewed his errors: he should have stayed on the bridge and handled the man there, and he should have reported up the line to Lamb instead of walking into the Park. Nick Duffy then arrived carrying a plastic chair and wearing a tracksuit, which River took as the worst sign.
• C05S03 · Ingrid Tearney — Ingrid Tearney reviewed her morning with satisfaction, having sounded out Taverner and established where she would stand when Judd made his move. A memo sent her to Security, where she learned that an off-site agent named River Cartwright had got into the Park and was with Duffy. She told them to let Duffy finish and dismissed the matter as probably nothing.
• C05S04 · River Cartwright — Duffy gave a theatrical account of the Dogs’ work and of River’s own lack of clearance before turning to the charge sheet. River asked whether he was under arrest and whether he would get a phone call, and was told he would be lucky to get a blindfold.
• C05S05 · Jackson Lamb — Louisa told Lamb that River’s phone was blocked and that he had therefore been taken downstairs at the Park. Lamb refused to call the two disappearances a coincidence but would not depart from his routine either, and dismissed the staff as fuck-ups who had got lucky. When Louisa refused to leave without an answer, he said he would make a call.
• C05S06 · River Cartwright — Duffy accused River of planning to sell the file, and River told him about the photograph of Catherine and gave him a description of the man from the bridge. Duffy called the story a fairy story and demanded to know why River had not gone through the protocols. He then kneed River in the testicles, and River fell to the floor.
• C05S07 · Jackson Lamb — Lamb rang Taverner and asked her to send River back once the Dogs had finished with him. Taverner said the offence involved a Scott-level document and that River would be handed to the Met, and refused to say what he had been doing. Lamb warned her that Cartwright was not the only one of his people missing, then hung up and snapped a ruler on his foot.
• C05S08 · River Cartwright — River got his breath back on the floor and told Duffy what the slow horses call the Dogs. He threatened to settle it outside the Park, then repeated that Catherine Standish had been taken and that Duffy should look at his phone, and was hit in the stomach for it.
• C05S09 · Catherine Standish — The soldier brought Catherine a mug of tea and explained that they were out of milk. She asked whether they meant to kill her and was told they were not animals, then asked whether Donovan talked about the girl who had died. He corrected her that the dead woman had been a captain, and left, padlocking the door.
• C05S10 · Nick Duffy — Duffy washed his face, watched River through the two-way and rang Taverner to report that the story had not changed. Taverner asked how badly he had hurt him and told him to let Cartwright sweat until word came from the Home Office. Duffy decided River’s defiance was wearing thin and went for coffee.

People

• Louisa Guy — has Ho trace the phones and confronts Lamb
• Roderick Ho — traces Catherine’s and River’s phones
• Marcus Longridge — reports back empty-handed
• Shirley Dander — identifies a scrambled signal as service equipment
• River Cartwright — interrogated by Duffy in the basement
• Nick Duffy — head of the Dogs, conducts the interrogation
• Ingrid Tearney — learns of the incursion and leaves it to Duffy
• Jackson Lamb — refuses to act, then rings Taverner
• Diana Taverner — tells Lamb that River will go to the Met
• Catherine Standish — questions her guard about the dead woman

Places

• Slough House — Ho’s office and Lamb’s room
• Regent’s Park — the basement interview room and the Kennel
• The farmhouse — attic room where Catherine is held

Lines worth keeping

““If his phone’s blocked, it means he’s downstairs. And if he’s downstairs, it’s not because they’ve opened the dungeons to the public.”” — Jackson Lamb, deducing where River is

““We’re not joes, no. But we’re your joes. You know that.”” — Louisa Guy, refusing to drop it

““Of course you don’t get a fucking phone call. You’ll be lucky to get a blindfold.”” — Nick Duffy, denying River a call

““Not that I’m an expert. But seriously? Is this your first time?”” — Catherine Standish, mocking her own kidnapping

Threads

• Plants: Tearney has been summoned to the Home Office; Lamb threatens to come to the Park and ask his questions in person; Catherine asks about the girl who died and is told she was a captain; Duffy plans to remind Cartwright what knackered horses are used for
• Payoffs: River’s blocked phone is explained: he is in a room that scrambles the signal; Lamb learns from Taverner that River is held by the Dogs and destined for the Met
• Continuity: River is held in a basement room with a one-way mirror at Regent’s Park; Taverner says the target was a Scott-level document; Catherine’s guard is the soldier who was at the Angel; Louisa keeps a fingernail-sized diamond hidden behind her fridge

Characters

• Louisa Guy
• Roderick Ho
• Marcus Longridge
• Shirley Dander
• River Cartwright
• Nick Duffy
• Ingrid Tearney
• Jackson Lamb
• Diana Taverner
• Catherine Standish

Places

• Slough House
• Regent's Park
• The farmhouse