Career of Evil

Staying with her parents in Masham, Yorkshire, Robin struggles to raise enthusiasm for her wedding dress fitting. She and Matthew argue about whether she should continue to work for Strike, considering the threat to her safety. To Matthew’s dismay, Robin gratefully accepts her parents’ offer of their old Land Rover. Robin argues with her younger brother when he makes a flippant joke about Strike’s missing leg. Reminded of the unknown woman’s severed leg, she feels she is the only one who recognizes that the limb belonged to a real woman.

Robin researches body integrity identity disorder (BIID), the condition she believes Kelsey was describing in her letter to Strike. Visiting online support forums, Robin reads posts from individuals who feel a compulsion to have a healthy body removed. On one forum, a contributor suggests that Strike’s amputation is self-inflicted. Matthew walks into the room and sees Robin’s screen as she researches acrotomophilia—sexual attraction to amputees.

In Edinburgh, Hardacre leaves Strike alone in his office, allowing him to photograph the information on his computer. Noel Brockbank’s file shows he was born in Barrow-in-Furness and served in the Gulf War. When he married, he became a stepfather to two daughters, one of whom was named Brittany.