“By the time he had located Charlemont Road, his stump was aching and the sight of the long residential street made him regret that he was not the kind of man who could simply write off Billy as a mental case.” (Lethal White, Chapter 5)
After the distraught young man left little more than a street name before storming out of the office, Strike narrowed down all the Charlemont Roads in the UK to the most likely and headed off to East Ham find Billy Knight.
“The terraced houses had a motley appearance: some were bare brick, others painted or pebble-dashed… The small plots in front of the houses had been made into pocket gardens or dumps for debris, according to preference.” (Lethal White, Chapter 5)
Strike knocks on a couple doors and speaks with a few people looking for a “Jimmy and Billy,” making his way down the long street.
“At last he reached a section of houses that had been bought up and converted into flats. Pairs of front doors stood crammed side by side, and the front plots had been concreted over.” (Lethal White, Chapter 5)
It’s here, walking this last stretch of Charlemont Road, where Strike spots the note that leads him to the CORE meeting at the Well Community Centre where he first meets Jimmy Knight.
As the note indicated, Strike turned left at the end of the street and walked to the meeting. Note: The Well Community Centre is listed here as the Bonny Downs Community Association.
If you’d like to visit Charlemont Road or become neighbors with Jimmy Knight, you can find it on the map below: