“The world had moved on. It had left him behind.”

Like many of the people in Slough House, including Lamb, Dickie Bow is a vestige of a time which no longer exists. The sight of the hood gives him comfort, allowing him to feel as though he has a purpose again. Dickie is invested in the chase because this flurry of familiar activity makes him feel like he belongs once again. The politics and the practicalities of the chase do not matter; Dickie is simply relieved to be living the chase once again.

“Not like it was the first time.”

Lamb quizzes the bus driver about the circumstances of Dickie’s death aboard the rail replacement bus. The driver is increasingly uncomfortable, so he assures Lamb that it was mostly a typical day. The failure of the rail network is a familiar feature of his life, something he believes can appeal to Lamb’s understanding and create common ground. He believes that the slow decline of British infrastructure is a fact of life.

“Birth certificates were then claimed lost and copies sought; after that, you simply traced the life the infant might have led, with all its attendant paperwork.”

On different floors, River and Ho work through the same process. Ho is assembling a fake version of himself on social media while River is examining old records to determine whether any dead people may have had their identities stolen decades ago.