Yesterday's Papers Read Online Free

across it yourself. But thirty years ago he had taken over his father’s old firm and started making a name for himself with his portraits of many of the stars of - ah - the Swinging Sixties.’
    Miller was unable to disguise the mockery in his voice. He spoke as though he was describing a risible alien culture. ‘Nevertheless,’ he added, ‘Guy would have expected Carole at least to leave a message. He and Kathleen rang around her friends and, drawing a blank, became alarmed. The girl had mentioned herself that the boyfriend would be out of town that night and so there was no question of her having sloped off with him. Finally Kathleen called the police. The Jeffries were an influential couple and their concern was taken seriously. A constable came round and his first thought was to check the park.’
    â€˜Hadn’t Guy already done so?’
    â€˜Only in a cursory way, it seems. In any event, looking methodically under every thicket, the policeman soon discovered her corpse.’
    â€˜Was it hidden?’
    â€˜The killer - presumably - had pulled it into the bushes, but made little attempt at camouflage. The young policeman must have had an eagle’s eyes to discover poor Carole in darkness, but her body would have been found the next morning in any event.’
    â€˜And the ligature? Was that left on the scene?’
    â€˜Carole’s own scarf was knotted around her throat. The murderer seems to have made no attempt to remove it. As you may know, that is not uncommon in strangulation cases. One can guess that she was no longer a pretty sight. “Purple lips and ears, froth and blood-staining about the mouth, the tongue forced outward, the hands clenched” - these are the typical signs of asphyxia . I quote, of course, from that eminent pathologist, Sir Sydney Smith.’
    Even at thirty years’ remove, Harry found himself repelled by the picture Miller was sketching and by the relish with which he was sketching it. Murder fascinates everyone , Harry thought, because of the hints it gives of the darkest recesses of the human soul . But the act of killing and its physical consequences seemed to him obscene, and to exult in them, he felt, was akin to drooling over a pornographic film.
    He drained his glass. His earlier mood of cautious tolerance towards Miller was evaporating. Yet he felt impelled to satisfy his curiosity. ‘How long did it take the police to fasten on to Edwin Smith?’
    â€˜They picked him up within twenty-four hours.’
    â€˜And the boyfriend, what about him?’
    Miller pursed his lips in disapproval. ‘Ray Brill - that was what he called himself. Perhaps it was a pseudonym, I am not sure.’
    Harry reached back into his memory and his treasury of pop music trivia. ‘Of the Brill Brothers? Is that the man?’
    â€˜Again you are well informed. Yes, that was the name of his - ah - duo.’
    â€˜Was he ever a suspect?’
    â€˜A good question. In the press reports which I have seen, he expresses shock and horror at the outrage. Yet one would expect nothing less from a cruel and ruthless killer - if such he was.’
    â€˜And Smith hired Cyril Tweats?’
    â€˜His mother did, yes. The family had money and I gather that Tweats was a popular defence solicitor of the time, but if I may be blunt, the choice of representative was not a happy one.’ Again he spoke in a knowing way that gave the impression he had something else up his sleeve.
    Sharply, Harry said, ‘And what made you approach me?’
    â€˜When I discovered that the firm of Tweats and Company no longer exists, I called at the office of the local law society. They told me Mr Tweats had sold his practice shortly before Christmas to you and your partner, Mr Crusoe.’
    â€˜Have you spoken to Cyril himself?’
    â€˜As yet, no, for two reasons. First, when I asked about you and your firm, I was told you have something of a name for