‘Garcia, of course. She’s been shelling out money to Garcia for ages. And now there’s this Australian wild-man—Hatchett. She says she makes the others pay through the nose, but Lord knows if she ever gets the money. She’s hopeless,’ said Katti, with an air of exasperated affection.

‘Would you call this a good photograph of Mr Garcia?’ asked Alleyn suddenly. He held out the group. Katti took it and glowered at it.

‘Yes, it’s very like him,’ she said. ‘That thing was taken last year during the summer classes. Yes—that’s Garcia all right.’

‘He was here as Miss Troy’s guest then, I suppose?’

‘Oh Lord, yes. Garcia never pays for anything. He’s got no sort of decency where money is concerned. No conscience at all.’

‘No aesthetic conscience?’

‘Um!’ said Katti. ‘I wouldn’t say that. No—his work’s the only thing he is honest about, and he’s passionately sincere there.’

‘I wish you’d give me a clear idea of him, Miss Bostock. Will you?’

‘Not much of a hand at that sort of thing,’ growled Katti, ‘but I’ll have a shot. He’s a dark, dirty, weird-looking fellow. Very paintable head. Plenty of bone. You think he murdered the model, don’t you?’

‘I don’t know who murdered the model.’

‘Well, I think he did. It’s just the sort of thing he would do. He’s absolutely ruthless and as cold-blooded as a flatfish. He asked Malmsley if he ever felt like murdering his mistress, didn’t he?’

‘So Mr Malmsley told us.’

‘I’ll bet it’s true. If Sonia interfered with his work and put him off his stride, and he couldn’t get rid of her any other way, he’d get rid of her that way. She may have refused to give him any more money.’

‘Did she give him money?’

‘I think so. Ormerin says she was keeping him last year. He wouldn’t have the slightest qualms about taking it. Garcia just looks upon money as something you’ve got to have to keep you going. He could have got a well-paid job with a monumental firm. Troy got on to it for him. When he saw the tombstones with angels and open Bibles he said something indecent and walked out. He was practically starving that time,’ said Katti, half to herself, and with a sort of reluctant admiration, ‘but he wouldn’t haul his flag down.’

‘You think the model was really attached to him?’

Katti took another cigarette and Alleyn lit it for her.

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I’m not up in the tender passion. I’ve got an idea that she’d switched over to Basil Pilgrim, but whether it was to try and make Garcia jealous or because she’d fallen for Pilgrim is another matter. She was obviously livid with Seacliff. But then Garcia had begun to hang round Seacliff.’