“Thanks. I’d like to read it. Did Graham ever mention the Krays to you?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure that he ever said he or his dad knew them. I’ve also been thinking about the time frame. Graham and his parents came up here around July or August 1964. In July, there was a big brouhaha in the press over Ronnie’s alleged homosexual relationship with Lord Boothby, who denied everything and sued the Sunday Mirror for libel. Ronnie followed suit, but all he got was an apology. Still, there was an upside in that the press had to lay off the Krays for a while after that. Nobody wanted any more libel suits. One day Ronnie was a thug and a gangster, the next, a sporting gentleman. It set the police investigation back, too. Everyone had to walk on eggs around them. Even so, they were arrested the next January for demanding money with menaces. There was no bail and they were tried at the Old Bailey.”

“What happened?”

“They got off. It was a flimsy enough case to start with. There was talk of jury tampering. See, back then, there was no majority verdict like we have today. All twelve had to agree, or there’d be a retrial, which would give the accused even more time to fix things. They dug up some dirt on one of the main prosecution witnesses and that was it, they were free.”

“But how does any of this relate to Graham?”

“I’m not saying it does, only that that was what was happening around 1964 and 1965, the period we’re concerned with. The Krays were in the public eye a lot. The libel case and the trial were both big news, and after they got off they were fireproof for a long time. It was the start of their ascendancy as celebrities, the dark side of Swinging London, you might say. Soon they were being photographed with film stars, sporting figures and pop singers: Barbara Windsor, Sonny Liston, Judy Garland, Victor Spinetti—who was in A Hard Day’s Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour, if you can handle another piece of trivia. In the summer of 1965, they had a fiddle involving selling stolen American securities and bonds for the Mafia, and they were squaring up for a big fight with their rivals, the Richardson gang.” Banks tapped the book. “It’s all in there. I don’t know if it means anything. But as your boss made clear this morning, it’s none of my business.”

Michelle frowned. “Yeah, I know. I keep thinking he’s looking over my shoulder even now, in here.”

“I don’t want you to get into trouble for talking to me.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t followed. I’m only being paranoid.”

“It doesn’t mean you’re not being followed. Will you keep in touch, let me know if you come up with anything?”

“I shouldn’t, but I will.”

“And if there’s any way I can help…”

“Of course. If you remember anything Graham said or did that might be useful, I’d appreciate knowing.”