“And you’re sure Andy hadn’t already left and come back before I started screaming? I’m sorry, but I have to ask.”

“I’m sure. He was sleeping next to the wall. It’s only a single bed, don’t forget. He’d have had to climb over me to get out, and I would have woken up,” Jed said. There was no hesitation in his voice.

“And you didn’t see or hear anything else that might indicate what happened? You didn’t hear any voices in the corridor outside or anything?” Lindsay asked.

Jed shook his head. “We’d had some music on. Not very loud, but just loud enough to drown out any noise we were making. And then we went to sleep.”

“How are you going to explain your outburst this afternoon?” Lindsay asked.

He shrugged. “I’ll just say that I’d had a few drinks at lunchtime, and I was furious because I’d just discovered that Jack had vetoed our submission for funding for GALA. You know us media types. There’ll be a new scandal by dinner time.”

Sophie picked up the Conference Chronicle. “Unfortunately, it looks like the new scandal they’ve got is going to give you even more headaches. You and Andy are going to have to talk to the police again.”

His jaw set obstinately once more. “I’m saying nothing until Andy asks me to. They don’t seem very interested in him so far, so I reckon we can just keep our heads down and it’ll blow over. They’re bound to come up with the killer eventually. If there really is a killer.”

“Oh, I think there’s a killer all right. Just pray that after they’ve seen Conference Chronicle, the cops don’t decide it’s Andy. Because if you wait till they’ve got their claws into him, it’s going to be a lot harder to convince them that your alibi’s for real and not just something you’ve cooked up to get him off the hook.”

Chapter 9

9

“As this is the first conference following the formation of AMWU, there are bound to be procedural confusions. We recommend that all delegates study the new conference standing orders carefully. Then restrain all urges to raise points of order, sit back and let it all sink in at a subliminal level. If doubts remain, SOS members will be happy to answer any queries in exchange for a bottle of Appellation Contrôlée.”

from “Advice for New Delegates”, a Standing Orders Sub-Committee booklet.

As they stood waiting for the lift to grind its way back up to the fourth floor, Sophie said, “It’s funny how hanging out with journalists kills the myths stone-dead.”

“What do you mean?” Lindsay asked defensively, convinced she was about to be impaled on the rapier of Sophie’s wit.