‘It was rather in my salad days at the Yard, Fox, but I remember, and so will you. The Bouchier-Watson lot. They had their headquarters at Marseilles and Port Said, but they operated all over the shop. Heroin mostly. The FO took a hand. Bunchy was there in those days and helped us enormously. Captain Withers was undoubtedly up to his nasty neck in it, but we never quite got enough to pull him in. A very dubious person. And young Donald’s flown to him for sanctuary. Besotted young ninny! Oh, blast! Fox, blast!’

‘Do you know the young gentleman, sir?’

‘What? Yes. Oh, yes, I know him vaguely. What’s going to come of this? I’ll have to probe. A filthy crime-dentist! And quite possibly I’ll haul up young Potter wriggling like a nerve on the end of a wire. These people are supposed to be my friends! Fun, isn’t it? All right, Fox, don’t look perturbed. But if Donald Potter doesn’t show up here before—’

The door was suddenly flung open and Donald walked into the room.

He took half a dozen steps, pulled up short, and glared at Alleyn and Fox. He looked awful. His eyes were bloodshot and his face pallid.

He said: ‘Where’s my mother?’

Alleyn said: ‘Agatha Troy’s looking after her. I want to speak to you.’

‘I want to see my mother.’

‘You’ll have to wait,’ said Alleyn.

CHAPTER TEN

Donald

DONALD POTTER SAT on a chair facing the window. Alleyn was at Lord Robert’s desk. Fox sat in the window, his notebook on his knee, his pencil in his hand. Donald lit one cigarette from the butt of another. His fingers shook.

‘Before we begin,’ said Alleyn, ‘I should like to make one point quite clear to you. Your uncle has been murdered. The circumstances under which he was murdered oblige us to go most thoroughly into the movements of every person who was near to him within an hour of his death. We shall also find it necessary to make exhaustive enquiries into his private affairs, his relationship with members of his own family, and his movements, conversation and interests during the last weeks or perhaps months of his life. Nothing will be sacred. You, of course, are most anxious that his murderer should be arrested?’

Alleyn paused. Donald wetted his lips and said:

‘Naturally.’

‘Naturally. You will therefore give us all the help you can at no matter what cost to yourself?’

‘Of course.’

‘You will understand, I am sure, that everything the police do is done with one purpose only. If some of our enquiries seem impertinent or irrelevant that cannot be helped. We must do our job.’

‘Need we go into all this?’ said Donald.

‘I hope it has been quite unnecessary. When did you last speak to your uncle?’

‘About ten days ago.’

‘When did you leave this house?’

‘On the same day,’ said Donald breathlessly.