‘He took me on a night-crawl, fetching up at the place you went to last night—Toni’s. I don’t remember much about the later part of the experience but enough to make me wish I’d forgotten the lot. Apparently I talked about the “resemblance” at the restaurant we went to—Il Eremo it’s called—and to some American chum of his who would be delighted to blow it to the Press.

‘I went back to England. The book came out and three weeks ago I returned to Rome, as he knew I would. I ran into him and he took me into a ghastly little parlour in the Van der Veghels’ hotel and blackmailed me. He was quite shameless. He practically said, in so many words, that he’d rehashed his story so that now it was blatantly like mine and that he had witnesses from—that night—to say I’d talked about the resemblance when I was drunk. One of them, he said, was the Roman correspondent for the News of the World and would make a big splash with the story. Oh yes!’ Grant said when Alleyn opened his mouth. ‘Oh yes. I know. Why didn’t I tell him to go to hell? You may not remember—why should you?—what happened over my first book.’

‘I remember.’

‘And so would a great many other people. Nobody except my publishers and a few friends believed that bloody business was a coincidence. The case would be hauled into the light again. All the filthy show re-hashed and me established as a shameless plagiarist. I may be a louse but I couldn’t face it.’

‘What did he ask?’

‘That’s the point. Not so much, in a way. Just that I took on these unspeakable tours.’

‘It wouldn’t have stopped there, you know. He was easing you in. Why did you decide to tell me all this?’

‘It’s just got too much. I told Sophy about it and she suggested I tell you. After the meeting was over and we waited outside. It’s an extraordinary thing,’ Grant said, ‘I met that girl yesterday. It’s by no means a quick take, she’s not that sort. And yet…Well,’ Grant said, giving it up, ‘there you are. You tell us your main interest in him is as a drug-runner. He turns out to be a murderer. I daresay it’s only of academic interest that he happens to be a blackmailer as well.’