‘No. Christ!’ Kenneth screamed out. ‘What the hell is all this? What idiot stuff are you trying to sell me? All right, so this was an H. and C. wrapping. And how many people go through Saint what’s-his-name’s every day? What about the old woman? For all you know she may have peddled it. To anyone. Why, for God’s sake, pick on me?’

‘Kenneth—darling—no. Please. No!’

‘Partly,’ Alleyn said, ‘because up to that time you had exhibited withdrawal symptoms but on your arrival in the Mithraeum appeared to be relieved of them.’

‘No!’

‘We needn’t labour the point. If necessary, we can take fingerprints.’ He pointed to the paper, and to the empty cigarette packet. ‘And in any case, last night you were perfectly frank about your experiments with drugs. You told me that Mailer introduced you to them. Why are you kicking up such a dust now?’

‘I didn’t know who you were.’

‘I’m not going to run you in here, in Rome, for making a mess of yourself with drugs, you silly chap. I simply want to know if, for whatever reason, you met Mailer by the statue of Apollo in the middle level at S. Tommaso.’

‘Kenneth—no!’

‘Auntie, do you mind! I’ve told him—no, no, no.’

‘Very well. We’ll go on. You returned to photograph Apollo, found you had used up the film in your camera, continued on down to the bottom level and joined us in the Mithraeum. At what stage did you put a new film in your camera?’

‘I don’t remember.’

‘Where is the old film?’

‘In my pocket, for God’s sake. In my room.’

‘You didn’t encounter Major Sweet either although he must have been on his way down, just ahead of you.’

‘No.’

‘You passed the Apollo, Major, on your way down?’

‘I suppose so. Can’t say I remember. Must have, of course.’

‘Not necessarily. The cloisters run right round the old church at the middle level. If you’d turned right instead of left when you reached that level you would have come by a shorter route, and without passing Apollo, to the passage leading to the iron stairway.’

‘I could have but I didn’t.’

‘Odd!’ Alleyn said. ‘And neither of you had sight, sound or smell of Mailer and Violetta?’ Silence.

‘With the exception of Lady Braceley we all came together in the Mithraeum and were there for, I suppose, at least fifteen minutes while the Baroness and Baron and Mr Dorne took photographs and Mr Grant read to us. Then we found our several ways back to the top. You left first, Mr Dorne, by the main entrance.’

‘You’re so right. And I went up by the shortest route and I met nobody and heard nothing and I joined my aunt in the garden.’