5 : InquisitionIt is perhaps not extraordinary that the mixture of anxiety, irritation and excitement typical of the backstage of amateur theatricals is nearly always reproduced at the moment when a family sets off for a public performance, be it wedding, funeral, or, as in this case, inquest.
John had arrived, already dressed for the ordeal, at Gina’s flat no later than half past eight in the morning of Tuesday, the 17th. By a quarter to nine he had phoned Mike three times and had upbraided the startled Mrs. Austin because Curley had not yet appeared.
Gina very wisely kept to her own room and left him to rampage up and down the studio.
When Curley came, pink and breathless with the exertion of climbing the stairs, he pounced upon her with a grunt of relief.
“We’ve got to be there in l
