‘Oh. And after you’d drunk from the glass, did you swap it round with one of the others?’
‘No, of course he didn’t,’ Joanie almost interrupted her husband. Then, more gently, she repeated, ‘No, of course he didn’t, love.’ Turning to the others, she asked, ‘So who are your suspects?’
Charles smiled. ‘Well, you’ll be glad to hear that you two are off the list. You weren’t down in the studio area at the pivotal time, so you’re in the clear.’
Joanie clutched at her throat in mock-panic. ‘What a relief.’
‘Just concentrating on the people who actually appeared on the show, we’ve ruled out all of the four “professions” — that’s except for me, assuming that I would be devious enough deliberately to stir up an investigation into my own guilt. .’
‘I think we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.’
‘Very gracious. Of the four contestants, the only one who hasn’t got an alibi for the relevant time — or perhaps I should say the only one whose alibi we haven’t heard about — is the lady from Billericay, Trish Osborne. Of the panellists, you’re all in the clear. . except for Bob Garston.’
‘Ah.’ Joanie Bruton did not sound surprised, rather as if the mention of the name confirmed a suspicion.
‘Now, at the moment we are concentrating our investigations on Bob Garston. As I say, he had the opportunity, and he had at least some motive.’
‘Oh?’ Charles got the impression that Joanie knew something, but was biding her time, waiting to see how much of it they knew already.
‘He was considered for the job of hosting If The Cap Fits,’ Sydnee explained. ‘In fact, he’s going to do it on the second pilot.’
‘So you reckon that was the reason he would want Barrett out of the way?’
Again Charles felt Joanie was holding back, unwilling to volunteer more than she had to.
‘That’s one reason. We’ve a feeling there may also have been something more personal.’
She raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. ‘Like what?’
‘That’s why we’ve come to see you. We thought you might know something about his private life.’
She chuckled. ‘I know a great deal about a great many people’s private lives, love. But one of the reasons why people tell me things, and the reason why I keep my job, is because I respect the confidentiality of such secrets.’
‘Of course.’
While Charles tried to think of the next move, Sydnee came in, typically direct. ‘You were overheard, Roger, talking to Bob. There was a suggestion that Bob Garston’s wife had been having an affair with someone.’
This shook Roger Bruton. ‘Who overheard me? Who was spying on me? Where were they? What did they see?’
Again his wife’s calming hand went on to his knee. ‘It’s all right, love, all right.’ She turned her eyes on Charles. ‘Since you seem to know already, I can’t do any harm by confirming it. Yes. Bob’s wife did have an affair.’
‘With Barrett Doran?’
She nodded. ‘I knew about it, because I was there when they met. On some Thames Television chat-show. I saw them go off together. It was obvious to me what was happening. I do know a bit about the mechanics of sexual attraction.’
‘Was Bob around at the time?’
‘No. He heard about it, though. His wife must have told him herself, because nobody else knew. I gather he took it pretty badly. I talked to him about it when we next met, told him that these things happen, that often a little fling like that needn’t affect the basic stability of the marriage.’ She had dropped into the no-nonsense counselling manner she used to telephone callers on her weekly radio programme.
‘And it wasn’t in the gossip columns or anything? I had understood Barrett liked to make his conquests public.’
‘Not this one. I think she must’ve insisted on keeping it quiet. I never heard it even hinted at by anyone.’
‘Was the affair still going on when Barrett died?’
‘No. Only lasted about a month, I think. Bob and she didn’t split up or anything. I gather they’d more or less got over it, but Bob must have found it difficult suddenly having to be in the same studio as the man who’d cuckolded him.’
‘How difficult, I wonder?’
‘What you mean is, did it make Bob angry enough to decide to kill his rival? Who can say? People react differently to things. With some the trigger to violence is very delicately balanced; others will put up with almost anything.’
‘And what would your professional judgement be of Bob Garston in that respect?’
‘Do I see him as a potential murderer?’
‘Yes.’
‘On balance, no. I can see him getting very angry, and I can see him contemplating violence against someone who he reckoned had wronged him. But I think that violence would be expressed much more openly. I can see him going up to Barrett and punching him on the nose, but this devious business with the cyanide. . no, doesn’t sound his style.’
‘I think you’re probably barking up the wrong tree,’ said Roger Bruton abruptly. ‘The police aren’t fools. They don’t arrest people without good reason. I’m sure the girl they’ve got is the right one.’
‘Yes, Roger,’ his wife agreed soothingly, ‘but you can see why Charles and Sydnee want to try and prove otherwise. It would be terrible if the wrong person did get sentenced for the crime.’
Roger Bruton did not look as if he agreed, but he didn’t pursue the argument further.
‘I know we’re just feeling our way at the moment,’ Charles admitted, ‘but we do definitely think that we’re on to something.’
‘Of course.’ Joanie’s voice was very nearly patronizing as she said the line that had become her catch-phrase. ‘I fully understand, love.’
‘Tell me, as someone who was in the studio all through the show, did you notice anything strange at any point?’
‘Strange?’
‘Did anyone appear to be behaving oddly, anyone on the panel, any of the contestants. .?’
‘Well, no one was behaving very naturally, but then it’s hardly a very natural situation. Everyone was tense, of course, concentrating on their performance. Is that what you mean?’
‘No, I meant more than that. Did you notice anyone doing anything that you thought at the time was out of character?’
‘I don’t think so, love, no.’
‘And, when Barrett drank the poison, did you notice anyone reacting in an unusual way?’
‘Good heavens.’ She chuckled. ‘You ask a lot. It was a moment of terrible shock when he started gasping. We were none of us in any state to start checking each other’s reactions. We just all leapt up to see if we could do anything to help him.’
A new thought came into Charles’s mind. ‘The desk got knocked over when you all stood up.’
‘Yes. That big oaf, Nick Jeffries. There’s a lot of him, you know. The original bull in the china shop.’
‘Hmm. Yes.’ Charles looked across at Sydnee. ‘I think that really covers everything we were going to ask, doesn’t it?’
The researcher nodded.
‘We’re very grateful to you both for giving up your time. As I say, we are still just feeling around. And I know we’ve voiced suspicions which are almost certainly scandalous. .’
‘My mind,’ said Joanie, ‘is the repository of so much scandal that the odd bit more’s not going to hurt. It’s as safe as a numbered Swiss bank account. Lots and lots of secrets locked away in there, aren’t there, love?’
She grinned at her husband, who gave a nervous grin back.
‘So where do you go from here?’ he asked Charles.
‘With our investigations?’
‘Yes. If you persist in thinking there’s anything to investigate,’ he added sceptically.
‘Well, I suppose we try and find out more about Bob Garston’s movements during the meal-break. You saw him. Were you with him for long?’
‘No. I’d just left Joanie in Make-up and I met him outside. We walked along the corridor and parted at the lifts.’
‘Did he get into a lift?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘Didn’t say where he was going?’
‘No.’
‘And you stayed down waiting for Joanie?’