cracked pitcher, a girl's pink hairband with a
rose on the front, one pale blue sandal, a
hairbrush, a length of chain, a pewter basin,
a ball of twine, a heap of colored
paper-clips, several old glass bottles.
I could imagine that a good fifty percent of the
British public would believe Michael Doll
deserved a life sentence just for what he had done
to this flat.
He saw me looking and said, half proudly and
half defensively, "That's just stuff I
collect. From the canal. You'd never believe the
things people throw away."
I watched as he put a tea-bag in each
mug, then four spoonfuls of sugar into his. His
hand was trembling so much that the sugar scattered over
the work surface.
"I like it sweet," he said. "Want a
biscuit?"
I felt I couldn't eat anything he'd even
looked at. "No," I said. "Help yourself."
He took two biscuits from a packet and
dipped both of them together into the tea until it
touched the tips of his fingers. The biscuits were so
soggy he had to hold them in his other hand. He
lifted them to his mouth and ate them, licking them
off his own skin with relish. His tongue was thick and
grayish. "Sorry," he said, with a grin. 73
I brought my lips very close to the tea in
imitation of a sip. "So, Michael," I said.
"You know why I'm here?"
"They said I should tell you about the girl."
"I'm a doctor who's done some work on people
who commit crimes like this."
"Like what?"
"Violent, against women, that sort of thing.
Anyway, the police have asked me for my
advice on the canal case." I saw a
flicker of interest in his good eye. He looked
at me intently for the first time. "Obviously," I
continued, "I'm interested in chatting with anybody
who might have seen anything. You were one of the people who
came forward. You were in the area."
"I fish," he said.
"I know."
"I sit there every day," he said. "When I'm not
working. It's peaceful down there, away from all the
noise. It's like the countryside in way."
"Do you eat the fish?"
Doll looked appalled and disgusted. "Can't
stand fish," he said. "Slimy smelly things. And
you wouldn't want to eat anything from that water. I
took one back for my dog once. Wouldn't touch
it. Now I just keep them in my net and chuck them
back at the end of the day."
"You were quite near the spot where the victim was
found."
"That's right."
"Do you know what happened?"
"I looked for it in the papers. There wasn't
very much about it. She was called Lianne. I saw
an old picture of her when she was alive. She
was just a girl. About seventeen, they said. That's just
a girl. It was terrible."
"Is that why you came forward?"
"The police asked. They wanted to talk
to anybody who was in the area."
"How near were you?"
"I was a few hundred feet away. Toward
the river. I was there all day. Fishing, like I
said."
"If Lianne had walked along that way you'd
have seen her."
"I didn't see her. But she might have
walked past. When I'm fishing I get lost in
my thoughts. Did you see her?"
"What?"
"Did you see the body?" 75
"No."
"The throat was cut."
"That's right."
"Is that a quick way of dying?"
"If you cut the main arteries then it would be
quick."
"There'd be a lot of blood, wouldn't there? The
killer, he'd be covered in it."
"I suppose so. I'm not really that sort of
doctor. Have you been thinking about it?"
"Yeah, of course. I can't get it out of my
mind. That's why I wanted to hear about what the
police were doing."
I pretended to take another sip from my tea.
"Are you interested in the investigation?" I asked.
"I've never been near anything like this before. I
thought I could be part of it. I wanted to help."
"You said you can't get it out of your mind."
He shifted in his chair. He took another
biscuit but he didn't eat it. He broke it
into pieces and then into smaller pieces until there
were just crumbs on the table. "I go over it."
"Go over what?"
"That girl, walking along the canal and then
suddenly
rose on the front, one pale blue sandal, a
hairbrush, a length of chain, a pewter basin,
a ball of twine, a heap of colored
paper-clips, several old glass bottles.
I could imagine that a good fifty percent of the
British public would believe Michael Doll
deserved a life sentence just for what he had done
to this flat.
He saw me looking and said, half proudly and
half defensively, "That's just stuff I
collect. From the canal. You'd never believe the
things people throw away."
I watched as he put a tea-bag in each
mug, then four spoonfuls of sugar into his. His
hand was trembling so much that the sugar scattered over
the work surface.
"I like it sweet," he said. "Want a
biscuit?"
I felt I couldn't eat anything he'd even
looked at. "No," I said. "Help yourself."
He took two biscuits from a packet and
dipped both of them together into the tea until it
touched the tips of his fingers. The biscuits were so
soggy he had to hold them in his other hand. He
lifted them to his mouth and ate them, licking them
off his own skin with relish. His tongue was thick and
grayish. "Sorry," he said, with a grin. 73
I brought my lips very close to the tea in
imitation of a sip. "So, Michael," I said.
"You know why I'm here?"
"They said I should tell you about the girl."
"I'm a doctor who's done some work on people
who commit crimes like this."
"Like what?"
"Violent, against women, that sort of thing.
Anyway, the police have asked me for my
advice on the canal case." I saw a
flicker of interest in his good eye. He looked
at me intently for the first time. "Obviously," I
continued, "I'm interested in chatting with anybody
who might have seen anything. You were one of the people who
came forward. You were in the area."
"I fish," he said.
"I know."
"I sit there every day," he said. "When I'm not
working. It's peaceful down there, away from all the
noise. It's like the countryside in way."
"Do you eat the fish?"
Doll looked appalled and disgusted. "Can't
stand fish," he said. "Slimy smelly things. And
you wouldn't want to eat anything from that water. I
took one back for my dog once. Wouldn't touch
it. Now I just keep them in my net and chuck them
back at the end of the day."
"You were quite near the spot where the victim was
found."
"That's right."
"Do you know what happened?"
"I looked for it in the papers. There wasn't
very much about it. She was called Lianne. I saw
an old picture of her when she was alive. She
was just a girl. About seventeen, they said. That's just
a girl. It was terrible."
"Is that why you came forward?"
"The police asked. They wanted to talk
to anybody who was in the area."
"How near were you?"
"I was a few hundred feet away. Toward
the river. I was there all day. Fishing, like I
said."
"If Lianne had walked along that way you'd
have seen her."
"I didn't see her. But she might have
walked past. When I'm fishing I get lost in
my thoughts. Did you see her?"
"What?"
"Did you see the body?" 75
"No."
"The throat was cut."
"That's right."
"Is that a quick way of dying?"
"If you cut the main arteries then it would be
quick."
"There'd be a lot of blood, wouldn't there? The
killer, he'd be covered in it."
"I suppose so. I'm not really that sort of
doctor. Have you been thinking about it?"
"Yeah, of course. I can't get it out of my
mind. That's why I wanted to hear about what the
police were doing."
I pretended to take another sip from my tea.
"Are you interested in the investigation?" I asked.
"I've never been near anything like this before. I
thought I could be part of it. I wanted to help."
"You said you can't get it out of your mind."
He shifted in his chair. He took another
biscuit but he didn't eat it. He broke it
into pieces and then into smaller pieces until there
were just crumbs on the table. "I go over it."
"Go over what?"
"That girl, walking along the canal and then
suddenly
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