eyebrows. 'Back to the Ten Commandments?'
'In all probability the breaking of one.'
Bradburn returned with an album, still in its Cellophane cover. 'I presume it's the latest one you want?'
'Thank you, yes.'
Frederick took it from him, resting it on his knees while he extracted his glasses from his pocket and put them on. The album was dated six years previously, and he began slowly turning the pages until he came to a clear photograph of Philpott. He was seated at a café table â somewhere in Europe, by the look of it â and staring straight at the camera.
Frederick sat for several minutes letting his eyes move slowly over the face in front of him. If he knew nothing of this man, what would his appearance have told him? That he was confident, perhaps a trifle arrogant, judging by the tilt of his head. And, even more clearly than in the blurred newspaper print, he was again conscious of his likeness to Roger Denby, the man he'd known years before who had a reputation as a philanderer. An expression in the eyes, the set of the mouth â Was it fair, on that basis, to tar Philpott with the same brush?
He looked up, meeting Aileen's gaze. 'I presume the marriage was happy, Mrs Bradburn?' That was the story that emerged at the time.
Was there, perhaps, just the slightest hesitation before she nodded? He couldn't be sure.
'There's nothing you'd like to add? You realize, I hope, that this isn't idle curiosity?'
For a moment longer she sat staring into her coffee cup. Then, with a glance at her husband, she said flatly, 'I wasn't lying, Mr Mace; as far as I was concerned, our marriage had been happy, and I told the police so at the time. Oh, we had the odd tiff, and I suppose, looking back, it wasn't all rosy, but it never occurred to me there was anything wrong.'
'Until-?' he prompted gently.
'Yes, you're right â until last year, when I met a couple Trev and I'd been friendly with. We used to see quite a lot of them, till they moved away and we lost touch.
'Then last summer, we met quite by chance â at the races, of all places; Pete had taken me to the Broadminster Cup. Well, he and Jerry went off to place some bets, and Debs said something about what a nice chap Pete seemed. Then she added, "Much more your type than Trevor. I often wondered how you put up with him."
'She must have seen my face, because she suddenly went scarlet and said, "Me and my big mouth!" I asked her what she meant and she didnât want to say, but I finally wheedled it out of her. Apparently, one evening at the cricket club, Trevor'd had too much to drink, and Jerry walked him home. On the way, Trev had suddenly started bragging about various women he was seeing, and offered to fix Jerry up, if he was interested.'
Frederick could not resist a glance of triumph at Paul. The memory of Roger Denby had not, after all, let him down.
'The next morning he rang to apologize,' Aileen was continuing. 'He was terribly embarrassed. Debs said, tried to make out he'd been pulling Jerry's leg, and asked him to forget it.'
Frederick said sympathetically, 'It must have been a tremendous shock.'
'Yes; I couldn't help wondering whether he'd have gone on having girlfriends for the rest of his life, and then I started remembering all kinds of little things â the times he'd cancelled something we were doing because he "couldn't get away", evenings when he was supposed to be showing people round houses, things like that.
'Of course,' she finished wretchedly, 'it might all have been quite genuine, but once the doubts were there, they tarnished everything.'
'Have you any idea when that incident took place? How near to your husband's death?'
'She didn't say; but they left Oxbury about a year before it happened, so at least that long.'
'Do you know if he actually named these women?'
'I've no idea. Debs certainly didn't.'
Even if he had, Frederick thought, 'Jerry' would be unlikely to remember after all this time â unless, of
'In all probability the breaking of one.'
Bradburn returned with an album, still in its Cellophane cover. 'I presume it's the latest one you want?'
'Thank you, yes.'
Frederick took it from him, resting it on his knees while he extracted his glasses from his pocket and put them on. The album was dated six years previously, and he began slowly turning the pages until he came to a clear photograph of Philpott. He was seated at a café table â somewhere in Europe, by the look of it â and staring straight at the camera.
Frederick sat for several minutes letting his eyes move slowly over the face in front of him. If he knew nothing of this man, what would his appearance have told him? That he was confident, perhaps a trifle arrogant, judging by the tilt of his head. And, even more clearly than in the blurred newspaper print, he was again conscious of his likeness to Roger Denby, the man he'd known years before who had a reputation as a philanderer. An expression in the eyes, the set of the mouth â Was it fair, on that basis, to tar Philpott with the same brush?
He looked up, meeting Aileen's gaze. 'I presume the marriage was happy, Mrs Bradburn?' That was the story that emerged at the time.
Was there, perhaps, just the slightest hesitation before she nodded? He couldn't be sure.
'There's nothing you'd like to add? You realize, I hope, that this isn't idle curiosity?'
For a moment longer she sat staring into her coffee cup. Then, with a glance at her husband, she said flatly, 'I wasn't lying, Mr Mace; as far as I was concerned, our marriage had been happy, and I told the police so at the time. Oh, we had the odd tiff, and I suppose, looking back, it wasn't all rosy, but it never occurred to me there was anything wrong.'
'Until-?' he prompted gently.
'Yes, you're right â until last year, when I met a couple Trev and I'd been friendly with. We used to see quite a lot of them, till they moved away and we lost touch.
'Then last summer, we met quite by chance â at the races, of all places; Pete had taken me to the Broadminster Cup. Well, he and Jerry went off to place some bets, and Debs said something about what a nice chap Pete seemed. Then she added, "Much more your type than Trevor. I often wondered how you put up with him."
'She must have seen my face, because she suddenly went scarlet and said, "Me and my big mouth!" I asked her what she meant and she didnât want to say, but I finally wheedled it out of her. Apparently, one evening at the cricket club, Trevor'd had too much to drink, and Jerry walked him home. On the way, Trev had suddenly started bragging about various women he was seeing, and offered to fix Jerry up, if he was interested.'
Frederick could not resist a glance of triumph at Paul. The memory of Roger Denby had not, after all, let him down.
'The next morning he rang to apologize,' Aileen was continuing. 'He was terribly embarrassed. Debs said, tried to make out he'd been pulling Jerry's leg, and asked him to forget it.'
Frederick said sympathetically, 'It must have been a tremendous shock.'
'Yes; I couldn't help wondering whether he'd have gone on having girlfriends for the rest of his life, and then I started remembering all kinds of little things â the times he'd cancelled something we were doing because he "couldn't get away", evenings when he was supposed to be showing people round houses, things like that.
'Of course,' she finished wretchedly, 'it might all have been quite genuine, but once the doubts were there, they tarnished everything.'
'Have you any idea when that incident took place? How near to your husband's death?'
'She didn't say; but they left Oxbury about a year before it happened, so at least that long.'
'Do you know if he actually named these women?'
'I've no idea. Debs certainly didn't.'
Even if he had, Frederick thought, 'Jerry' would be unlikely to remember after all this time â unless, of
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