"Miss Eady?" "Mr. Christie?" "Come in, do." "Blessed blackout." "Well, we'll have a nice little cup of tea first." "Come in the kitchen, it's cosier in there." "Oh, that'll be lovely." "Well." "I've only just brewed up." "Mrs. Christie's out, is she?" "She's, uh..." "She's away, up in Sheffield at her sister's." "Oh, sit down, Miss Eady, do." "Thank you." "Do you, uh...?" " Do you take sugar?" " No, thanks." "No." "Thank you." "Well, now." "It's been bad, has it?" "The bronchitis?" "At nights." "It's been bad at nights." " Mm-hm." "Keeps you awake, I daresay?" "Yes." "Well, this is the stuff for you, Muriel." "You don't mind if I call you Muriel, do you?" "No." "No." "It's very good of you to go to all this trouble." "Oh, not at all." "All my doctor does is keep giving me this cough mixture." "Well, there." "Not many of them know about this stuff." "Oh, it smells just like friar's balsam." "Uh, well, yes." "That's in it." "It's a mixture." "What we call a compound." "I see." "Now, here's the little mask that goes over your face." "Oh, have you finished with your tea?" "Yes, thank you." "Fine." "And when it's over your face, you must breathe deeply, so you take in all the vapours, you see." "You may feel... just a bit dizzy." "What's that for?" "Uh..." "That's the extractor." "It gets rid of what we call all the waste products." "Now then." "You put the mask over your face." "Lean your head back." "Lean right back." "Shut your eyes." "Olose your eyes." "That's it." "Shut your eyes." "Now then." "Start your breathing, then." "Breathe quite deeply." "Breathe." "Breathe." "It smells a bit funny, Mr. Christie." "Yes." "Do you feel a bit dizzy?" "I do, a bit." "Yes." "Well, that's all the goodness taking effect." "Breathe, Muriel." "Breathe." "No, Muriel." "No, no, no!" "Breathe, Muriel." "No, no, no, no." "No, no, no." "Breathe, breathe, breathe." "Breathe." "Breathe." "Muriel?" "Muriel." "Oh, Muriel." "Muriel." "Muriel." "Ring the old bell, then, shall we?" "It's not a bad district, is it?" "It's not bad." "Come on, come on." "Yes?" "We've, uh..." "We..." "Um, we've come about the flat." "To see it?" "We just want to look it over, you know." "See if it's suitable." "Yes, well, you better come in." "Oh, that's my wife, Mrs. Christie." "They've come about the flat." "I'll lead the way." "I'll look after him." "The baby." "While you're looking at the flat, I'll hold him." "He'll be all right with me." "What's his name?" "Geraldine." "She, I should say." "Yes." "Mr. Kitchener occupies this floor." "It's up one more." "Just the two rooms, is it?" "Uh, yes." "Well, it's not what we're used to, you understand." "We used to have this mansion flat overlooking the river." "But we had to move out." "Tim?" "Oh, gas, is it?" "Yes, it works out less of an expense." "That's what we find." "Oh, well, we're not too worried about the money." "The job I do, we don't have to." "Oh, we'll take it." "Oh." "Oh, Tim, I don't know." "Well, do we get use of the garden?" "No." "Well, I mean, just to put the baby out." "Well, I'd like to help you, but..." "It's a question of the lease." "Once you surrender the right of way," "I mean, it can take an act of Parliament, these cases." "Oh, Tim." "I don't know." "There is another couple, very keen." "Irish, as a matter of fact." "No, we'll take it." "Well, you're doing the right thing." "Right." "Now, are you and Teddy going to have a nice sleep?" "There's a good girl." "Now, you have a nice sleep." "Mr. Christie." "I thought you might like a..." "You did make me jump." "Little cup of tea." "Well, I've just had one, actually." "Well, that's all right." "Thank you." "It's nice up here now." "Yes, it's not bad, is it?" "I was in the police during the war, you know." "Were you?" "We had a lot to do with medical stuff then." "Consulting." "I'm always on hand for advice, Beryl." "If you..." "Has Beryl gone out, Mrs. Christie?" "I don't know." "I'll go up." "Beryl, it's me." "Oh, I was looking for Beryl." "She's, uh..." "Oh, I thought it would be you, Alice." "I got you all the stuff for tea." "Oh, thank you." "Alice, this is..." "Who was that?" "That was, um, the ground floor." "Am I late?" "My tummy's been playing me up again today." "Oh, Reg." "Tim?" "Tim." "Might I, um...?" "Might I have a word?" "Mr. Christie, why sure." "There was a gentleman at the door for you today." "He left this." "Uh, what's it say, Mr. Christie?" "Oh, yes." "I forgot." "Well, there's no need to read it anyway." "It's about the payments on your furniture." "You're six weeks in arrears, apparently." "What?" "Not paid, you mean?" "No." "I didn't mention it to..." "Beryl or worry her with that." "She has the money, Mr. Christie." "She has it every week." "I gave him 10 shillings out of my own pocket." "I don't want this house getting a name, Tim." "Oh, that damn girl!" "All right, don't you worry, Mr. Christie." "You'll get that money back." "I'll be getting a new job shortly, I shouldn't wonder." "They've asked me if I want to train as a manager." "Or as a managing director." "Um..." "Or something, you know." "Yes." "Won't you have to learn to read and write for that?" "Oh, no, no, no." "You have secretaries." "Things like that, see?" "Yes." "Well, as long as I get my 10 shillings back." "Oh, that damn woman!" "Oh, and, Tim." "There was a young girl in and out of here all day." "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Christie." "What's the matter?" "Oh, hello." "Hello, little one." "What you been doing today then, eh?" "Hm?" "Where's Beryl?" "She's having a bit of a lie down." "She's not feeling too grand." "Oh?" "What's all this, then?" "I'm all right." "I'm just having a lie down." "Now, what's all this about the furniture money, then?" "The what?" "You know bloody well what, so don't give me all that." "The man was here." "Six weeks, it hasn't been paid." "And I slave my guts out for that money, my girl." "So do I." "Four pounds 10 a week to feed you, pay the rent and all the instalments, and buy everything for the baby... and another one on the way." "Yes, that's right." "Another one on the way." "Oh, we..." "We can't have another kid yet." "Well, that's exactly what we're going to get." "Unless I do something about it." "Do something?" "Do what?" "Oh, never mind what." "She wants to go to bed now." "Do what?" "!" "Tim, there are things you can do." "Oh, no, you don't, my lady." "Well, it's my choice, isn't it?" "Anyway, I've done it." "I've taken some pills." "What do you think I'm lying here for?" "Well, you didn't even ask me!" "You didn't even tell me!" "Ask you!" "Do I have to ask your permission?" "Yes, you bloody do!" "And does she know about this?" "Now, leave Alice out of this!" "You knew about this, didn't you?" "No." "Leave Alice alone." "She's staying here tonight to look after me." "Oh, no, she's not." "I know her sort." "What's that meant to mean?" "Never you mind." "I've met your sort before." "Don't you worry." "Leading her along!" "No!" "Tim, now look what you've done!" "Get out, and leave Alice alone." "I wouldn't touch her with a bloody barge pole!" "Beryl, I think I better go." "No!" "He can sleep in the kitchen..." "I'm not sleeping anywhere, so don't you fret." "And I'm not coming back, so don't expect me." "Good!" "Bloody old cow!" "I'm not the sort of man who can make do with just one woman." "No?" "Go on." "No." "It's in the family, see." "I mean, you take my brother." "He's paying out hundreds a year in alimony." "Well, thousands." "Mind you, I'm fly." "What do you think I got waiting for me when I get home?" "The rent collector?" "Rent collector." "He's a bit of a humorist, isn't he, our Wally?" "All tucked up nice and warm in bed with the wife." "That's what I said, the rent collector." "I'll bloody hit you in a minute!" "Go it, Taffy." "No, there's two of them, see." "There's Beryl and this other little dark one, Alice." "Just lying there waiting for it, crying out for it." "Three in a bed, eh?" "How about that?" "You can have my old woman if you like." "That will make up the set." "Thanks very much, bub." "I'll take you up on that one day." "I've got enough to be going on with, ta." "Oh, well, if you're travelling around like me, you know, it's Brighton one day and Birmingham the next." "You usually manage to pick up a bit on the way." "That's not all you'll pick up if you go on like that." "Oh, no, no." "These aren't scrubbers like you might get, man." "Oh, no." "These is ladies." "Rich ladies." "Well, you know, get bored." "They're wanting a bit of fun." "Elegant but, uh... passionate." "Oh, ho, ho, ho." "Come on, you." "Out." "Tim?" "Out!" "Beryl wants me here." "She may need me here." "I don't bloody need you here, and it's my bed!" "Don't wake her, Tim." "She's tired." "Well, I'm tired too." "I'm tired of having you around, so come on, you bloody get out!" "And you just bloody leave us in peace!" "And you get back in bed and keep out of it." "Just get on out of here!" "Tim, just for the night." "She may not be well." "And whose fault is that, eh?" "Tim, be quiet!" "Go on, out!" "Hurry out!" "Let go of Alice!" "You take your hands off me." "Don't you touch me like that!" "I have my bloody rights, haven't I?" "!" "Don't touch me!" "What is it, Reg?" "That's the Evanses again." "Get off, Tim!" "Get off me!" "Give that bloody here!" "Take your hands off me!" "You bloody touch me again, I'm throwing her out!" "Don't be so bloody silly!" "It's my bloody house, isn't it!" "I've got rights in my own bloody house!" "Now then, now then, now then." "What's all this about?" "It's all her, Mr. Christie!" "Calm down." "You just calm down." "Well, it's just because I've got Alice staying here a night." "Staying the night?" "In my bloody bed!" "And I'm meant to stay on the bloody floor, in the bloody kitchen!" "All right." "All right." "There's no need for language." "This is an apartment for two persons." "That's quite clear in the lease." "What lease?" "The statutory regulations." "Well, Alice is just staying with me because I'm not well." "Never mind about that." "I know the law." "Now then." "You can't be guaranteed security of tenure if you're overcrowded." "That is a regulation." "That's right, my girl." "You put your shoes on and go about your business." "Why should she?" "It's all right, Beryl." "I'll go." "Any more of this sort of behaviour, and out you go, both of you." "I just want a bit of peace, Mr. Christie." "All right, then." "Beryl." "Beryl, if you're not well, you shouldn't be larking around at this time of night." "You should see a doctor." "Come on." "Lovely day today, Mr. Christie, ain't it?" "Very nice, yes." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Oh, hello, Beryl." "How are you today?" "Oh, I'm fine, thank you, Mr. Christie." "Have you been to see the doctor yet?" "The doctor?" "Oh, uh..." "No." "Mm." "Well, won't you come in a minute?" "I've..." "Well, I've got the..." "I've just put the kettle on." "Oh." "Well, sit down, Beryl, do, in the... deck chair." "Well, now." "What is all this trouble between you and Tim?" "And don't try and tell me there isn't any trouble." "No." "You're very young, you know." "Inexperienced." "And things which may seem... great problems to you may seem simpler to an older head, you know." "But it's just that I'm going to have a baby." "Yes, I see." "Tim, I suppose... is none too keen on this, uh... addition to the family." "No." "Well, I'm not either." "I took some pills yesterday." "Pills?" "Yes." "They didn't work though." "You see, Mr. Christie, Tim only gets 7 pounds a week." "Well... we can't afford another baby now." "No, I understand that." "I, uh..." "I do know people, medical people, who could help you out." "But that would cost money, wouldn't it?" "Yes." "That's..." "That's true." "Yes." "That's true, I'm afraid." "They are very eminent men, one particularly I have in mind." "I used to assist him in his earlier days." "Studied with him." "It's quite a simple matter." "You..." "You mean you know how to do it, Mr. Christie?" "Oh, yes." "Oh, that's not a problem." "I've seen it done a hundred times." "Terminations, we call them." "Had to learn about that in the police." "Well, I suppose you couldn't..." "Oh, I..." "I know it's against the law and everything." "Oh, no, that's..." "That's all right." "As long as nobody goes telling tales out at school." "Sugar?" "No, I wouldn't..." "It's the moral question that concerns me." "I wouldn't tell a soul, Mr. Christie." "Honestly." "The taking of life." "No matter how rudimentary." "Well, it's not, really." "I'd be ever so grateful, Mr. Christie." "All right, I will." "It's such a weight off my mind." "Honestly, Mr. Christie." "Honestly." "Well..." "W..." "When do you think you could...?" "Well, do you think you could...?" "Well, you have a word with Tim tonight." "Yes." "And, uh..." "Perhaps we'll be able to fit you in tomorrow." "Yes." "What you doing here, then, Beryl?" "Now then, now then." "I thought we'd go to the pictures." "Oh, did you, then?" "Yes." "Now, Mrs. Christie's looking after Geraldine." "And you and I are going to have a night out, okay?" "Well, all right, then." "Come on." "Oh, the bus!" "Ta." "Here's how." "Did you like it?" "The film?" "Oh, it was all right." "Didn't see too much of it." "I like Gregory Peck." "Ah, he's okay." "You know, you're a bit like him, to look at." "Good God, girl, you've hardly had one drink." "No, no, you are." "He's about 7-foot-3 for a start off." "I know." "But just around the eyes, you look like him." "Mr. Christie was talking to me today." "What?" "About last night?" "Oh, no." "He was..." "He was okay about that." "He, uh..." "Well, he said he might be able to help us." "Huh?" "About the baby, you know." "Oh?" "What's he think he can do?" "Well, he's had experience of things like that." "You mean... getting rid of it?" "Termination, it's called." "Oh, I..." "No, I don't know about that, Beryl." "No, no." "I don't think he wants money or anything like that." "That's not what I mean." "Tim." "We can't have another kiddie now." "You know we can't." "Well, I..." "I know I could always get a... bigger job, pays more cash." "You know, I could go to night school." "Get qualified in something." "What's he do, anyhow?" "I don't know." "Yeah." "All right, then." "Hey, mind the beer, girl." "Tim." "Will you tell Mr. Christie it's all right when you go down the stairs?" "I don't like it, Beryl." "Oh, Tim." "You can't go back on it now." "Okay, okay." "Mr. Christie?" "Mr. Christie?" "Oh, there you are, Mr. Christie." "Oh, Tim." "Come in, come in." "Look, Mr. Christie, Beryl's been telling..." "Shut the door, will you?" "Do you mind?" "Oh, no." "Tim..." "I dislike this business as much as you do." "Well, I don't know, Mr..." "It's just that I happen to have, uh, picked up this knowledge whilst I was in training as a doctor, before the war." "Oh, I didn't know you did all this medical stuff." "Oh, yes." "Yes, yes." "Unfortunately, my training was interrupted by a motoring accident." "And, um..." "Then the war came and..." "Well, that's most..." "I was browsing through some of my, uh, medical texts before you came in, as a matter of fact." "Perhaps you'd like to, uh..." "Um..." "Yes, well, I..." "I don't know about all this stuff, see." "No." "No, no." "But how do you, uh...?" "I mean..." "How do you actually do it?" "Well, that's something only doctors and myself know about." "It has to be secret, you understand." "I mean..." "We couldn't have every Tom, Dick and Harry going around doing it, could we?" "No, I understand that, but..." "I won't conceal the dangers from you, mind." "The, um..." "The, uh, stuff I use..." "One in 10 might die from it." "Die?" "Well, yes, that's an acceptable medical risk." "That's understood." "Mind you, they probably use too strong a dose." "If only you and, uh..." "Beryl had come to me earlier, I could've done it without any risk at all." "L..." "Oh, I don't know." "I don't know, Mr. Christie." "Well, Tim... if you haven't got complete confidence in my ability..." "No, no, I..." "I trust you, Mr. Christie." "Of course I do." "All right, then." "Good lad." "Right, well, you... cut along to work, otherwise you'll be late." "And, uh, Tim, remember... we've never lost a father yet." "No?" "Well..." "Thank you, Mr. Christie." "Ethel?" " Ethel." " Hm?" "Ethel, I want you to go to the office for me, will you?" "See Mr. Steadman." "Tell him my back's been playing me up, and I shan't be in today." "Oh, Reg, are you going to the doctor?" "No." "No, I'll be all right." "I'll phone from the corner." "No, you'd better go." "They'll want these bills of lading and invoices right away." "Go and get your coat on." "All right." "I'm ready, Reg." "Tell him I ought to be better tomorrow." "All right." "Yes, what is it?" "Mr. Christie?" "Yes." "Ah." "Builders." ""Repair roof to outhouse, re-plaster where necessary and make good"." "Now?" "It's not convenient." "You are Mr. Christie?" "You complained to the landlord about this outhouse." "Well, I..." "I need to be informed in advance." "But look, mate, I just take my orders from the owners." "It is just the, uh, the washhouse, is it?" "Just the outbuildings." "Yeah." "Yes, well, you better come through." "Now..." "Thank you very much." "I was just having a cup of tea." "Oh." "It's, uh... back up here, on the right." "This is it." "The washhouse." "Right." "All this lot will have to come down, for a start." "How long will it take?" "Oh, shouldn't take more than a couple of days." "Be careful." "Do you mind?" "Yeah, mind the paintwork, mate." "And the priceless antiques." "Mr. Christie?" "Are you...?" "I've got the builders in." "Well, it doesn't matter." "Ahem." "Oh." "Here we are, then." "Brought you a little cup of tea." "Oh." "Thank you." "What are they doing, the builders?" "Oh, they..." "They won't disturb us." "Baby asleep, is she?" "Oh, yes, she's in the other room." "Right, well, we can manage in here then." "Just drink your tea and relax." "Is it going to hurt?" "Just a little twinge, but we can help that." "Open the window for me 6 inches, will you?" "And... perhaps you'd better pull down the blind." "Fast asleep." "Right." "Just pass me my bag, will you?" "Ta." "Oh, what's that for?" "Just a whiff of gas." "Gas?" "Like at the dentist's." "Take away those little twinges." "But that's poisonous, isn't it?" "Oh, now." "Not the way we use it." "Something we had to learn during the war for bomb victims that needed urgent surgery." "It's a chemically compounded filter, you see." "The liquid." "Takes out the carbon monoxide, or CO-2... as we call it." "There." "Right." "Right." "I'll just get scrubbed up." "There isn't any cutting, is there?" "Oh, no, no." "No, no." "Ta." "I'm ever so nervous, Mr. Christie." "Oh, there's no need to be, no need at all." "Do you, um, have, uh... undergarments on?" "Yes." "Well, just slip them off, will you?" "Oh..." "Should I take my dress off?" "No, no, just the, um..." "And then lie down on the quilt." "Right down?" "Yes, just lie down and relax." "You ready?" "Yes." "That's a good girl." "Now, just a little whiff of the gas." "You've, uh, had gas before at the dentist, have you?" "Well, you know what it feels like, then." "You'll feel just a little bit dizzy, I expect." "Right." "Now, breathe deeply." "Breathe..." "Just relax, breathe deeply, close your eyes." "Olose your eyes, that's a good girl." "That's a good girl." "Breathe." "Breathe." "Breathe, Beryl." "That's it." "That's it." "No." "No." "No, no, no, no." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Be quiet!" "Be..." "Be quiet!" "Quiet!" "No, I don't want to!" "Please!" "Please!" "Don't make me hurt you!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Please!" "Oh, Beryl." "Oh..." "Beryl." "Oh, Beryl." "Oh, Beryl." "Howdy dowdie do?" "Hey, come on, come on." "Beryl!" "Beryl?" "Beryl?" "If you don't want to see me, you've only got to say so." "Beryl?" "Mummy." "Mummy." "Oh, hello, Mr. Christie." "It's bad news, Tim." "It didn't work." "Oh." "Well, where's Beryl then?" "She's upstairs on the bed." "Oh, Tim." "Lying down." "Go on up." "I'll come up with you." "Beryl?" "What...?" "She's got blood all down her chin." "That's the concussion, I'm afraid." "She would struggle, you see." "Concussed her head against the bed head." "It's got sharp corners, that bed head." "Beryl?" "She's not alive." "I told you it was bad." "But you..." "You never said..." "One out of 10 die of it." "I told you that." "Oh, Christ." "I'm sorry, Tim." "These things happen, though." "She should have approached me earlier." "Oh, God." "And she was only young." "Yes, it's a terrible thing." "But she'd have had to be in hospital by now, anyway." "Doctors couldn't have helped her even." "Her tummy was septic poisoned." "All those pills she'd been dosing herself up with." "Oh, God." "Oh, God." "Those damn pills!" "Don't..." "Don't wake the baby, Tim." "What am I going to do?" "Come with me, come on." "Come on." "Sit down." "But you'll get the doctor?" "Doctors can't do much now, I'm afraid, Tim." "Well, we gotta do something." "The police or something." "Yes, you may be right." "Well, that's what I think anyhow." "It'll be criminal manslaughter for me, of course." "Oh, God, I don't want to get you into trouble, Mr. Christie." "No, I'm not just thinking about me so much." "I'm not the only one involved." "You knew all about it, didn't you?" "Well, of course I knew about it." "Well, don't get huffy with me, my lad." "You knew about it, that's the point." "You're an accessory before the act." "Well, I done nothing." "Oh, God, I done nothing." "But you knew about it, Tim." "You consented." "That's all they'll want to know." "All right, all right, then, I'll..." "I'll not tell them nothing." "I'll just say I don't know nothing and just keep clammed up." "You'd better go and see to the baby, you can't leave her crying like that." "Poor old Tim, eh?" "I could get you out of this, if only you didn't keep talking so silly." "I just don't know what to do." "Well, we could keep quiet about it, couldn't we?" "She's just lying there." "Well, there are ways of... disposing of bodies." "What?" "Not be buried, you mean?" "No proper service?" "What good would a proper service do?" "Well, she'd want it, that's what." "And me too, I want..." "I want it." "You want it?" "She'd want it?" "You want to be hung?" "Is that what you want?" "You better see to the baby's supper." "She'll be crying for it in a minute." "They don't hang you for manslaughter, anyhow." "No." "They do for murder, though." "They'll just think you killed her in one of those fights of yours." "She's got that knock on the head." "The whole street knows about the fights you have all the time." "The police know, even." "What do you mean?" "I didn't..." "I mean, you start going to the police or whatever, and I'm going to have to deny I had anything to do with it." "Oh, they'll know." "They'll know from the operation you did." "Oh, no, my lad." "There are no visible signs, not the way I do it." "All right, then." "All right, I'll tell them and then they'll know." "Who do you think they'll believe, Tim?" "Everyone around here knows the stories you come out with about your father being an Italian count and everything." "Oh, it's just storyfying, everyone knows that." "Anyhow, he was an Italian, my father." "Well, he may not have been a count, I don't know about that." "An Italian named Evans?" "That's just a name he used so as people wouldn't know who he was." "Well, he was in this secret business, see?" "Well, that's why we were so rich." "He had all his money in shares and everything." "Only he lost it, because he was killed in the war." "So who are the police going to believe, eh?" "You?" "Or me, that was a special constable for four years?" "Well, me, of course!" "Me." "All right, then, Tim." "Well, you go to the police and tell them." "Go on." "Off you go." "All right, I will too." "Well, they'll have to believe the truth." "Well, go on then, if you're going." "Well, I can't go now, can I?" "I've got the baby to feed and everything." "I'll do that." "I'll do that for you while you're gone." "Well, you tell me." "Tell me what to do and then I won't go." "No, no, you've got to do what you think's right." "Well, let's just shut the door and talk, eh?" "All right." "You're gonna be guided by me, hm?" "Yes, okay, Mr. Christie." "Right." "Sit down." "Now, first of all, there's Beryl." "I'll look after that." "I'll, uh..." "I'll dispose of her." "I'll wait till I get a chance." "You know the, uh... the big manhole cover by the front door?" "Lay her to rest there." "Oh." "Oh, God." "This is no time for you to break down." "Yes, I know, I know, I'm sorry." "It'd look better if you went away for a bit." "Right away, tonight, out of London." "I don't..." "Listen to me." "Then I could tell people that you and Beryl had gone away together." "And what about the baby?" "Geraldine?" "Oh, she'll be all right." "It's very lucky, as a matter of fact." "There's a young couple over at Acton I know who'll look after her for you." "East Acton, to be precise." "They can't have any of their own, so it's handy, really." "So you just, uh, leave all her things packed up, and I'll get them to come over and collect her in the morning." "But I'll be able to have her back, won't I?" "I mean, when..." "When all this has blown over?" "Oh, yes, yes." "Yes, I daresay." "Right, then, you get the baby fed." "Oh, God, Mr. Christie." "And she was only young." "If she'd come to me earlier..." "Come and give me a hand." "Grab her, grab her legs." "Let her down, let her down." "We'll put her in Kitchener's place." "The old man's in hospital." "He won't be back for days." "She'll be all right in there for tonight." "Take this." "What's this?" "Wedding ring." "Sell it." "It'll make her less easy to identify, if they do ever find her." "Oh..." "Now, you get packed, and then get a night train anywhere, and I'll get those people over from East Acton first thing in the morning for the baby." "You'd better go and finish feeding her." "Yes, Mr. Christie." "Go on, go on." "Hello, Auntie Vi." "Tim." "Well, what are you doing down here?" "Come in, come in." "It's Tim." "Tim, boy." "What are you doing in this neck of the woods?" "Sit down, Tim, take your coat off." "Well, me and the boss is, uh, touring round, trying to find new branches, only the car broke down in Cardiff." "There's tea." "Fresh brewed, Tim." "You still like egg and fried bread?" "Oh, smashing." "Uh, it'll be a few days, the car." "The big end's gone, they said." "How's Beryl?" "We can put you up on the settee in the back room if you like." "Thanks, Auntie." "How's Beryl and the baby?" "Oh, fine, fine." "They've gone to Brighton for a bit to stay with Beryl's father." "I've just been upstairs." "He's gone." "Tim?" "Packed up and left." "His clothes and everything." "Scarpered." "And that's not the worst part." "What's the matter, Reg?" "You know what he's gone and done?" "What?" "He's killed the baby." "I don't believe it." "I'm telling you, strangled, if you must know, with his tie." "He'd never do that." "Never mind what he'd never do." "It's what he's done." "He worshipped that child." "When I think of all the things..." "Reg, what are we going to do?" "Nothing." "Hey, see what I bought Geraldine in Cardiff." "Did you go into the garage about the car?" "Oh, yes, yes, they say it'll be a bit." "They'll let me know." "There." "Woolworth's, I got it." "Oh, it's lovely, Tim." "Tim, your uncle and I wrote a letter to Mr. Thorley on Monday." "Thorley?" "Beryl's father." "What do you want to write to him for?" "We got a telegram this morning." "He said he hasn't seen Beryl and the baby since the summer." "What do you want to go poking around for?" "But where is she, Tim?" "What's happened?" "I don't want to talk about it." "And none of your business anyhow!" "She's..." "She's gone off." "Gone off?" "With some fellow." "I don't know, do I?" "In a car." "But what about little Geraldine?" "Look, just stop asking questions at me, will you?" "Now, then, Tim..." "Don't you "now, then" me." "She's gone off with some rich fellow, and that's all there is about it." "Oh, Tim, we're only..." "Never mind that!" "She's not that sort of a girl, Tim." "Well, I'm going out." "I'm bloody going out!" "Yeah, I think that's the number." "Yeah, that's okay." "There's the record card." "Ta." "I..." "Yes, sir?" "Is there an inspector or sergeant or somebody here?" "There's nobody available at the moment, sir." "Can I help you?" "I'd like to have a bit of a chat with you, alone, like." "All right." "Excuse me, sir." "Well, now." "I want to give myself up." "I've disposed of my wife." "Now, wait a minute." "Do you realize what you're saying?" "Oh, I know what I'm saying." "I can't sleep for it." "I want to get it off my chest." "She was expecting, see." "And we have one already." "Anyhow, I met this fellow in Ipswich." "He just come up to me in a café and give me this bottle of stuff." "Well, I told her not to take it, but she said she was going to anyhow." "So I come home from work, and there she is, dead." "She had the empty bottle beside her." "And I didn't know what to do, so I got..." "I didn't know what to do, so at 2 in the morning, I got her downstairs, and I opened the drain outside the front door, and I put her body down the drain." "And then I come down here." "Do you want to make a statement, in writing?" "Uh..." "Well, I'll tell you about it, and you write it down, eh?" "I'm not all that educated." "I can't do this reading and writing." "Well, yeah." "That's what he said." "He's a bit simple, you know." "Yeah, okay, I'll have another go at him." "Yeah, goodbye." "Well, now..." "The drain where you said you put your wife's body, it's been examined." "There's nothing there." "Well, I put it there." "I see." "It's a manhole, is it?" "I expect so." "Who helped you lift the lid off?" "I did it myself." "Who are you trying to kid?" "It took three men to lift it." "Well, I don't know about that." "I did it." "I don't think your wife's body was ever down that drain." "All right." "All right." "I only said that to protect a man named Christie." "Christie?" "Yes." "It's not true about the man in the café." "Now I'll tell you the truth." "She wasn't very good with money, I'm afraid." "Run up a lot of bad debts." "That was one of the reasons they were always fighting." "This was their little domain." "What is it?" "Just the two rooms?" "Just the two rooms, yes." "You'd only have to ask the neighbours about the fights they had, I'm afraid." "One of your chaps from the station had to come round one night, as a matter of fact." "You saw them go, did you?" "No." "No, they just crept off." "Who has the flat below this?" "Mr. Kitchener, an old gentleman." "Worked on the railways." "Inspector, you'd, uh..." "You'd want to look at his flat, Mr. Kitchener's, I expect." "Oh, yes." "Yes, well, he's in hospital at the moment, so he'll not mind." "I just found these, sir." "They're all about the torso murder case." "Oh, yes, a bit morbid about that case, Tim was." "Kept all the newspaper cuttings." "Can't think why." "I thought he couldn't read." "No." "He used to get, uh, Beryl to read them to him." "Ah." "I'd better take a look in here first." "I've just left the kettle on in the kitchen." "I'll just..." "Shoo!" "Go on, get out!" "Shoo!" "This is the back garden." "Can't seem to get this open." "It, uh, gets jammed occasionally." "Go and get the poker, Ethel." "There's a sort of bundle under the sink here." "What's that, Mrs. Christie, under the sink?" "Do you know?" "Well, take a look." "It's a bundle of something." "Do you know what's in it?" "No." "It's a tablecloth or something." "It's all wrapped up." "Is that yours?" "No, I don't think so." "Well, feel it." "Feel if you recognize it." "No, I've never seen it before." "Take it out." "Let's have a look at it." "Weighs a ton." "Better cut the cord, if you've no objection, madam." "No, not at all." "It isn't mine anyway." "There's another one here." "It's a baby." "Did they ask Mr. Christie if he could get the baby back from the people in Acton, do you know?" "Well, bloody hell, are you going to keep this up all the way to London?" ""At 11:50 a.m. Today, I found the dead body of your wife, Beryl Evans, concealed in a washhouse at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill." "Also, the body of your baby daughter, Geraldine, in the same outbuilding, and this clothing was found on them." "Later today, I was present at Kensington mortuary when it was established that the cause of death was strangulation in both cases." "I have reason to believe that you were responsible for their deaths"." "Yes." "Right, then." ""She was incurring one debt after another, and I could not stand it any longer, so I strangled her with a piece of rope and took her down to the flat below the same night whilst the old man was in hospital." "I waited until the Christies downstairs had gone to bed, then I took her to the washhouse after midnight." "Then I strangled my baby in our bedroom with my tie, and took her to the washhouse"." "Sign there, lad." "If you don't know how to write your name, just put a cross." "I know how to write my name." "Good lad, just sign there, then." "Mr. Christie, I have got to suggest to you, and I do not want there to be any misapprehensions about it, that you are responsible for the death of Mrs. Evans and of the little girl." "Or if that is not so, that at least you know very much more about those deaths than you've said." "That is a lie." "That is a lie." "Did you know that Mrs. Evans was pregnant in November last year?" "My wife told me." "Did you have any discussion with her or Mr. Evans?" "We understood from what Mrs. Evans told my wife that she had been taking pills and various things to procure an abortion." "Now, I suggest to you that a little later you said to Evans:" ""If you or your wife had come to me in the first place," "I could have done it for you, without any risk"." "No, definitely not." "Do you remember him saying to you:" ""I didn't think you knew anything about medical stuff"?" "No, he..." "And that you said that you'd been training to be a doctor before the war?" "No, that's nonsense." "Do you remember showing Evans some medical books in your flat?" "I've not got any medical books." "Except the St. John's Ambulance handbook." "Did you show this book to Evans?" "No, certainly not." "It's an obsolete book." "I daresay it's obsolete, but did you show it to him?" "No." "Did you not tell Evans that you had been doing training in medical matters before the war and that you stopped the training because of an accident?" "No." "You gave evidence yesterday that during the night of Tuesday, the 8th of November, you heard a thud." "Yes." "Uh, it seemed rather loud." "It startled us, rather." "It woke us up." "This was about midnight?" "Yes, it would be." "You quite sure about that?" "Absolutely certain." "Do you remember giving evidence at the Magistrate's Court at West London?" "Yes." "Well, you never mentioned there this noise of something very heavy being moved, did you?" "Oh, yes, I did mention it." "I'm certain." "Well, perhaps it was not taken down." "What happened after the sound of furniture moving?" "I, um..." "I went off to sleep again." "Because of the pain I was having with the fibrositis," "I was taking tablets." "It was the only way I could get to sleep." "I'm still taking them, as a matter of fact." "Are you still suffering from fibrositis, Mr. Christie?" "Very badly, my lord." "I was in severe pain all night." "I had to go to the doctor again last night, and he prescribed for me and gave me some pills to alleviate the pain, but I was awake for most of the night." "Would you be more comfortable giving your evidence sitting down?" "Well, yes, I think I would, my lord." "Then you may." "Thank you." "Mr. Christie, yesterday, you remember Mr. Humphreys asking you if you had been in the police force during the last war?" "Yes." "In fact, you were a constable in the war reserve?" "For four years, yes." "But you are not, are you, a man of good character?" "Well, I..." "have had some trouble." "I apologize for having to ask you these questions, but I'm afraid I must." "On four occasions, you have been convicted of offences of dishonesty, haven't you?" "Three." "Not four?" "Then perhaps I had better put them to you." "Were you sentenced to three months' imprisonment in 1921 for stealing postal orders?" "Yes." "Bound over for false pretences in 1923 at Halifax?" "Yes, I remember that." "Nine months' hard labour for stealing material and goods in 1924 at Uxbridge?" "Yes." "And three months also at Uxbridge for stealing a motor car in 1933?" "Yes, that's right." "Well, surely, Mr. Christie, you could remember that." "Four offences for dishonesty." "Well, I..." "I had an idea it was three." "I..." "I just didn't..." "I just wasn't quite sure." "I see." "But what is perhaps more important and relevant to this matter, are there two other convictions recorded against you?" "Yes." "The first of these being for violence at Halifax in 1923?" "Yes." "And the second when you were sentenced to six months for malicious wounding in 1929?" "Yeah." "Yes." "Do you appreciate that the medical evidence in this case which has been called, is that this woman was strangled?" "I was informed of that, yes." "Not killed by abortion, of which there is no sign whatever, but by strangulation?" "Yes." "Now, a word about your character." "What were you doing in the First World War?" "I was in the army in the First World War." "Fighting for your country?" "Yes." "L..." "I was gassed twice." "I was blinded for three months, and I never spoke for three and a half years." "The last time you were in trouble with the police for any offence was in 1933, was it?" "Yes." "Seventeen years ago?" "Yes." "In this last war, in spite of your disabilities, you served in the war reserve police for many years." "Is that right?" "Yes, I did." "And I was commended on two occasions." "Thank you, Mr. Christie." "What are you doing?" "I'm going to sleep in the front room." "Front room?" "On the sofa from now on." "What's that in aid of?" "Nothing." "It's just that I'm not sleeping very well, that's all." "Now... it is you who voluntarily go to the police on the 30th of November after hearing about the telegram which your aunt had received from Mr. Thorley, your wife's father?" "That's right." "It was because your previous lies were exposed by the telegram that you decided to go to the police, was it?" "It wasn't because of the lies." "Then why did you suddenly go to the police?" "Well..." "I was getting worried about my daughter." "Are you saying that seriously to the jury?" "That you go to the police and confessed a murder because you're worried about your daughter?" "With great respect, there is no confession of murder." "He said, "I have disposed of my wife." "I have put her down the drain"." "It sounds very like murder." "All he said was he had put her, it might well be her body, down the drain." "You made a statement to the police, and this is the first you made..." "Exhibit 6." "In which you talk of meeting a man in a café and of how your wife took these pills and died of them, and you found her dead." "Do you remember that statement?" "Yes, I remember that statement." "That is untrue?" "That is untrue, yes." "You then make a statement in which you set out in some detail how Mr. Christie gave your wife something which would cause an abortion, and she died of that." "Do you remember that one?" "Yes, I remember that one too." "Is that one true or untrue?" "That is true." "Then you made a statement in which you confessed to murdering your wife and your child." "Is that true or untrue?" "I was told of my daughter's death before I made that one." "True or untrue?" "It is true I made the statement." "Is the statement true or untrue?" "Untrue." "So then that is the second statement you have made to the police, in some detail, which is untrue." "Yes." "So would it not be right to say that you are a person who's prepared to lie, or tell the truth, at your own convenience?" "Well, why should I tell lies?" "My life is at stake here." "Now... we have shown that your story about Mr. Christie giving your wife an abortion is nonsense." "Well, you are the person who alleges Mr. Christie is the murderer in this case." "Can you suggest why he should have strangled your wife?" "Well... he was... home all day." "Can you suggest why he should have strangled your wife?" "No, I can't." "Can you suggest why he should have strangled your daughter?" "No." "I didn't do it, Auntie." "Christie done it." "I didn't even know the baby was dead till the police brought me in to Notting Hill." "Well, Christie said she was in East Acton." "Get Christie." "Get him here to see me." "He's the only one who can help me now." "Timothy John Evans." "The court has found you guilty of wilful murder." "The sentence of the court upon you is that you be taken from this place to a lawful prison and thence to a place of execution, and there you will suffer death by hanging," "and that your body be buried within the precincts of the prison in which you shall have been last confined before your execution." "And may the Lord have mercy on your soul." "Amen." "The one thing that sticks in my mind is I'm in for something I haven't done, sir." "You must remember, Evans, that we're not here to go into the rights and wrongs of your case." "This is purely a medical board." "Yes, I know that, sir." "See..." "Christie done it." "You confessed at Notting Hill." "Why was that?" "I broke down at Notting Hill." "I had nothing else to worry about when I knew my daughter was dead." "Why do you think your daughter was killed?" "Well... to be out of the way, wasn't it?" "I see." "Any further questions?" "No." "No." "All right." "Thank you." "Come along, then." "But Christie done it." "I say, Christie done it." "All right." "All right." "Well, I don't know." "He's not an unpleasing little fellow." "Oh, no." "Primitive sort of creature, but nothing abnormal, medically speaking." "Rather nicer than average, I thought." "Yes." "Nothing very much at all, really." "Certainly no medical grounds for a reprieve." "Oh!" "Supper's in the meat safe." "I should have thought you could have got it for yourself." "I'm going to bed now." "I've taken a sleeping pill." "I'm going to Sheffield in the morning." "Sheffield?" "To stay with Jessy and Bob." "You can't just leave me here." "I can't stand Jessy, you know that." "She talks too much." "What am I meant to do then?" "We've no friends." "Not a soul set foot in this house for two years, nearly." "Not since the Evanses." "We've no money." "You haven't worked since I don't know when." "I can't work, can I?" "Not with my back and everything." "The doctor says I should be in hospital." "I know where you should be." "What's that supposed to mean?" "You know what I mean." "Oh..." "You don't mind, do you?" "It's migraine." "Hm." "I get these terrible headaches." "Very unpleasant, oh, very unpleasant." "Mind you, um... medically speaking, of course, it's a very interesting condition, uh, syndrome, as we call it." "You're not a doctor, are you?" "Well, now how did you know that?" "Well, I should say, I was." "Was?" "Yes, I, um..." "I did a favour for a friend." "A lady friend." "I expect you understand." "You know how it is." "Oh, yes." "Oh, dear." "Can I get you another cup of tea?" "No, thanks." "Are you sure?" "Mm-hm." "Yes, well, of course." "They won't do you any good, mind." "What does, though?" "Well, if only I was free to, uh..." "Honestly, I'd do anything." "You certainly do yourself proud in here, I must say." "My wife's away." "I don't blame her." "You can keep that mattress, for a start." "I'd have the whole shop running alive." "What's that meant to mean?" "Bedbugs." "Look, this is mahogany." "Pure mahogany." "Oh, yeah?" "Ten quid, the lot." "What, for everything?" "Everything, bar that mattress." "That'll walk out by itself." "Ten pounds?" "Well, surely it must be worth 15." "Not to me, it isn't." "I can't work." "I was wounded in the war." "That's tough luck, squire." "Twelve is my top." "Yes or no?" "All right." "I'll have the van round this afternoon." "One, two, three." "I was just looking through my papers." "Cuttings and things, newspaper cuttings." "I was in all the papers a few years back." "Murder trial, it was." "Dreadful business, appalling." "Of course, I was in the police once, so I... understand these things." "I have had a very... varied life." "Funny, really." "In all the papers a few years back, and now..." "Pig." "Well, of course, if that's the way you're going to talk..." "It's what I'd expect, of course." "Okay, just dump it here." "Really smells bad in here." "We'll soon get it cleaned up." "Cliff." "Hm?" "Go and get the police." "What are you doing?" "Looking for work?" "My employment cards haven't come through." "Well, what's your name?" "John Waddington." "Have you got anything on you to prove your identity?" "No, nothing at all." "Take your hat off, will you?" "You're Christie." "John Reginald Christie." "I shall have to take you into custody." "Come along."