AFTER RAFFERTY HAD dismissed Smales, he had listened with a fatalistic air as, in turn, Mesdames Smith and Jenkins explained that of course they hadn’t been thinking about the effect on their marriages when they had told the young officer they wanted to withdraw their alibis. No, they had realised it was their public duty to tell the truth now they understood that Nigel Blythe might be a dangerous criminal. It was the thought of Nigel stalking the streets looking for further victims that had prompted their attacks of conscience and their decision to tell the truth, not any concern for their own marital accord. Nigel hadn’t been with them at all, both women insisted. They hadn’t even seen him since shortly after lunch on either day.
Naturally, Rafferty – who had been clinging to the wrecka
